Enjoy a compilation of selected tracks by artists playing shows we're excited about in Madison during the week of Nov. 3-10, 2016. For more information on these shows, read on under the Spotify playlist!
Alejandro Escovedo, Thursday, Nov. 17, High Noon Saloon, 8 pm: Never one to settle into comfortable territory, Mexican American songwriter Alejandro Escovedo has seen it all. What started for him with a punk band in 1975 (the Nuns) has evolved into a career so consistent, storied and influential that he’s earned true rock ’n’ roll godfather status. Expect to hear songs from Escovedo’s brand-new album Burn Something Beautiful. New York punk troubadour Jesse Malin opens.
WheelHouse + People Brothers Band, Thursday, Nov. 17, Overture Center-Capitol Theater, 7:30 pm: Local Americana act WheelHouse (pictured) will bring their multi-part harmonies and bluegrass stomp for the season’s first MadCity Sessions concert, which has moved out of the lobby and into the gorgeous Capitol Theater. Joining them is the People Brothers Band, another local favorite that specializes in a highly danceable (and multiple award-winning) version of rhythm and soul.
Matthäus, Thursday, Nov. 17, Frequency, 8 pm: There aren’t a lot of modern bands that cite composers as influences. Matthäus, a Chicago-based experimental project, cites both Steve Reich and Georg Friedrich as theirs, as well as modern pop artists like Bon Iver and the National. The result is a sound that marries lush orchestration with a more lyrical pop sensibility. With Mancrush, Trap Saturn.
Henry Rollins, Thursday, Nov. 17, Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm: Henry Rollins is a modern Renaissance man. The former Black Flag and Rollins Band frontman has become an actor, author, spoken word artist and voiceover actor (among countless other things), all providing an outlet for Rollins’ restless, boundless rage. Here, Rollins’ spoken word coincides with the end of a tempestuous election cycle, which should provide ample opportunities for a critique only Rollins can properly articulate. Get ready to rise above.
Pussy Riot Conversation/Q&A, Thursday, Nov. 17, Shannon Hall, Wisconsin Union Theater, 8 pm: Pussy Riot’s guerrilla performance art has run afoul of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church. Now they’re branching out into investigative journalism and political theater. They’re no fans of President-elect Trump, either. See what they have to say about living in a country ruled by “a fucking bastard,” as Masha Alyokhina put it to Isthmus recently.
Direct Hit! + Tenement, Friday, Nov. 18, High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm: Wisconsin’s punk scene has exploded in recent years, thanks in no small part to these two bands. Milwaukee’s Direct Hit! (pictured) specializes in an apocalyptic brand of pop punk, while Appleton’s Tenement caters to the noisier, more experimental side of the genre. Come wash those “world is ending, no one cares” blues away with three of the Badger State’s finest — support comes from Madison country-punks the American Dead.
Kevin Gordon, Friday, Nov. 18, Kiki’s House of Righteous Music, 8 pm: The son of “well-meaning, back-sliding parents,” Kevin Gordon is the rare Louisiana-born, Tennessee-based artist who, along the way, embraced a genuine Midwestern muse. While earning his master’s degree at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he fell into scholarship of the musical sort: playing guitar for the mercurial Bo Ramsey, who went on to support and produce Lucinda Williams. Don’t be fooled by his academic pedigree, though. Gordon is a gritty, grand storyteller and, now, a genuine Nashville blue blood whose songs have been recorded by Keith Richards and Levon Helm. With Bonnie Whitmore. RSVP to righteousmusicmgmt@gmail.com.
John Paul White, Friday, Nov. 18, UW Union South-The Sett, 9 pm: White has packed a lifetime of music-making into his 43 years, including multiple Grammy awards for his work in the Civil Wars. Before creating his own brand of Gothic country, White grew up listening to the music from his hometown of Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He comes full circle with his latest solo project, Beulah, which is his brightest material yet; think William Blake meets Harlan Howard. Madison show bonus: White’s band will include fiddler Kelli Jones-Savoy, who is based in Lafayette, Louisiana, and was named this year’s Best Female Vocalist by the Cajun Music Association. With the Kernal.
Robyn Hitchcock, Friday, Nov. 18, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm: Since the late ‘70s Robyn Hitchcock has followed his own path to an iconic music career, solo and with rock bands the Soft Boys, Egyptians and Venus 3. As with fellow quintessentially English singer-songwriter-guitarist Richard Thompson, his work has been consistently excellent — and mysteriously unable to find the much larger audience it has always deserved. His current tour is supporting a new 7-inch release with collaborator Emma Swift, also performing at this show.
