Paint The Town

Shoulda Woulda Coulda

Last Friday was an absolutely gorgeous day for which the inhabitants of the frozen tundra that is Milwaukee nine months of the year live.  After popping up to Menomonee Falls and giving Stuart  a chance to meet my 95-year old (!) grandmother, we sped off to visit my friend Claire in Madison.  And it was wonderful – strolling down State Street, cutting through the capitol building, meeting Claire at the Great Dane Pub & Brewery for a Stone of Scone Scotch Ale and showing off our new shoes we got at Jack’s.  Just across the street, the Flatiron Tavern featured a bunch of Pabst and Blatz ads from god-knows-when, including one with Milwaukee native Liberace (!) – In fact, his brother George played for my grandma’s graduation ceremony at South Division, but that’s another story.  We drove back to Milwaukee in what seemed like record time, but maybe that’s just because we could watch the full moon rise over Wisconsin – wow. 

As much as I would have liked to show him around Milwaukee some more on Saturday, I had rehearsal at the ICHC (2133 W. Wisconsin Ave.), so Stuart was left to his own devices to tour Beertown.  We met up at Moe’s Irish Pub (142 W. Wisconsin Ave.) (in a box – don’t get me started) and watched the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s fans line up for their general admission show at the Riverside Theater (116 W. Wisconsin Ave.).  I would have liked to have seen them, but after seeing that queue, I had second thoughts.  We also had plans for dining with some of my friends, who cancelled at the last minute, so we popped over to the County Clare (1234 N. Astor St.) and met up with my friend Susan, who took pity on us and treated us to her culinary prowess.  During this time I had completely forgotten about the Ken Vandermark show that night.  I have heard about the Living Room music series (900 S. 5th Street #103) - monthly concerts featuring internationally renowned artists who play a variety of pieces, all in the comfort of someone's living room! - for some time.  I have also heard his stuff on WMSE 91.7 F.M., so I wanted to check this out at some point.  Unfortunately my feeble mental capacities were to blame, so it was an early night for us, which perhaps wasn’t the worst thing in the world after all. 

Notes from your long-lost blogger

After a hectic week, I found myself in a flurry of last-minute salon appointments before Stuart flew in for our portrait sitting with photographer Sara Risley, who we met at a party a few weeks ago.  As I finished my 3+ hour cut & color at the Aveda School (342 N. Water St.) I had the brilliant idea of snagging a couple tickets to Next Act’s An Infinite Ache, located directly upstairs.  Luckily enough, there were seats available that evening, but as I made my way downstairs, Stuart phoned to say his flight had been delayed. 

So with some time to kill, I popped over to Shoo, (241 N. Broadway St.) the new upscale shoe store in the Third Ward.  Without even a cursory glance from the shopgirl who was seemingly engrossed in some type of overwhelmingly compelling reading material that made her completely oblivious to any potential customers, I crossed the room to see what was showing at the Katie Gingrass Gallery.  But as much as I would like to say that I spent hours gorging myself on the visual feast of new work by nationally reknowned artists such as David Schaefer (oil paintings), Jeff Condon (pastels), Hideaki Miyamura (ceramics) and William Suys (oil paintings) displayed along the gallery walls, I have to admit that my attention quickly turned to the adjoining Third Ward Jewelry shop.  DANGER DANGER DANGER!!!  They feature quite a number of artists’ work - and at pretty decent prices.  I picked up a silver bracelet made with antique stamps that reads, “Put on your big girl panties and deal with it” – ha!  I also found it hard to resist a collection of tiny black & white photos of women from the turn of the century (?) in these gorgeous art-deco settings – really cool. 

So after prying myself away, I headed down to pick up my travel-weary fiancé, dove into OPTIX on Downer (2616 N. Downer Ave.) to pick up some fabulous frames he had purchased – Wow! – and then, off to our photo session.  Unfortunately, because everything got pushed back by the delayed flight, by the time we were finished at Prestige Portraits (3525 W. Wisconsin Ave.), we had missed the Next Act show.  Well, serves me right for being a bit too ambitious, perhaps, and trying to cram in WAY too much in a short period of time. 

So as bad as I felt about missing the play, the good news was that the pictures turned out beautifully and, after a celebratory cocktail in the Envoy bar at the Ambassador Hotel (2308 W Wisconsin Ave.) - which was packed with pizza-snarfing YPM’s - we enjoyed a leisurely dinner at Roots (1818 N. Hubbard St.) upon the brilliant suggestion of the Front of House Manager, Matthew. 

I have always wanted to eat there, and boy was it worth it.  The interior is a work of art in itself, especially the bar area downstairs, which is literally entwined with root-like metalwork.  Super cool – the food was gorgeous and, later on, we were treated to a lightning storm, which was breathtaking to watch out of their patio windows that feature a panoramic view of the skyline.  Dodging the raindrops as we dashed through the forest of condos that comprises chic and trendy Brewers Hill, I got to show off my wealth of Milwaukee trivial knowledge and explained to Stuart what the different colors of the flame on top of the former Gas Company building meant.  “Huh . . “ he mused. 

Over and out.      

Midsummer Night's Dream at the Boulevard

After being a tourist in my own town and spending the week in the absolutely-stunningly- gorgeously re-furbished art-deco Ambassador Hotel, (2308 W. Wisconsin Ave.) Stuart and I caught their complementary shuttle to Bay View for The Boulevard Ensemble’s  (2250 S. Kinnickinnic Ave.) production of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream – “A battle of the sexes in Texas,” as the program described.  The shuttle was late, unfortunately, so we got there just as the first act was opening and had to wander through the actors in the lobby, which also serves as their backstage area, and director Mark Bucher showed us up to what he terms, “the loge” seats – i.e. a couple high-backed stools in front of the lighting/sound booth.  Well, THAT’S why heavy emphasis is placed on asking patrons to arrive at LEAST 15 minutes early for the performance - due to the extremely limited seating space.  But again, that’s fine, because once we settled in and adjusted our ears to the actors’ twangy Southern accents, we really felt like we were part of the stage action ourselves.  That’s probably because, like most Boulevard shows, audience members are fair game and often get serenaded, directly addressed, end up holding props or even receive a complementary lap dance.  And Midsummer Night’s Dream was no exception.  Bottom, played by Al Dobyns of the Boulevard's production of Louisiana Purchase earlier this season, made no bones about crying his eyes out on some poor woman’s lap.  Snug, who was hilariously performed by Craig Halstead, sat in an elevated window-like opening on the side of the stage and dangled his bare feet dangerously close to a few audience members’ faces – yikes!  My friend and former co-actor from a MILLION years ago, Kate Nowicki, did a fab job painting the set, which featured a couple panels that depicted The Red River Valley Restaurant in Athens, TX on one side, and then opened up to simulate a nearby forest.  Another highlight of the production was the interlude music, sung and played by the actors themselves – I always give actors so much credit when they can play their own instruments - wow.  In fact, they even sang throughout the intermissions – how cool is that?!  An interesting choice was casting Robin Goodfellow, or Puck, as a woman – played by Kathryn Ambler.  And it worked somehow – didn’t seem too odd and it was kind of nice to see a woman in control of the hijinx that prevailed instead of the usual Shakespearean female object of affection or pining for her unrequited lover . . . I LOVED Carol Hirschi’s portrayal of Titania, Queen of the Fairies – she was fabulous – like a drunken Demi Moore with a HUGE chip on her shoulder – great.  And her boots were works of art in themselves – yee haw!  So yeah, it was a fun night – didn’t drag on like many Shakespeare comedies seem to – and I really enjoyed watching SOMETHING DIFFERENT – edgy – being done with the old stand-by’s.  What a breath of fresh air in this town – a welcome alternative to the stuffy, same-ol-you-know-what productions that somehow seem to me to have become the standard in the Milwaukee theater scene.  I am definitely looking forward to their upcoming production of Harold Pinter’s “The Birthday Party,” coming upWednesday, April 26, 2006 - Sunday, May 07, 2006.  I love Pinter's work and the play’s starring my long-time Milwaukee Irish Arts co-actor, Kevin Callaghan – yay!  More later.      

Neko Case and Martha Wainwright at the Pabst!!

What a lineup – and at the Pabst Theater (144 W. Wells St.) no less!  I can’t stop saying this, but their low budget alternative acts marketing scheme is absolutely brilliant!!!  General admission - $10.00 – cheap beer and two incredible acts – you can’t freakin’ beat it!  I really don’t get out to see as many female singer/songwriters as I should, so this was a great excuse to get together with friends, drink some PBR and purchase Martha Wainwright MFK-ING A-HOLE hot pants!  Granted, I can’t say that I like her as much as her brother, but Martha put on a good show, even if she kind of reminded me of a blonde Lily Tomlin's Edith Ann -- the bratty little girl who pontificated from an oversized chair – with a chip on her shoulder.  But she was mesmerizing, despite the gradually increasing PBR yelps . . .

And Neko Case was great – she really held the audience in her grasp with the help of a great backup singer and band, replete with standup bass (!)  Even with a cold, she managed to showcase her incredible vocal range and guitar prowess . . . I will say that she had the shortest wait time for her encores I’ve ever seen – no time for prolonged clapping or shouting – and by the second one, I was ready to go home, but all in all, it was great to show off our beautiful Pabst Theater to my out-of-towner fiancé, who was duly impressed, needless to say – and it wasn’t just the PBR . . .

The Emerald Triangle

So Stuart and I were casually strolling down Downer Ave. when we passed the Downer Theater (2589 N. Downer Ave. ) and saw a flyer for a one-time showing of The Emerald Diamond, a film about baseball in Ireland by first-time filmmaker John Fitzgerald. Needless to say, we dove in and snatched up our tickets for the Milwaukee premiere, hosted by Milwaukee Irish Arts veteran actor, Eamonn O’Neill and local playwright Dennis Regan.  The young filmmaker gave a brief introduction to the movie and then we were treated to a panoramic view of the gorgeous Irish landscape – everything from the Cliffs of Moher to the Torc Waterfall in Killarney.  And so the saga began – the underdogs – starting with nothing but a muddy mound in a field to playing at Fenway Park.  I really enjoyed following the team’s journey, despite many crushing defeats, to create a national baseball team that regularly competes in the European Championships.  Afterwards, they held a reception at County Clare, (1234 N. Astor St.) sponsored by Boru vodka.  Stuart and I had a pint and chatted with the locals, who had neither heard of baseball in Ireland nor Irish vodka.  Well, you learn something new every day . . .

A Month in the Country - Milwaukee Repertory Theater

So there I was – Friday night – got delayed at work and I missed the Milwaukee Ballet at the Pabst Theater (144 E. Wells St.) – ARGH!! These day jobs get in the way of my blogging and social life . . unfortunately . . . I was pretty bummed about that because the last performance I saw, “The Nutcracker,” was SO amazing (especially for my niece, Hannah) and I LOVE the Pabst because it’s so much more intimate than Uihlein  Hall and beautiful for that matter . . . here's a picture from last year's performance, courtesy of the Milwaukee Ballet, (Dancers: Marc Petrocci, Brent Whitney, Dwayne Holliday; Photo by: Rick Brodzeller) to give you an idea of what I/we missed . . . wah . . . however, I did get a chance to show Stuart our dramatic prowess in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s production of Ivan Turgenev’s novel, A Month in the Country, adapted by one of my favorite playwrights, Brian Friel!  And it was, as usual, FABULOUS!  The set was graced with many pieces of furniture hanging from the ceiling and every seat in the Quadracci Powerhouse Theatre is a good one, so there’s no worry of missing out on the action and, my god, the acting – superb.  Deborah Staples, whom I just adore as one of the most dramatic actors in this town, played the tormented wife/woman/lover exquisitely.  God I love Russian stories because they usually end the way real life ends – complicated like.  And that’s exactly how this story played out – the characters were complex and, well again, the acting was just brilliant.  Jason Bradley, who’s new to the Rep, was wonderful as the young – and charming – tutor.   His chemistry with the young Vera (Karissa Vacker) was really genuine, and not cheesy at all.   Jonathan Smoots (whose performances I also love) portrayed the awkwardly lecherous German teacher like no other. And the music - they had some Russian chant-like numbers that were literally hypnotizing - I wish they had a soundtrack I could buy - it reminded me of the soundtrack to "Little Odessa," which I enjoy listening to now and again.  Great.  I felt very proud of my hometown as I led my fiancé out the door onto Wells Street after the 2 ½ hour play on my way to rehearsal – ugh.  We may not be Manhattan, but we sure can put on a good show – as always.  You really can’t go wrong with the Rep – just ask my mom, a 30+ year season ticket holder who sacrificed her seat to show Stuart our amazing theatrical resource that is the Milwaukee Repertory Theater.   

Oasis at the Riverside

I love Oasis, or at least the idea of them . . . just the thought of “What’s the Story, Morning Glory?” brings back fond memories of staying up all night in Dublin, 1995.  But that, my friends, was then, and unfortunately, what’s compelled me to keep buying subsequent Oasis CD’s and, for some mysterious reason, not really listening to them very much or forgetting I even own them.  All of these factors – and more – came rushing back to me Wednesday night at the Riverside Theater (116 W. Wisconsin Ave.) as I was yawning through what the teeming masses of screaming 20-somethings found to be the most amazing show since . . . well, I don’t know - the last washed-up band came to town, I suppose.  I wish I would have figured this out before I purchased my fetching lemon-yellow/black velvet crudely silkscreened T-shirt, but you can’t really tell it says "Oasis, " so I guess I don’t feel like too much of a poseur, but still . . . The Redwalls, a Chicago Brit-pop-wanna-be band, was the opening act – you could literally describe them as bubble-gum pop because the lead singer was, in fact, chewing gum the whole time.  Multi-talented . . . how else to describe them – suitjacket and jeans- complete with Peter Tork-lookalike keyboardist . . .toe-tappin’ . . . eh.  At least my ears didn’t get blown out, which seems to be a bigger and bigger advantage as I get older (creak, creak . . .)  . . . granted, they had their nicer harmonic moments, but they just sort of seemed like the Gallaghers’ mediocre American cousins . . .

On the other hand, my friend Mike once described Oasis as “ripping off the Beatles’ sound and the Kinks’ schtick.”  Interesting.  “It’ll be nice to see the Brothers Gallagher not at each others’ throats for once,” he continued.  Yeah, but the mood sort of struck me as similar to the Simon and Garfunkel reunion tour – neither one was very happy to be there, but they were getting paid, so . . . . “think of England”?  I don’t know – Liam was absolutely surly – strutting around, sneering at the roaring audience, wielding his tambourine like a weapon, flipping off the cameras and, at some points, striking a pose and standing onstage, motionless – and the crowd went wild.  Huh.  It all seemed very flat to me – and did I mention Noah wasn’t even able to make eye contact, let alone interact with the fans who were shouting his name?  It was really an odd feeling – I had great seats, the band played a bunch of my favorite songs, and yet I had better memories of listening to them in my car than actually watch them going through the motions of performing.  Strange.  In fact, when I got back to the Grand Avenue parking structure and paid my $9.00 parking fee (ouch!!), I looked at the clock – 9:47 – and felt somehow more fatigued than I had at the Coldplay concert that previous Sunday, which was way longer and more enjoyable.  Well, you win some and you lose some, I guess.  At least the kids had a good time but, in the immortal words of Travis, who opened for Oasis the last time they were in town a few years ago, “What’s a wonderwall anyway?”.

