We had such a good time with These United States in Milwaukee last month that we teamed up with the WUD Music Committee to bring them to the Memorial Union Terrace on Saturday, October 3rd for a free show. Rounding out the evening’s bill will be the Chris Koza Band and The Gentle Guest which means we have a great night of music in store for you.

Previously: 5 Questions with These United States

Buy: These United States – Everything Touches Everything
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Myspace: These United States
MP3: These United States – “I Want You to Keep Everything”
MP3: These United States – “West Won”
MP3: These United States – “First Sight”

I recently downloaded the brand new Givers EP knowing absolutely nothing about the group outside of their gratis music offer. Through five songs, the group delivers high energy music with tons of potential. These four tracks and one remix serve as a primer to their forthcoming 2010 release – one now directly on our radar.

Givers hail from Louisiana and their sound benefits from its influence. It’s bright with horns in all the right places on top of infectious hand-claps and plenty of harmonies. Our kind of sound for sure. The music is uplifting enough to perk up even the dreariest days. I’ve posted my two favorite tracks, “Up Up Up” and “Saw You First” as downloads below. I think they give a great glimpse into the group’s range. Definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Myspace: Givers
MP3: Givers – “Up Up Up”
MP3: Givers – “Saw You First”

Here are the Wisconsin and Chicago shows we recommend you take in this week. Check them out below and let us know which ones you’ll be attending or ones you think should really make our list. This week’s recommended new releases include an amazing offering from Grand Archives as well as new ones from Mason Jennings, The Scotland Yard Cospel Choir, & The Dodos.

Upcoming Wisconsin Shows:

Note: There is a ton of great music happening in Madison this week(end) thanks to the Forward Music Festival. The shows listed below just scratch the surface, there is so much more. Go and find a new favorite and don’t miss the Muzzle of Bees showcase on Thursday featuring Megafaun!

9/14 – Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band + Japandroids – High Noon Saloon, Madison
9/17 – Richard Buckner/Rev Payton’s Big Damn Band – Majestic, Madison
9/17 – Megafaun/Juniper Tar/All Tiny Creatures/Cedarwell – High Noon Saloon, Madison
9/18 – Atlas Sound/Collections of Colonies of Bees – Capitol Theater, Madison
9/18 – Flatbear/Margot & The Nuclear So & So’s/Ra Ra Riot – High Noon Saloon, Madison
9/18 – Decibully/Jeremiah Nelson/Early Day Miners – Frequency, Madison
9/19 – The Antlers/Low – High Noon Saloon, Madison
9/19 – Fruit Bats/Iran/Blk Jks – Stage Door, Madison
9/19 – Andrew Bird/Pale Young Gentlemen – Overture Hall, Madison
9/19 – Early Day Miners + Decibully – Mad Planet, Milwaukee

Upcoming Chicago Shows:

9/16 – Ra Ra Riot – Schubas
9/17 – Little Boots – Empty Bottle
9/18 – Owen – Beat Kitchen
9/19 – Richard Buckner – Empty Bottle
9/20 – Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band – United Center
9/20 – BLK JKS – Bottom Lounge
9/20 – Fruit Bats/Iran – Schubas

Just Announced:

10/8 – Thomas Function – Club Garibaldi, Milwaukee
10/27 – Emmylou Harris + Buddy Miller – Overture Hall, Madison
10/30 – Neon Indian – Der Rathskeller, Madison
11/6 – William Elliott Whitmore + Hoots & Hellmouth – Stonefly, Milwaukee
11/19 – Modern Skirts + Skybox – Mad Planet, Milwaukee
11/21 – Common Loon – Cactus Club, Milwaukee
11/21 – Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – High Noon Saloon, Madison
11/24 – A.A. Bondy – Club Garibaldi, Milwaukee

New Releases:

Grand Archives – Keep in Mind Frankenstein, Scotland Yard Gospel Choir – …and the Horse You Rode in On, The Dodos – Time To Die, Mason Jennings – Blood of Man

+Bookmark our Wisconsin and Chicago shows pages for all your concert announcements+

Words: Tyler Fassnacht | Photos: Ed Oliver

Ever since I got to see Matt and Kim play at the Outside Lands festival in San Francisco several weeks back, I have been way too excited for this show. As a band they play fun, accessible, synthy, dancy pop music with the most energy I have ever seen from live performers. I knew this show was going to be great, especially because it sold out the Majestic and that is why I was so scared for the three minutes I thought I wasn’t going to get in. Problems with me being on the guest list was an issue for several moments, but everything was cleared out in the end and as you can see I got in. Now as I just said, they sold out the Majestic, which is quite a feat seeing as just last year they played the Club 770.

