Paint The Town

Envy et al . . .

Just found out that at UW-Milwaukee, the Gasthaus (located on the lower level of the Student Union - 2200 East Kenwood Boulevard) will feature a musical performance by Envy tonight (Tuesday 8/30).  This is the band voted best college band in the country by MTVU viewers.  I don’t know anything about them, but it seems like something worth checking out if you have nothing better to do. I’ve spent many an hour in the Gasthaus “studying” – they have a decent amount of space for a band and a good selection of tap beers to boot! Best of all, it’s free and open to the public. The all ages show starts at 9p.m.

On Thursday, however, I think I might catch the September installment of The Tile Company’s Collaborative Art Series at Moct (240 E. Pittsburgh Ave.) with Art Team, “Night Blooming Serious.” Mike from The Tile Company says "it’s worth a shot," so I might give them a second chance. It seems a bit more interactive this time – a multi-media show put together by five young women, which will involve "a costumed performance, video projection and sound work.” 

We’ll see. 

Milwaukee Art Museum

What a way to chase away those day-before-work blues than to hit the Milwaukee Art Museum.  The weather couldn’t have been more gorgeous and the sun shining through the bone-white arches of the Calatrava addition was spectacular – one of the interpretations of the structure is how it resembles the inside of a whale’s stomach.  I could have just hung out in the lobby . . . nevertheless, I checked out the CUT/Film as Found Object exhibit.  Bottom line - run, not walk to MAM and see this exhibition again and again.  The gallery was effectively divided into separate viewing areas – Omer Fast’s “CNN Concatenated” (2002) was a seamlessly edited collection of what seemed like thousands of newscasts into one-word bytes that were strung together to say things like “No one wants to die alone” . . . Jennifer and Kevin McCoy’s “Horror Chase” (2002) was a really cool chase scene from a horror film that played backwards, forwards, in slow motion – neat.  Paul Pfeiffer’s “The Long Count” (2001), was played on three tiny screens that were mounted on the wall with long poles that jutted out.  They each showed broadcasts of Muhammad Ali's major fights, but the boxers were invisible – their watery outlines, however could still be seen on the screen – how’d he do that?!  Pierre Huyghe’s Ellipse (1998) showed a scene from Wim Wenders' (whose work I adore) 1977 film The American Friend and then connected it with footage of the protagonist (Bruno Ganz) many years later, creating a single continuous sequence.  Candice Breitz’s Soliloquy Trilogy (2002) featured a brief collection of clips from one of Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” films. Douglas Gordon’s 24-hour long version of Psycho was shown on a huge screen in the middle of the room, so you could watch it from the front and the back.  Creepy.  But the climax was Christian Marclay’s “Video Quartet.”  Unbelievable – hundreds of film clips on four adjacent screens that are synchronized into a literal symphony – we watched it twice. 

Afterwards, I hit the Oriental Theater (2230 N. Farwell Ave.), Milwaukee’s cinematic jewel that we totally take for granted, to catch Grizzly Man – wow.  What a case that guy was . . . I still want to see The Aristocrats and Broken Flowers (I am a huge Jim Jarmusch fan), but we’ll see if I have any time next week . . .

Then I swung by the Downer Theater (2589 N. Downer Ave.) – another architectural treasure – the oldest operating movie theater in Milwaukee – to pick up a FREE copy of the latest Landmark Music CD, which features Garbage and Martha Wainwright among others . . . quick popped into Schwartz Bookshop down the street to drool over their $120 copy of Anton Corbijn’s U2 and I: The Photographs 1982-2004 – hmm . . .maybe I could just eat Rice-A-Roni for a month . . . 

Then over to Alterra Cafe at the Lake (1701 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive) for a chai and a huge chocolate chip cookie.  What a great space – the old cream city brick flushing station (don’t worry - no threat of cryptosporidium) that was converted into a multi-level café a couple years ago.  I admit that I’ve never sat outside there before, and it definitely will not be the last time.  Perfect weather – no bugs, just some obnoxious Harleys passing by once in a while.  Lovely. 

