Author Cal Roach

Snarky Puppy brings jam band prowess (and cheese curd references) to Pabst Theater

May 24, 2019

To self-identify as a jam band used to be a rare thing. The stigma that comes with the term is a vague, squicky feeling of nth-generation white American men trying to play funk, and it’s certainly not an unearn...

Nick Mason’s Saucerful Of Secrets brings weakened pulse of Pink Floyd to Riverside Theater

Cal Roach

April 2, 2019

Nick Mason stressing that his Saucerful Of Secrets tour is not a tribute act smacks of Spinal Tap to be sure. Okay, fine: It's a Pink Floyd cover band, how's that? And one of only about three in the whole world...

John Maus turns anguish into therapy you can dance to at Turner Hall

Cal Roach

February 28, 2019

Is this going to be a concert review or a dissertation? Rarely does one come across any discussion of John Maus's music that doesn't drift into metaphysics, despite his own evident disdain for such overthinking...

Bob Nastanovich talks Pavement, weird tour buses, playing Milwaukee as DJ Need A Stack

Cal Roach

February 27, 2019

Two-drummer bands are all the rage nowadays, but how many official auxiliary percussionists are there? Bob Nastanovich likes to downplay his role in Pavement, but most fans would bristle at the suggestion that ...

Neil Young remains restless, reflective at Riverside Theater

Cal Roach

January 24, 2019

What possible reason could Neil Young have for continuing to work at such a pace? A perennial inspiration to all subsequent generations of guitar-based music, Young is also the world's most prolific septuagenar...

Thom Yorke stays solo in uncompromising Riverside Theater show

Cal Roach

December 6, 2018

Like most Gen-X music icons who aren't dead, Thom Yorke's most celebrated outfit (that would be Radiohead) has been relegated to part-time status lo these decades since its commercial peak. And why not? Sure, R...

Metallica follows simple, winning formula in Fiserv Forum debut

Cal Roach

October 17, 2018

The last bastion of music industry consumerism rolled through the Fiserv Forum on Tuesday night for the first of three consecutive nights of massive concerts at the new arena. Metallica hasn’t released a really...

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

Cal Roach

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...