Paint The Town

Animal Crackers

After an entire day of constructing my “office” and shoveling my corner-lot sidewalk – ah, the joys of single homeownership – I met my friend Nicole at the newly remodeled Cielito Lindo (733 S. 2nd St.) for some yummy comida mexicana. We then slip-slided through the snow over to the Broadway Theatre Center (158 N. Broadway St.) for Skylight Opera Theatre’s production of the Marx Brothers film, Animal Crackers.  To be honest, I have never seen a Marx Brothers film (I KNOW, I KNOW, I LIVE IN A CAVE . . .), so I wasn’t quite sure what exactly to expect.  Well, let me just say it was wonderfully beyond the unexpected in so many ways. . . everything from scenic designer Ken Golstein’s stunning art-deco set to Pam Kriger’s breathtaking choreography.  The ensemble’s song-and-dance numbers involved so much more than that – props, people and puns flying everywhere – magnificent.  The Marx Brothers strike me as the thinking man’s Stooges, but that’s just my impression.  It would take me a second (or two – a little slow on the uptake) for these really bad – but brilliant – jokes to set in and then, with the rest of the audience, I’d groan out loud.  The actors were so tight with their lines, cues, pickups and pratfalls I’d be here all night going on and on about the extremely high caliber of talent found not only in this production, but in the majority of Skylight’s shows.  SEE IT.   

During intermission, we mingled with audience members from Chamber Theatre’s Holiday Double Bill, which stars Flora Coker (one of, if not my all-time fave Milwaukee actor) in Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory, which I’ve been seeing since high school.  The other play, “The Old Lady Shows Her Medals, written by J. M. Barrie – author of Peter Pan - and looks pretty interesting too.  So I need to get on that right away – not schmaltzy Christmas stuff at all, I promise. 

Afterwards, Nicole and I walked down the street to a party my friend Bob Friedman and his fiancee Angela Barbian were throwing at his studio, Sound Sound, above the piano bar, Centanni (218 N. Water St.).  We had a blast – I ended up chatting with a couple - Paul and Charlotte - who work behind the scenes with First Stage Children’s Theatre.  As I was lavishing praise on their last production, they reminded me that there’s another running as we speak, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus.  Oops.  Better get over to that one as well.  All this stuff is happening so quickly – time flies when you are . . . well, you get the picture. The snow has melted – go out – do stuff.   

Pre-turkey day

Decided to go with the Riverwest Accordion Club at Art Bar (722 E. Burleigh St.) Wednesday night and had – A BLAST – to be expected.  Even when my friend Jessica and I were walking in they were playing “99 Luftballons” – auf Deutche!  How cool is that?!  The Art Bar also has a great little dance floor so you can break out your killer polka moves, which  Graeme and I did later on to “Roll Out the Barrel.”  Awesome.  And when you aren’t cutting the proverbial rug, you can admire their most recent art installations, which constantly change.  Or the cool star lights above the bar.  I’ve mentioned the wall of paint-by-numbers and the bottle cap-encrusted pillars – they never seem to lose their novelty for me somehow.  We even got to make a contribution to the massive paper-plate turkey wall.  Made the ride back to Bay View in the sudden snowstorm with my rear-wheel drive car completely worth the white knuckles . . .

Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving

OK you guys, this is obnoxious, but in a cool way – as Melissa on WMSE 91.7 said to me when I called her about this Rachel Yamagata song she was playing, “It’s like a Friday or Saturday night” tonight with all this stuff going on.  For starters, the Riverwest Accordion Club is playing Art-Bar (722 E. Burleigh St.).  I just found out about this Mad Planet (533 E. Center St.) show featuring Eddie Kilowatt (“a local scenester, who’s also done some spoken word,” according to Paul Wahl, from The Exotics, who are headlining) and The Jet Sets, “a farfeezah (don’t EVEN ask me how to spell that)-driven garage band,” he described.  And then I heard this Adult song on MSE late the other night and they are going to be playing with fellow Detroit band, Signal Drift, tonight at Onopa – kind of an electro-techno/ dance-punk sort of evening . . . Decisions, decisions!!! Melissa suggested that, since the venues were kind of close to each other, that you could make an evening of it and, for example, walk over to Onopa from Mad Planet or vice-versa.  This is when Chicago bar hours would really come in handy, but that’s neither here nor there.  The good thing is that there’s a BUNCH of stuff to do tonight, so get your sorry butt out there and DO SOMETHING!!! (and then post a comment, telling me all about it, kay?  Comments – remember those? J)