Gil Fest

Friday, after a long day of housecleaning, I decided to hang out with my friends Kristen and Mario rather than catching the Milwaukee Art Museum’s fundraising event, “It's All Wrong, Right?”  Fatigue and the $25 cover charge dissuaded me from going, but it sounded really cool.  The event, which featured local filmmakers such as Tate Bunker as well as experimental bands Mildew and Def Harmonic, coincided with their current exhibition, “CUT/Film as Found Object.” This is the second year of MAM’s collaboration with the Milwaukee International Film Festival.  I really want to catch the exhibit, which runs through September 11th. My friend Graeme says that Christian Marclay's "Video Quartet" is “astounding.”  I also wouldn’t mind hanging out in the Calatrava wing, with it’s stunning view of Lake Michigan and breathtaking brise soleil.

Saturday, however, I managed to catch Carlos Santana’s kid brother, Jorge, at a book signing at the Harry W. Schwartz Bookshop on Downer Ave (located on Milwaukee's "chic and trendy" east side).  Hal Leonard just published a book he collaborated on called Voices of Latin Rock.  Schwartz is such a great place to catch well-known authors – I’ve been to several readings over the years and the best part is they’re free!!!  After an hour of his somewhat disjointed lecture, however, we were getting sleepy, so my friend Marney and I walked across the street to Gil Fest.  It was so much fun – I was really pleasantly surprised.  We caught a couple Americana bands – or as Marney terms the genre “honky tonk,” – which included Jimmy LaFave, The Bottle Rockets, Uptown Savages, Dallas Wayne, Anonymous American and West of Rome.  It was pretty laid back – we found a spot on the church lawn, had a couple Shiner blondes and people-watched.  A really nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon. 

Jazz in the Park

OK, so finally – at the last minute – I got over to Jazz in the Park . . . this is no small gathering – they close down Wells Street and people are jammed in Cathedral Square, outfitted with tables, chairs and very impressive picnic baskets, candles, wine glasses – wow.  As I walked from my prime parking space - several blocks away – towards the event, I started hearing this strange kind of oom-pah music.  “That can’t be Jazz in the Park,” I thought to myself.  But it was – Impact of Brass – a Dixieland Jazz band.  “More like impacted – like a molar,” – said my friend Doug, who along with his buddy Mark (pictured), his daughter and her friend had staked out an area close to the stage.  Doug’s a  Jazz in the Park veteran, and has always raved about what great bands they have – mostly smooth jazz with a token latino band thrown in for diversity’s sake (which was noticeably lacking that evening).  So when they took a break, we packed up our blankets and verboten chairs (they don’t permit chairs towards the front?) and headed over to Club Havana (789 N. Jefferson St).  If you like being asphyxiated by noxious cigar smoke, you'll love this place.  I would give Jazz in the Park a second chance, but highly recommend checking the schedule first . . .

Miller Park

Tuesday my best friend Patti’s boyfriend Tim gave up his Robert W. Baird luxury box Brewers ticket for me – he scored major points, let me say . . . so we went to Miller Park, where I haven’t been for years.  As time passes, I have been discovering that I am somewhat of a baseball fan – who knew?  I mourned the loss of County Stadium and am more of an ’82 Brewers fan, but still enjoy catching a game, especially in the lap of luxury!!  It was great.  At first, Patti and I were joking, “Which ones are they – the blue ones or the grey ones?”, but then they started spanking the Marlins and we began to pay attention.  Before we knew it, the new plush Bernie Brewer was exhausted from going down his slide so many times – 11 to be exact.  One for each home run the Brew Crew pounded into that pathetic team from Florida.  It was great.  Wonderful.  Miller Park is a beautiful place to celebrate victory against the odds – in rain or shine with the ill-fated dome – and remember our heroes of the past (note:  I still have a crush on Paul Molitor).

Bay View Arts

Was breakfasting at Sven’s Café (2633 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) the other day (their paninis are lovely, by the way) and wanted to let people know about the artist whose work is featured on their walls this month.  His name is Matt M. Cipov and he works on cardboard as well as brown paper bags.  He uses mixed media – anything from found objects such as stamps, La Lotería cards and penmanship paper to harsh English teacher ink stamps that read “MESSY,” “NEEDS IMPROVEMENT,” “DO OVER” and “UNSATISFACTORY” – yikes.  His images are reminiscent of meticulously designed comic book zombies – creepy, yet fascinating . . .

Another exhibit I need to check out is at the Bay View Book Arts Gallery, literally right next door to Sven’s - 2693 S. Kinnickinnic Ave..  It’s called “Art in the Mail: Mail Art in Milwaukee – correspondence art created and collected by local book artists.”  They even have an old postcard as part of the flyer – it looks really cool if you’re into that sort of thing. 

Irish Fest

(Electric Company voice – “Hey you guys!!!)

