By Jeff Kollath

A mid-April show in Madison should be preceded by a walk around the Capitol, a beverage or meal on State Street, not getting stuck in traffic or sloshing around in an inch of ice-flecked slush. Mother Nature’s cruel tricks were not lost on the Decemberists – they opened with ‘Raincoat Song’ – while a late-set ‘Calamity Song’ made us wonder if the end times are actually near, as nearly everything that could possibly fall from the sky, save for frogs, pelted Madison on Monday afternoon. Despite the band’s best efforts, they too fell into the typical sluggish Overture Center slow start (see also: Wilco), beginning slow and light, confusing an audience that was clearly ready to jump up, dance, and sing along. The Overture Center is a wonderful place, but its strength is also its weakness when it comes to rock shows – it has a strong identity crisis and both bands and fans alike have a hard time figuring out how to act. There were a number of open seats on the floor, and lots of room in front of the stage, so when Colin Meloy urged everyone up to come on down, it filled the floor, giving fits to security staff who eventually cleared the floor again. Meloy pleaded with the staff to let everyone come back, which they eventually did, giving the band and the show a needed shot in the arm.

Having ex-Nickel Creek fiddler/vocalist Sara Watkins sitting in throughout the entire show was a highlight. She not only provided additional layers of texture and emotion with her fiddle and rhythm guitar, but also superb backing vocals, both of which shone through on ‘Don’t Carry It All’ from January’s The King is Dead, with its rich natural references reminding the crowd that spring is, in fact, just around the corner. After a stellar “16 Military Wives,” Meloy’s guitar tech emerged from the back with a 12-string guitar emblazoned with a ‘Wisconsin Solidarity’ sticker. The set closer, ‘This Is Why We Fight,’ was an apt closer for a show that started out a bit disjointed, was somewhat divided in the middle, and brought it all back together at the end – solidarity, indeed.

While the Overture Center is a difficult place for ‘rock’ bands to figure out, opener Justin Townes Earle had a hold of it right away, using a big chunk of the stage to pace, strut, sing, and shout. On the surface,  Earle’s brand of acoustic country-blues would appear to be a better fit for a roadhouse, but he has always had difficult being heard over clinking bottles and a talkative crowd. New lead guitar loops/samples added a great deal to his Earle’s sparse, yet crystal clear sound that  filled the entire room. Last night was the best Earle has sounded in some time, confident, clear voiced, and energetic, reminiscent of the first time I saw him at Rathskellar in 2008.

Here are the Wisconsin, Illinois and Austin shows we recommend you take in this week. Check out the upcoming concerts below and let us know which ones you’ll be attending or ones you think should really make our list. This week we’re proudly presenting the return of Breathe Owl Breathe to the Cactus Club on Tuesday night.

MP3: Breathe Owl Breathe – “Across The Loch”
MP3: Breathe Owl Breathe – “Own Stunts”
MP3: Breathe Owl Breathe – “Swimming”

Upcoming Shows:

4/18 – Parts and Labor + Call Me Lightning – Cactus Club (MILWAUKEE)
4/18 – The Black Angels + Suuns – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
4/18 – Odd Future – Empty Bottle (CHICAGO)
4/19 – Delorean + Yawn – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
4/19 – YACHT – Emo’s (AUSTIN)
4/19 – Breathe Owl Breathe + Photographers – Cactus Club (MILWAUKEE)
4/19 – The Decemberists + Justin Townes Earle – Overture Hall (MADISON)
4/19 – The Budos Band + Charles Bradley – High Noon Saloon (MADISON)
4/20 – The Kills + Cold Cave – La Zona Rosa (AUSTIN)
4/20 – Low – Majestic Theatre (MADISON)
4/20 – The Black Angels + Suuns – High Noon Saloon (MADISON)
4/20 – The Budos Band + Charles Bradley – Turner Hall Ballroom (MILWAUKEE)
4/21 – Interpol + School Of Seven Bells – Austin Music Hall (AUSTIN)
4/21 – Titus Andronicus – Emo’s (AUSTIN)
4/21 – Cut Copy – Stubb’s (AUSTIN)
4/21 – Low – Lincoln Hall (CHICAGO)
4/21 – Foals + Freelance Whales – La Zona Rosa (AUSTIN)
4/21 – The Budos Band + Charles Bradley – Subterranean (CHICAGO)
4/22 – TV On The Radio + Glasser – Metro (CHICAGO)
4/22 – Cut Copy – Stubb’s (AUSTIN)
4/22 – Trampled By Turtles – Turner Hall Ballroom (MILWAUKEE)
4/22 – The Juan Maclean – Crisp (MILWAUKEE)
4/22 – The War On Drugs – Mike & Molly’s (CHAMPAIGN)
4/22 – Chris Cornell + William Elliott Whitmore – Vic Theatre (CHICAGO)
4/22 – Arcade Fire + The National – UIC Pavilion (CHICAGO)
4/22 – Fever Marlene + Faux Fir – Cactus Club (MILWAUKEE)
4/23 – Jessica Lea Mayfield + Nathaniel Rateliff – Emo’s (AUSTIN)
4/23 – Girl Talk – Canopy Club (URBANA)
4/23 – Sleigh Bells + CSS – La Zona Rosa (AUSTIN)
4/23 – Those Darlins – Mohawk (AUSTIN)
4/23 – Chris Cornell + William Elliott Whitmore – Pabst Theater (MILWAUKEE)
4/23 – The Pixies – Eagles Ballroom (MILWAUKEE)
4/23 – Junip + Acrylics – Empty Bottle (CHICAGO)
4/24 – Arcade Fire + The National – UIC (CHICAGO)

Words: Aliza Feder | Photos: Ed Oliver

The University of Wisconsin-Madison opened the latest incarnation of its Union South with the fittingly ever-evolving (but not actually Canadian) artsy/soulful/poppish indie rock group, of Montreal.

