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 7-13, 2022.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7
Godspeed You! Black Emperor + MANAS @ The Pabst Theater
Legendary post-rock group Godspeed You! Black Emperor occupies a space, according to bio materials, “where longform instrumental chamber rock compositions of immense feeling and power serve as soundtracks to late capitalist alienation and resistance.” Timely stuff—especially considering the Canadian band has been releasing music since the mid-’90s. Even better than GY!BE’s records? Its live show. See it for yourself at the gorgeous Pabst Theater.
Duma + ONO, Masma Dream World, Guerrilla Ghost @ Cactus Club
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8
Scott H. Biram @ Shank Hall
Since releasing his solo debut in 2000, Scott H. Biram has played thousands upon thousands of shows at venues of all sizes and scope in North America, toured Europe more than 20 times, had songs featured on popular TV shows and Oscar-nominated films, and put out 11 albums. About two years after the release of Fever Dreams, the tireless troubadour you might know as “The Dirty Old One Man Band” makes his way to Milwaukee for a Tuesday night show at Shank Hall.
Anna Tivel + Christopher Porterfield (Field Report) @ The Back Room @ Colectivo
Size 5’s + Some Kind Of Nightmare, Future Plans, Marc Alan @ X-Ray Arcade
I Prevail + Pierce The Veil, Fit For A King, Stand Atlantic @ The Rave / Eagles Ballroom
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 9
Midweek Music: BJ Seidel & Chris Rosenau @ Crafty Cow Tosa
Midweek Music is back! Join us at Crafty Cow Tosa on Wednesday nights in October and November for a total of eight Midweek Music performances. There’s no cover for these all-ages shows, which run from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. If a free weeknight show isn’t already great enough on its own, Crafty Cow Tosa will offer $4 Indeed Brewing Company pints. They’ll also have a “Cheap Date” special, which includes two entrees, an appetizer, and two drinks for just $39. This week: longtime Milwaukee music favorites BJ Seidel (Dramatic Lovers, Decibully) and Chris Rosenau (Collections Of Colonies Of Bees)!
Scam Likely + Zipper, The Usual Suspects, Nothing of Consequence @ Cactus Club
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10
Fran Lebowitz @ The Pabst Theater
Humorist, essayist, satirist, and forever-cool icon, Fran Lebowitz has been instantly recognizable for more than 40 years. Netflix subscribers will know Lebowitz from the recent Pretend It’s A City series, in which Martin Scorsese interviews her about her beloved New York City, among other subjects.
Field Day + The DUIs, Peroxide, Holy Shit! @ X-Ray Arcade
With seemingly every band that’s ever sniffed a stage getting back together, there’s a lot to think about in regards to legacy. Where some try to pick up where they left off, others try to touch on a previous sound and build something new. Field Day falls under the latter category. Featuring ex-Dag Nasty vocalist Peter Cortner and ex-Dag Nasty bassist Doug Carrion, Field Day is a melodic hardcore band, just as Dag Nasty was. But the new group’s sound avoids being a simple retread, and lands more on a band that would fit well on the same bill as the Dag Nasty of old.
Drowning Pool + Otherwise, Tallah, Antisaint @ The Rave / Eagles Ballroom
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11
Smoking Popes + Off With Their Heads, Limbeck, The Color Fred @ The Back Room @ Colectivo
While we’re not usually huge on four-band bills these days (sorry!), we’ll make an exception for this stacked Back Room show. Legendary Chicago pop-punkers Smoking Popes will be joined by fellow Midwest punk stalwarts Off With Their Heads, as well as California indie outfit Limbeck, and The Color Fred (a band headed up by ex-Taking Back Sunday guitarist Fred Mascherino). Show up early, stay late, and sleep in the next morning.
Meat Wave + Stuck, Iron Pizza @ Cactus Club
A few weeks removed from the release of their fourth album, Malign Hex, the Chicago rockers in Meat Wave return to Cactus Club to head up a show that also features Stuck and the always delightful Iron Pizza.