¡Felíz día de acción de gracias! or “Happy Thanksgiving” to my monolingual readers J

Present Music

Sunday – after mom and my niece Hannah came over to inspect the wake of Friday’s drywalling/painting spree , (“I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but your house is really messy,” said Hannah), we went over to Lulu’s (2265 S. Howell Ave.) for a bite.  They even have a kid’s menu with REAL chicken fingers – yum!.  Stopped at Broad Vocabulary (2241 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) to pick up a couple things and then headed over to St. John’s Cathedral (812 N. Jackson St.) to meet Susan for the Present Music concert, “Thanksgiving.”  This time it was late afternoon and I had several caffeinated beverages, so I was much more alert than the previous evening.  It was the first time I had been inside the cathedral after it was renovated (to the vehement protests of local parishners) and I felt bad that I really couldn’t remember what it looked like the last time I was there - almost 10 years ago for Handel’s “Messiah”.  Anyway, we sat just outside the Bucks American Indian Singing and Drumming Group circle and were instantly blown away by the power of the rhythm and Native American song, which was occasionally punctuated with a jarring solo thump or two.  The Milwaukee Children’s Choir’s performance of Andrzej Panufnik’s “Invocation for Peace,” was “capable of bringing a grown man to tears,” wrote Jim Cryns of their “pure, melodious and unaffected” quality.  Aside from the annoyingly dissonant composition, “Risonanza,”  Present Music’s world premiere of Daron Hagen’s “Flight Music” - an “exploration of the ideas that will become an opera about flight, “Amelia” – was exceptional.  With the Milwaukee Choral Artists, Present Music made me feel like I really was flying through the air, which produced feelings of fear as well as exhilaration.  After we landed, the Bucks invited us to participate in a Friendship Dance, which was composed of people joining hands around the complete diameter of the cathedral – wow.  As we left, we got a chance to check out the Holiday Lights in Cathedral Square and listen to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's “Happy Christmas (War is Over)” – god I wish.   

Indian Classical Music at the Miramar

Saturday – spent a long day writing OnMilwaukee.com reviews and blogging my little heart out – gotta get this DSL connection soon, cuz these photos take FOREVER to upload or download or whatever . . . anyway, around 3:30 I was heading out to catch Art vs. Craft (a wonderful gathering of funky, cool artists with their wares for sale - CHEAP!) over at Turner Hall (1034 N. 4th St.) and this little voice told me to double check how long it was going on, and sure enough, it closed at 4!!!!  I missed it!!! I can’t believe it - well, yes I can, but whatever.  Probably good for my checkbook – from what I heard, there was so much cool stuff I would have come home penniless, weighted down with six purses, five T-shirts and jewelry up the wazoo.  Still, I’m bummed. 

So after hitting the Y (161 W. Wisconsin Ave. # 4000), I swung by Susan’s and we went to the sitar concert at the Miramar Theatre (2844 N. Oakland Ave.).  We took our time getting there because we knew it was going to be a long night, as sitar concerts are notorious for.  Sure enough, after settling in to the quiet, dark room watching the figures seated on the Indian rug jamming out to whatever raga they were playing, I felt like I was going into a trance.  Ramchandra Pandit's hands were moving so fast on the tabla-  I could barely see them, or maybe because I was drifting off.  So unfortunately, we ducked out and had a cocktail at the Mirabar to regroup.  Shortly afterwards the intermission came and several people (some in typical dress) sat around us, eating Indian snacks (which looked really tasty and I am kicking myself for not trying) and asking us the name of the second raga in the set.  Shrug.  At that point, we decided to head out at the risk of falling asleep and snoring or drooling on the seats.  Perhaps it was premature, but I think we just didn’t have it in us.  Regardless, it was an amazing display of musical talent and I feel privileged to have witnessed it, even if briefly.  Sitar music is something I could listen to – in the background – all day if need be, but to watch it being performed in a warm, dark room for hours on end really tries my endurance. Our loss, I know.  I’ll buy the CD and get some Indian takeout instead. 

