Author Cal Roach

Liz Phair makes things girly again at career-spanning Turner Hall show

October 13, 2018

The '90s were an odd decade. Back then, a young, impressionable person could discover an artist through Rolling Stone and still feel like they were "underground." Such was the case with Liz Phair; her 1993 debu...

Jeff Tweedy eases into solo tour with story-filled show at Pabst Theater

Cal Roach

September 20, 2018

Milwaukee, known to be a quiet, sober city, turned out Wednesday night in remarkably modest fashion. Jeff Tweedy chose Milwaukee to kick off his current solo tour, and the Pabst Theater was one of the few dates...

The National continues to evolve at sold-out Riverside show

Cal Roach

July 31, 2018

Since its inception, The National has lived and died based on the talents and charisma of its lead actor, Matt Berninger. Whether forcing himself to project through his own stage fright or feigning that fear, B...

Eaux Claires closes in on itself with collaborative, insular fourth installment

Cal Roach

July 9, 2018

Imagine being at the first day of a festival, right as the gates open—actually wanting to be there, an hour before anything even starts. That's the kind of faith and devotion Justin Vernon and Aaron Dessner are...

Pabst Theater receives King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard like conquering heroes in Milwaukee debut

Cal Roach

June 10, 2018

From a distance, everything about King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard seems like a gimmick: the goofy name; the preposterously psychedelic record and song titles; the album concepts (All the songs are the same...

David Byrne lives up to his legendary status (obviously) at Riverside Theater

Cal Roach

May 16, 2018

In recent years, David Byrne has made more headlines for his activism than his music; based on his new solo album, American Utopia, this might be a good career development. Byrne has never shied away from makin...

Ministry gets political, busts out the inflatable Trump chickens at Turner Hall

Cal Roach

April 9, 2018

"Al Jourgensen and Ministry are the undisputed kings of Industrial music," says the event description for the band's Sunday night show at Turner Hall Ballroom. It is a difficult statement to argue against. Thou...

Judas Priest rules at Riverside Theater

Cal Roach

April 4, 2018

The metal community was stunned to learn in February that longtime Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and would be forced to drop out of the band's 2018 tour. It's a...

Buckethead takes fans to Bucketheadland at sold-out Shank Hall show

Cal Roach

March 26, 2018

Last year, reclusive guitar virtuoso Buckethead (Brian Carroll) gave an extremely rare interview on a podcast called Coming Alive. He revealed that he'd been dealing with a rare heart condition that had become ...

Bon Iver combines nostalgia, gratitude in “For Emma, Ten Year” performance

Cal Roach

February 18, 2018

"You gotta be careful about nostalgia," said Justin Vernon, three songs into a show celebrating the 10th anniversary of his band Bon Iver's seminal debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago. "There's…a lot of problems...

King Crimson stands the test of time at Riverside Theater

Cal Roach

November 27, 2017

The only thing worse than a drum solo is a pre-written drum solo with an actual title. But what if instead of one drummer, there were three? That's how King Crimson opened Sunday's show at Riverside Theater: "D...

Axl, Slash, and Guns N’ Roses mine their sleaze-rock past at BMO Harris Bradley Center

Cal Roach

November 8, 2017

During their original superstar phase in the late '80s and early '90s, Guns N' Roses never played Milwaukee, opting instead for the massive amphitheater of Alpine Valley in 1988 and a two-nighter in '91. But Tu...

Herbie Hancock shows no signs of slowing down at Pabst Theater

Cal Roach

October 21, 2017

One of Earth's most influential musicians played Milwaukee for the first time in ages on Friday night. Jazz aficionados may have been expecting merely an opportunity to cross Herbie Hancock off their bucket lis...

Dead Cross and Secret Chiefs 3 bring hardcore, shared history to Turner Hall

Cal Roach

September 18, 2017

If you're like a lot of Twin Peaks fans, you spent months out of this year in breathless anticipation of the return of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, who was right there in front of your eyes yet also not there...

Yes (or one version of Yes, at least) plays to the diehards at Riverside Theater

Cal Roach

September 11, 2017

Yes fans are in a rare but not unheard-of predicament that chiefly plagues the aging prog-rock community: There are currently two touring versions of Yes. The seminal English outfit has been in existence in one...

Ahead of new album, Primus plays one for the diehards at The Rave

Cal Roach

August 2, 2017

The news dropped on Monday that Primus will be releasing a new album next month. Titled The Desaturating Seven, it will be the first album by the band's classic lineup (bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist ...

Nelson, Dylan, Crow, more bring wild-and-wooly Outlaw Music Festival to Summerfest

Cal Roach

July 10, 2017

With Summerfest trying to brand itself a "national" music festival, allow us to point out a few differences that separate the Big Gig from all of its ostensible counterparts:relatively clean, plentiful re...

Ludacris headlines a rap paradise Sunday at Summerfest

Cal Roach

July 3, 2017

The first Sunday of Summerfest featured a bit of nasty weather during the afternoon hours and then cleared up beautifully in time for the evening sets. Many patrons were in the middle of a long holiday weekend,...

Third annual Eaux Claires festival weathers rain and growing pains, emerges triumphant

Cal Roach

June 19, 2017

When you throw a party as successful as the inaugural Eaux Claires festival, you risk setting unreasonable expectations for your next attempt. There's pressure from all sides to replicate that success, to make ...

Perfume Genius intoxicates and discombobulates at Turner Hall

Cal Roach

May 24, 2017

Too Bright proved to be a significant breakthrough for Perfume Genius (a.k.a. Mike Hadreas). The Seattle singer-songwriter's 2014 album featured what is still his trademark number, "Queen," an unforgettable sta...