Veteran Milwaukee rock ‘n’ roll bands don’t get much more “veteran” and “rock ‘n’ roll” than Wanda Chrome & The Leather Pharaohs. The gleefully loud, gleefully growling group fronted by Cliff and Marie Ulsberger released its first LP in 1995. That record, Eleven…The Hard Way, was recorded live at Quarters Rock ‘n’ Roll Palace. Only two more full-length albums would follow—Dangerous Times and More—but Wanda Chrome would go on to become an iconic band of the local scene’s hard-rocking ’90s and early-’00s period.
Save for a set at the Lest We Forget reunion/memorial showcase in May, Wanda Chrome hasn’t played out a lot in recent years. But the band did stop by Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. in Walker’s Point Tuesday night for an especially live (and LOUD) edition of WMSE‘s “Local/Live.” Milwaukee Record‘s own Matt Wild (that’s me) joined host Cal Roach for the hour-long show, which found Wanda Chrome running through some take-no-shit originals (“Jet Black,” “Pot N PBR,” “Miss Mystery,” more), blasting some on-brand covers (the MC5’s “Kick Out The Jams,” natch), and garnering “Local/Live’s” first-ever encore. It ruled.
Watch the video—courtesy of WMSE and Kneeverland Productions—below.
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