You-Phoria: a music blog from youphoric and roachcraft

  • Death Blues: Cactus Club, 5/4/2013

    Posted 5/6/2013 by cal
    The Alverno Death Blues shows last November were magnificent productions, but I have to confess, sheepishly, that in purely musical terms I found them lacking.  The simplistic hypnotic drones didn’t contain enough dynamic to captivate me by themselves.  I got the feeling that most people there had never heard music like that before, but I had.  The unique overall experience and the sheer force of Jon Mueller's will bolstered the songs, and through that they became great.  Stripped of the accoutrements, I wasn’t overly excited about seeing them played again by a three-piece band, but the chance to relive the Death Blues experience wasn’t something I wanted to pass up; it never completely left my consciousness. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Psychic Ills, Föllakzoid, Outside: Quarters, 3/10/13

    Posted 3/11/2013 by cal
    Look, they even have “psych” right in their name!  Of course, it’s not just due to the Tame Impala buzz, but the Australian psych-rock purveyors are certainly at the forefront of a massive surge in the genre.  Brooklyn record label Sacred Bones has been promoting various shades of post-punk and psych for years now, however, and it appears that the timing is perfect for two of the label’s prominent up-and-coming acts.  The tour that stopped at Quarters Rock ‘N Roll Palace Sunday night featured New York’s Psychic Ills topping the bill, but they proved to be the least interesting band of the night. Read more... Comments (2)

  • Umphrey's McGee: Orpheum, 2/16/13

    Posted 2/18/2013 by cal
    After 26 Umphrey’s McGee shows, I feel like I should be much better than I am at recognizing songs by name.  At The Orpheum on Saturday they played plenty of heavy-hitters that I’ve seen live many times--in fact most of the songs they played I recognized--but the only ones I could name with any certainty were the covers.  True, the repertoire is absurdly huge, but I realize it’s at least subconsciously intentional on my part; I only have room in my brain for so much useless information, and the Bands Whose Entire Repertoires I Have Memorized section is pretty full.  Once I start an obsession like that, it never really ends; to commit to a Phish-like devotion to learning to recognize a similarly vast array of tunes would be detrimental to my ability to get anything practical done for months.  At this point I’m more likely to recognize a UM song I don’t like than one I do, which is dumb.  Also, I rarely listen to UM recordings; the pursuit strikes me as more academic than spiritual, not that I wouldn’t enjoy it but there are much higher priorities.  There’s obviously something about Umphrey’s songs that limits how deeply I can connect with them.  Which makes it all the more impressive on their part that I keep coming back. Read more... Comments (0)

  • The Best Shows I Saw In 2012

    Posted 2/3/2013 by cal
    When I started looking back on 2012, I definitely felt like it was amazing for records but not so amazing for live music.  If that’s true, it’s only because every year is great for live music, and 2011 will always be tough to beat.  And in terms of the Milwaukee scene, 2012 was easily the best year yet that I’ve been a part of, even if some of my favorite local bands (*cough cough ahem* CELEBRATED WORKINGMAN) virtually went into hiding.  Many highlights from unexpected bands, and of course some reliable greatness from perennial faves, make up this year’s list.  Read on for those highlights. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Death Blues (No Time Like The Present)

    Posted 11/19/2012 by cal
    Death Blues is as much about what you bring as a member of the audience as it is about taste or smell or dance or music.  You are expected to have familiarized yourself with the concept somewhat beforehand: The time of your death is unknown, so make every moment count.  You are expected to be silent throughout the event (hooray!); the result is that the performance is as much in your mind as on the stage.  Through lengthy stretches of soundlessness, your thoughts are the show. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Fanfare Ciocarlia: City Winery (Chicago), 9/25/12

    Posted 9/27/2012 by cal
    City Winery: not the kind of place I'd expect to see...a show, at all.  My initial fear was that they'd telll me I couldn't come in dressed like THAT, but it is 2012 after all.  This is the kind of place where you pay twelve bucks for a half-ounce of duck tacos, Chicago's only Urban Winery, as our MC proudly announced; they'd just had umpteen tons of pinot grapes shipped in and the first vintage was underway.  Fortunately I'd scarfed down a six-dollar footlong en route and they had bottles of Edmund Fitzgerald cheaper than Miller Lites at the Metro, so everything was coming up Milhouse so far. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Katatonia: Bottom Lounge, 9/17/12

    Posted 9/19/2012 by cal
    The original Katatonia formula listed genuine depression and misanthropy as its first two ingredients.  Evolution into a powerful, confident band that emanates gratitude to its small clusters of diehards probably still smarts like a betrayal to the most gothic of the original fans.  Jonas Renkse no longer lists his relationship status as “dead to love”, and an increasing percentage of the songs he writes could conceivably be played on mainstream FM radio.  You might expect that the lure of success would devastate all possible integrity, except for the indisputable evidence of Katatonia’s live show: with each successive U.S. tour at least, the band gets better and better, even if the songs don’t. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Do 414 Anniversary Party

    Posted 9/17/2012 by cal
    Confession: I don’t have any opinion about Do 414.  I know its tagline is “What to do in Milwaukee”, so it’s probably not geared towards people who make it their business to know what to do in Milwaukee already.  It might even be a competitor of mine; I don’t really know.  It was really nice of them to throw this little anniversary party at Mad Planet on Saturday night, though.  It featured free music, a little bit of free Sprecher Amber, and a very pleasant setting for whatever folks happened to be feeling like doing.  I would definitely have bestowed the “What to do” stamp on it. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Phish: Chaifetz Arena, 8/28/12

