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)

  • R.I.P., CWM

    Posted 2/16/2013 by cal
    I’m glad I’m not going to be at Cactus Club tonight.  When a band I love announces four days in advance that its next show will be its last, and it’ll be an opening set for that Alan Sparhawk side project band [NOTHING AGAINST RETRIBUTION GOSPEL CHOIR], I (apparently) feel somewhat relieved that I already have tickets to a different show.  It’s not even a band I like nearly as much as Celebrated Workingman, but it’s a good band that’s not about to end itself.  What, with a fill-in bassist [NOTHING AGAINST SCOTT SCHOENBECK] and who knows what kind of intra-band drama at the root of the breakup, is the likelihood that tonight will be the best show Celebrated Workingman ever plays?  Even if it is, I can’t live in that moment; it would only make the (let’s face it: not-so-)sudden demise of the band that much harder to take.  It’s hard enough from a distance. 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)

  • 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)

  • 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)

  • 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)

  • MKE Day at Club Garibaldi

    Posted 4/17/2012 by cal
    I realize that Milwaukee Day is barely three years old, but checking my records, I’m certain that 2012 was the best one yet, at least in terms of live music.  You know it was a good night when you think about it the next day and you can’t decide which of three bands was the best.  Also, when the back of your neck kills with the slightest movement of your head.  Not a typical result from a Sat. Nite Duets show, but this was no ordinary 4/14.

    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)

  • "The First Waltz" Residency, Night 1

    Posted 3/29/2012 by cal
    Hotel Foster . Finally, a worthy successor to The Globe East. Wednesday night was my first venture into the building since Today Is The Day played in it, October 2002. It was kind of like going into Shank Hall for the first time after its renovation, except it didn’t feel sucky. You don’t get many chances in life for a sudden memory dump like this, and it was weird but invigorating envisioning the dingy black environs from back in the day and remembering all the great shows. Foster is nothing like The Globe, really, but of course it shouldn’t be. It’s a symbol of the new Milwaukee, the one that demands a modicum of style and a substantial selection of Wisconsin beers and fierce support of this potential golden age for local music. Read more... Comments (1)

  • 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)

  • The Promise Ring: Turner Hall Ballroom, 2/24/12

    Posted 2/26/2012 by cal
    Confession of a bad Milwaukeean: I never saw The Promise Ring during its original run. I was in town, I was aware of the band, I was hanging out with people who went to Promise Ring shows. But I hated emo. I thought emo had arrived to kill off punk rock and make my lifestyle invalid. Never mind that Davey von Bohlen was writing lyrics that could’ve made me feel better during a very troubled time, describing my mindset far more accurately than punk ever could. Never mind that I was supposed to be this open-minded kid who went to Metalfest one weekend and Phish the next. Punk was sacred, and emo was sacrilege. Maybe emo did end up killing punk after all; I’m too far removed now to be the judge. But I do know that what kids call emo these days is a far cry from what Promise Ring cranked out on Friday night at Turner Hall. 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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