10 May 9, 2011
fringe
The UWM Post
Mark your summer music calendars Summer shows endorsed by the fringe section of the UWM Post
Alan Paloma’s Neon Indian project is coming around again at Turner Hall May 18. Image courtesy of Richard Card
By Graham Marlowe Staff Writer fringe@uwmpost.com
The Post, by nature, does not print throughout the summer months, so here’s a forecast of some summer shows that may be worth checking out. May 12 – Shpongle with Random Rab (The Rave) “Shpongle” is not a word you’d find in the dictionary. But for Simon Posford and Raja Ram, this neologism for euphoria forms the basis of the U.K. duo’s East-meets-West synthbased ambience. Journalists call it “Psytrance” or “Psybient,” and like The Orb before them, their Tales of the Inexpressible (and their message) transcend space and time entirely, with straight faces and psychedelic inflection. As a live band, Posford often performs DJ sets to break things up. However, for this leg of the tour, the focus will be new material from an untitled, upcoming sixth album. May 18 – Neon Indian with Oberhofer (Turner Hall) If you missed this parking-lot sage the first time, Turner Hall is giving you a second chance. Alan Palomo’s songs sound like they’ve been lifted from the grill of a summer barbeque in the early ’80s with a grainy VHS quality that’s bound to induce studyhall daydreams. Last July, Palomo’s “concert” included a synapse-frying suburban-American slideshow, a band that looks like it met behind Goodwill after hours, and a front man (Palomo) who multitasks onstage better than an overworked receptionist. Since
that time, Mind Ctrl: Remixes has made the rounds online and will help Palomo & Co. turn the trip-o-meter to a Spinal Tap 11. Something about that ticket price just doesn’t do it justice.
Nowadays, Coffin divides his time evenly between Mu’tet and Bela Fleck & the Flecktone. Nevertheless, this is a special treat for the Jazz in the Park crowd.
May 24 – Bruno Mars with Janelle Monáe (The Rave)
June 10 – Canyons of Static (Frank’s Power Plant)
Given the ubiquity of the headliner’s radio play, it’s odd that Mars will share a bill with Monáe at The Rave and not an expansive arena. Mars’ stint at Motown Records never quite got liftoff, but the natural performer was genetically engineered for success by the label’s distant bloodline of producers, which explains the mounting success of his solo debut, Doo Wops & Hooligans. Monáe, a sort of interstellar Erykah Badu, has been compared to an alien, among other things. Her Kansas City heritage does little to define her Grammy-nominated alter-ego debut TheArchAndroid (Suites II and III), but with her star-struck R&B sound, what else can? Whether Monáe spent time on another planet is best left to guesswork, but chances are good that there are moon rocks on that tour bus.
West Bend has many strange qualities, though most people couldn’t spot a “post-rock” band in that town if they tried. Following the local success of 2008’s The Disappearance, these shoegazers have been busy reshaping their sound and veering into jazzy open structures at their live shows. Guitarist Ross Severson says a new 7” will be ready at the show, though it’s unclear what will be on it. If it’s anything like their Borg Ward gig earlier this year, it’ll split an atom. Or get syndication by HBO.
June 9 – Jeff Coffin & The Mu’tet (Jazz in the Park) Playing two saxophones at once might seem a little gimmicky to some music fans, but Jeff Coffin’s bald, bespectacled credentials now transcend that practice completely. In 2008, Coffin filled in for the late, great Dave Matthews Band saxophonist LeRoi Moore, and he made his first Milwaukee visit in quite some time by way of DMB’s annual, storied Alpine Valley concerts this past August.
June 16 – My Morning Jacket (The Riverside) The last half-decade has been good to MMJ. Concert film/live album Okonokos (2006) revealed to a widening audience their inward-thinking jazz-prog chops as well as the Kentucky rocker’s inward-thinking jazz-prog urges. That road led 2008’s Evil Urges into simpler, Prince-inflected territory that stumbled into overlooked acoustic EPs, gigs with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and other distractions like Jim James’ indie-lauded Monsters of Folk record with M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis. The upcoming Circuital is projected to meld these learned experiences together.
See CONCERTS page 14