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.
Like many music lovers, we here at Radio Milwaukee have a deep and abiding appreciation for vinyl, so much so that (shameless plug) we’re making it come alive this Thursday. It’s no surprise, then, that we get extremely pumped when Record Store Day comes back around on the calendar.
“But wait,” you say, “this is supposed to be a concert pick. As in live music. As in no recorded music allowed.”
That’s what makes Record Store Day such a cool event. The album shops really go all out nowadays and often include a live element to inject even more energy into the environment. Lilliput Records has opted for that route once again this year and lined up a doozy of a double bill this Saturday: Milwaukee punk rockers Jinksie at 4 p.m. and Chicago’s slightly more pop-leaning Friko at 5 p.m.
The Windy City trio put out the rock solid Where we’ve been, Where we go from here in February and prior to that tried out some of the new material at Cactus Club last December. Their visit to Lilliput presents an opportunity to play in front of a Milwaukee crowd that’s had a chance to fully digest the new album. Plus, if you like what you hear and don’t have the LP yet, you couldn’t be in a more convenient place to pick it up.
The store’s full day of programming starts with three DJ sets between 7 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., followed by the two bands. We’d also be remiss if we didn’t point you toward some info from the other fine record shops around town:
- The freshly rebranded Irving Place Records opens at 9 a.m. and will give away an exclusive Vivarium tote bag, a Vivarium lava lamp sticker, and a Turner Hall blade sign sticker to the first 50 people in line. You’ll also have the chance to win tickets to Belle & Sebastian (May 7 at Turner Hall), Laura Jane Grace (May 10 at Vivarium), and Peter Mulvey & Susan Werner (April 28 at Vivarium).
- Acme Records will open at noon and has a four-pack of live music lined up for you — Jim Warchol, Jeff Mitchell, Slow Owls and Nick Elert.
More shows worth a go
- April 18: Vinyl Comes Alive @ Turner Hall, 7:30 p.m.
- April 18: Ian Sweet, The Ophelias, Diamond Life @ X-Ray Arcade, 6:30 p.m.
- April 18: Adam Tesfaye @ Anodyne on Bruce, 8 p.m.
- April 18: Erik Koskinen w/Long Mama, Dandy L. Freling @ Linneman’s, 8 p.m.
- April 19: Slothrust w/Weakened Friends @ X-Ray Arcade, 6 p.m.
- April 19: Graham Parker @ Shank Hall, 8 p.m.
- April 19: Cozy Danger w/Oh Geeez Not Again, The Fall Sound, Venturer @ Linneman’s, 7:30 p.m.
- April 20: Slaughter Beach, Dog w/Erin Rae @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- April 20: Indigo Girls @ Bradley Symphony Center, 7:30 p.m.
- April 20: Saint Motel w/Gibbz @ Turner Hall, 8 p.m.
- April 22: Alvvays w/Spllit @ Pabst Theater, 8 p.m.
- April 23: MKE Music Night LXXII — Blacktop, Desperate Electric, The Quilz, Nate Scheurell, Tlalok @ Cactus Club, 6 p.m.
