Johnny Strikes Up The Band

It's looking like an EXCELLENT spring for some music.

Because, you know, live music is best . Gotta support these guys; without local and live music, there wouldn't be any.

Often, I think the Muses are the only real reason for Mankind to even stand up out of the primordial ooze; everything else is just part of the support system. The drive to create opposes the tendency toward chaos; The joy of performing live music is special, and is conveyed by proximity to other people.

So let's all get off our fat asses, turn off these frickin computers, and be part of life. Suffice to say, I'm wanting to go to ALL of these. If possible, see you at some of them.


March 10: Shank Hall, Think Floyd. Mostly, I don't care much for cover bands. Oh, sure, Musical Box is kind of cool; but I've seen their repertoire now, and frankly, the second time you see the Foxtrot tour, is about all you'll ever need. Light Up was always fun, if you were stoned, and the U2 cover band does a nice job. But otherwise, what they hey? you might as well be at a wedding playing Proud Mary again.

But, having seen these guys twice at Summerfest, I am amazed at how well the Floyd stuff translates, or maybe how well these guys translate it. They are a Chicago band that really does honor the original material , but are also talented in their own right. Maybe it's just that there's such a wealth of material to play.

March 14: Black 47, Shank Hall. Ahhh.. One of my favorite live bands. Larry Kirwan, an expatriate Irishman, has been mixing up the New York sound for many years now, and is always in top form. Dashes of troubadour-style lyrices, punk, alt-rock, and hip-hop infuse the irish sound with an up to date flavor. Usually, the Trinity Dancers make an appearance for a couple of songs. When you look at their tour schedule, it's all New York and east Coast - and then Milwaukee. Thanks for stopping by! I will always go to watch these guys.

March 20th: Sebadoh, Shank hall. An offshoot from Dinosaur Jr., Lou Barlow has been mining the low-fi sound for years. An unmissable opportunity. Started with tape loops, and went into basement style alternative.

March 23rd: Silos, Points East Pub. An old alt-country band from the nineties, they were contemporaries of Vulgar Boatmen and Uncle Tupelo. In a newly remodeled pub. Should be great. Especially cool because they are now on Bloodshot Records, my favorite label.

Newly Announced:

April 20th: Cloud Cult, Shank Hall. Oh, man, another of my favorites. A nearly indescribable college-style alterna band from minneapolis. Last time, they played at the Cactus Club, and were so good. They perform with two live painters. They just released a new album, and I am totally there.


At this point, we are nearly at Summerfest. speaking of which:

They just announced the Fray at the Amphitheater, with OK Go opening. I like the OK Go album. So now they're going 2 for 3. Not so bad, so far, TK notwithstanding.


HEY. I got some seriously decent tickets for Roger Waters. Heh. I am stoked for that one; they are kind of steep, but how often do you get? Gotta go for it.


Ahh, really I just wanted to gloat a bit.



Hope to see you out there. Let me know if you're going to be at any of these.