SoCo Experience

It’s a little bit out of most Milwaukeean’s regular commute, but the price is certainly right: A couple of liquor giants today sponsor the SoCo Experience, a free, 21-and-up concert at Madison’s Alliant Energy Center beginning at 2 p.m., and they’ve put their marketing budget to good use, booking several top-tier acts aimed at the discerning col lege student. Hip-hop’s most acclaimed live band, The Roots, headline the bill, and they’ll be backed by indie bluesters The Black Keys, jazzy-jamsters the Benevento/Russo Duo and, awesomely, GZA, the oldest and most even-tempered of Wu-Tang Clan’s many emcees. Although GZA recently released a fine new album, Pro Tools, he’ll be dedicating this show to his undisputed masterpiece, 1995’s Liquid Swords, which he’s taken to performing in its entirety in recent years.