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.
As human beings, we’re wired to get a jolt of excitement from the new and shiny thing. Call it evolution, call it economic conditioning, but it’s incredibly easy to turn your eyes toward the latest whatever and make that your focal point for however long.
So let’s do that.
The new and shiny thing in this case is the Argo — an entertainment venue previously known as the Fox Bay Theater and now sporting a new name to go along with renewed spaces as part of a refurbishment project originally expected to cost more than $7.5 million. The most visible parts of the price tag are the three gathering spots in the building: a ballroom, a bar and kitchen, and an entertainment hall.
This being a concert post, we’re most concerned with that last one, which will welcome artists to its stage for the first time this weekend with back-to-back shows — a “soft” opening Friday and a “grand” variety the following night. Doing the honors for the former are a triple bill of Nashville alt-pop trio VEAUX as headliners, plus a pair of solid local openers in the forms of Zach Pietrini and the Chris Haise Band.
The two Milwaukee members of the lineup should be familiar to 88Nine listeners, who have likely encountered them via our Milwaukee Music Premieres or 414 Live music series. VEAUX will top off the night having recently released The Grand Continuum, a fresh EP that leans slightly sinister while still nudging you in a “move and groove” direction that’ll play beautifully in the Argo’s new performance space for Friday night’s show.
Saturday night’s grand opening puts Milwaukee in the headline spot, courtesy of hometown boys Goran Kralj and Morgan Dawley of The Gufs. In addition to celebrating the venue, the show will fete the 30th anniversary of Collide, the band’s breakout album that was required indie-rock listening for southeastern Wisconsinites when it debuted in March of 1995.
The duo will run through the entire record and throw in a “deluxe edition” experience by sharing how the songs came together and still resonate three decades later. Dialing up the mid-’90s cred will be the night’s opener, Brian Vander Ark of The Verve Pipe, whose hit song “The Freshman” climbed into the top five of Billboard’s Hot 100 back in 1997 and helped their album Villains reach platinum status.
The doors for Saturday’s show will open (grandly) at 7 p.m., with the artists taking the stage starting at 8 p.m.
Best concerts in Milwaukee this week
- Dec. 3: S. Carey @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 4: Rhett Miller w/Anna Daley Young @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 4: The Claudettes (album release) w/Elephonic @ Anodyne, 7 p.m.
- Dec. 5: Samantha Fish, Cedric Burnside & Jon Spencer @ Turner Hall, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 5: VEAUX w/Zach Pietrini, Chris Haise Band @ The Argo, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 5: Hit the Lights, Gold Steps, Walk Off @ Cactus Club, 6:30 p.m.
- Dec. 6: Thievery Corporation w/City of the Sun @ Turner Hall, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 6: Samiam, Avenues, Hello Face @ X-Ray Arcade, 7:30 p.m.
- Dec. 6: Goran & Morgan (The Gufs) w/Brian Vander Ark (The Verve Pipe) @ The Argo, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 6: Ryan Necci & The Buffalo Gospel @ Vivarium, 8 p.m.
- Dec. 6: Driveway Thriftdwellers (album release) w/Joseph Huber Band @ Linneman’s, 8 p.m.
