An extended vacation hasn’t hurt What Made Milwaukee Famous’ performing prowess in the least, with the indie-rock act returning to form after the first few shows of its current tour, once it shook off the cobwebs. Yet the same can’t be said for everything. “The shows have been great in terms of playing. The attendance […]
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Noise for toys
Photo: Mark Hancock ’Tis the season for many things: joy, coexistence, pageantry. Mostly, however, ’tis the season for giving… and music — because really, which season isn’t? Friday night at the Blue Note Lounge, one can experience all of these things, as the venue prepares for its inaugural Rock for Tots toy drive. The event’s […]
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Colin’s calling
The story of Oklahoma City’s Colin Nance is your classic bedroom-project narrative, born from a chance encounter with the music of M83. “I don’t make it a mystery: M83 is huge for me,” Nance said. “A guy in college introduced me … I was listening to Before the Dawn Heals Us, and I was like, […]
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Classic Albums: Peter Gabriel: So
To Classic Albums newcomers, the franchise delivers the “definitive authorised story” of a culture-shaking disc in feature-length form, relying on video clips, concert footage and many a talking-head interview from the talents who were there, on both sides of the studio glass. In this case, that includes Gabriel, other musicians, members of the tech team […]
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Sharp-dressed men
Whether it’s a spa, shop, combination of the two or a full-blown makeup bar, ladies have no shortage of goods or services when it comes to looking snazzy. Sometimes, if the accompanying menfolk are lucky, a minuscule corner on the back shelf bears a few items they can peruse whilst waiting for their lady-friends’ shopping […]
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Tusk’s task
Photo: Geoff L. Johnson Savannah, Ga., has proven to be something of a breeding ground for metal bands, giving rise to Kylesa, Baroness, Black Tusk and others in the past decade or so. You might think something is in the water. It’s actually in the air. “It’s just hot — really, really hot,” guitarist Andrew […]
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Forever at last
Photo: Trevor Henrich Ten years back or so, it was nearly impossible to get away from the pop-punk craze. Just a half-decade later, it was just as hard to find it. Then came along bands like The Wonder Years, The Swellers, Handguns and Forever Came Calling, and a revival was born. “We’ve been touring for […]
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Felt up
Rock bands and puppets: two peas in a pod, right? Sure, these art forms might seem contradictory on the surface. But on Friday at Opolis, the spectacle of Quintron and Miss Pussycat — half puppet show, half concert — will take this notion and obliterate it. The New Orleans-based husband and wife bear a unique […]
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Safety Not Guaranteed
Feature-debuting director Colin Trevorrow’s Safety Not Guaranteed marks the rarest of indie comedies — the speculative kind — as Jeff, a cocky magazine writer (Jake Johnson, TV’s New Girl) in Seattle, relies on his intern, Darius (Aubrey Plaza, TV’s Parks and Recreation), to use her feminine wiles to get close to the lonely grocery clerk/would-be […]
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The Victim
Someone needs to define “grindhouse” for Mr. Biehn, I’m afraid. The hardworking man who helped define the ’80s in early James Cameron films (Aliens, The Terminator) is a good actor and, as it turns out, a competent director. His script, however, is awful. For one thing, it’s hardly enough on which to hang a feature […]