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 November 4-10, 2019.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5
B~Free & Quinten Farr Duo: Friendsgiving Edition @ The Jazz Estate
If you don’t know B~Free and Quintin Farr by now, where have you been?! Tonight, the multi-talented musicians and educators (oh, and spouses) close out their 10-month Jazz Estate residency with two sets of jazz & soul favorites, covers, and other material chosen by the audience.
Tough Old Bird + Migrations, Vanity Plates (solo) @ Riverwest Public House
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6
Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends (record release) + Microwaves, Something Is Waiting, IfIHadAHiFi @ Bremen Cafe
Back in 2017, Oakland, California punk musician Conan Neutron packed up after 22 years in the Bay Area and moved to the Midwestern climes of Milwaukee, taking the spirit of his band (if not all the members), Conan Neutron & The Secret Friends, with him. A revolving super group of sorts, Neutron and company are no strangers to Milwaukee, with the singer-songwriter’s former band, Victory And Associates, once a part of Milwaukee’s Latest Flame Records. Tonight’s noisy-as-fuck show also sees the release show for Neutron’s Protons And Electrons compilation.
Betcha + Paper Holland @ The Back Room @ Colectivo
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7
Winger @ Potawatomi Northern Lights Theater
Four words: “Headed For A Heartbreak.” (Maybe it’s best to let “Seventeen” go.)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8
JP Harris + S.S. Web, Bruce Humphries & The Rockabilly Rebels @ Pabst Milwaukee Brewery & Taproom
JP Harris is about a year removed from putting out his third full-length solo record, Sometimes Dogs Bark At Nothing. On top of releasing outstanding records, the established Nashville country music staple tours relentlessly. Oh, and he might have the most interesting backstory of all-time. Born in Alabama, Harris moved to Las Vegas in adolescence (where he discovered music and started a punk band) before leaving home at 14 years of age to move to Oakland. From there, he spent some time at an Arizona desert commune, rode the rails and hitchhiked throughout the nation, and finally wound up settling in a remote cabin without electricity or running water in Vermont. It was there that he learned to play banjo and fell in love with traditional Appalachian string music. That set the stage for his Flat Iron String Band and, later, Harris’ solo project.
Jen Kirkman @ Turner Hall Ballroom
With her New York Times best-selling book, I Can Barely Take Care Of Myself: Tales From A Happy Life Without Kids, her self-flagellating Netflix specials I’m Gonna Die Alone (And I Feel Fine) and Just Keep Livin’?, and her Drunk History cameos that are equally unforgettable and unflattering, comedian Jen Kirkman has fashioned a veritable cottage industry from uproariously funny acknowledgements of her own alleged shortcomings. Since her Milwaukee Comedy Festival appearance in 2016, Kirkman’s star has grown even more. The comedian, author, writer, and activist returns to the now-familiar confines of Turner Hall for what promises to be a hilarious night.
Flat Teeth (record release) + Mertles Acres, Live Tetherball Tonight @ Cactus Club
Last year, we introduced you to Flat Teeth—a Milwaukee indie outfit that features current and former members of John The Savage, Paper Holland, The Invaders, and Twelve Ounce Prophet in its ranks—when we streamed their impressive and emotional debut EP, Winter House. In the 12-plus months since that standout six-track release first saw the light of day, the band has been making up for lost time with a heft of shows, ample local radio play, and by heading right back into the studio to record their first full-length album. Tonight, Flat Teeth will release Silent Seconds. The follow-up to Winter House features 11 songs, which the band recorded at a combination of three spots.
Mortgage Freeman (record release) + NeoCaveman, Pete Freeman @ Company Brewing
SIN BAD + Chabooka @ High Dive
Nastos (record release) + Red Stuff, Mossmen, Treatment @ High Dive
Certain Stars (record release) + Trolley, Lack Of Reason @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
Film Girl Film Festival (through November 10) @ various locations
The Mighty Deerlick + Venison, Drunk Drivers @ Club Garibaldi
Zach Pietrini Band (EP release) + Paige Hargrove @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
Keith Pulvermacher @ Sharon Lynn Wilson Center for the Arts
Blind Adam + Deep Femme, Man Random, Marc Alan @ Riverwest Public House
The Toy Trucks + Long Line Riders @ Circle-A Cafe
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 9
Lewis Black @ Pabst Theater
Comedian Lewis Black has fashioned a lengthy and accomplished career out of anger and outrage. The veteran humorist is famous for his oftentimes exasperated and usually hilarious rants that dismantle perplexing human behaviors, ineffective elected officials, and everything in between. Black has managed to direct his ire at countless people, places, and things over the course of his nearly 40-year comedic career with a level of mastery that many have tried to replicate, but few (if any) can match. The skilled comic, actor, author, playwright, candy corn hater, and unofficial ombudsman of American society performs a pair of shows at Pabst Theater this weekend.
David Wax Museum + Heather Maloney @ The Back Room @ Colectivo
Snag (record release) + Social Caterpillar, Knaaves, DaveKevinAdam @ Company Brewing
Kneel To Neil @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Milwaukee Record Halftime Show: Hello, Face @ Cactus Club
The Milwaukee Record Halftime Show concert series at Cactus Club is back! Once again, we’ve assembled a stacked roster of 16 projects to provide FREE (21+) halftime entertainment. And, once again, our friends at Miller High Life are sponsoring our football-focused festivities, meaning fans can enjoy “The Champagne of Beers” for $2.50 a bottle, or $10 for a bucket of five beers all game long. And, yes, there will be touchdown shots.
DB Rouse + Benjamin Scully, Lloyd Stephens Band, Uncle Fergus @ Riverwest Public House