Lucinda Williams @ Pabst Theater, Oct. 15
Thursday, Oct. 15
Lucinda Williams w/ Buick 6 @ The Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.
Over the decades since her breakthrough album, 1980’s Happy Woman Blues, Lucinda Williams has built one of the strongest discographies in the modern country/folk canon. As her voice accumulates wear and tear, taking on a roughness usually reserved for her male counterparts, Williams’ work has become rawer and more in line with contemporary roots-rock. Her latest effort, the 2014 double album Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone, is typically emotional, filled with songs about heartbreak, regrets and anger, affirming her reputation as one of the most evocative roots singers of her time.
Friday, Oct. 16
Nate Ruess w/ Saint Motel @ Carthage College, 8 p.m.
Fun.’s 2012 album Some Nights established the group as giants in the worlds of alternative and pop misic, earning them a Grammy for their smash “We Are Young.” Band leader Nate Ruess, however, had ambitions outside the group. This summer the band announced a hiatus, largely so Ruess could go solo with his new record, Grand Romantic, a grandiose, ’80s arena-rock inspired pop album that’s essentially a Fun. record with different billing. Ruess performs at Kenosha’s Carthage College as part of his Campus Consciousness Tour promoting environmental awareness.
Chance the Rapper w/ D.R.A.M., Towkio and Metro Boomin @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
Chicago’s Chance the Rapper announced himself as one of hip-hop’s most exciting young voices with his jazzy, joyous 2013 breakthrough mixtape Acid Rap, and he made good on that promise this year with Surf, his latest (even jazzier, even more joyous) project with the collective Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment. So far he’s remained committed to the independent route, turning down lucrative offers from major labels in order to put out the music he wants when he wants. More of that music is on the way. This fall he’s been teasing new songs from a mixtape he says is coming soon.
|
|
Saturday, Oct. 17
The Zombies @ South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, 8 p.m.
The Zombies never really got to enjoy their fame the first time around. By the time their signature song “Time of the Season” became a hit in 1969, the band had already broken up. In the years that followed, though, the band’s 1968 swan song Odessey and Oracle, mostly ignored at the time of its release, benefited from a critical reappraisal; it’s now widely considered one of the best psychedelic rock albums of the ’60s. Singer Colin Blunstone and organist Rod Argent have toured together under various reconfigurations of The Zombies since the ’90s, occasionally releasing new material under the band name, including 2011’s bluesy Breathe Out, Breathe In and this year’s Still Got That Hunger.
Passion Pit w/ Firekid @ The Rave, 8 p.m.
Passion Pit’s 2009 debut Manners proved one of the most prescient albums of the late ’00s, anticipating both alternative and indie rock’s fascination with electronica and dance music as well as some of the big, glossy EDM pop music that now dominates Top 40 stations. So why isn’t the band bigger? For starters there’s band leader Michael Angelakos voice, a strained, excitable whine that instantly drives many listeners away. But even more than that there’s his subject matter: He writes touchingly and unrelentingly about depression and personal struggles. For light pop, it sure is heavy. The band released its third album of sad songs that sound like happy ones, Kindred, this spring.
Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
The most approachable member of The Beatles, Ringo Starr grounded the band with a mythic reputation and his down-to-earth presence. Like the rest of the Fab Four, Starr has released his share of solo albums, and even saw some chart success with singles like “It Don’t Come Easy” and “Back Off Boogaloo,” but his most enduring project has been his All Starr Band, a rotating cast of musicians he’s toured off and on with since the late ’80s. This year’s cast includes one musician who genuinely qualifies for the term star—jack of all trades Todd Rundgren—and a few who each bring their own following: Gregg Rolie (of Journey and Santana), Steve Lukather (of Toto) and Richard Page (of Mr. Mister). Expect to hear a sampling of songs from each musicians’ discography, as well as a heaps of Beatles favorites.
Tuesday, Oct. 20
The Ex w/ Ken Vandermark @ The Sugar Maple, 8 p.m.
Especially for music fans who don’t follow free jazz, it can be easy to forget that The Sugar Maple, one of Bay View’s most celebrated beer bars, is also a music venue. Shows like this one are a reminder of why it’s worth it to keep an eye on the venue’s concert calendar. Since 1979, Netherlands’ The Ex have been putting out some of the most interesting, most challenging and most boundary-breaking punk music of their time, frequently taking detours into the realms of jazz, noise rock and world music. Original singer G.W. Sok left the band in 2009, and his replacement Arnold de Boer has brought his own vision to the group, adding samples and his own distinct guitar work to the band’s ever-evolving sound.
Youth Lagoon w/ Moon King @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
Songwriter Trevor Powers’ 2011 debut album as Youth Lagoon, The Year of Hibernation, was crafted exclusively from oft-abused indie-rock signatures: twee melodies, lullaby-tuned keyboards and hazy bedroom production, all topped off by a tiny, androgynous voice. Even the album’s packaging was tired, its vaguely vintage-looking cover photo indistinguishable from those of so many empty chillwave records. Despite those inauspicious signs, though, the music itself was utterly vibrant and alive, poignant and uplifting. Powers revealed a gift for knowing how to use flimsy sounds to convey great scope—even his smallest, most lo-fi constructions suggested real grandeur. Subsequent albums, including this year’s Savage Hills Ballroom, have been bigger and more experimental, without sacrificing the queasy intimacy that made that debut so beguiling.
Wednesday, Oct. 21
Sheepdogs w/ Radio Moscow @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
The Sheepdogs hail from chilly Canada, but their sound owes much more to the American South, particularly the bluesy swamp rock of acts like Creedence Clearwater Revival. Their lively boogie rock earned them a deal with Atlantic Records and the chance to work with a dream producer, The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney, for their 2012 self-titled effort for the label. This month the group released their follow-up, Future Nostalgia, which the band’s leader Ewan Currie produced along with engineer Matt Ross-Spang, a veteran of Memphis’ famed Sun Studios.
Mary Chapin Carpenter w/ Rose Cousins @ The Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.
Though it was the country charts that gave Mary Chapin Carpenter her biggest hits in the ’80s and ’90s, Carpenter was never fully comfortable being labeled as a country artist, since her music also touched on folk, rock and pop that didn’t have much of a place in the world of contemporary country radio. Now that she’s no longer on a major label, Carpenter is even more keen on exploring those other sides of her songwriting. Carpenter’s latest album, Songs From The Movie, is a collaboration with composer Vince Mendoza, who gives orchestral updates to songs from throughout her career. Its widescreen arrangements should be a far cry from the intimate solo acoustic show Carpenter has planned for this performance.