The brand-spanking-new Varsity Hall’s acoustics proved fitting for Of Montreal’s intricate musical arrangements. The performance opened with “Slave Translator,” a tasty preview of the soon to drop EP, “The Controller Sphere.” The show then bounded through some favorites from the band’s latest album, False Priest, and saved some perennial favorites such as “St. Exquisite’s Confessions” and “Labyrinthian Pomp” to keep everyone spastic and rapturous, ending with the obligatory and much beloved “For Our Elegant Caste.” The people of Madison were also treated to a lovely interlude of drummer Jamey Huggins singing an old jazz tune.

The performance flaunted a delightful mix of grotesque and cerebral performance art with unabashed fun. Human/rooster creatures in spandex bodysuits boldly presented themselves for audience groping. Most memorably, David Barnes, brother of the band’s front man and major part of of Montreal’s aesthetic concept, embodied the pent rage of “She’s a Rejector” by thrashing his way out of a straight jacket with blood spewing from his mouth.

In essence, an appalling good show transpired.

Buy: Of Montreal – False Priest
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MP3: Of Montreal – “Coquette Coquette”

Here are the Wisconsin, Illinois and Austin shows we recommend you take in this week. Check out the upcoming concerts below and let us know which ones you’ll be attending or ones you think should really make our list.

Upcoming Shows:

4/11 – Civil Wars – Schubas (CHICAGO)
4/11 – Destroyer + The War On Drugs – High Saloon (MADISON)
4/11 – Robert Plant + North Mississippi Allstars – Riverside Theater (MILWAUKEE)
4/12 – Civil Wars – Schubas (CHICAGO)
4/12 – Kings Of Leon + Band Of Horses – Frank Erwin Center (AUSTIN)
4/12 – The Raveonettes + Tamaryn – Emo’s (AUSTIN)
4/12 – The Love Language – Stubb’s Inside (AUSTIN)
4/13 – Ra Ra Riot + Generationals – Turner Hall Ballroom (MILWAUKEE)
4/13 – Common Loon + Take Care – Cactus Club (MILWAUKEE)
4/13 – British Sea Power – The Mohawk (AUSTIN)
4/14 – Ra Ra Riot + Generationals – Majestic (MADISON)
4/14 – Delicate Steve – Empty Bottle (CHICAGO)
4/14 – The Civil Wars + Arum Rae – Turner Hall Ballroom (MILWAUKEE)
4/15 – Jeff Tweedy – Vic Theatre (CHICAGO)
4/15 – Of Montreal + Morning Teleportation – UW Union South (MADISON)
4/15 – The Civil Wars + Arum Rae – Der Rathskeller (MADISON)
4/15 – Zola Jesus + Cult Of Youth – Empty Bottle (CHICAGO)
4/16 – Jeff Tweedy – Vic Theatre (CHICAGO)
4/16 – Mike Watt & The Missingmen – Shank Hall (MILWAUKEE)
4/16 – Roadside Graves + Conrad Plymouth + Jeremy Benson – Cactus Club (Milwaukee)
4/16 – Ezra Furman & The Harpoons – Hi-Dive (CHAMPAIGN)
4/16 – Tobacco – High Noon Saloon (MADISON)
4/16 – Breathe Owl Breathe – Scbubas (CHICAGO)
4/17 – Breathe Owl Breathe – The SETT (MADISON)
4/17 – Mike Watt & The Missingmen – High Saloon (MADISON

Photos by Ed Oliver

Elsewhere: Watch videos of Sharon Van Etten performing “Don’t Do It” and “One Day” from the Pabst Theater.

Buy: Sharon Van Etten – Epic | Little Scream – The Golden Record
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MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Don’t Do It”
MP3: Sharon Van Etten – “Love More”
MP3: Little Scream – “Cannons”
MP3: Little Scream – “The Heron and the Fox”

Barracudas from Tonality Magazine on Vimeo.

On Friday, April 15,  shed your tax day blues with Salt Lake City’s The Devil Whale as they make their Madison debut with a house show at the North Mendota Supper Club. Featuring lyrics by frontman Brinton Jones, the band has a vintage, yet forward-looking sound that will appeal to fans of Destroyer, Ryan Adams, and Frontier Ruckus. Their 2010 EP, Young Wives, randomly showed up in our mailbox last fall and we were immediately hooked. It should be a great, energy-packed show. Supporting The Devil Whale will be Count This Penny, a Madison duo transplanted from East Tennessee. Veterans of the club scene in Knoxville, Count This Penny is just starting garner a following in Madison, receiving a big push from ISTHMUS a couple weeks ago. If you like the Everybodyfields, the Civil Wars, or some old school Gram and Emmylou, you will dig Count This Penny. Doors open at 8:30 with a showtime of 9:00. An $8 donation at the door will get you in for this excellent double bill – send an email to nmsc1402@gmail.com for the address and other info.