Alive and well after 4-count ‘em – days of solid Irish Fest-ivites . . . Thursday – rehearsal at the Grand Hooley (yes, I said “hooley), followed by a not-so-Irish MGD and The Bridies, flaunting their mini-kilts . . . cool. 

Friday – headed down to the grounds, trying to get to Lot P, which is practically in Racine, for a 5:30 showing of Good Medicine.  Afterwards, hanging out with my friend Margaret and her two sisters, we had three Utilikilt sightings – Glenn and Jen, Virgil and Chuck.  Chuck and his buddies bartend and bounce at The Main Place in Janesville, where Saturdays are kilt nights – who knew?  After returning to the Theatre Tent to perform Legends and Folktales of the Celtic Tiger, we hung out and were accosted by these giant puppets from an Irish street theater company called Bui Bolg.  They were hilarious and scary, especially under the full moon . . .

Saturday was the long haul – met a couple Irish wolfhounds in Lot P and headed over for a 1:30 performance. . . hotter than . . . well, something that’s really hot, so we practically got sunstroke sitting at the Aer Lingus stage listening to the President of Ireland – Mary McAleese – address the Irish Fest founders and attendees on the occasion of the festival’s 25th Anniversary.  When my niece wasn’t stalking the Cashel Dennehy Irish Dancers, we caught some parades and wandered around.  As I started back for the Theater Tent for my second performance, I passed by this guy and we stopped and said “How do I know you?”  Using my optical prowess (10-year OPTIX on Downer employee), I recognized his D & G frames instantly – he was chatting with us in line at the ATM (with the $5.00 service fee – ouch!) at the Coldplay concert.  Small world? Nah.  This is Milwaukee – I’m surprised we’re not related . . . after the show, my friend Susan and I caught some Cherish the Ladies, who are so cool and fun to watch, and headed home.

Sunday – will it ever end?  Headed down to the grounds a bit later, which was nice, for a 5:00 show.  I wanted to catch this staged reading of Edward Morgan and John Kishline’s play, A Rising Wind, The Lady Elgin Story, which featured Jim Pickering – longtime Milwaukee Repertory Theater veteran – but had to start getting ready for our performance, which directly followed theirs.  I did have a chance to chat with Michael Walsh, a NYC actor who wrote and performed a one-man show called Between Takeoff and Landing, which talks about getting stranded in Newfoundland for four days on 9/11.  Hopefully he’ll be able to bring it back to Milwaukee again sometime. 

After the second performance, I headed home – voice cashed, feet blistered – but it was, as always, a great time.   

Is that a pink banana in your pocket, or . . .

So for those of us not spending three days at Irish Fest, here’s what’s on in beertown – Pink Banana Theatre 's production of Summer Mullet Show is running through Saturday at the Astor Theatre, located in the Brady Street Pharmacy (1696 W. Astor St.) - one of the only remaining pharmacy diners in Milwaukee.  It caught my eye because I’m a sucker for mullets and the all-female company features avant-garde theater that is fairly difficult to find around here.  They will be performing three short one-act plays followed by a longer one – short in front, long in the back . . . it’s a stretch, but seems to be worth checking out.   

Something else I would like to catch at some point is the Dirty Found Magazine “I DON’T Want It Back” Tour at Hotcakes Gallery (3379 N. Pierce St. - 5 blocks north of Locust and 3 blocks west of Humboldt in Riverwest).  Founders Jason Bitner and Arthur Jones have collected smutty clippings, messages, and photos that people have left lying around, from all over the world.  David Cross gave them a ringing endorsement, so they must be cool, right?  Be sure to give the world's most adorable gallery dog some puppy-lovin' . . .

Again, let me add that if you know of anything that is going on that would be worth checking out, please feel free to email me. 

Later.

Coldplay

Where does the time go?  Just last Friday I was enjoying the company of the four founding members of Tastes Like Chicken, a funny, creative off-the-f*#king wall magazine that interviews everyone from Charlie Manson to Kermit the Frog.  They showcase emerging artists and musicians in their column “Untapped Talent” and talk to  “normal” people in “Everyday People.  Their September issue release party will be held at the Art Bar (722 E. Burleigh) on Sept. 9th, so definitely check it out. 

