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There are a few ways to make a band’s visit to our Walker’s Point studios hit that much harder. Weird Nightmare nailed a couple of them during their Tuesday afternoon performance.
First up, the band led by Alex Edkins made a stop in Milwaukee specifically to play the session, with shows the next two nights in the Twin Cities and Chicago, respectively. On top of that, they happened to drop by on a day that perfectly fit the music they shared on stage.
With the sun shining overhead and warm temperatures waiting for the audience upon their exit, Weird Nightmare unleashed the kind of guitar-forward power pop that puts a little more strut in your stroll. All four selections from new album Hoopla were the kind of “sit up and take notice” tracks that had our room of Radio Milwaukee members feeling like their long Memorial Day weekend got a sonic extension.
“I think my hope was to make something bright and uplifting,” Edkins said of Hoopla during the mid-set interview, “something you can put in your earphones and step out the door on a sunny day and hopefully can lift you up a little bit. That's what I wanted, and it's what I look for in records these days.”
While chatting with 88Nine music director Erin Wolf, Edkins also touched on his nearly 20 years with influential noise-rock trio METZ, why the time was right for a new project and how not fitting in has helped him find his place in the world.
Studio MKE: Weird Nightmare set list
- “Headful of Rain”
- “Might See You There”
- “Pay No Mind”
- “Forever Elsewhere” (non-broadcast performance)
