Paint The Town

Thursday Nite Events . . .

Seriously, it’s either feast or famine in this town.  Tonight there are so many things going on – for a Thursday night, it’s pretty impressive.  I will be attending a lecture about being a photographer by John Szarkowski, whose exhibition at Milwaukee Art Museum opens today.  Szarkowski is from Wisconsin, and served as the director of the photography department at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1962 to 1991 – wow!!!!  He’s also a well-known photographer himself, and has been taking pictures since the 1950’s. 

Otherwise, if you are more of a movie buff, you are in luck because the Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival is starting tonight at 7:30pm at the Oriental Theater (2230 N. Farwell Ave.) with a screening of Adam and Steve. 

Hotcakes Gallery (3379 N. Pierce St.) will be screening an episode of the third season of Art:21 - Art in the Twenty-First Century from 7-9pm.  This show is part of a larger effort to bring contemporary art out of the stuffy confines of museums and galleries by presenting artists who speak directly to the audience.  According to the Hotcakes website, Art:21 “encourages viewers to find their own innate abilities to engage contemporary art and creative thinking.  The screening will be followed by a group discussion moderated by Hotcakes' Director/Curator, Mike Brenner. Admission is FREE.

Finally, if you just want to relax, have a beer and listen to some good music, the Gasthaus Entertainment Series (GES) at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will feature a musical performance by Above the Town at 9 p.m. in the Gasthaus (located on the lower level of the UWM Union - 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.).

According to UWM’s press release, “Above the Town is the Milwaukee area's newest contemporary bluegrass ensemble, blending a mixture of traditional bluegrass sounds with Celtic influences, jazz, and swing. The group provides the perfect mix of the old with the new, performing music by the masters of bluegrass and also very original music.” 

So now there’s no excuse to sit at home crying over your PBR, complaining that there’s nothing to do . . .

Barbara Ehrenreich RULZ!!!

Barbara Ehrenreich is my idol.  What a fabulous evening.  I hurried in to Centennial Hall (733 N. 8th St.) after a desperate search downtown for a parking space – not easy.  I made it just as the opening speaker was beginning.  The hall was about three-quarters full, which surprised me.  I thought it would be jammed.  Nevertheless, it was a wonderfully enlightening evening of networking and social activism.  She kept her words brief as to make more time for hearing what other people had to say – what a concept!  She also made note of the fact that Milwaukee is “internationally infamous” for its strictness of welfare reform with W2.  I teach W2 clients English as a Second Language every day, and can personally attest to the ravages it has wreaked upon our city, specifically single moms who have been pushed down into the workforce, trying to survive on $5.15/hr.  Thank you, Tommy Thompson (a shirt-tail cousin of mine, unfortunately).  Enough rant. A girl from UWM, however, mentioned the theatre department’s upcoming production of Joan Holden’s adaptation of Nickeled and Dimed (December 7-11 at the Mainstage Theater) as part of the year-long, city-wide arts festival on the theme of “Art, Faith and Social Justice.”  Ehrenreich thought it was a fun play – I know I’m interested in checking it out.

Afterwards, Karrie and I headed to Trocadero (1758 N. Water St.), one of the multiple facets that make up the Scott Johnson empire here in Milwaukee (Fuel, Comet, Hi Hat, Balzac).  I haven’t been there in years, and was rewarded with a lovely glass of one of their reds on special that evening (I forget the name – duh.).  The place is laid out beautifully and it’s great for outdoor dining – 365 days a year.  Neat.  I need to go back there again sometime soon.  Their food is usually pretty yummy too.      

Centennial Hall

Happy hump day . . . tra la la . . . what’s in the cards for this Milwaukee arts-goer, you ask?  Well, tonight at Centennial Hall (733 N. 8th St.), one of my favorite authors, Barbara Ehrenreich, will be speaking about her newest book, Bait and Switch,The Futile Pursuit of the American Dream.  I love this woman.  She wrote an amazing book, Nickeled and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America about her undercover experience as a member of the working poor.  In Bait and Switch, according to the Schwartz Books website, “she enters another hidden realm of the economy: the shadowy world of the white-collar unemployed.”  This is the story of my life.  “Armed with a plausible resume of professional “in transition,” she attempts to land a middle class job—undergoing career coaching and personality testing, then trawling through a series of EST-like boot camps, job fairs, networking events, and evangelical job-search ministries. She gets an image makeover, works to project a winning attitude, yet is proselytized, scammed, lectured, and—again and again—rejected. Bait and Switch highlights the people who’ve done everything right—gotten college degrees, developed marketable skills, and built up impressive resumes—yet have become repeatedly vulnerable to financial disaster, and not simply due to the vagaries of the business cycle. As Ehrenreich discovers, there are few social supports for these newly disposable workers—and little security even for those who have jobs.”  Sorry for the long quote, but seriously, this couldn’t be more true – I am a personal witness to this – ARGH!!!! 

