Thursday, Oct. 24
Indigo Girls and Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra @Milwaukee Theatre, 7:30 p.m.
Amy Rayand Emily Saliers have come a long way since the Indigo Girls’ 1987 debut Strange Fire broke into the world ofmainstream pop with its hit “Closer to Fine.” The Indigo Girls have remainedone of the most popular folk-rock duos over the last three decades, releasing14 studio albums including 2011’s BeautyQueen Sister. The group has long featured string instruments on theiralbums, but tonight they’ll aim for a bigger, more orchestral sound thanthey’re typically known for when they perform with the Milwaukee SymphonyOrchestra.
Melt-Bananaw/ Brain Tentacles, Zebras and Lifes @ Cactus Club, 9:30 p.m.
Japan’s Melt-Banana has been making freaked-out, spastic noise-punk fortwo decades, and they haven’t tamed a bit with age. Ichirou Agata’s screechyguitar still hits masochistically shrill notes, and Yasuko Onuki still yelps,barks and screams with such zeal that her nose sometimes bleeds. The band hascontinued to push their sound in new directions, though. Their 2009 live recordMelt-Banana Lite Live: Ver. 0.0,ditched their trusty guitars in favor of equally extreme synths and samples, ashift that carries through their new studio album, Fetch.
Donald Driver @ Boswell Book Co., 2 p.m.
When theGreen Bay Packers picked Donald Driver in the seventh round of the 1999 draft,he never could have predicted that he’d spend his entire 14-season NFL careerwith the team, helping take them to the Super Bowl. He’s now remembered as oneof Green Bay’s most-loved players, and even has a street in the city namedafter him. Driver recounts his journey in his new memoir, Driven: From Homeless to Hero, My Journeys On and Off Lambeau Field.He’ll sign copies of the book at this ticketed event.
Friday, Oct. 25
Creaturesand Creators Halloween Party @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m.
Made in Milwaukee and 88Nine Radio Milwaukee invite you to showcase yourcreative side at this offbeat Halloween blowout. The bash includes music from DJ BoneWhite, Boy Blue, D’Amato, MC One Self and The Fatty Acids, as well as a fashionshow featuring the works of Milwaukee native Alexis Rose, who transformsunpleasant looks into something chic, luxe and wearable. The night tops offwith a Michael Jackson vs. Prince dance-off. And of course, it’s not aHalloween party without a costume competition. Come dressed to win or make yourown cloth mask at the event.
VinylTheatre w/ Ian & The Dream and Mighty Fox @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
Milwaukee’sVinyl Theatre fuses indie rock with electronic dance influences. That’sattracted them comparisons to The Killers and Passion Pit and some notice in theU.K. and Europe, where they’ve received airplay. Closer to home, they’ve openedfor national acts including Twenty One Pilots and Quiet Company. For this show,the band will be filming a live video.
Rain—ATribute to The Beatles @ Milwaukee Theatre, 8 p.m.
Thetouring Broadway show Rain—A Tribute toThe Beatles invites Fab Four fans to relive the group’s heyday, offering amultimedia retrospective of one of the most celebrated bands of all time. Thetribute show includes an expansive collection of Beatles songs including standardslike “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” “Hey Jude” and “Come Together.”
Saturday, Oct. 26
Blue Lotus Benefit Concert w/ Al Kooper @Miramar Theatre, 8 p.m.
Al Kooperis one of rock ’n’ roll’s all-time great session players, known for hisversatile contributions to albums from Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, The JimiHendrix Experience and Lynyrd Skynyrd, in addition to his own records with TheBlues Project and Blood, Sweat and Tears. In the late ’70s Kooper also producedthe lone studio album from now-Wisconsinite Freddy Bliffert (then going underthe name Freddie Henry), Get Out in theOpen, and though it was hardly a top seller, the two remained friends.Bliffert and his wife now run Blue Lotus Farm, a 64-acre retreat in West Bend,Wis., that provides rural respite for people with disabilities, seniors andinner city kids. Kooper will headline this benefit for that organization, whichwill also feature local players Warren Wiegratz, Peter Roller, Robin Pluer, JimLiban and, of course, Bliffert himself.
Sunday, Oct. 27
MikeDoughty w/ Sons of Hippies @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m.
Mike Doughty has a love/hate relationship with his ’90s alt-rock bandSoul Coughing. On the one hand, the group gave him his first taste of fame,thanks to hits like “Super Bon Bon” and “Circles,” and laid the groundwork forthe low-key solo career he now sustains. On the other hand, that brush withfame led to a heroin addiction that nearly killed him, and he doesn’t have manykind words for his former band mates. Doughty dishes about his Soul Coughingyears in his 2012 memoir, The Book ofDrugs. Nonetheless, he hasn’t abandoned his old band’s songbook. His latestalbum, Circles Super Bon Bon,revisits 13 Soul Coughing tracks in collaboration with the hip-hop/houseproducer Good Goose.
Tuesday, Oct. 29
KateNash w/ La Sera @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m.
English singer-songwriter Kate Nash broke through with her blithe single“Foundations,” which drove her 2007 debut album Made of Bricks up the charts that year. In the years since,however, she’s done plenty to distinguish herself from the sea of similarlysmiley and wide-eyed female artists who emerged around the same time, shiftingtoward a bolder, riot grrrl-inspired sound for her latest album, Girl Talk. That album roars with themesof female empowerment, so it’s only fitting that she’s touring with an all-girlband in support of the record.
Wednesday, Oct. 30
Brian Wilson and Jeff Beck @ The RiversideTheater, 7 p.m.
As thevisionary songwriter and producer of The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson created someof the landmark recordings of the 1960s, including Pet Sounds and the legendarily unreleased Smile, and generally brought the sunny, harmony-laden “CaliforniaSound” to listeners around the world. Although mental illness and a string ofpersonal problems sidelined Wilson for large parts of the 1970s and 80s, in the’00s the singer and musician and has made a miraculous return to stability andcreativity, even completing the troublesome Smileproject in 2004. His next project is an album with legendary blues guitaristJeff Beck, who joins him at this show, which will also include Beach Boys AlJardine and David Marks.
WalkThe Moon w/ The Mowgli’s and Smallpools @ The Pabst Theater, 6:30p.m.
Walk The Moon’s infectious ode to youth “AnnaSun” was one of the surprise hits of 2011, thanks to regular play on alternativeradio stations and MTV, which hailed it the song of the summer. The group’s2012 self-titled RCA Records debut is every bit as bubbly as that track,boiling over with infectiously hooky guitars and new wave/pop/dance groovesperfect for basement dance parties. The group has begun work on their follow-uprecord, which they hope to release early next year. Early talk suggests it’lltake cues from the chipper, chiming guitars of The Smiths’ classic records andthe forward-looking mindset of contemporary electronic music.
