Photo Credits: Siri Hanson (Left) Kat Schleicher (Right)
Death Blues: Ensemble | Saturday, Jan. 31 | Alverno College’s Pitman Theatre | 8 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 29
Gabe Dixon @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
There aren’t many musicians who can claim they turned down Paul McCartney—just ask Kanye West—but Gabe Dixon is one of the few who can. After featuring heavily on McCartney’s 2001 album Driving Rain, he rejected the offer to join McCartney’s touring band in order to focus on his own music. With his Gabe Dixon Band, a piano-rock trio that often suggested Ben Folds Five without the overly cheeky sense of humor, the singer-songwriter recorded four adult-contemporary-leaning albums, including 2005’s Live at World Café, which was mixed by former Semisonic songwriter Dan Wilson. Dixon went solo, though, for 2011’s One Spark, which included a duet with roots-rock star Alison Krauss.
Friday, Jan. 30
Once On This Island @ Skylight Music Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Romeo and Juliet has loosely or directly inspired literally hundreds of stories. One of the more imaginative is Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s 1990 musical Once On This Island, which takes Shakespeare’s archetypal tale of forbidden love and sets it against a Caribbean backdrop while incorporating elements of fantasy and fairy tales. Skylight Music Theatre’s production of this family-friendly crowd pleaser runs through Feb. 22.
Saturday, Jan. 31
Death Blues: Ensemble @ Alverno College’s Pitman Theatre, 8 p.m.
Percussionist/composer Jon Mueller has had a banner 2014, releasing two absolutely visionary records with his project Death Blues as well as an ambient collaborative LP with minimalist musician Duane Pitre, all between victorious stretches on the road with his band Volcano Choir. It seems oddly fitting, then, that Mueller would open 2015 with an ending. For this show, he’ll bring Death Blues to a close with a full performance of the group’s album Ensemble, a collaboration with composer William Ryan Fritch. Though it stings to see Mueller complete one of his most rewarding projects yet so soon, it’s exciting to consider what the future might hold.
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Tapebenders w/ Kiings and MC Mikal @ Cactus Club, 10 p.m.
Formerly known as the Elusive Parallelograms, Tapebenders have been kicking around the Milwaukee music scene since 2008, churning out kinetic, vaguely psychedelic indie rock at a pretty good clip. They’ve changed their band name to something that’s a little bit easier on the tongue and toggled their lineup a bit, but their core sound remains. Their latest album, last fall’s Chasing Ghosts, packs a triple album’s worth of songs and hooks into a tight 13 songs. The group shares this eclectic bill with the Milwaukee production duo Kiings, who specialize in dreamy, modern pop, and rapper MC Mikal.
Couch Flambeau w/ Go Go Slow and The Grovelers @ Riverwest Public House, 9 p.m.
Milwaukee’s iconic Couch Flambeau, veterans of the city’s off-kilter ’80s punk scene who played really, really silly punk rock well before it was fashionable to play even faintly silly punk rock, are hardly one of the city’s most active bands these days, but they still perform at least a show or two most years. They occasionally debut new songs, too. Singer/guitarist Jay Tiller’s latest tunes are very much in the same irreverent spirit as old favorites like “Picasso’s Mailman” or “Santa Claus Skips Cudahy,” retaining the band’s signature, childlike humor even as they address adult concerns of homeownership and proper lawn maintenance. There’s still no word of when (or if) the band will release a new record, but their 2004 anthology I Did a Power Slide in the Taco Stand collects the best of their classic output.
Logic w/ DJ Rhetorik and Michael Christmas @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
Looking younger than his 25 years, Maryland rapper Logic has a clear understanding of who his fanbase is—college kids. Filling some of the void left behind when Mac Miller started experimenting with more abstract styles of hip-hop, Logic sticks mostly to the ’90s sounds which remain popular on campus, drawing from influences like A Tribe Called Quest, Big L and Nas on his Def Jam debut Under Pressure. The deluxe version of that album features a guest appearance from another dorm-room staple: Childish Gambino.
Howie Mandel @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
Decades after receiving his big break on the NBC hospital soap “St. Elsewhere,” Howie Mandel remains a fixture on network TV, most recently as a host of “Deal or No Deal” and a judge on “America’s Got Talent.” At this show, the comedian will be performing for a cause as the headliner of Laugh It Up Milwaukee’s latest fundraiser. Proceeds from the show benefit the Hunger Task Force and the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.
Tuesday, Feb. 3
Wild Child w/ Animals in Human Attire and James Tillman @ Mad Planet, 9 p.m.
Spawned from Austin’s ridiculously fertile indie-rock scene, Wild Child have never met an instrument they didn’t like. The unabashedly cutesy ensemble fills every inch of their records with horns, cello, violin, piano, banjo, ukulele and horns, striving for the sweetest, perkiest, poppiest sound they can muster. Their latest record, The Runaround, was produced by a guy who has never shied away from twee, Ben Kweller, and released through his record label Noise Company.