Centennial Hall is so cool because: #1 – it’s FREE, #2 – unbelievably amazing celebs speak there on a regular basis.  I saw Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize winning Irish poet laureate, there almost 10 years ago (was it that long ago? Wow.) 

Afterwards, my friend Karrie and I might catch The Milwaukee Area Songwriters Alliance (MASA)’s “monthly residency show” at The Art Bar (722 E. Burleigh St.) - which they describe as “one of Riverwest's best and most welcoming artist's hubs.”  I couldn’t agree more.  I love that place.  They always have great shows by different artists that constantly change, except for their permanent wall of paint-by-numbers – majestic and awe-inspiring.  Their tabletops are made with old multi-colored yardsticks and they have a huge metal wall that features – among other things – Barbie and Ken dolls in compromising situations or paper plate turkey drawings by patrons in various states of inebriation. You can’t get any cooler than that.  They have free magnets too!

Talk to you later.    

Ray LaMontagne

Have I mentioned what a great place Milwaukee is to see shows?!  Parked a block away on the street – FOR FREE!! – and headed over to the Pabst Theater (144 E. Wells St.) for the Ray LaMontagne show.  As I was turning the corner onto Wells, I see the man himself, pacing back and forth on his cell phone.  Huh.  He’s so non-descript – he looked like he was waiting for the bus or something. 

After grabbing a drink at Water Street Brewery (1101 N. Water St.), I made it back to catch the opening act, folk rock duo, Sarah Lee Guthrie (granddaughter of Arlo) and Johnny Irion.  The Pabst is such a great place to see shows because it is so intimate for a larger theater.  They are running a series of concerts for $20 or less this season to bring in a younger crowd, and it seems to be working.  They close off the balcony and offer general admission seats that would normally be way out of your typical college student’s price range.  The $3.00 Pabst tall boys don’t hurt either, although, judging from the cat-calls and friendly heckling, maybe some patrons had a few too many PBR’s . . . The theater is spectacular – its history is outlined in the adjoining halls and its stage has been graced by Sarah Bernhardt and Enrico Caruso, among others. The Pabst even hosted the world premiere of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House – man.  The ceiling is lined with gold-painted names of classical authors, composers, philosophers.  You feel smarter just sitting there.  Guthrie and Irion beat the pants off of the last two supporting acts we have seen over the last few days, even if by the sheer merit of the variety of their songs, which ranged from more gentle harmonic acoustic guitar numbers to electric guitar rock-outs. 

Ray LaMontagne, whom we saw outside again, practically crouching against the wall on our way in to the Pabst, really strikes you as “a tortured soul."  So when he walked onstage and began lightly strumming the guitar, I wondered how I was going to stay awake for the next couple hours.  When he busted out with this enormous wail a few seconds later, however, I didn’t need to worry about my attention wavering one iota.  Chris Thomas accompanied him on stand-up bass, every few songs or so.  Guitarist Johnny Irion and another guy on drums joined him once in a while as well.  Amazing.  Phenomenal.  There's no one like him around.  His studio recordings don’t do him justice – maybe it was the venue, maybe the moment, but I was really inspired to check out more of the acts in this series.  A long-overdue breath of fresh air for the Pabst.   

Free Lunch

This caught my eye - beats the heck out of Subway . . .

On Tuesday, September 27th, Wade Fernandez will perform at UW-Milwaukee in the Union ballroom (2200 East Kenwood Boulevard - first level) from noon-1:30p.m. According to Rebecca Hill, "Fernandez's sound is a combination of traditional Native American drumming and flute playing, fused with rock."  Fernandez's performance is a part of Union Programming's lunch series, Beyond Sustenance.  The performance is free and open to the public. 

