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 October 11-17, 2021.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11

Hooveriii + Cult Of Lip, Astral Hand @ Cactus Club
Hooveriii (pronounced “Hoover Three”) began its life as a lo-fi solo project for musician Bert Hoover. That was back in 2014; these days, Hooveriii is a full-fledged five-piece psych-rock outfit. The group’s latest full-length, Water For The Frogs, counts Iggy Pop’s The Idiot and David Bowie’s three Berlin records as influences.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12

Black Midi + L’Rain @ Turner Hall Ballroom
If terms like “noisy,” “experimental,” and “math-rock” give you pause, try Black Midi on for size. Since 2015, the UK band has embodied those previous descriptors while still remaining accessible and—dare we say?—fun. The group’s latest album is Cavalcade, which contains noisy, experimental, math-rock tracks like “John L,” “Marlene Dietrich” and “Hogwash And Balderdash.”

Militarie Gun + Shamewave @ Cactus Club

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13

Midweek Music: Joe Crockett & BJ Seidel @ Crafty Cow Tosa
This fall, Milwaukee Record is bringing live music to the new Crafty Cow Tosa (6519 W. North Ave., Wauwatosa). The weekly concert series, called “Midweek Music,” features a total of eight Wednesday night performances from an eclectic array of local artists. There is no cover for these all-ages shows, which run from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. And if a free weeknight show isn’t already great enough on its own, Crafty Cow Tosa is offering $2 Indeed Brewing Company pints. Crafty Cow will also have a “Cheap Date” special, which includes two entrees, an appetizer, and two drinks for just $29. Tonight’s installment features a split set from Joe Crockett (Rx Drugs, The Championship) and BJ Seidel (Dramatic Lovers, Decibully).

Days N Daze + Bridge City Sinners, Crazy And The Brains, Holy Locust @ Cactus Club

Gary Gulman @ Turner Hall Ballroom

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14

Present Music: “Keeping Time” @ Jan Serr Studio
Milwaukee’s adventurous Present Music kicks off its 40th season with “Keeping Time,” a show that features a world premiere from Latvian composer Krists Auznieks, an arrangement based on Sigur Rós, and two new choreographed works by Maria Gillespie. A second show, on October 15, will also be livestreamed. Both live shows will take place at Jan Serr Studio inside UWM’s Kenilworth building on the East Side. Get your tickets HERE.

Clark/Rosenau/Mueller + Allschwang & Krause Duo @ Jazz Gallery Center For the Arts

Alisabeth Von Presley + The LOL @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15

Myles Coyne + Jamie Yanda, Kid Coolie @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn
There’s an interesting push-and-pull in the video for Myles Coyne’s first new solo song since 2017, “Digital Age.” The song deals with the pleasures of pandemic-era domestic life: staying in and binging Netflix (“Can we just stay in bed and watch a show? / Talking to our families from your telephone,”) as well as solving “this riddle of chaos and creation in the boudoir.” And yet the bulk of the video features the Milwaukee music mainstay gleefully taking a spin outside, visiting local landmarks like Voyager Book Shop, Jose’s Barber Extraordinaire, and Rush-Mor Records. Welcome to the conundrum of 2021!

Harvest Block Party @ Great Lakes Distillery
Great Lakes Distillery and Lakefront Brewery are joining forces for a festive night of fall fun. The Harvest Block Party will feature both hot and cold craft cocktails, seasonal and limited-release beers, live music from Gin Hollow and High & Rising, chili, fire pits, and more on a chunk of Virginia Street in Walker’s Point. The fun starts at 6 p.m. and keeps rolling until 10 o’clock.

Mary Mack @ The Laughing Tap (8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. shows)
Though she was born in Duluth and she currently calls Minnesota home, comedian/actor Mary Mack was raised just across the Mississippi River in a small Wisconsin town called Webster. Since her comic outset, Mack has released five albums, performed on Conan and Last Call With Carson Daly, competed on Last Comic Standing, and delved into voiceover with work on Aqua Teen Hunger Force and a recurring role on the animated Hulu series Solar Opposites. Mack headlined last year’s Milwaukee Comedy Festival, and she returns to The Laughing Tap in Walker’s Point for four total shows October 15-16.

