Though it feels like summer just started, we’ve now entered the last full month of the season. Summer isn’t going out with a whimper, though. Quite the opposite. Since this looks to be an active August, Milwaukee Record has attempted to help you out by finding 15 especially worthwhile things you should do this month. Enjoy!
Thursday, August 1 — Sunday, August 11
Wisconsin State Fair @ Wisconsin State Fair Park
One doesn’t hit up the Wisconsin State Fair to eat organic small plate cuisine and witness evocative performance art. People go to the fair to eat cream puffs and weird stuff on a stick, watch pig races and dog diving demos, compete in livestock competitions, and catch performances from acts like TLC, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Brothers Osborne, Foreigner, and Charlie Berens. It’s weird, it’s wonderful, and it’s back.
Saturday, August 3
Mike Hanford @ Cactus Club (two shows!)
On Saturday, August 3, Mike Hanford—who you surely know from The Birthday Boys, his Comedy Bang! Bang! appearances, and as a member of party rock band The Sloppy Boys—will come to Milwaukee to treat comedy fans at Cactus Club to two standup performances. And your pals at Milwaukee Record are co-presenting! Both shows are 18+ and, since they will be seated events, tickets are very limited.
Wednesday, August 7
blink-182 + Pierce The Veil, Astronoid @ Fiserv Forum
With Tom DeLonge back in the mix and a new album (last year’s ONE MORE TIME) out in the world, culturally transcendent pop-punk mainstays blink-182 are hitting the road (at least) one more time. The aptly-named “One More Time Tour” thankfully includes a Wednesday, August 7 stop at Fiserv Forum, where they’ll treat Milwaukee to songs from the latest album and, if we’re lucky, a steady diet of material from prior releases, too.
Wednesday, August 14
Childish Gambino + Willow @ Fiserv Forum
On Wednesday, August 14, Childish Gambino—the musical alter ego of writer/actor/director Donald Glover—will come to Fiserv Forum as part of “The New World Tour.” The tour comes after the recent release of Atavista, which is a re-imagined version of Gambino’s fourth album, 3.15.20. Willow opens.
Thursday, August 15
Chris Gethard + Eddie Pepitone, Keegan Tindall @ X-Ray Arcade
Chris Gethard is a lot of things. He’s a cult comedy legend, the namesake and former figurehead of The Chris Gethard Show, an actor (who you might know from films like Don’t Think Twice and TV shows like Broad City and The Office), and the host of the Beautiful/Anonymous podcast. He’s also joining forces with another alt-comedy favorite, Eddie “The Bitter Buddha” Pepitone, to co-headline what’s sure to be a hilarious night of standup at X-Ray Arcade.
Wednesday, August 21
Summer Of Soul: Talib Kweli @ Peck Pavilion (Marcus Performing Arts Center)
Curated and organized by local engagement marketing firm Culture x Design, Summer of Soul will take place every other Wednesday, from July 10 through September 18, on the Peck Pavilion and outdoor lawn of the downtown Marcus Performing Arts Center. In addition to local talent, the series will feature free shows from established national artists, including an August 21 performance by the legendary Talib Kweli. All Summer of Soul events will be free and open to the public, and will run from 5-10 p.m.
Thursday, August 22
A-F-R-O + A.M. Early Morning, BLAX, John Jigg$ @ The Cooperage
On Thursday, August 22, The Cooperage will host a stacked hip-hop bill that’s headed up by rapper/actor/wunderkind A-F-R-O, with support from A.M. Early Morning, BLAX, and John Jigg$.
Saturday, August 24
Green Day + The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, The Linda Lindas @ American Family Field
To honor the 30th anniversary of Dookie, the 20th anniversary of American Idiot, and to support the band’s months-old Saviors, Green Day will step up to the plate, er, stage at American Family Field on Saturday, August 24. They’ll be joined by The Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and The Linda Lindas.
Guided By Voices + Buffalo Nichols, NEWSKI, Jinksie, The Exotics @ Humboldt Park
Legendary high-kicking Dayton, Ohio indie-rock band Guided By Voices will headline WMSE’s 14th annual Backyard BBQ concert in Humboldt Park. The free—we repeat, free—show will run from noon to 8 p.m., and will once again serve as a thank-you to listeners and supporters of the long-running free-form radio station, as well as a thank-you to the community at large. But that’s not all! A bevy of local talent will play throughout the afternoon as well. The Exotics will kick things off, followed by Jinksie, NEWSKI, and Buffalo Nichols.
Tuesday, August 27
Rob Zombie + Alice Cooper @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater
Wednesday, August 28
Milwaukee Record presents ‘Kindergarten Cop’ @ Avalon Theater
Join us at Avalon Theater on Wednesday, August 28 for an extra special showing of Kindergarten Cop, a classic 1990 action-tinged comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Kimble, a detective who goes undercover as a kindergarten teacher. This funny, infinitely quotable (“IT’S NOT A TUMOR!”), and surprisingly violent film also features a supporting cast that includes the likes of Pamela Reed, Penelope Ann Miller, and that little kid who played Michelle’s friend on Full House. Whether you’re preparing to go back to school yourself or you just want to see “The Governator” in a school setting, you won’t want to miss our Wednesday, August 28 screening of Kindergarten Cop.
Thursday, August 29
Bikini Kill + Shadow Show @ Riverside Theater
After FINALLY managing to get their long-awaited Milwaukee show in last April following three years of postponements, two date changes, and one venue change, Bikini Kill will tempt fate by trying to do another Milwaukee show. If all goes as planned, the legendary riot grrrl pioneers will return to Riverside Theater on Thursday, August 29. Shadow Show will play in support.
Friday, August 30
Ms. Lauryn Hill + The Fugees @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater
Wow! Ms. Lauryn Hill and The Fugees will bring an extension of their co-headlining Miseducation Anniversary Tour to Milwaukee’s American Family Insurance Amphitheater on Friday, August 30. The show will include music from Hill’s 1998 album The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill, The Fugees’ 1996 album The Score, and more. YG Marley will play in support.
ESG (Accessibility Initiative Fundraising Concert) @ Cactus Club
In order to raise further funds for Cactus Club’s Accessibility Initiative (the club was awarded a Ruth Foundation for the Arts grant in April), the Bay View venue will host two big fundraiser shows this summer. The second such performance will bring heavily sampled South Bronx disco-punk legends ESG to the club on Friday, August 30 to play their first Wisconsin show ever. These tickets are $150 and 50 percent of the funds will go to the Cactus+ Accessibility Initiative.
Saturday, August 31
The Gaslight Anthem + Joyce Manor, Pinkshift @ The Rave/Eagles Club
Fans of powerful, emotionally wrought punk rock rejoice! The Gaslight Anthem is coming to The Rave/Eagles Club this summer as part of the veteran band’s “History Books Tour,” and they’re bringing Joyce Manor and Pinkshift along for the ride.
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