You-Phoria: a music blog from youphoric and roachcraft

  • 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)

  • 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)

  • 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)

  • "The First Waltz" Residency, Nights 2 & 3

    Posted 4/14/2012 by cal
    Last week I was either too busy or too lazy (I forget which) to do a recap of night two of this residency that’s racing to its conclusion all too quickly, and it wouldn’t be fair to skip a week.  So, let this be your official welcome to the new and improved You-Phoria, thanks to the dedicated work of the inventor and namesake of this site (and birthday boy)!  Act now, limited-time, Milwaukee Day offer: TWO Juniper Tar Hotel Foster “The First Waltz” Residency reviews for the price of one! (Actually, it’ll be up here forever; no need to rush.) Read more... Comments (0)

  • Altos: Record Release Party, Stonefly Brewing Company, 3/10/12

    Posted 3/12/2012 by cal
    We humans are selfish creatures. We like what we like, whether it’s what excites us or what we’ve become accustomed to. I don’t really like Stonefly--the beer they make there, the food, the ambiance (aside from some pretty sweet paintings on the wall in the back corner). I’m a spoiled Milwaukee snob, and I’ve become accustomed to the beer and food that other places make, and the atmosphere of holes in the wall I’ve crawled into and out of more often. I hadn’t even been in Stonefly after dark since it was called Onopa except to use their ATM a couple of times. So I thought it was an odd choice for Altos’ record release party, but I’m sure they had their reasons, and as almost any music freak can say, I’ve seen some of my favorite shows in bad venues; it’s the music that matters. Read more... Comments (0)

  • My Favorite Shows Of 2011

    Posted 12/23/2011 by cal
    If I have any perennial list-readers here, most of them probably sighed preemptively as they imagined what would top my list this year, and they’re all correct: U2 (really impossible to choose between the two shows I saw), Phish (night one at UIC being the best of the seven), Secret Chiefs 3 at the Empty Bottle, Animal Collective at Pitchfork, and Paul McCartney at Wrigley Field. Oops, ya got me: I have favorite bands. I know music critics aren't supposed to reveal those, but there's no sense keeping it a secret. But rather than blather on about them yet again, it’s probably more productive for me to mention the top ten non-my-favorite-band shows of the year. So here goes. (To keep it interesting, I’m going to gloss over other obvious big names (Wilco, Pearl Jam, Primus, STS9), since they’ve all been covered plenty.) Read more... Comments (3)

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