The opening act was a female rapper named Amanda Blank. I would say she seems to be a mix of Lil’ Mama and Peaches, with her fast girl rap about dirty sex, all the while dressed in tight, revealing leathers. That being said, there are several reasons why from that show I have decided I am not a huge fan. First off after being twenty minutes late, only her two DJs came on, who played a good fifteen minutes by themselves, which got pretty repetitive. My second reason is that she just didn’t seem that creative with her songs. Loud, bass heavy, standard beats masked lines like, “I would like you better, if we slept together”. So overall I was not super impressed, but this complaint is so small when you take into consideration how utterly amazing Matt and Kim were when they started playing.

They moved about the stage almost as much as the crowd, who was completely packed together like sweaty sardines, and both Matt and Kim chatted up the audience and booty danced on stage. Of course in the end, the best part was the music, which kept the entire room alive with energy. Each song was played and responded to, just like it were an old classic, something I am sure will be the case many years down the line. Mixed in between songs like “I Wanna”, “Good Ole Fashion Nightmare”, and “Yea Yeah”, Matt added some song teases, which included Apache, Rock N’ Roll part two, Sweet Child O Mine and the Final Countdown. After the band ended with fan favorite “Daylight” Kim jumped into the crowd and joined everyone in a huge dance party and as we danced our way right out of the venue, Kim danced to the merch table to take photos and talk with fans. It has been a while since I have seen musicians that were so visually happy to be doing what they were doing, which was good because everyone there was visually happy with what they were doing as well.

Discuss: What did you think of the show? Drop a comment with your thoughts and reviews!

Buy: Matt & Kim – Grand
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MP3: Matt & Kim – “Yea Yeah”
MP3: Amanda Blank – “Make It Take It” (Eli Escobar remix)

A new feature here on Muzzle of Bees will focus on some of our favorite bands sharing 5 of their favorite records. We kick off the feature with The Daredevil Christopher Wright who we caught up with when they played Club Garibaldi last month. If you missed that show you can catch them on the Daytrotter Barnstorming Tour (Turner Hall Ballroom, October 8th) and a couple nights later opening for Bon Iver at the RIverside Theater on Sunday, October 11th. The latter being a benefit concert for AIDS Walk Wisconsin. Madison fans don’t miss their set at Forward Music Festival next weekend.

Beach Boys – Pet Sounds (Jason’s pick) This is Brian Wilson’s masterpiece. Maybe it’s too cliche to write down but I wouldn’t know that because I only started listening to it two or three years ago. I love the orchestral aspect of the instrumentation and vocals paired with the profound simplicity of the lyrics, which I understand were written in collaboration with Tony Asher.

Tom Waits – Rain Dogs (Jon’s pick) A timeless crazy circus of an album that amazes me every time I listen to it.

Elliott Smith – XO (Jon’s pick) Elliott Smith was hugely influential for me and continues to be. His melodies and songwriting are catchy and tragic, beautiful and sad at the same time.

Counting Crows – August and Everything After (Jon’s pick) This was one of the first records that really blew me away lyrically as a kid.

Bruce Cockburn – Sunwheel Dance (Jason’s pick) Bruce Cockburn was one of the artists that my uncles introduced me to as a child. Perhaps part of my attachment to him as a musician is sentimental (he made some albums with the typical 80s synth that can be hard to listen to) but he remains an extremely vibrant lyricist even in his recent releases. I also love finger-style guitar (though I rarely play it) and this album features a lot of it.

Buy: The Daredevil Christopher Wright – In Deference To A Broken Back
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Myspace: Daredevil Christopher Wright
MP3: The Daredevil Christopher Wright – “The East Coast”

Welcome to the 22nd podcast/download I’m co-hosting with Ryan Schleicher at 91.7 WMSE. This week’s we are joined by Evan Rytlewski from the Shepherd Express. Evan’s commitment to Milwaukee’s music scene is a constant for both of us and he brought in some great stuff to play this week.

Good news, you are now able to subscribe to our podcast feed.

Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast: Volume 22:

Mazzy Star – “Look On Down From The Bridge” / Sweat Tea – “If I Were A Carpenter” / Sea Wolf – “O Maria!” / Okkervil River – “No Key No Plan” / William Elliot Whitmore – “Mother Is Gone” / Dawes – “If You Let Me Be Your Anchor” / The Replacements – “Can’t Hardly Wait” (Electric Outtake) / The Rosebuds – Unwind” / Robert Earle Keen – “Mr. Mud & Mr. Gold” / The Antlers – “Shiva” / Shearwater – Mountain Laurel” / Rain Machine – “Smiling Black Faces” / David Bazan – “Curse Your Branches”

Download: Muzzle of Bees + 91.7 WMSE Podcast :: Volume 22