Concert Preview: March '08

With summer nearing, I can almost feel those balmy nights at the Marcus Amphitheater. Okay, let’s be serious here. We still have several more weeks of winter and the snow definitely isn’t going anywhere soon. So, even though the summer concert season is a little too far out of our listening range right now, we can melt our winter blues with some all-American rock ‘n’ roll or a concert that will heat up any local venue.

So, here’s a short list of my recommendations for this chilly month:

Billy Joel
TONIGHT! Sunday, March 2 at The Bradley Center

One of today's greatest performers, singer-songwriters, pianists, composers, and Grammy winning musicians, Billy Joel will be live and in person for his first solo appearance in Milwaukee in a decade and will bring a little nostalgia to the city. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee delivers song after song with wit, vigor, and a sense of pride that comes with nearly 40 years of hard musical labor. This scrappy New Yorker remains astonishingly sharp at the piano and gives, as you’d expect, a first class performance. You have a chance to hear favorites like Piano Man, Movin' Out, Only the Good Die Young, It's Still Rock and Roll to Me, Uptown Girl, We Didn't Start the Fire, The River of Dreams, you know, the standard fare of Greatest Hits material… need I say more?

$41.50 to $97 Reserved Seating

______________________

RAIN: The Beatles Experience
TONIGHT! Sunday, March 2 at The Riverside

For those who were lucky enough to see the Beatles live, this is a tremendous opportunity to relive your experience, but for those who haven’t, this is the next best thing because they are a spitting image of Paul, John, George and Ringo and they sound remarkably like them. According to our friends at the Pabst Theater, RAIN covers the Beatles from their earliest debut through their psychedelic stint in the late 60s and their long-haired hippie, hard-rocking rooftop days. RAIN is a multi-media, multi-dimensional experience with video screens around the concert hall that depict historical TV footage and commercials from the 60s as unforgettable chart toppers send you on a trip back in time to the Fab Four’s once revolutionary rock ‘n’ roll that spanned generations.

$29.50 Reserved Seating

______________________

Chick Singer Night
Tuesday, March 11 at Caroline’s Jazz Club

With 11 cities participating around the country, Chick Singer Night is the nation's most notable original and longest-running songfest for female artists. As a non-profit organization, CSN is dedicated to helping female artists in every stage of their music careers. Each show features established and up and coming local and regional artists and exudes uniqueness as it welcomes all singers of every style of music, with all levels of experience and from all walks of life. Notable CSN alumni include Norah Jones and Sheryl Crow and many other amazing female artists. Be amazed by recent featured musicians on tour including Lisa Gatewood, Ellen Winters, Jenny Thiel, Linda Stieber and Jeanna Salzer.

$8 General Admission

______________________

Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Friday, March 14 at The Pabst

Vermont-based rockers Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are your classic American, hot-wired rock ‘n’ roll band. While Grace Potter’s down-home beauty and charisma probably helps her get a first look, it’s her talent that’s made her a rising star. Potter alternates between an organ and a Flying-V guitar throughout the set, proving herself a multi-instrumental threat. “Potter is a rare commodity in an age when most aspiring pop stars would rather hit it big on American Idol than put in the time and effort required to master an instrument,” says Pop Matters. With a voice that oozes classic rock and blues—at times recalling artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, and Janis Joplin—the 24-year-old Potter is a talent eons beyond the Idol mob.

Listen to this soulful and spirited band by clicking here.

$13 General Admission

______________________

Jose Gonzalez
Tuesday, March 18 at The Pabst

Jose Gonzalez is a testament to the irrefutable power of one man and his guitar – it’s beautifully simple. “Gonzalez, an Argentinean-Swedish singer-songwriter, is one of a number of Scandinavian performers yanking folk rock back from the menacing grip of Top-40 musicians like John Mayer and Jack Johnson,” says Pop Matters. Those better-known guys aren't writing bad songs per se, but they do practice a kind of methodical, blueprint songwriting aimed directly at the center – lyrics that are disconnected and numb. But artists like Jose Gonzalez are aiming to do something a little more pure with no embellishments necessary. With thumping acoustic rhythms that combine anger and softness that’s mesmerizing, intimate and hunting, Gonzalez evokes a spirit of greats like Elliott Smith and Paul Simon. He is vibrant and magical and worth seeing.

Hear his acoustic covers here.

$15.50 General Admission

If none of my recommendations tickle your fancy, there are many more shows coming to Milwaukee in the next couple of months. For more concert information, take a look at the Rave, Pabst, Riverside and Turner Hall, or any of the venues listed to the left under “Rock Out.”

Comments

[todd]

Hey, make sure you give a shout out for The Hold Steady concert coming to Turner Hall. They are one of the best bands out there to see live. Their energy is HUGE at concerts and they rock the shit out of you every time!

[Karen]

Definitely.

The Hold Steady are already on my list for April. :) You’ll have to come back to read that concert preview.

Thanks Todd!