    Posted 8/30/2012 by cal
    As the saying goes, insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  It may be one of the dumbest clichés ever coined, especially in considering Phish; we go see the same band night after night, and the results are drastically different each time, which is what we expect, so are we crazy?  What about the ones who drive 400 miles in the middle of the week to see one show in a dinky, generic college arena, only to drive home the next day?  These otherwise seemingly sensible people would only do such a thing if they saw it as a legitimately low-risk endeavor, probably.  In my case, the question to ask is this: How could Phish make a relatively dogshit assortment of tunes like the one they played at the Chaifetz Arena, featuring not a single song I’d ever put on my dream setlist, worth all that time and dough and effort?  The answer is simple: by being Phish, totally unpredictable, just like we like ‘em. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Summerfest Day 8

    Posted 7/11/2012 by cal
    Thursday night was earnest white guy night at Summerfest, but before I get to the part with the swooning teenage girls, let’s talk about swooning Gen-X punk rock dudes who grabbed the opportunity to get nostalgic with The Smoking Popes.  They never tried to be the fastest, most aggressive band in the scene, leaving the obnoxious whiny vocals to Screeching Weasel in favor of clean, melodic singing and some of the catchiest pop music that could still be considered at all punk.  Now approaching a decade into their reunion, the Popes still don’t sound much different than they did in 1994; maybe a bit slower but still punchy, and freed from the tired notion of “sellout,” they can mash up a “Do You Feel Like We Do” jam with Jawbreaker’s “Do You Still Hate Me” and not worry about repercussions. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Phish: Alpine Valley, 7/1/12

    Posted 7/6/2012 by cal
    “Soul Shakedown Party” doesn’t pop up randomly at just any show.  Its prior three appearances came in the superb Denver three-nighter last Labor Day weekend, Super Ball IX and the ’09 New Year’s run.  Whether or not that signifies anything to Phish, it felt to some like a ringing acknowledgement of the excellence of the 2012 Corn Run.  Some folks even caught a way-out-there tease preceding the Bob Marley classic--was that “Chalk Dust Torture Reprise”???  Still, it was Sunday; it also might’ve been a typically laid-back start to what would ultimately be a mellow, family-friendly show, except it wasn’t.  In every respect, Phish played at least as well Sunday night as Phish 3.0 has ever played. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Phish: Alpine Valley, 6/30/12

    Posted 7/6/2012 by cal
    Miraculously, as far as I know, we all escaped Deer Creek with our lives, but it was dicey for a while there as our tents were pelted with horizontal rain and lit almost constantly by lightning for a good hour or so early Saturday morning.  But somehow the drive to Wisconsin seemed to fly by; past Corn Runs had been bogged down by merciless traffic jams and/or lack of air conditioning, making this the smoothest Creek-to-Alpine Valley trip I’ve ever been on.  Alpine lots were low key in the still-oppressive heat, but the place seemed pretty full as Phish came onstage and we all wondered if this would be the show where they finally have an off night. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Remembering MCA And A Friday Night In MKE

    Posted 5/6/2012 by cal
    Friday was a weird day.  The death of Adam Yauch weighed it down considerably.  Pretty tough to get through a Gen-X life without feeling the impact of the Beastie Boys, and with Yauch out of commission for some time and the band in general having kept a pretty low profile for most of the past decade or so, it had been easy to forget how influential they were on our world.  Licensed To Ill was the soundtrack to my fifth grade year, which may have been life-altering in imperceptible ways (certainly the most perfect fifth-grader fantasy record ever, if nothing else), but the real game-changer was seeing the band at Lollapalooza in 1994.  I didn’t even know they played instruments until that day.  It was like seeing five bands at once, and the energy they projected from the stage made pretty much every show I’d seen up to that point (and the Smashing Pumpkins set that followed) seem boring as hell.  Suddenly I realized it was okay for an alternakid to dig hip hop and R&B and jazz too, and life would never be the same. Read more... Comments (0)

  • Juniper Tar: Turner Hall Ballroom, 4/27/12

    Posted 5/1/2012 by cal
    Ever since Wilco went indie rock, the whole folk rock trend seems to have lost its way.  Hell, even My Morning Jacket went disco, and if all we’re left with is Fleet Foxes in the national picture, God help us. (I’m not even going to get started on Bon Iver.) But freed from the pressures of keeping up with a widespread scene, Milwaukee has kept the flame alive all this time, to the point where now it’s the dominant unifying sound of Brewtown.  Go figure; this is where the rural and the urban meet, a cultural melting pot with plenty of room to breathe.  It may be a sad thought, but with the passing of Levon Helm, there could well be a massive resurgence in roots music, but around these parts it’s been full steam ahead all along.  2012 will purportedly see new releases from The Championship and Field Report (start getting excited now), and Friday night, The First Waltz at Turner Hall Ballroom (naturally!), was in honor of Juniper Tar’s exceptional new album Since Before.  I don’t care if you’re sick of hearing about these guys.  They rule. Read more... Comments (1)

  • "The First Waltz" Residency, Night 4

    Posted 4/19/2012 by cal
    Was it just me, or were fewer people gabbing during last night’s residency finale?  Even though it was, appropriately, the most celebratory-feeling show of the run, people seemed to be paying attention.  Maybe it was because most of the curious-onlookers and make-the-scene-sters had been filtered out and the room was full of people who wanted to be there and loved the music.  Or maybe it was just really loud, and I was close to the stage.  Whatever the case: gratitude. Read more... Comments (0)
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