Monday events

Tonight I'm going to catch Ray LaMontagne at the Pabst Theater, which I am so excited about!!!

  If that isn't your cup of tea, however, local documentarian Raul Galvan (previous works include Spanish Spoken Here and Wrestling City Kids) will be showing his latest documentary, "Latino Immigrant Stories," at 7pm in the UWM Union Theatre, (2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. - 2nd level).  It is FREE and open to the public and focuses on the experiences of Latinos in Wisconsin. Afterwards, Mr. Roberto Nodal (University of Wisconsin Milwaukee),
Mr. John Torres (Torres & Co. Multicultural Marketing) and Ms. Maria Monreal-Cameron (Hispanic Chamber of Commerce) will share their personal stories as well.   Sounds interesting, and you can't beat the price. 

U2 ZOO

Sunday – nice leisurely rainy day to get up late and go thrifting in Bay View, hitting such favorites as Luv Unlimited (2649 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.), which is one of the more organized and reasonably priced resale shops in town.  Checked out the new shoe store, Sweet Kicks (2327 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) which is the only place in the state that carries the Spanish line, Camper.  Bring your credit card – yikes!  Broad Vocabulary, (2241 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. ), is Milwaukee’s newest – and only - feminist bookstore. They have a great selection of gender-friendly titles and politically-correct tchachki.  The new Harry W. Schwartz Bookstore across the street (2254 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) is beautiful – chock full of tantalizing titles, new and used. Popped into Tip Top Atomic Shop (2343 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) to drool over gorgeous 50’s stuff – made my way over to Dragonfly, (1117 E. Brady St.), which is such a great addition to the Brady Street scene.  If you don’t want to spend $350 on that new Diesel jacket at Detour, you can find a one-of-a-kind vintage piece at Dragonfly for a fraction of the cost. The beauty of Brady Street is this kind of mix, though.  There was an estate sale sign that I followed down Arlington Street and – lo and behold – I came across the exact same pink and black skillet I saw at Tip Top Atomic Shop, which they were selling for $24.95 and paid $2.00 for it . . . score!  All this thrifting worked up an appetite, so I hit the Brady Street Pharmacy, (1696 N Astor St.), which was formerly the Astor Theater from 1910 to 1953 (click here to read more).  Local artists often perform in the space, which is outfitted with a small stage area.  And did I mention it’s INCREDIBLY cheap and a great place to people watch?

Made my way back to Bay View to get ready for the U2 CONCERT!!!, found a FREE parking space a few blocks away and met my dad and his wife at Turner Historic Restaurant,  (1034 N. 4th St.) which is directly across from the Bradley Center.  I love Turner Hall – it is so huge and beautiful and they serve a mean Spaten to boot. 

Met up with my friend Susan, got to our nosebleed seats and settled in with my $6.00 Leine’s for the opening act - Dashboard Confessional.  And they were pretty much just that – a supporting band that was relatively unremarkable and non-offensive.  I mean, how can you open for U2 – the biggest and best band in the world (in my humble opinion)?  Seems fairly intimidating . . .

When U2 came on, I was instantly transformed into a spasmatic fool, drenched in sweat by the third song.  We laughed, we cried, we celebrated the band’s 29th birthday, the provisional IRA’s promise to disarm and the World Bank’s forgiveness of the debt of 38 African countries.  It was a full night.  Predictably enough, the time literally flew by and – before we knew it – they were wrapping up their second encore.  I hope the band enjoyed themselves half as much as we did.

 

CHI-town . . .

Happy Monday, from your friendly knackered blogger, actively fighting the inevitable letdown that follows such exciting weekends I have been having lately . . . Friday was really nice – lowkey – I caught the Danish film Brothers at the Times Cinema, which is one of Milwaukee’s best kept secrets (kept too well, perhaps, judging from the sparse audience). For only a few dollars, you can see films that wouldn’t come within miles of your typical multiplex movie theater (AND they use REAL butter on their popcorn!).

