Our fat-free, dolphin-safe Milwaukee events calendar is chock-full of things to do, but only a handful of events are worthy of the lofty honor of “Record Recommended” (patent pending). Here are our recommendations for February 10-16.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10
Shot For Shot With Chefs Series Finale with Mitch Ciohon @ The Cooperage
Join Milwaukee Record at The Cooperage on February 10 for a premiere of the fifth and final Shot For Shot With Chefs episode, featuring chef Mitch Ciohon of Taco Moto and Snack Boys Snack Bar. During the premiere event, we’ll screen the new video then talk about the parts we can remember from that drunken night of food talk, puns, and crazy consumption of beer and liquor. Bofferding—the official beer of Shot For Shot With Chefs—will have its delicious Pils on special all night long, and you can expect some specialty cocktails from spirit sponsor Great Northern Distilling. Come by around 7 p.m. and stay for the screening at 8 p.m. This 21+ event is FREE.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11
Soul Asylum + Local H @ Turner Hall Ballroom
The dream of the ’90s is alive at Turner Hall this Tuesday when two of the era’s most iconic bands—Soul Asylum and Local H—team up for the so-called Dead Letter Tour.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13
Dramatic Lovers + Penknife @ Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom
After bursting onto the scene in 2017, Dramatic Lovers—the Milwaukee supergroup consisting of current or former members of Decibully, The Promise Ring, Temper Temper, and Maritime—spent much of 2018 in the studio, writing new material for their debut full-length. With singer William Seidel’s unmistakable voice at the helm, that self-recorded effort, You Talk Loud, repeatedly shifts shape. Over the course of its approximately 35-minute runtime, it alternates between upbeat and self-assured efforts like “The Comedown” and “Hard To Hear,” and darkened, dour offerings like “Broken Nose” or destructive ’80s throwback “Danger To Myself.” By record’s end, it’s clear that Dramatic Lovers aren’t just established players killing time together. Instead, they’ve plied their decades of on-stage experience in some of the city’s best-known bands and forged something new, unfamiliar, and impressive.
Ginuwine @ Potawatomi Hotel & Casino
Less than a year after he helped bring “Love Vibes” to Miller High Life Theatre during a co-headlining tour with Tyrese, noted R&B mainstay (and the man responsible for “Pony”) Ginuwine will come back to town to perform at Northern Lights Theater on the eve of Valentine’s Day.
414 Live: Rexxx @ 88Nine Radio Milwaukee
Drivin’ N Cryin’ + Lindsay Beaver @ Shank Hall
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14
Rexxx (record release) + Radkey, Fire Heads, DaveKevinAdam, Jwoods @ Cactus Club
What do you get when you mix members of some of the best bands in town (Sex Scenes, Surgeons In Heat, Saebra & Carlyle, more) with righteous riffs and glammed-up party vibes? The exxxcelent Rexxx, a group that somehow, incredibly, does not feature any members of fellow partiers Platinum Boys. The band has one recorded song to its name (the awesome “Lost Cause”), but expect to hear more at tonight’s release show for Pure Pleasure II.
Motion City Soundtrack + White Reaper, Live Tetherball Tonight @ The Rave/Eagles Club
Paul Cebar Tomorrow Sound @ Shank Hall
Mat Alano-Martin @ The Laughing Tap
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 15
VinterSkö Musik Fest @ Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom
Do you like music festivals? Do you like winter music festivals? Do you like new winter music festivals? Then you’ll love the inaugural VinterSköl Musik Fest, a “Nordic-inspired winter celebration” coming to Milwaukee’s Brewery District. A vast lineup of music, vendors, beer, and food will fill Best Place at The Historic Pabst Brewery, Captain Pabst Pilot House (formerly Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom), Jackson’s Blue Ribbon Pub, Milwaukee Brewing Company, and Nō Studios. Check out the ridiculously great music lineup (which includes Lex Allen, Klassik, Shle Berry, and many more) HERE.
Lion’s Tooth February Pop-Up Extravaganza: Ravi/Lola + The Nile Club @ Sugar Maple
Milwaukee has a long and storied history with alternative comic books. But even in a city blessed with numerous comic book shops and independent bookstores, there’s no place that deals exclusively in alternative comics and graphic novels. Happily, that’s changing. Enter Lion’s Tooth, a new subscription service available right this very second, and a brick-and-mortar store debuting soon. The brainchild of Shelly McClone-Carriere and Cris Siqueira, Lion’s Tooth aims to spread the good word of alt-comics and graphic novels (think artists like Chris Ware, Daniel Clowes, and Robert Crumb) to adults and young adults alike.
3rd Annual Christopher Novak Extravaganza @ The Cooperage
For the third consecutive year, Milwaukee music super fan Christopher Novak will celebrate his birthday by giving local listeners a gift in the form of one heck of a concert. This year’s lineup includes Amanda Huff, Atheists & Airplanes, Casual War, and Flat Teeth.
Arrow + Lady Cannon @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
Carrie Nation And The Speakeasy + S.S. Web, Pay The Devil, DJ Phatneck @ Cactus Club
Flu-Like Symptoms (record release) + Negative/Positive @ Quarters Rock ‘N’ Roll Palace
Mat Alano-Martin @ The Laughing Tap
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16
Pauly Shore @ Turner Hall Ballroom
Not unlike Crystal Pepsi, Hypercolor T-shirts, and the LaserDisc, Pauly Shore was a cultural bullet point that was emblematic of what America’s pop culture landscape was like during the early-to-mid ’90s. The career of the MTV VJ, actor, and comic peaked between 1992 and 1996, a period in which he was king of the music channel’s spring break coverage, and appeared in seven major motion pictures—most notably Encino Man, Jury Duty, Bio-Dome, and Son In Law—that grossed more than $180 million combined at the box office. These days, Shore has aged into something of an elder comedy statesman, hosting a video podcast called “Pauly Shore’s Random Rants” and touring the country.
Chicago Farmer & The Fieldnotes (record release) + Joseph Huber @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery