Here are the Wisconsin and Illinois 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.

Upcoming Shows:

10/25 – Bob Dylan – Overture Hall 7PM & 10PM (MADISON)
10/25 – Hank III & Assjack – Barrymore Theatre (MADISON)
10/25 – LCD Soundsystem + Hot Chip – Aragon Ballroom (CHICAGO)
10/26 – Willie Nelson – Northern Lights Theater (MILWAUKEE)
10/26 – Stars – Pabst Theater (MILWAUKEE)
10/26 – Hot Chip – Riviera Theatre (CHICAGO)
10/27 – The Black Angels + Light Pollution – Turner Hall Ballroom (MILWAUKEE)
10/27 – Joan Of Arc – Cactus Club (MILWAUKEE)
10/27 – Tristan Prettyman – Shank Hall (MILWAUKEE)
10/28 – The Weepies + Matt The Electrician – High Saloon (MADISON)
10/28 – Black Mountain + The Black Angels – Metro (CHICAGO)
10/28 – Paleface – Horseshoe (CHICAGO)
10/29 – Bear In Heaven + Lower Dens – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
10/29 – The Books + The Black Heart Procession – Vic Theatre (CHICAGO)
10/29 – Jaill – Mayne Stage Theatre (CHICAGO)
10/29 – The Dandy Warhols – Majestic Theater (MADISON)
10/29 – Woven Bones – The Frequency (MADISON)
10/30 – The Morning Benders + Twin Sister – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
10/30 – Mt. Desolation + JBM – Schubas (CHICAGO)
10/30 – Bob Dylan – Riviera Theatre (CHICAGO)
10/30 – Deer Tick – The Bottom Lounge (CHICAGO)
10/30 – Gogol Bordello- Turner Hall Ballroom (MILWAUKEE)
10/30 – Mayer Hawthorne – Der Rathskeller (MADISON)
10/30 – Mumford & Sons – Pabst Theater (MILWAUKEE)
10/30 – Paleface – The Frequency (MADISON)
10/30 – The Weepies – Space (EVANSTON)
10/30 – Paleface – The Frequency (MADISON)
10/30 – The Soft Pack + Kurt Vile – Empty Bottle (CHICAGO)
10/31 – Gogol Bordello – Capitol Theater (MADISON)
10/31 – The Soft Pack + Kurt Vile – Empty Bottle (CHICAGO)
10/31 – Mumford & Sons + Cadillac Sky – Riviera Theatre (CHICAGO)

Just Announced:

11/14 – Matthew Dear – The Frequency (MADISON)
12/2 – Superchunk – Metro (CHICAGO)

+Bookmark our upcoming shows page for all your concert announcements+

Last year, I made the trip to see Menomena at the Empty Bottle in Chicago with a couple of friends. After dropping me off in Milwaukee, I made the remainder of my trip back to Madison solo. Not only did I receive a speeding ticket, but only ten minutes later hit a deer and ended up enduring one of the longest/worst nights of recent recollection.

I can’t hold that against the band though. They were fantastic. On July 27th, Menomena will release their new album Mines via Barsuk Records. The band will be out on the road supporting the new album including a stop at the High Noon Saloon in Madison (Friday, September 24th) and the following night (Saturday, September 25th) at the Metro in Chicago . Tickets are $12 in advance and $14 day of show. On top of that, Suckers are supporting the tour. Sounds like a can’t miss night. I’m in, who wants to drive?

MP3: Menomena – “Five Little Rooms”
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Pre-Order: Menomena – Mines

Last night Eddie Argos of Art Brut fame brought his new project, the incredibly named Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now! to the Frequency in Madison. Thanks to Ed Oliver for the photos!

Discuss: Did you make it to the show last night? Drop a comment with your thoughts and reviews.

Myspace: Everybody Was In The French Resistance…Now!
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Buy: Everybody Was in the French Resistance…Now! – Fixin the Charts 1

So far this year my favorite and most listened to album is the Yim Yames produced collaboration of Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore called Dear Companion. The trio of Kentuckians put together a stunning collection of songs to raise awareness of the destructive Mountaintop Removal coal mining process affecting central Appalachia.

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore are bringing Dear Companion to the Majestic Theatre in Madison on Saturday, April 3rd. We’ve got five (5) pairs of tickets to giveaway. Drop a comment with your favorite 2010 release to date and we’ll notify the winners via e-mail on Monday.

MP3: Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore – “Something, Somewhere, Sometime”
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Buy: Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin – “Dear Companion”

By Tyler Fassnacht

Coming on an off night on their tour opening for Vampire Weekend, Abe Vigoda came to Madison to play a headlining show at the Project Lodge. Abe Vigoda comes from the same scene as bands like No Age and the Mae Shi, often affiliated with the DIY punk venue in LA, The Smell. These guys have a unique style of punk, with tropical rhythms and melodies and fluttering guitar licks. The pairing of them with Vampire Weekend is actually a pretty good one, but Abe Vigoda is much more lo-fi and plays with more noise, feedback and reverb.

The evening had some Madison flavor, as local band Control, played first. The trio’s music reminded me of a more experimental White Denim. Groovy bass lines and quick, heavy drums that hiccupped and changed rhythm, were the structure to almost every song, as the guitarist often used dissonance. The band had a charming and laid back demeanor (they admitted that none of their songs had names) that really made the performance enjoyable. However, the majority of their set became a little too repetitive for me to really get into them, but they did have a couple great songs that stuck out.

After Control, came Gringo Star. This bunch from Atlanta, Georgia, rocked through a set of tunes that teetered from Vines-like garage rock, to jangly Brit-pop and even to some rockabilly, reminiscent of fellow Atlanta, Georgia punks The Black Lips. Their music was catchy and fun, definitely a great live show.

Abe Vigoda finally came out to a fairly full audience at the Project Lodge, which must have been a bit of a strange transition, seeing that they played to a sold-out show at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee the night before opening for Vampire Weekend. The band tore through song after song, with loud splashes of noise and tropical drum beats that made at least the front of the crowd feel like dancing (even if it was still a little timid, but hey it was a Wednesday), and left my ears ringing. The intimacy of the venue allowed for the band to chat-up the audience, which they did between every song, proclaiming their love for Madison and their desire to find a party for afterward. At the end of the set, my only complaint was its length. Abe Vigoda played for barely fifty minutes, when the audience could easily have taken another thirty of the band’s pummeling drums and speedy guitar licks.

My hat really goes off to the dudes at the Project Lodge for booking such awesome shows. The venue is starting to become one of Madison’s premier venues for some of the indie-blog buzz bands that would have few other options for places to play. Thanks for the best Wednesday I’ve had in a long time.

Buy: Abe Vigoda – Skeleton

The New Pornographers release their new album, Together on May 4th. In support of the show the band is hitting the road (with Neko & Dan), including stops in Milwaukee and Madison. Details below:

6/12 – The New Pornographers + The Dodos + The Dutchess & The Duke – Pabst Theater, Milwaukee – $22.50
8/4 – The New Pornographers + The Dodos + Imaad Wasif – Orpheum Theatre, Madison – $25 Advance/$28 Day of Show

MP3: The New Pornagraphers – “Your Hands (Together)”

+Bookmark our upcoming shows page for all your concert announcements+