Amy Schumer @ Miller High Life Theatre
A few days removed from hosting Saturday Night Live, comedian Amy Schumer drops by the Miller High Life Theatre for the Milwaukee stop of her so-called “Whore Tour.” The tour is set to wrap up in San Diego on November 20.
Carmen Morales @ The Laughing Tap
Carmen Morales is no stranger to Milwaukee. After opening for South Milwaukee native Jackie Kashian during her 2019 stop at the Underground Collaborative (R.I.P.!), the up-and-coming comic served as the host of the very first show in the history of The Laughing Tap and returned to the Walker’s Point-based comedy club to headline a weekend of shows in 2021. Morales comes back to The Laughing Tap November 11-12, where she’s sure to delight an intimate audience with her hilarious and ever-evolving material (including her A+ impersonation of a Wisconsin accent) over the course of four shows.
Beth Orton + Heather Woods Broderick @ The Pabst Theater
We Are The Willows + Hello Death, Ellie Jackson @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
Horace Greene + The Shackletons, Scam Likely, West Nile Crows @ X-Ray Arcade
Jurassic World Live Tour @ Fiserv Forum (through November 13)
Brew City Battle (Wisconsin Badgers Basketball) @ American Family Field
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12
‘Oh SCOTUS, Up Yours!’ (record release): Vacancy Chain + Photo-Curio, The LOL @ Cactus Club
“So many people we know were outraged and discouraged by the court’s ruling. They wanted to do something…anything.” So says Milwaukee musician Ashley Altadonna about the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to reverse 1973’s Roe v. Wade and eliminate a constitutional right to an abortion. The recently released Oh SCOTUS, Up Yours! is a musical lashing-out at that decision, a 14-track compilation of punk, electro, lo-fi, indie, and even spoken word artists from Milwaukee and Chicago. This record release show (which also serves as a benefit for the SisterSong organization) will feature three groups featured on the comp: Altadonna’s band Vacancy Chain, Photo-Curio, and The LOL.
Trainfest @ Wisconsin State Fair Park (through September 13)
Oh hell yeah, it’s Trainfest, the country’s largest operating train show dedicated to model trains, model train dealers, and model train fans. YES. A whopping 150,000 square feet of State Fair Park’s Expo Center will be dedicated to Trainfest, so buckle up. The fun runs 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
Brat Sounds + Bur, Ladybird @ Thurman’s 15
To hear bandleader Scott Cary tell it, Milwaukee indie-rock staple Brat Sounds began not just as a natural extension of his previous group, Dinny Bulca, but as a personal “ploy for musical control.” Happily, eight years later, the members of Brat Sounds have coalesced into a more collaborative unit. The group’s fourth, recently released full-length album, Nothing, finds Carey checking his self-described “ultra-perfectionist” tendencies at the door and giving his bandmates—Corbin Coonan, Kelly Danen, Max Wikoff—more musical freedom. Sadly, Nothing will be Brat Sounds’ final album, and tonight’s show will be the group’s second-to-last. (A final goodbye show is set for December 10 at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn.)
Social Cig + Rainbow Cobra, Marble Teeth, Blue Country Pistol @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
Cannibal Corpse + Dark Funeral, Immolation, Black Anvil @ The Rave / Eagles Ballroom
‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ @ Oriental Theatre
Carmen Morales @ The Laughing Tap
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13
Milwaukee Record Halftime Series: Rat Bath @ Cactus Club
Our Milwaukee Record Halftime Show series has returned! This season, we’ve assembled a stacked roster of 16 performers that will provide FREE entertainment during halftime of Green Bay football games. Miller High Life, Miller Lite, and Rehorst Vodka Bloody Marys will be on special. Meanwhile, Awkward Nerd Events will occasionally pop by for giveaways to their upcoming events and other fun complements to the in-game/on-stage action. There will also be touchdown shots (both regular and N/A)! This week’s Halftime Show features a performance from fantastic witchy punk outfit Rat Bath.
Modeling + BLOOD, Spoy @ Cactus Club
Luke Callen (full band) + Old Pup @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery
Milwaukee Makers Market @ 3rd St. Market Hall
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