Mad Rocksteady, Friday, Nov. 18, High Noon Saloon, 5:30 pm: What better way to wind down from another long week than with some island sounds? Spearheaded by O’bros/Know It All Boyfriends/Steely Dane member Jay Moran, Mad Rocksteady features new songs by Moran reflecting the influence of early rocksteady and ska music. Friday’s show will be both the band’s live debut and a CD release party.
Tim Whalen Nonet, Friday, Nov. 18, UW Memorial Union Fredric March Play Circle, 7:30 pm: Expatriate pianist Tim Whalen has relocated to Washington, D.C., but he’s assembling many of this city’s finest players for his homecoming concert. It’s the final event of the InDIGenous jazz series, and Whalen is going to groove with saxophonists Al Falaschi, Tom Gullion and Anders Svanoe; trumpeters Dave Cooper and Jon Schipper; and trombonist Darren Sterud, along with bassist Nick Moran and drummer Jamie Ryan.
Ron White, Friday, Nov. 18, Orpheum Theater, 8 pm: While all four comedians on the Blue Collar Comedy Tour are wildly popular, one stands out among them to even the most discerning comedy nerd. Ron White (or “Tater Salad” to his fans) is a laconic, scotch-swilling Texan who’s been spinning yarns about his own drunken antics for the better part of 30 years. Often seen as the thinking man’s comic of the Blue Collar set, White’s 2013 album A Little Unprofessional was Grammy-nominated.
Wrenclaw, Saturday, Nov. 19, Crystal Corner Bar, 9:30 pm: The pride of Two Rivers, Wisconsin, Dan Walkner makes music like he’s from Macon, Georgia. Walkner’s Wrenclaw is a throwback to Capricorn Records-era bands like the Allman Brothers, Wet Willie and Elvin Bishop. This is greasy Southern boogie played with power and not a trace of irony. With the Nick Brown Band, Leopard Hound.
Mike Gordon, Saturday, Nov. 19, Majestic Theatre, 9 pm: Ticket holders for this sold-out show are in for an intimate night of jam funk par excellence. As bass player for the legendary jam band Phish, Gordon has been performing in amphitheaters and stadiums for decades. This tour stop of his solo project will showcase the bass man as frontman, delivering original songs, inspired covers and maybe even a Phish tune.
Madison Stands with Standing Rock, Monday, Nov. 21, High Noon Saloon, 8:30 pm: As you read this, people in North Dakota are attempting to halt an oil pipeline that could poison the water supply of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. While it may seem like you can’t do much from Madison, there is an option: The High Noon Saloon is hosting a benefit for the protesters, with an eclectic lineup including Cris Plata with Extra Hot, Ballet Folklorico de Carlos y Sonia Avila and the Flavor That Kills (pictured). Say #NODAPL, and have some fun doing it.
Bongzilla, Tuesday, Nov. 22, High Noon Saloon, 8 pm: After a decade-long hiatus, Madison’s premier sludge metal act returned to kick ass on the road with their trademark slow, loud and riff-heavy dirges. This homecoming show will showcase not only Bongzilla’s blistering weed-focused metal but two additional Madison-based metal centerpieces: doom metal act Bereft and stoner fuzz band PowerWagon.
Latin Music Fest, Wednesday, Nov. 23, Majestic Theatre, 8 pm: They're bringing horns, they're bringing keyboards. In this 9th annual event, key players from Madison's Latin dance scene are coming together for a hot night of salsa, merengue, cumbia and mambo. Orquesta Salsoul (pictured), Edi Rey y Sus Salsera, Grupo Atlantico and DJ Rumba provide the fiery rhythms; you provide the dancing. Proceeds benefit the music program of Centro Hispano of Dane County.
Kevin Bozeman and Friends, Wednesday, Nov. 23, Comedy Club on State, 8 pm: Thanksgiving is almost here, and that means two things: it’s time to get into a heated political argument with your uncle, and it’s time for Kevin Bozeman’s annual pre-Thanksgiving comedy event. The Madison favorite will be joined this year by Drew Michael (Saturday Night Live writer), Chris Redd (Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping), Emily Galati (Last Comic Standing semi-finalist) and Junior Stopka. Come out and laugh before your family makes you cry!
You can find the entire rundown of this week's Isthmus Picks here.
