We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! The sentiment is felt year-round, but since the recent holiday has us thinking about it on a deeper level, please allow us to extend thanks to our awesome blog readers and Madison concert-goers, without whom the Madison music scene would hardly be as vibrant as it is! You guys rock, and we look forward to sharing exciting performances from a diverse crew of talented artists for many years to come. Speaking of exciting performances, we’ve got three (very different) shows coming up this week that you could win tickets to! Melt-Banana‘s experimental punk, CunninLynguists‘ hip hop and Colbie Caillat‘s laid-back acoustic pop sounds will all grace our city this week. Read on to find out how you could attend their shows on us!
Posted on May 12, 2009 by Darren (DarrenLeePhotography)
On Friday night, Bryan Adams played to a standing ovation and two encores in the intimate setting of the Capital Theater. Bryan, his acoustic guitar, Gary, a grand piano, and candle lit colored lights were the only items on the bare stage. Bryan did not need much more because from the minute he stepped into the spotlight, the audience was captivated. Early on, he even commented on how quiet the crowd was. Thinking back, my quiet was a combination of feeling pretty special to be a part of this sort of “intimate living room” experience, disbelief that I was listening to a unique acoustic performance, and reminiscing as he sang hit after hit, word after word. The crowd quickly shook off their star struck trance as Bryan found them singing along and screaming requests by concerts end.
On Saturday night, a genre about face took place as I entered the High Noon Saloon ready to witness Del The Funky Homosapien on his Funk Man Tour. Performances by A.N.T., Serendipity Project, Bukue (Buku) One, along with Del, A-Plus, and DJ Zach Hendrix did not disappoint the packed house. An interesting tidbit from the night was Del’s announcement that he is releasing his new album “Funk Man (The Stimulus Package)“, which released in April, as a FREE download. You can get at http://delthefunkyhomosapien.bandcamp.com/. Del kept it real in saying that he felt more people might listen to it if he gave it to them for FREE with no strings attached!
What a great weekend of diverse music. Hope you enjoy the photos. Thanks for looking.
Need a break but lamenting the price of gas and the tumbling economy? No need to leave town- experience the world through your local music venues. This week in Madison offers up country, bluegrass, jam band, acoustic, americana, ska, reggae ,pop-punk, indie, folk, hip-hop, alternative, and surf from all reaches of the world. Feel better? Thought so.
Friday, October 17
YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND
Genre: Country, Bluegrass, Jam Band
“With little radio support, Yonder Mountain has become one of the fastest rising touring bands in the country, its fanbase having ballooned over the past five years through steady gigging and high-profile festival sets, all of which are full of improv and none of which feature the same set list.” -yondermountain.com
Similar to: The String Cheese Incident, Railroad Earth, Phish, Old Crow Medicine Show
9:00pm @ Orpheum Theatre (608.255.6005) Tickets $25 adv $30 dos — all ages
Saturday, October 18
An Evening with PERT ‘ NEAR SANDSTONE
Genre: Acoustic, Americana, Bluegrass
“They call themselves a ‘new-timey string band,’ but if you see them in action you would say they’re a steamroller of energy. Pert’ Near Sandstone plays bluegrass, both original and traditional, but they bring the old music to a young audience with their enthusiasm, tight harmonies and class.” -Dale Connelly and Jim Ed Poole, Minnesota Public Radio
and B FOUNDATION with OUTLAW NATION 8:00 pm @ Barrymore Theatre (608.241.8864) $20 adv $25 dos – all ages BUY TICKETS NOW !
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JENNIFER O’CONNOR
Genre: Indie, Folk
“Over the past 6 years, Jennifer’s gotten scary good at this sort of thing, so much so that most other contenders for the hypothetical Nobel prize for Witty Pop Songs W/ Heart are either former members of this label’s roster (we’re thinking Manning/Phair/Daniel but if you wanna nominate someone more contemporary, please go right ahead) or they’ve already been embalmed in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.” -highroadtouring.com
Similar to: Elliott Smith,, Kathleen Edwards, Liz Phair, Kimya Dawson
with PATCHWORK 9:00pm @ Cafe Montmartre (608.255.5900) $8 adv, $8 dos – 21+ BUY TICKETS NOW !