Next Act Theatre

Friday after a chaotic day of housepainting and drywalling (note to self: either one or the other, NOT both at the same time), I managed to shake off the dust and head over with Mike to Next Act’s (342 N. Water St.) production of Michael Hollinger’s “noir comedy” Red Herring.  Even though our seats were to the side of the stage and our view of the screen on the backdrop was somewhat obscured, it didn’t matter.  It was wonderful – hilarious doesn’t even touch it, but also, it was really professionally done, which is refreshing in light of the slew of amateur shows I’ve seen recently.  Everything from the set to the sound to the acting (impeccable accents, which included NY, clipped British, Irish and Russian to name a few – wow) was spot-on.  Fight choreography – brilliant.  And a great play to boot – serving up a few truths on McCarthy-ism, the Cold War, love and marriage – taking the path of least preachiness possible.  It was great – the full house crowd was laughing pretty much constantly and afterwards we were treated to some soup, bread and fruit salad from Soup’s On!, which I desperately needed after my stomach was growling to the point of distraction in Act II (the fridge was buried in a heap of debris, what can I say?).  The actors came out and mingled with people, which - once again - I don’t know how often you would see in other venues or cities.  Theatre is so accessible in this town – I love it. 

Afterwards, we darted from our rock star parking space on Water St. down to the Palm Tavern (2989 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) to gawk over (and sample) their IMMENSE selection of beverages.  Their specials are incredible - you can get a glass of Ommegang Abbey Ale for $3.00!  It’s a great way to broaden your palate and not break the bank. 

MiROC at Bucketworks

Thursday my friend Eric and I checked out the Midwest Rock Opera Company’s performance of The Saturday Club – which, according to MiROC, is “a rock musical adaptation of John Hughes' classic ‘80’s Gen-X teen angst film, The Breakfast Club.  It was held at Bucketworks, (1319 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive), which I have not visited in a long time, but used to fence there.  Well, it is VERY much changed in so many ways – they now have a formal lobby and a gorgeous gallery, which featured the works of Hy Rosenfeld, a former chiropractor, and his wife – both self-taught painters whose subjects vary from several rabbis to clowns, sunflowers and Green Bay Packers.  Bizarre.  The work space is immense, through which you pass to get to the stage area.  And all of these resources are available for unlimited personal use for only $35 a year!  There was an outstanding student art show flanking the sides of the stage, which has expanded considerably and now accommodates a full rock band as well.  Unfortunately the show itself was awful.  Painful.  LONG.  Basically a parroting of the film with a few song and dance numbers thrown in for kicks.  Awful.  Either create an entirely new work or re-enact the film well, but don’t try to do both because the entire effort fell flat on its face (in my opinion).  Bad acting, lousy vocals and really long musical interludes that many times featured people just sitting on the edge of the stage singing cover tunes.  Ugh.  But it was worth it just to see how Bucketworks has really come along, and hopefully will continue to be a great resource for Milwaukee’s artistic community.   

Afterwards, we stopped at Foundation (2718 N. Bremen St.) for a cocktail - I hadn't been there for a long time, so it was cool to see Don Nelson (of 60's groove band, the Nelsonics) serving up his famous tropical drinks (ask him for a "Fruit Loop" sometime - yum, but ouch!).  Ran into my long-lost . . . well, it's a long story, Mike, who recently moved to Milwaukee from Chicago, where he has resided over the last six years.   It was nice to hear about how he is re-discovering his hometown, as we sipped our beverages under the brightly glowing blowfish lights ( for real!). 