I had to decline an invitation to the drag party they were having on Saturday, however, in lieu of the Coldplay concert at Alpine Valley.  I haven’t been there since Lollapalooza in ’92(?), and the reasons for my extended absence all came rushing back to me at several points during the evening.  The massive backup on Hwy. D, $7.00 Budweisers, grass seats, which were miles away from the stage, but music is to be heard, right?  Did I mention the Port-o-lets?  Let’s not and say I did – each had a line 10 intoxicated college kids deep, only to reach the thing and encounter the unspeakable.  Gross doesn’t even touch it. 

Anyhoo, as the sun was setting the opening band began to play - Black Mountain, from Vancouver, Canada.  The female singer had a Chrissie Hyde sound, but spookier.  Their harmonies were somewhat reminiscent of Radiohead.  They maintained a sort of languid, sinuous groove, with enough reference points to classic rock, which worked well in an amphitheater setting.  Their songs had a fair amount of drama and some sounded a bit like later Pink Floyd, with just a hint of bombast. 

When Coldplay finally did start, after the sun had set – they opened with “Politik,” one of the most amazing songs – ever! (okay, maybe not, but still . . .) and even inserted the phrase, “Make me an honorary cheesehead, making several references to Chicago and Milwaukee, - “wherever we are.”  Another endearing moment was during “Yellow,” the song he claimed brought the band to the US for the first time and would bring them back for the last time. He claimed that he couldn’t end the song until all of these obnoxious balloons that were floating around were popped.  And he made good on his word, holding these crazy high notes until every single last one was destroyed.  Sigh.

The cameras and video screens were amazing – they didn’t just hazily pan back and forth between sulky band members.  They were going back and forth, in and out in time to the music with crystal-clear vividness.  At one point, I wondered if they were even onstage, or if this was just one big video.  They even changed the graphics to make the band members appear animated – it was amazing, and made us grass seat groundlings feel a little better about not being even remotely able to see the stage.  At one point, they even did a Johnny Cash set – “Now an already soft rock concert gets even softer – almost like rubber,” said lead singer Chris Martin, who excused audience members to relieve themselves.  The call and answer sections of songs such as “The Scientist” were surprisingly tranquil – gentle even, as the audience softly sang along with the band.

I could go on and on about the band that humbly thanked their fans for giving them “the best job in the history of the world,” but you get the idea.  Coldplay made the miserable conditions of Alpine Valley completely worth it.

Drunken Sailor

So anyway, when we weren’t chasing kilts or sweating bullets onstage, we did manage to catch some decent music.  Kevin Burke & Ged Foley, extremely prominent names in the Irish music world, were in one tent, where I was furiously going over my lines.  Bad Haggis (a bit redundant, think?) were rocking out at the Celtic Rock Stage, which also hosted Irish punk band Flogging Molly, who were just at the Rave last night.  We also stopped to see Brace Yourself Bridget for a spell, but the real highlight was Baka Beyond – a celtic/world music fusion band that went way beyond your typical “What do ya do wit’ a drunken sailor” schtick.  Leahy (not to be confused with Leahy’s Luck, which is more along the lines of Lucky Charms) was very impressive for not only their musical talents, but for the last number, they threw down their instruments and danced – like traditional Irish dance - wow.  They will, in fact, be coming to Irish fest, along with, god bless ‘em, Tommy Makem (who my mom adores – ha!)  Come on, who can get sick of “Nancy Whiskey”? (don’t answer that)  I, personally am looking forward to Hothouse Flowers, voted Sassiest Band of the Year by Sassy Magazine in 1987 or something like that.  And cute as the day is long – sigh.

During the aftermath of Dublin, OH, I proceeded to miss a Breast Cancer Awareness benefit show with Clementine and The Riveters - an all-female punk band - at the Riverwest Commons (815 E. Locust ST). Nevertheless, for those of you that also missed the show, you have a chance to redeem yourselves.  This Saturday they will be playing at one of my favorite clubs, the Mad Planet, (533 E. Center St.) in support of their friends Those Royals, who are hosting a CD Release show. 

And if that’s not enough, head over to Bucketworks (1319 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. - directly across the street from the Time Warner Cable Building) to catch the opening of Dramatists Theatre’s debut season.  The idea is to produce four plays by the same playwright.  This year they are presenting the works of Lanford Wilson.  The first show, a domestic drama entitled Lemon Sky, opened yesterday and will run for six more performances.   

Otherwise, you could indulge in your penchant for ‘80’s fashion and see Ferris Bueller's Day Off at River Flicks tonight. Comic gold . . . some of the quotes are still in rotation in my somewhat limited lexicon . . .