“He may not have either the Democratic or Republican nomination, but California indie-hip-hop mainstay Murs (an acronym for “Making Underground Raw Shit”) is throwing his hat into the election ring with his seventh solo album and major-label debut, Murs For President, out tomorrow on Warner Bros. Murs For President finds the underground-rapper-gone-big-time retaining his verbose and engaging flow while sticking to the soulful, jazzy beats that have marked his best records, notably 2004’s Murs 3:16: The 9th Edition.” – SPIN
Similar to: Aesop Rock, Atmosphere. Brother Ali
with KIDZ IN THE HALL 9pm @ High Noon Saloon (608.268.1122) $14 adv $16 dos – 18+ BUY TICKETS NOW !
“It wasn’t just that Missy Higgins played piano, or that she was barefoot. It was that she was, in her approach, doing what [Carole] King did in the 1970s: shunting aside any notions of how she ‘should’ look or what she “should” sound like, and focusing instead on strong melodies and earnest lyrics.” – Jon Gilbertson, JS Online
Similar to: Katie Melua, Norah Jones, Ingrid Michaelson, Kate Nash
with special guest JOSHUA RADIN 8:00pm @ Majestic Theatre (608.255.0901) $16 – $23 – all ages BUY TICKETS NOW!
“Anyone who’s ever been to an Expendables show knows what Weers is getting at. To say that the band goes all out is a severe understatement. By the end of every performance, the band appears physically deflated–drenched in sweat, hoarse and half-drunk. But that’s the Expendables: balls to the wall, no exceptions.” -Garrett Wheeler, metrosatacruz.com
Similar to: The Aggrolites, Sublime, Pepper
with special guests OPM and REBULATION 8:00pm @ The Annex (608.256.7750) $12 adv $14 dos – 18+ BUY TICKETS NOW !
In his songs a poetic tension exists between textured imagery and pure improvised rock and roll. The record expresses Francis’ soulful rock, folk and blues influences with layered instrumentation of B-3 organ, lap-steel guitar, mandolin, and a driving rhythm section.
Similar to: Slightly Stoopid, John Butler Trio, Matt Nathanson, & Matt Costa
Shooting Star and the Ambulance- Pete Francis
Pete Francis Interview
with COLOURMUSIC
Genre: Pop/Rock/Experimental
messily refined indie rock..and innovative, yet catchy, melodies that work their way into your head without you even knowing it..wildly inventive shows, and it’s while performing that the band’s vivid personalities come through.
Similar to: The Flaming Lips, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, & Kings of Leon
Though the band is pinned as producing the same kind of indie rock aesthetic à la My Morning Jacket and Band of Horses, Dead Confederate dabbles in darker shades than their compared predecessors..Dead Confederate echo the Drive-By Truckers’ bittersweet southern rock angst with the smoke-heavy swagger of the Black Angels.
After a pair of glowing reviews from the influential music website Pitchfork they have recently come to prominence as a major indie rock band.
..evocative lyrics and powerful instrumentation..an outstanding fusion of alt-country earnestness and indie rock absurdity. Without any trace of flaunt or deliberateness, this homespun epic proves as casual in tone as it is ambitious in scope… sure to have tears welling and fists aloft in raucous salute.”- Josh Berquist, PopMatters, April 2007
Similar to: Okkervil River, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, M. Ward, The Avett Brothers, & My Morning Jacket
STARS AND STRIPES EXTRAVAGANZA featuring ROBBIE FULKS AND FRIENDS
Genre: Country/Indie/Bluegrass
While most current country music is calculated to form an inoffensive backdrop to the suburban shopping experience, Robbie Fulks writes songs that make you think and feel and quite often laugh out loud.
Similar to: Steve Earle, Neko Case, & Lyle Lovett
Cigarette State- Robbie Fullks
plus ROMANTICA
Genre: Americana/Folk/Pop
With an album on Paste Magazine’s Top 100 of 2007 and comparisons popping up all over the place between singer/songwriter Ben Kyle and both Jeff Tweedy and Ryan Adams, it probably won’t be too long before you’ll no longer be able to catch these guys in such a cozy venue.
Can you keep up after last weeks intense run? Oh yes you can! Summer is rolling around and that means tour schedules will slow down- so get it while it’s hot (or at least before you have to travel 4 hrs. for a touring band and a beer)!
Friday May 2
THE DIRTBOMBS with special guests DAN SARTAIN & TERRIBLE TWOS
Genre: Rock
“..rock and roll at its pure, shaggy best. If you’re tired of that, you’re tired of life…” -Splendid
RA RA RIOT + THE LITTLE ONES with special guests HEY CHAMP
Genre: Indie/ Folk Rock
“Ra Ra Riot – a band of Syracuse University students past, present and on hiatus – find that balance — already in its short life, literally putting heartbeats and pacemakers into the stuffing of all of the songs that they’ve thus far put to their name – an explosive tag of cheerful and misleading aggression…” -Daytrotter
“The Little Ones..are here for you to feel better about yourself, once the cabin fever has lost its control and you’re free to go. They taunt everything from the waist down — on everyone within a 10-mile radius — to not go on and freak out all over the place with euphoric spasms becoming dancing and universally recognized getting down…” -Daytrotter
$1.50 PBR bottles all night & FREE Pizza from Glass Nickel!