Early Saturday morning - hit the road for CHI-town. I have been asked why I write about other cities on a Milwaukee arts and entertainment blog, and my response has always been, “That’s the beauty of this town. You can leave it . . .” meaning, of course that Milwaukee is conveniently located within a reasonable distance of rural areas as well as big cities, to alleviate any hayseed or skyscraper cravings you may be experiencing. Within half an hour, you can see the stars in the sky at night, or in less than two hours (made it in 1 hr. 40 min.), you can wrestle your way through the crowds on Michigan Ave.. As much as I love Chicago, however, it makes me appreciate Milwaukee even more. Tollways, $20.00 parking fees, insanely expensive EVERYTHING . . . nice to visit, but I wouldn’t live there. Nevertheless, a wonderful time was had, strolling through Millennium Park, checking out the Lautrec exhibit at the Art Institute – incredible, butexhausting – whew!, window shopping at Nordstrom’s Rack (sigh) . . . really great.

Had dinner at a bicycle-themed pub and eatery named “The Handle Bar” and then made my way to the Abbey Pub to check out a Scottish band I have loved for well over 10 years – The Proclaimers (their way-overplayed hit was that “I Would Walk 500 Miles” song – they have a lot of other great ones – trust me.). The venue reminded me of Shank Hall (1434 N Farwell Ave.) here in Milwaukee, although, I think – between the two, Shank is a bit more well-laid out. The opening act, an alternative Texas-style band called Deadman was just that – pretty dead – which didn’t help my overall fatigue from the insane amount of walking I did that day. The Proclaimers, on the other hand, were amazing. The two brothers, who resemble somewhat surly versions of Buddy Holly, put it all out there and performed an incredible show. They had a great mix of old and new songs and . . . it was a fabulous show, and I snagged a flyer off the wall (they were just going to throw them away anyway, right?) .

Minutes later - back on the freeway.  Made it home in record time. It makes Chicago seem a lot more do-able than I had previously thought which is good to keep in mind for future reference . . .

Hurricane Katrina Benefit Event

Also, if you are looking for something fun to do and need to get your good deed done for the week, head over to Bucketworks (1319 N. Martin Luther King Drive) for their Katrina Relief Benefit Event this Saturday from 4pm-10pm.  This large-scale event will be featuring local Milwaukee artists and performers, including a silent auction, mask-making contest, dance and theatre performances.  They will be collecting both household goods such as clothes, housewares, etc. and  money for Katrina relief efforts.  Free admission, but bring money anyway, because that's kind of the point . . .

They will be featuring everything from bellydancing to the Ignea Fire Tribe (ooh!).  The Midwest Rock Opera Company (MiROC) will be there as well as Milwaukee Public Theatre, whom I've always wanted to check out.

All items will go directly to Katrina evacuees in this area.  The money will be used to support a list of target charities that they have selected "based on the directness of their aid to those affected by the disaster."   Sounds legit, so check it out. 

Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theatre

Friday – free at last – sort of.  Last night I caught Boulevard Ensemble Studio Theatre’s production of the Irving Berlin musical, Louisiana Purchase.  I was pleasantly surprised – the musical numbers were quite good (and I’m not much of a song-and-dance kinda gal) and the actors were pretty spot-on.  The whole play-within-a-play sort of threw me off, but maybe I’m just a bit thick.  Also, word to the wise, DON’T come five minutes before showtime, unless you want to sit in the front row – center – next to a couple actors and have cleavage shoved in your face for two hours (well, maybe for some people that isn’t such a bad thing . . .).  You get the picture.  The Boulevard is an “intimate” space – i.e. tiny – and I literally felt like I was sitting in the actors’ laps, which, depending on the actor, wouldn’t have been the worst thing in the world either . . . anyway – it was fun, despite the alcohol-free intermissions (maybe Bay View is a dry township/village/whatever).  We were, however, rewarded with slices of an AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS cake from The Cake Lady (3561 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.), which was in the form of the Boulevard Playhouse.  YUM . . . WOW . . .

As for this evening, I'm going to the Times to see Brothers, which won some award at the Sundance Festival.  Low key, which is just what I need after a 52-hr. work week – cry me a river, yeah, I know.

More adventures coming up later and, hey – if you have anything to SAY about WHATEVER, POST A COMMENT!!! Exercise your right to free speech . . . regale the public with your random thoughts and feelings. . . (peer pressure - all the cool kids are doing it . . .)

Alright, enough.  (Eddie-Izzard-imitation-of-Italian-guys-on-scooters-voice) Ciao.