Powerwagon, Venison (EP release), The Jaggernauts

×

Expand

Rick & Vanessa Von Bitter

Venison on stage.

Venison

The early '90s grunge era was a fruitful time for Wisconsin music, with a contingent of uncompromisingly heavy bands strongly influencing those that followed in the oughts. And, as many key '90s players stayed musically active after those '90s projects were retired, giants still occasionally walk the earth when said bands reactivate. The five original members of Eau Claire band Venison reconvened in 2016 and this show celebrates a newly released EP, EC6. Representing the noisy side of '90s Madison is Powerwagon, a trio now based in Milwaukee. Along for the ride are The Jaggernauts, another Eau Claire outfit steadfastly following their own twisted rock and roll path since 2004.

$10.

media release: This show will be the CD release party for the brand new CD EP EC6 by Venison. Venison released four albums, two singles, and a box set of rarities between 1992-2000. They were known as relentless road warriors in the 1990s and did many national tours. Venison reunited their original line-up in 2016, have continued to do live shows, and released the Live in Wisconsin CD in 2020, featuring a new song called "Venison Gold" which is about playing O'Cayz Corral in Madison.

Massive power-trio Powerwagon formed in Madison in the early 1990s grunge heyday, but is now Milwaukee-based. Leader Jeff Ditzenberger also played with Killdozer in 1996. Powerwagon has a 30+ year history and released three albums, one cassette, three singles, and several compilation songs starting in 1993. The fertile local punk-grunge landscape of '90s Madison, especially at O'Cayz Corral, would not have been complete without the presence of Powerwagon.

Prolific Eau Claire based sextet The Jaggernauts features stage dynamics with a flair for the theatrical and lyrics with literary and historical context, often tongue-in-cheek. The Jaggernauts have not played Madison for about a decade, so their return is long overdue and promises to be triumphant and glorious. The weekend prior to this Crystal Corner concert they are performing an all-DEVO set at Eau Claire's Decadent Cabaret festival. A new CD Taste The Jaggernauts will be added to their catalog in mid-late 2023, featuring such notable songs as "Marie Antoinette" and "Headpool". YouTube hosts a wonderfully strange video for their 2017 song "Chupacabra".