Activity + Apollo Vermouth, HUMID @ Cactus Club

Zach Pietrini & Mckenna Bray + Brad Lee Curtis @ Anodyne Walker’s Point Roastery

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16

Devils Teeth (5-Year Anniversary) + Fox Face, Walk Hamburger, Soup Moat @ X-Ray Arcade
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. For Milwaukee garage-surf outfit Devils Teeth, our current extraordinary times have called for—what else?—releasing a self-recorded “spaghetti western garage rock operetta inspired by the character Chong Li from the martial arts film Bloodsport.” (You know. The one with Jean-Claude Van Damme.) Opening with the exotica-tinged scene-setter “She Speaks To Coyotes,” barreling into the over-the-top “Chong Li” and “Ride Of The Devils Teeth,” and culminating in the cliffhanging “Shadows Of Chong Li,” La Leggenda Di Chong Li plays like a fever-dream version of the Pulp Fiction soundtrack crossed with Ennio Morricone.

Diet Lite + Tacoma Washington Weekday Club, The Appalachians, Excuse Me Who Are You @ Bremen Cafe
The latest album from Milwaukee-Chicago trio Diet Lite, Seems To Be The Way It Tends To Go, is a 10-track slab of dependable indie rock if there ever was one. The record includes touches of harmonica-driven blues (“Flatlander Blues”), crunchy ’90s alt-rock (“The Down Low”), and mile-a-minute punk (“Man Ray”). The perfectly poppy “Queen” deserves a spot on any and all summer playlists, and an aggro cover of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House” (re-titled here as “BDTH”) is simply a hoot. Is the final track, “(To You) Goodbye Blues,” an acoustic closing-time country ballad? Depend on it.

The Grovelers + The Quilz @ Linneman’s Riverwest Inn

Mary Mack @ The Laughing Tap (8 p.m. and 10:15 p.m. shows)

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17

Milwaukee Record Halftime Show: Ramie Makhlouf @ Cactus Club
After a season away, the Milwaukee Record Halftime Show series has returned! This season, we’ve assembled a stacked roster of 17 performers that will provide FREE all-ages entertainment during halftime of Green Bay football games. Like previous seasons, our friends at Miller High Life will sponsor our football-focused festivities, meaning fans can enjoy “The Champagne Of Beers” and Miller Lite for $2.50 a bottle or $10 for a bucket of five beers all game long. This week, comedian and Milwaukee sports talk radio personality Ramie Makhlouf will treat Cactus Club to a halftime stand-up set.

40th Annual WAMI Awards @ Turner Hall Ballroom
And the 2021 WAMI nominees are…the same as the 2020 WAMI nominees. Yes, the 40th WAMI Award Show was postponed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s now set to finally take place on Sunday, October 17, at Milwaukee’s Turner Hall Ballroom. What to expect at this year’s show? How about performances from Kevn Kinney, Semi-Twang, The Esquires II, Kim Zick’s A Salute To Viola Smith, Bad Boy, Betsy Ade & The Well-Known Strangers, The Docksiders, TAE, Almost Vinyl, and Big Spoon? How about Semi-Twang, Viola Smith, Kevn Kinney, and The Esquires getting inducted into the WAMI Hall of Fame? How about Eddie Butts, Vic Thomas, Marilynn Mee, Gary Shaw, and the Madison Area Music Association getting added to the WAMI Wall of Honor? Fun! Find the list of 2020/2021 nominees HERE.

Packers vs. Bears Watch Party: Green Day Packers + The Grandfather Of Squash @ X-Ray Arcade
“Green Day Packers is probably the world’s best Green Bay Packers-themed Green Day parody act.”