Community service comes in many forms — a park cleanup, an urban garden, maybe a book or toy drive. Then there’s the less-common community service that we offer at Radio Milwaukee from time to time: A Studio Milwaukee Session with a band playing a sold-out show in the city.
Because one of the things that drives us is sharing music with you, we relish these happy coincidences when an artist performs here either right before or right after packing one of Milwaukee’s great venues. Yard Act pulled off the feat with their capacity concert Thursday night at X-Ray Arcade, so you can bet there were plenty of people joining us Friday afternoon who were grateful for the opportunity to watch them boss our stage.
In an even happier coincidence, the gang from Leeds visited us during the Fall Drive, which meant their session was open to the public. And the public took advantage. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house (or in the adjacent Andrew Wadsworth Community Room for that matter), and Yard Act met that energy — with frontman James Smith getting a small assist from the coffee (possibly tea) mug in his hand at the mic.
Sandwiched between their Cudahy stop and a Friday night show at the Metro in Chicago, the entire band was up for the noontime set, right down to backup vocalists Lauren Fitzpatrick and Daisy JT Smith very much NOT phoning in their choreography — even while wearing Adidas Slides.
Opening with “Petroleum” and “Land of the Blind” from their latest album, Where’s My Utopia?, Smith traded emphatic vocals with casual strolls around the stage, occasionally pausing to swish his wake-up beverage of choice around in his mouth. As Sam Shipstone wrapped up one of several ripping guitar solos, 88Nine’s Dori Zori stepped in for the mid-set interview and coaxed Smith into saying a few nice things about community radio smack dab in the middle of our Fall Drive.
“I think the infrastructure in the States and college radio and community radio in general is WAY better,” Smith said, comparing it with the setup back in his native U.K. “The States have definitely led by example in a way we’ve started to sort of follow.
"We have some really great stations now in the U.K., and I think the internet kind of changed everything. Growing up, we had local radio, but it wasn’t as invested in up-and-coming talent, I suppose. Key 103 in Manchester is what I used to listen to. Mr. Blobby used to be on it. Not as good as Radio Milwaukee, 88-point-9.”
We swear that was a totally spur-of-the-moment endorsement, as Yard Act had already earned a thumbs up from 88Nine well before they walked into our Walker’s Point studios. This session only made it more emphatic.
Studio MKE: Yard Act set list
- “Petroleum”
- “Land of the Blind”
- “We Make Hits”
- “Witness (Can I Get A?)” (non-broadcast performance)