Author Cal Roach

Kurt Vile presides over listless, occasionally lively show at Pabst Theater

April 6, 2016

//"Don't know much about history," Kurt Vile sang in his opening number, "Dust Bunnies," Tuesday night at the Pabst Theater. Indeed, despite the smattering of "I Voted" stickers on lapels throughout the crow...

Puscifer pushes crude humor, lucha libre wrestling at Riverside Theater

Cal Roach

March 28, 2016

//It's difficult to fathom an enjoyable concert derived solely from the recorded works of Puscifer. Whether or not you're a fan of Maynard James Keenan's voice and/or lyrics, Puscifer albums have trended m...

Lizzo brings the party (and a message) to Turner Hall

Cal Roach

February 22, 2016

//The Brew City has seen a lot of Lizzo over the past year or so. The Minneapolis-based rapper (no, she's not on Rhymesayers, and no, she's not in Doomtree) impressed attendees as the unorthodox opening ac...

Godspeed You! Black Emperor ascends, evolves at Turner Hall

Cal Roach

February 15, 2016

//Milwaukee has been spoiled on the post-rock front thus far in 2016. Three weeks ago, Mad Planet somehow landed a Tortoise performance—only the band's second live date following the release of its first n...

Christopher Porterfield and company explore the obscure for Alverno Presents’ “How To Write A Popular Song”

Cal Roach

February 1, 2016

//The radio promos for Saturday's Alverno Presents show at Pitman Theatre suggested that you ought to have heard of Charles K. Harris, but you probably haven't. He was a Poughkeepsie native who grew up and...

Reunited Naked Raygun has strong Turner Hall showing

Cal Roach

December 5, 2015

In some ways, the Naked Raygun story is a string of rock and roll clichés. They were massively influential on the U.S. post-punk era but, like their Milwaukee contemporaries in Die Kreuzen, they never really go...

Moon Curse transcends stoner rock with ‘The Spirit Remains’

Cal Roach

November 27, 2015

When stoner rock first bubbled up in the ’90s, it basically stood for Black Sabbath-worship. It was retro by definition and seemed like an untenable fad. Who could’ve guessed it would outlast grunge? As its roo...

MFF2015 Day 8: ‘The Winding Stream,’ ‘We Come As Friends,’ ‘They Have Escaped’

Cal Roach

October 1, 2015

The 2015 Milwaukee Film Festival runs Thursday, September 24 through Thursday, October 8. Check out our list of 13 reasons to get excited for the fest here. If you’re looking for daily recommendations and/or wh...

MFF2015 Day 5: ‘Uncertain,’ ‘Call Me Lucky,’ ‘Black Panthers,’ ‘Theory Of Obscurity’

Cal Roach

September 28, 2015

MFF2015 Day 4: ‘Jaws,’ virtual reality panel, ‘Safety Last!,’ The Milwaukee Show I

Cal Roach

September 27, 2015

Zebras complete doom-metal transformation on ‘The City Of Sun’

Cal Roach

September 22, 2015

// There’s a virtually unavoidable trajectory for punk and metal bands: start out as noisy and abrasive as possible and get increasingly melodic and mellow as you age and/or learn to write catchy songs. Zebra...

Primus and Dinosaur Jr. bring double dose of ’90s alt-rock to The Rave

Cal Roach

August 7, 2015

Primus frontman Les Claypool isn’t the type of guy who caters to his fans. He does whatever the hell he wants, and his core cult of diehards doggedly follows, because he is probably the greatest living bass gui...

Eaux Claires festival celebrates Midwest music, points to something greater

Cal Roach

July 20, 2015

The organizers of the inaugural Eaux Claires festival did their homework. The first year of a large-scale event like this is usually a logistical nightmare; who could forget the 12-hour interstate backup welcom...

Tame Impala makes good on Riverside Theater sellout

Cal Roach

May 15, 2015

Tame Impala’s last visit to Milwaukee was for a very-sold-out performance at Turner Hall just over two years ago. The band was riding high on widespread accolades for its second LP, Lonerism, and as a live unit...

Milwaukee Psych Fest returns to Cactus Club, brings Feck out of retirement

Cal Roach

May 13, 2015

Like most pop culture terminology, the meaning of “psychedelic” has changed over the years. As a description of music, it entered the lexicon a half-century ago as a drug reference. Nowadays, it might have no c...

Sufjan Stevens faces death, finds life at Riverside Theater

Cal Roach

April 24, 2015

In a move that surprised no one, Sufjan Stevens followed up his Crazy Experimental Album (2010’s The Age Of Adz) with a Stripped-Down, Back-To-Basics Album (Carrie & Lowell, released a few weeks ago). The n...

Poliça debuts new songs, kicks off 2015 tour at Cactus Club

Cal Roach

April 8, 2015

When Poliça played Turner Hall three years ago, it was still basically a popular novelty band: two drummers and charismatic lead singer Channy Leaneagh, whose trademark was everyone’s favorite vocal effect, Aut...

TV On The Radio dials up powerhouse performance at Pabst Theater

Cal Roach

March 25, 2015

Spring in Milwaukee is looking like OG Pitchfork heaven, as the hippest acts from the turn of the millennium are due to parade through the Pabst Theater collective. Heading off The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens,...

Exclusive: Listen to Midwives’ brief, blistering self-titled LP

Cal Roach

February 17, 2015

For their third release in under a year, Midwives don’t go with a radically different formula, but this self-titled LP still feels like a significant step forward for the band’s sound. In terms of two-minute ha...

Sleater-Kinney keeps sold-out Riverside Theater on its feet

Cal Roach

February 16, 2015

Milwaukee Gen-Xers had two options for making themselves feel old Sunday night: SNL 40, or the Sleater-Kinney reunion tour, which made its stop at the Riverside Theater. The Washington trio released its comebac...