Music

Let your freak flag fly with D’Amato’s awesome “BPA Free”

July 7, 2015

With modern home recording technology and this thing we call the Internet, it’s entirely possible to write, record, and release a full-length album in the span of a long weekend. Whip up a few songs, track them...

An actual Smash Mouth fan’s review of last night’s show

Milwaukee Record Staff

July 6, 2015

Sammy Arechar is one of the funniest comedians in Milwaukee. The up-and-coming comic also holds the distinction of being the one and only person Milwaukee Record has encountered who truly enjoys the band Smash ...

Dearly beloved, Gabriel Sanchez and The Prince Experience will play Turner Hall November 28

Matt Wild

July 6, 2015

If the just-wrapped Summerfest 2015 taught us anything, it’s that there is no shortage of cover and tribute bands playing in and around Milwaukee. U2 tribute bands, Led Zeppelin tribute bands, The Who tribute b...

An entirely local weekend at Summerfest

Tyler Maas

July 6, 2015

Though Summerfest books bands from all corners of the country and brings in a fair amount of international talent, The Big Gig has recently gone about narrowing the disparaging gap between its hometown talent a...

Some questions (and answers) for last night’s glorious “Weird Al” show at Summerfest

Matt Wild

July 5, 2015

“Weird Al” Yankovic is a national treasure. The wild-and-wacky song parodist has been lightly skewering popular music (and culture) for more than 30 years, turning radio hits of yesteryear into songs about food...

The Avett Brothers bring big time energy to Marcus Amphitheater

Phillip Martinez

July 5, 2015

It’s the Fourth of July at Summerfest at the Marcus Amphitheater before The Avett Brothers are to perform their headlining set. The venue was sparsely populated during openers Warren Haynes and Brandi Carlile, ...

Watch Jack Tell’s endearingly simple “My Name Is Jack” music video

Tyler Maas

July 3, 2015

Milwaukee's collective music video game is strong these days. In the last year alone, local artists have given their music visual representation in a series of impressive, ambitious just plain inventive ways in...

Brand New and Manchester Orchestra make Summerfest sing

Tyler Maas

July 2, 2015

With a 15-year track record, Brand New is anything but. Since reaching semi-consciousness way back in 2001 with Your Favorite Weapon, the New York band has taken incremental steps to transition from mid-eschael...

Local H and The Faint heat up chilly night at Summerfest

Matt Wild

July 2, 2015

If there’s one thing Summerfest does well—and let’s be honest, it does a lot of things well—it’s stock its overstuffed schedule with plenty of hidden gems. Take Wednesday night, for instance, which found Illino...

Obsoletes return for two-show reunion

Tyler Maas

June 30, 2015

Even the snobbiest Milwaukee music historian wouldn’t fault you for not knowing who the Obsoletes were. After all, two-thirds of the band’s members lived upwards of 100 miles outside Milwaukee for the vast majo...

Peeper & Le Play made one of the best, weirdest Milwaukee albums of the year

Matt Wild

June 30, 2015

A common gripe against music coverage in Milwaukee—and music coverage in general—is that the media pays attention to only a small handful of bands. These bands tend to be safe, predictable, and career-oriented....

Meat Puppets will return to Club Garibaldi on August 28

Tyler Maas

June 29, 2015

Though Club Garibaldi’s stage will be empty for the entirety of July and most of August, the vastly underrated venue will come back strong with some great shows between the end of summer and the beginning of fa...

Hating Summerfest, loving Summerfest

Matt Wild

June 29, 2015

Sometimes you hate Summerfest. Sometimes you get to the grounds on a late Sunday afternoon and note that there are more people waiting to see Paris Hilton in four hours than there were to see Public Enemy all o...

Milwaukee Record’s requisite Paris Hilton at Summerfest review

Phillip Martinez

June 29, 2015

Interest was piqued Sunday night at Summerfest’s Harley-Davidson Roadhouse as crowds gathered and packed the bleachers and any available square foot of concrete awaiting the arrival of the EDM community’s black...

Jaill breaks free with Brain Cream

Tyler Maas

June 26, 2015

After six years and two records, Jaill is right back where it started. Since 2009 Burger Records debut There’s No Sky (Oh My My), the band—then called “Jail”—added a consonant, lost all but one member, signed t...

Public Enemy brings the noise (with help from Rusty P’s) on day two of Summerfest

Matt Wild

June 26, 2015

Early in the Rusty P’s warm-up set for Public Enemy Thursday night at Summerfest, DJ “Madhatter” Lee announced the group would be digging deep into their old albums for the next few songs. “And when you’ve been...

Drunk country fans take on Lambeau Field, Taylor Swift takes on Apple

Milwaukee Record Staff

June 25, 2015

Every Wednesday at noon, Ryan Schleicher, Evan Rytlewski, and Matt Wild take to the WMSE airwaves to discuss all things Milwaukee. This half-hour fun-fest is called The Disclaimer, so named because none of the ...

Review: Taped Music at JoJo’s Martini Lounge (Summerfest)

Tyler Maas

June 25, 2015

Summerfest plays host to more than 800 acts each year. By the time the colossal 11-day Midwestern musical mainstay concludes, thousands of musicians will take the stage to perform energetic live sets for an est...

Milwaukee Record’s field guide to Summerfest cover bands

Matt Wild

June 24, 2015

Summerfest bills itself as the “World’s Largest Music Festival,” That’s technically true: few music fests are even in the same ballpark when it comes to the Big Gig’s 11-day lineup of 800-plus acts. The rub, of...

Maritime announces new album, release date

Tyler Maas

June 24, 2015

It seems like its been an eternity since Maritime’s last record came out. Though the longtime Milwaukee indie rock dream team—which we think we’re legally obligated to mention is composed of members from Promis...