Tuesday, 18 Dec 2007
Tour announcements steadily fill up our inbox. We are doing our best to keep you up-to-date on concert announcements in Wisconsin…but what about those bands whose tour buses pass through our state without stopping to taste the cheese or slam a PBR? With each tour announcement we hold our breath, click and then….*sigh* when we have to drive out of state to catch a number of great bands.
In a concentrated effort to raise awareness about bands that are bypassing Wisconsin, and possibly to get the attention of these bands, we’ve decided to report them to you…the concert goers of Wisconsin. In most cases we’ll likely see that many bands are driving through our state from Chicago to Minneapolis, or vice versa. Not a big surprise considering the size of those markets versus Madison and Milwaukee, but that doesn’t mean that Wisconsin can’t offer the same level of great venues and eager music lovers as our neighbors.
These forthcoming posts are not intended to point a finger at any particular band, promoter, venue, etc., but rather to raise awareness and generate discussion in our musical community. Of course, the bands included here will be based on my personal taste, and not their popularity or ability to draw a crowd….but please leave a comment if you believe another band should be reported.
Inaugural inclusions are:
Lairs | Liars Myspace | Liars on MoB
2/4 – Grinnell College, Grinnell IA
2/5 – Metro, Chicago
2/6 – Dionysus Club, Oberlin OH
Yeasayer | Yeasayer Myspace | Yeasayer on MoB
2/7 – 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis
2/8 – Schuba, Chicago
Beach House / Papercuts | Beach House Myspace | Beach House on MoB
3/25 – 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis
3/26 – Schubas, Chicago
Cat Power | Cat Power Myspace | Cat Power on MoB
2/10 – Vic Theatre, Chicago
2/11 – First Avenue, Minneapolis
December 18th, 2007 at 11:07 am
i’ll add:
super furry animals
tim o’brien
dj shadow
December 18th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Fantastic idea for a series of articles. One needs to only look at the roster of the Empty Bottle in Chicago and wonder why the hell they can’t take a three hour drive up to Madison.
December 19th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I agree with Jesse on this. Madison and Milwaukee get criminally underplayed. It isn’t as if both cities don’t have great venues to host an act like Cat Power look only to the Pabst, Orpheum or Barrymore. The question I guess for booking agents and promoters is whether or not people from out of town will make the trip to catch a show, and I don’t have an answer.
I know when I lived in Oshkosh I would often hit Milwaukee and Madison for shows I wanted to see, it isn’t like it’s s an unreasonable drive. Something needs to be done about the cities shutting down in winter; I know after living in Minneapolis that they feel the same around this time of year. With the exception of Chicago do artists/groups fear the cold?
My hypothesis is that given the plugged in nature of music and everything else nowadays a great band becomes a great band before they have to make their bones. In the ’70’s, ‘80.s and early ’90’s the radio wasn’t going to help you, and it isn’t now. The internet trumpets artists as that latest coming before they are ever heard by the majority but they will sell out venues on word alone,
December 19th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
didn’t beach house play in madison last summer (opening for the clientele i think)? and milwaukee when then they opened for grizzly bear?