Thanks to WORT FM and The Onion!
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Tuesday May 6
TEGAN AND SARA Out of Hibernation Tour with special guest AN HORSE
Genre: Indie/ Pop/ Alternative
“..defying conventional notions of rock rhythm, and featuring songs that seem to go through at least three melodic changes before recycling.” -Onion AV Club
“With accompaniment as varied as vocals from Ollabelle and Brazilian percussion from Mauro Refosco, White still keeps us off balance with rich, unpredictable textures that convey lost-in-the-backwoods disorientation.” -Billboard
Watch out Madison music fans, lots of shows to check out this week highlighting talent in smaller rooms. Catch them before they are too big to get cozy with!
Today Friday April 25
SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD
Genre: Bluegrass
“Slap your knee to these guys and you’ll be sore the next day.” – New York Press
Split Lip Rayfield- Truth and Lies
With THE JAVELINAS Friday 9:30 pm @ High Noon Saloon 268-1122 $12 adv – 21+ BUY TICKETS NOW!
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Sunday April 27
THE ACORN
Genre: Indie/ Folk Rock
“..a melodic hodgepodge of brass, rumbling drums, intricately plucked guitars, and Klausener’s plangent vocal melody do more than their parts to propel a charming, inspirational lyric.Elsewhere, the group avoids generic world-music traps, using dynamic shifts and evocative instrumentation to forward the narrative…” -Pitchfork
The Acorn- The Flood Pt.1
With special guests JOHN CRAIGIE + MARTY FINKEL Sunday 8:00 pm @ Café Montmartre 255-5900 $8 BUY TICKETS NOW!
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Monday April 28
LIONS
Genre: Rock
Lions create a blend of retro riffage, artful noise, melodic interludes, and revolutionary attitude with a live show that has been described as “furious” with “a full- frontal assault” that will leave you “half-deaf and disoriented.”
Lions- Metal Heavy Lady featured on the Guitar Hero 3 game
With DROIDS ATTACK and UNITED SONS OF TOIL Monday 8:30 pm @ The Annex 256-7750 $7 – 18+ BUY TICKETS NOW!
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Tuesday April 29
FOALS
Genre: Pop
“The British band takes cues from recent dance-rock and post-punk revivalism as much as the early-’80s stuff that inspired the revival in the first place” -Onion AV Club
With special guests SINGLE FILE and THE WHITE TIE AFFAIR Tuesday 6:30 pm (doors open 6:00 pm) @ Orpheum Stage Door 255-8755 $8 / $10 dos – all ages BUY TICKETS NOW ! Tickets also available at Strictly Discs
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Thursday May 1
CHRIS PUREKA
Genre: Americana/ Indie/ Acoustic
One stark, solo acoustic guitar builds into layered swan songs and raspy serenades that resonate with unassuming depth and candor.
Chris Pureka- Interview and Song Momentary Thief
Plus MARTHA BERNER special early start time Thursday 6:30 pm @ High Noon Saloon 268-1122 $10- 18+ BUY TICKETS NOW!
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PETE FRANCIS (of DISPATCH) + MATT POND PA
SORRY EVERYBODY- THIS SHOW HAS BEEN CANCELED BY THE ARTISTS. WE WILL FILL YOU IN IF WE LEARN MORE- REFUNDS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE POINT OF PURCHASE!
Genre: Folk Rock/ Indie/ Pop
“Pete Francis (of Dispatch) presents a style combination of Funk, jazz, reggae, folk with musical influences of Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Pink Floyd and Miles Davis, which culminates into a sound that takes you on an amazing ride.” -CD Baby
Pete Francis- Shooting Star and the Ambulance
“Employing handclaps, sing-along choruses, and guitar solos with equal measure, the more intricate musical arrangements punctuate and add layers to Pond’s slow-burning guitar melodies.” -The Boston Globe
Matt Pond PA- Sunlight
With special guest DICK PRALL Thursday 9:00 pm @ High Noon Saloon 268-1122 $15 adv and dos – 18+ BUY TICKETS NOW !
