Milwaukee’s concert scene has a lot going on, so we look at the shows coming up to find the ones you’ll look back on and be glad you went. Then we add them to our weekly Milwaukee Concert Picks.
This week is packed with all-star acts gracing the 414, led by the double shot of Built to Spill and Yo La Tengo at the Pabst Theater on Wednesday night to woo the hearts and minds of indie aficionados.
Built to Spill are a band that writes for the yearners. Frontman Doug Martsch, who has fronted the project for more than 30 years, delivers a consistent beat of self-destructive melancholic lyrics. Every single song feels like a journal entry from a one-sided love story with no happy ending. And yet it’s not sad, just relatable and real. Then there’s the foundational indie-rock instrumentation that cements the band among contemporaries like Dinosaur Jr, or Modest Mouse.
In essence, Built to Spill are a tear-jerkingly robust act.
If that’s not enough, this show gets the perfect opener in Yo La Tango, another stalwart of the genre who has carved a noisy (and equally foundational) niche in indie rock. “Noisy” is a generic term but holds specific meaning in music when talking about noise rock — a fuzzy constant background that frames a song. Across their career, Yo La Tengo have combined noise rock with melodious indie pop to craft an atmospheric experience that influenced bands like Broken Social Scene.
Catch Built to Spill and Yo La Tengo on Wednesday at the Pabst Theater (and watch for a review from yours truly coming soon after the show).
Looking southward, pop-rock band Oso Oso will bring their $10 Tour — along with irresistible hooks and rock-solid rhythms — to Cudahy’s X-Ray Arcade on Sunday. The NYC-based group has hooks for days and, like Built to Spill, are another band for the yearners, with deeply introspective songs focusing on heartbreak, grief and what it means to stay alive.
Local legend Holy Pinto, who just played Summerfest, will use his deeply warm pop sounds to open the show that starts at 8 p.m. Sunday.
If you’ve still got some fuel in your tank, point your compass toward Cactus Club the following night for Milwaukee punk band Oh Well OK with openers King In Yellow from New York and locals Fake My Death. All three acts touch on distinct flavors of punk/alternative music that will merge to create a uniquely varied show. Bob your head and shake your body at 7 p.m. Monday at Cactus Club.
Best Milwaukee concerts this week
- July 16: Built to Spill, Yo La Tengo @ Pabst Theater, 7 p.m.
- July 16: Indigo De Souza w/Primer @ Turner Hall, 8 p.m.
- July 17: Black Widows, Cozy Danger, ID @ X-Ray Arcade, 7 p.m.
- July 17: Ladders w/Caley Conway, Valentiger @ Linneman’s, 9 p.m.
- July 18: Winona Fighter w/Rat Bath @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- July 18: Torcado (EP release) w/Mas Verde, Rich & Dusty @ The Cooperage, 7 p.m.
- July 18: Bug Hunter, The Narcissist Cookbook @ Shank Hall, 7 p.m.
- July 19: Daisyhead @ Anodyne, 6:30 p.m.
- July 20: Hemlock, Angelica, Bitch Creek @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- July 20: Oso Oso, Holy Pinto @ X-Ray Arcade, 8 p.m.
- July 21: Oh Well OK, King In Yellow, Fake My Death @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.