Isaac Hayes – Potawatomi Casino – Northern Lights Theatre

This is about as rock star as it gets, aside from the really creepy huge maze of slot machines you need to wind your way through to get to the theatre.  There’s this subtle ambient music playing 24/7 which makes things even more surreal.  Regardless, once my friend Kevin and I were shown into the theatre, we were lead down to the stage-level booths and were seated DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ISAAC HAYES.  We were practically sitting in the man’s lap, for crying out loud!!!  He was watching us, I swear, even though you couldn’t really tell because of the shades, but I know . . . the service was somewhat lacking in promptness and friendliness, but then again I would be fairly surly if I was only one of a few waitstaff for the entire ground floor.  Isaac was amazing – to be expected.  Sitting at his keyboard in his majestic gold and black robes, singing his “3:00 a.m.” songs . . . oh yeah.  The king of smooth – I wonder how many people were conceived with Isaac Hayes playing in the background.  Well, never mind, but of course the show wouldn’t be complete without a rousing rendition of “Shaft” and he even brought out Chef’s signature song from Southpark (I don’t think the obscenity and profanity guidelines around which the blog was established would let me mention the name of the song due to its double entendre, but let’s just say it celebrates his winning recipe – ha!) At some points I felt like I was in a gospel church meeting because the audience was so interactive in their response to his songs and narration (I could have listened to him talk about seducing people at the coffee machine all night long).  It was great – he had three other keyboardists, two percussionists, three backup vocalists, a guitarist named Skip whose solos were so sensual you almost felt like you were walking in on a private moment, bassist – wow.  Afterwards, the band was taking down their own equipment and talking with fans (especially Skip – a hit with the ladies).  That’s the thing I love about the Northern Lights Theatre (1721 N. Canal St.).  It makes these huge acts so accessible, and did I mention the FREE parking?!  A selling point in itself.   

Bob Mould!

Once again, Shank Hall (1434 N. Farwell Ave.) does it again.  The guy at the door was like, “Weren’t you just here a few days ago?”  Yeah, well, you have to admit, Peter Jest books some pretty amazing acts there and the tickets are pretty reasonable, considering the caliber of the performers and the intimacy of the venue.  I got there a little after 8 to catch opening act Peter Searcy, who was surprisingly good for your typical “alternative” singer/songwriter.  After chatting with my friend Pat O’Neill of cow-punk band FSFI, my Bobby Friedman (sound engineer extraordinaire) and Keith Brammer (Die Kreuzen, Boy Dirt Car bassist) moved closer to the front to see Bob.  Again, such a great venue – we were so close (even got a table in the second row shortly into the show!) to one of the most incredible singers/songwriters/guitarists I know of (which isn’t saying much, but still).  We sat and watched him play what he said was “the most quiet set in my life – I can hear the air between my syllables.”  Not meaning the crowd was dead, but the acoustics (I thought) were wonderful.  He was so clear and his guitar didn’t just drown out everything, including the precious little hearing I still have.  AND, he played so much Hüsker Dü stuff – even my old school punk rock friends were digging it.  “When he started playing ‘See A Little Light,’ I knew what I had come here for,” said Pat.  Awesome.  And did I mention the man didn’t even break a sweat, cranking out those incredible songs one after the other practically non-stop?!  I love him. AND I bought a CD of a show he played in London with his band in ’98 FOR $5.00, which he SIGNED!!!!  Only at Shank.   

Afterwards, I met up with Pat and his Tosa neighbor Bill at The Guitar Bar (1139 N. Water St.) for a post-Bob Mould cocktail.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve been on Water St. (usually the scene is a bit too drunken college kid-ish for me), but this place was really cool.  Some kid was playing “really well on a crappy guitar,” noted Pat.  But the décor was charming and I definitely want to come back there again sometime.  Another late night, but it gave me something to look forward to listening to on the bus ride to Madison early the next morning.      

Indian Music Concert

I was listening to WMSE 91.7 F.M. on Monday morning and heard Tom Crawford talking to Shivaji (Shibi) Kaul about the upcoming sitar concert at the Miramar Theatre (2844 N. Oakland Ave.) this Saturday.  I’m going, even though I’m not the biggest sitar fan (the last concert I saw at UWM a few years ago lasted a LONG time).  But this one not only features Indian classical music on the sitar by Rabindra Goswami (accompanied on the tabla by Ramchandra Pandit), but also ghazals and the folk music of India by Shanti Hiranand (accompanied by Anil Datar on tabla).  This seems to me to be a bit more accessible because the evening will be broken up and there’s going to be Indian snacks for sale – yum!