Back in Brew City

Whew – that evening Claire and I were driving back from Chicago after getting in from Dublin, KM Art (226 S. 1st St.) was having an opening for Francis Ford’s latest show, "Dairyland Divas and Dandies," featuring local character Jack Eigel.  I really wanted to catch this because I loved the last show he did in a similar vein a few years ago and Francis is such a nice/down-to-earth person who also happens to be considered one of the most talented photographers in the Midwest.  It’s always a party at KM, and I heard that my photographer friends Johnnie Shimon and Julie Lindemann even made it down from Manitowoc for the opening.  Unfortunately, I was still on Dublin time and crashed shortly after getting home from Madison that evening. 

Sunday my friends Jenna and Josh picked me up (thanks to my unreliable vehicle) and we went to Cafe Lulu (2265 S. Howell Ave.) for brunch (mmm!) and then Jenna and I zipped over to A Woman’s Touch (200 N. Jefferson Street. Suite 101) for their “The Art of Erotic Dance” workshop, hosted by Exotic George (!!).  As I had mentioned before, I was saddened to hear of the demise of Milwaukee’s only burlesque troupe, Brew City Burlesque, about whom I wrote a feature for “Art Muscle” in Riverwest Currents, and this workshop inspired me to learn more about their craft.  It was really cool to see a group of maybe a dozen women, ranging in age, race and body type, come together to have fun and play with the art of tantalization and taking more control in a sphere that is often considered male-dominated.  After we got out our giggles and stopped ogling our instructor, who’s been in the business for over 10 years, people started making up their own moves and letting their personalities shine through.  I really enjoyed watching my classmates (including myself) come out of their shells and start creating something that was uniquely theirs that they could continue to mold and shape according to their creative impulses (among others).  At the end of the session, George gave us a demonstration (WOW!!!) and we proudly left with our certificates of course completion (not quite sure if that’s going up on the wall at the office yet).

Jenna and I stopped by Bella Café (189 N. Milwaukee St.) (for a mid-afternoon caffeinated pick-me-up and I guess I was still in the clouds from Exotic George’s class and breezed right by my former Art Muscle editor, Judith Ann Moriarty and her sister, who were having coffee at the time as well.  Oops.  Jenna then dropped me off at the Irish Culture and Heritage Center, (2133 W. Wisconsin Ave.) where I rehearsed for a few hours before my sister, Liz, picked me up to go to the Coldplay concert that evening.

We could hardly contain our excitement after finding free street parking within walking distance of the Bradley Center (1001 N. 4th St.) and stopped by Turner Hall (1034 N. 4th St.) for a pre-show cocktail and bite to eat.  After walking across the street and standing in line for our concert T-shirts (mine has sparkles on it – surprise, surprise), I realized that Richard Ashcroft had already begun, even though our tickets said the show started at 8:00 p.m.  Needless to say I was ticked, because I LOVE The Verve and, after hearing his new album in a pub in Edinburgh, dashed across the street to the nearest HMV to pick up his latest CD.  We managed to catch a few great songs before he finished, but still . . . The Bradley Center has gone smoke-free, so we were freezing our behinds outside with the other second-class citizens, but our spirits weren’t dampened in our heightened anticipation of one of our favorite bands – EVER!!   

. . .and of course, there was Coldplay!!!!!!! Our seats were on the extreme right of the stage, so we couldn’t really see the light show/videos/graphics that were being shown on the backdrop, but who cares?!  It was fabulous, even though we were in the nosebleeds . . . Liz and I were absolutely demented (and it wasn’t because of the Miller Light – quite the contrary, I must say).  It was hard to choose a good moment to quick run to the bathroom, but our seats were right around the corner from the restrooms and concessions, so it couldn’t have been more convenient.  It was really great – all the songs they played were wonderful and we just never wanted it to end . . . I know it was a repeat of their Alpine Valley performance last August, but I was really glad I got to share it with my sister, who likes to think SHE turned ME on to them, even though I’ll never admit it . . . it was just fabulous – our throats were cashed from screaming our bloody heads off and I was soaked from jumping up and down for two hours.  We managed to make it over to The Foundation (2718 N. Bremen St.) for a post-concert bevvie before heading home and collapsing from sheer physical and emotional exhaustion. You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect evening.