Author Matt Wild

They Might Be Giants will play Pabst Theater in March

October 30, 2017

A They Might Be Giants show is one of the few live shows that requires an explicit "FOR AGES 14+ ONLY" warning. For more than 30 (!) years, Johns Flansburgh and Linnell have effortlessly moved and blurred the l...

We talk to Buck Buckley, the basement finishing expert behind those “It’s about buckin’ time” billboards

Matt Wild

October 30, 2017

In the cluttered and cutthroat world of advertising, it takes something special to stand out. Whether its humor, novelty, or sheer audaciousness, advertisers will use any means necessary to grab the public's at...

Remember when the Miramar guy wanted to box the Shank Hall guy and everyone hated each other?

Matt Wild

October 27, 2017

Every Friday, Off The Record looks to other Milwaukee publications (and beyond) for bits of news we missed throughout the week.• Though there's never a shortage of #SceneBeef to go around, the Milwaukee mus...

Aaron Rodgers postponed his surgery to play ‘Assassins Creed’ with Conan O’Brien (maybe)

Matt Wild

October 26, 2017

Though it pains us to talk about Aaron Rodgers' collarbone, let's talk about Aaron Rodgers' collarbone. And Conan O'Brien. Last night on Conan, O'Brien announced that tonight's show will feature a "Clueless Gam...

Whatever happened to the whole “save the Domes” thing?

Matt Wild

October 25, 2017

Remember the Domes? You know, the three Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory domes that started to fall apart last year? Remember all the drama—the fake fundraisers, the real fundraisers, the heated words, ...

Watch SistaStrings golf at Nine Below in latest Cream City Soundcheck

Matt Wild

October 25, 2017

By their own admission, SistaStrings sisters Monique and Chauntee Ross stand out in the Milwaukee music scene. In the latest video from Cream City Soundcheck—a short video series from UWM's doc|UWM program—the ...

Listen to Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers rock the MECCA Arena in 1983

Matt Wild

October 24, 2017

When Tom Petty died earlier this month, it was if the last connective tissue in an increasingly divided America had been finally severed. Oodles of tributes from fans poured in. Oodles of tributes from fellow m...

Brief Candles’ ‘Retreater’ is the fall album Milwaukee needs and deserves

Matt Wild

October 24, 2017

Let's take a moment to recognize the longstanding greatness of Brief Candles. The Milwaukee-by-way-of-Peoria-Illinois shoegaze/dream-pop outfit has been a fixture in town for nearly 15 years, playing an untold ...

Been blocked by Corey Feldman? Now there’s a patch for that

Matt Wild

October 24, 2017

Back in March, we drove our sorry asses to Green Bay to see Corey Feldman and his lingerie-clad group of Angels play the Green Bay Distillery. The show was...something. Feldman, apparently peeved at our review,...

Judas Priest rules, man! Judas Priest is playing Riverside Theater April 3, man!

Matt Wild

October 23, 2017

Priest is the best, man! Priest is the best, I'm telling you! Hey, lemme tell you. Rob Halford is the baddest motherfucking singer aroooouuuund! And K.K. Downing, man? That motherfucker can play some guitar! Pr...

In case you blinked, here are all the new $34M AI facilities they’re building in Milwaukee (October 15-23)

Matt Wild

October 23, 2017

Depending on which news sources you follow, Milwaukee is going through either a "renaissance" or a "reinvention." Or maybe it's a "reboot" or a "reimagining," like that crappy Tim Burton version of Planet Of Th...

Watch Andrew W.K. sing a life-affirming ode to Milwaukee, “I Love Milwaukee, Wisconsin”

Matt Wild

October 21, 2017

Friday night's Andrew W.K. show at The Rave was more than a show. It was a party (of course), but it was also a life-affirming celebration of all that is good and positive in the world, a world that too often s...

Man in cowboy hat calls woman in cowboy hat “whacky,” a “buffoon”

Matt Wild

October 20, 2017

In the late hours of Thursday night, where neither the distractions of the day nor the burden of self-awareness could find purchase, a man who wears cowboy hats called a woman who wears cowboy hats a "buffoon."...

35 years ago today: Remembering the time the Brewers lost Game 7 of the 1982 World Series

Matt Wild

October 20, 2017

Take a moment, if you will, to stop mourning Aaron Rodgers' embattled collarbone and think back to happier times and sunnier sports. Remember this year's pretty-fun Milwaukee Brewers season? Yeah! That was grea...

I experienced the magic of the “grown-up” East Side by eating at three ramen places in one night

Matt Wild

October 19, 2017

The strangest thing about the changing face of Milwaukee's East Side is that I should love it. I'm 39 years old, married, a father, and a longtime East Side resident who has long outgrown the beautiful dream of...

2017 Milwaukee Film Festival drew a record 84,072 attendees (a 9% increase over 2016)

Matt Wild

October 18, 2017

Earlier this week we rounded up our 20 standout moments from the recently wrapped 2017 Milwaukee Film Festival. Today, Milwaukee Film has revealed a few highlights of its own. 84,072 of them, to be exact.Ye...

Remembering the 2011 Gallery Night when Milwaukee officially met Milverine

Matt Wild

October 18, 2017

This Friday and Saturday, Milwaukee will once again be abuzz with its beloved quarterly art explosion, Gallery Night and Day. But no matter how great this installment will be, it won't hold a candle to a Very S...

Joseph Huber, Buffalo Gospel highlight Cedarburg Cultural Center’s “Rebels & Renegades” series

Matt Wild

October 18, 2017

As Wisconsin prepares to ease into late fall and (ugh) winter, it can be tempting to prepare in kind for a four-to-five-month-long hibernation. No concerts, no shows, no fun. But not so fast! Center Stage at th...

NO/NO’s ‘Twentysomethings’ is out today and it’s good

Matt Wild

October 17, 2017

Hey! NO/NO's new EP, Twentysomethings, is out today. It's good. Here's what we had to say when we debuted one its tracks, "Take Out," earlier this month: The evolution of Milwaukee's NO/NO has been a thing to ...

4K ‘Re-Animator’ restoration highlights Bloody Good Horror’s 10th anniversary celebration

Matt Wild

October 16, 2017

For those special folks who begin their Halloween celebrations in late August (cough cough), mid-October is crunch time. Mere weeks remain until the big day, and it's high time to cram in as much spooky and fal...