tUnE-yArDs @ Pabst Theater, Oct. 23
Thursday, Oct. 23
Tig Notaro @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m.
In August 2012, Tig Notaro delivered a set at the Largo in Los Angeles that’s already become one of the most legendary stand-up performances of all time. In it, the affable comedian recounted a nightmarish four months of her life which included a life-threatening battle with pneumonia, a crushing breakup, the death of her mother and—the terrifying kicker—a recent cancer diagnosis, which she was still processing as she took the stage. That set and the ensuing praise from Louis C.K., who later sold downloads of it through his website, instantly elevated Notaro to stand-up’s A-list, but in the years since she’s carried on doing what she’s always done: telling great jokes and sharing the occasional tragicomic story.
tUnE-yArDs w/ James Tillman @ The Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.
With its self-recorded aesthetic and erratic percussive clatter, BiRd-BrAiNs, Merrill Garbus’ 2009 debut as tUnE-YaRds, was the epitome of “not for everybody.” Over time the project has congealed into something far friendlier. The band’s 2011 critical breakthrough w h o k i l l drew heavily from Garbus’ love of African music and American soul, without sacrificing the singular quirkiness of her early work, and this year’s Nikki Nack is even more orderly, channeling the spirit of Paul Simon’s Graceland into an eccentric indie-rock record for the hip-hop generation.
Friday, Oct. 24
Maz Jobrani w/ Aaron Aryanpur and Bryan Morris @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m.
Maz Jobrani almost certainly didn’t realize how limited the roles available to him would be when he decided to pursue a career in Hollywood. In the wake of 9/11, the Iranian-born actor and comedian was cast in all manner of unflattering roles, usually of the terrorist variety (if you were a regular “24” viewer, you might remember rooting against him). In Jobrani’s upcoming book I’m Not A Terrorist, But I’ve Played One On TV, Jobrani recounts his experiences with the same self-effacing wit he brought to stages with his “Axis of Evil Comedy Tour.”
|
|
Widespread Panic @ The Riverside Theater, 8 p.m.
One of the oldest staples of the American jam-music scene, Athens, Ga., rockers Widespread Panic have been playing together since the mid-’80s, well before the jam scene was the organized network it is today. Nonetheless, they found their audience quickly, the same way that today’s younger jam bands do: through relentless touring. The group released its 11th studio album in 2010, the Southern rock-oriented set Dirty Side Down, but the band’s heart still lies in being on the road, hence its three-night stay in Milwaukee this weekend. (Through Sunday, Oct. 26.)
Bike Prom Masquerade @ Polish Falcon, 8 p.m.
A fundraiser for Vulture Space, a volunteer-powered nonprofit bike shop Downtown, the Bike Prom Masquerade will give cyclists around the city a second chance to dress up and enjoy the magical evening they may or may not have experienced in high school. Couples can get their photo taken on a tandem bicycle and compete in dance and limbo competitions. There will also be music from the Wax Addicts DJs set to a montage of bike-themed video clips. At the end of the night, one couple will be awarded prom king and queen (or king and king or queen and queen, as the case may be).
Saturday, Oct. 25
Method Man and Redman w/ B-Real, Berner and Mick Jenkins @ The Rave, 7:30 p.m.
When longtime friends Method Man and Redman released their collaborative album Blackout! in 1999, the former was still Wu-Tang Clan’s breakout rapper and the latter was still a rising star, renowned for his excess energy and bawdy humor. By the time the duo followed that album up a full decade later with 2009’s Blackout! 2, neither was nearly as much of a commercial powerhouse anymore, yet their chemistry proved as strong as ever. A grown man’s party record, the sequel found the emcees beginning to act their age as they give their classic East Coast sounds a tasteful update while still paying homage to the herbal substance that inspired their 2001 comedy How High. There’s perennial talk of them releasing a Blackout! 3, but in the meantime they’re headlining this Smoker’s Club Tour, featuring fellow marijuana enthusiasts B-Real, Berner and Mick Jenkins.
Mike Epps @ Milwaukee Theatre, 8 p.m.
If it weren’t for Chris Tucker declining to return to his role as Smokey for the sequel to the 1995 cult classic Friday, the world might not know Mike Epps the way it does today. Although he has been featured for his stand-up on Def Comedy Jam several times throughout his career, Epps is best known for his onscreen work opposite Ice Cube, which began with Next Friday and continued with Friday After Next and All About the Benjamins. After Epps’ remake of The Honeymooners with Cedric the Entertainer flopped hard, more movies with Ice Cube followed, including Lottery Ticket and Janky Promoters, which cast the two as promoters who fail to book Young Jeezy for their club. He’s also set to appear in the final Friday film, Last Friday, should that movie ever overcome its longstanding development troubles.
The Ready Set w/ Metro Station, The Downtown Fiction and Against The Current @ The Rave, 7 p.m.
Building on the foundation of emotive pop-rock of contemporaries Never Shout Never and Boys Like Girls, Jordan Witzigreuter’s one-man band The Ready Set adds electronics to the formula, incorporating the drum machines and Auto-Tuned warbling of Top 40 radio. Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz heard promise in Witzigreuter, signing The Ready Set to his Decaydance Records and releasing its 2010 album I’m Alive, I’m Dreaming, which yielded the saccharine, cheery summer hit “Love Like Woe.” The group’s latest album, The Bad & The Better, released this spring on Razor & Tie Records, offers more of the same plucky spirit.
Monday, Oct. 27
Dave Chappelle @ The Pabst Theater, 7:30 and 10 p.m.
Dave Chappelle does not care about money. That was the conclusion, at least, that some people drew when the comedian walked away from an enormous $50 million contract to complete a third series of his incisive Comedy Central sketch program “Chappelle’s Show,” reportedly because he felt uncomfortable with some material that could be considered racially exploitative. Chappelle spent the half-decade following his Comedy Central defection largely out of the public eye while sometimes downright bizarre rumors swirled around him, but in recent years he’s tentatively returned to the spotlight. Recent appearances on “Late Show with David Letterman” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” have found him in fine form, his comedy as sharp as ever, and to judge by his unprecedented six show stint at the Pabst Theater this week, he’s as in demand as he’s ever been. (Through Wednesday, Oct. 29.)
