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.
Andrew Bird has packed a lot into his 50 years on this planet — the vast majority of which has been spent sharing music with the rest of us. This Thursday, he’ll share a little more with the Milwaukee area in particular when he visits the Pabst Theater for an 8 p.m. show.
Bird has been doing the music thing since first holding a violin at 4 years old and learning classical pieces by ear. The years that followed saw him release an entire flock of studio albums, the most recent of which came out just last Friday.
Sunday Morning Put-On technically falls under the work of the Andrew Bird Trio — led by its namesake along with drummer Ted Poor and bassist Alan Hampton. The LP sees them tackling jazz standards like Duke Eliington’s “Caravan” and John Lewis’ “Django” while putting their own musicianship front and center.
Anyone who’s seen Bird on stage knows how remarkable it can be to see him at work. Whether playing with bow in hand or plucking at the strings of his violin or deploying that Muppet-worthy whistling technique, he’s a craftsman. Watch him put those tools to work Thursday night.
More shows worth a go
- May 30: Lizzie No, HOSTS, Humility Puppets @ Cactus Club, 7 p.m.
- May 30: Moonroof, Barely Civil, Lake Drive, 5 PM to Nowhere @ X-Ray Arcade, 7 p.m.
- May 31: Lunar Moth (album release) w/Bug Moment, Shoobie, The Nile Club @ Linneman’s, 9 p.m.
- June 1: Ladybird (early show) w/Long Mama @ Cactus Club, 5 p.m.
- June 1: Ladybird (record release) w/Joseph Huber, Maximiano @ Cactus Club, 8:30 p.m.
- June 1: Ravi/Lola (album release) w/Spidora, Dialogues @ Linneman’s, 8 p.m.
