6 must-see Milwaukee concerts this week include Eric Church, Brian Wilson, New Pornographers
ERIC CHURCH
Style: Country that plays by its own rules.
Backstory: As the titles of Eric Church's last two albums — "The Outsiders" and "Mr. Misunderstood" — would suggest, the 39-year-old North Carolina native doesn't exactly fit in. In 2006, following his debut album "Sinners Like Me," Church was fired from Rascal Flatts' tour because he allegedly kept playing beyond his allotted time. But in a genre where the biggest stars play it safe, Church's rugged persona and defiant spirit have made him an even bigger star.
Why you should go?: The last time Eric Church was in Milwaukee was four years ago opening up for Kenny Chesney at Miller Park. Church didn't hold back, blowing away the headliner with a fast and furious 75-minute set. He'll be giving Milwaukee fans more than twice as much Friday with two full sets.
When and where: 8 p.m. Friday, BMO Harris Bradley Center, 1001 N. 4th St.
Price: $29 to $89 at the box office, (800) 745-3000 and ticketmaster.com.
— Piet Levy,
plevy@journalsentinel.com
PIETA BROWN
Style: Acoustic classicism with breezes across Midwestern fields.
Backstory: Being the daughter of a singer-songwriter doesn’t necessarily lead to a similar career path, but Greg Brown’s example affected Pieta Brown. With her homonymous 2002 debut LP, she began a career of recording and traveling with pop-, country- and rock-modulated folk music.
Why you should go: Working with a trio format, Brown is currently on the road for “Postcards,” a series of distant correspondences and collaborations with Calexico, Carrie Rodriguez, Mason Jennings, Mark Knopfler and more. While each collaborator of course leaves prints on the songs, they remain buoyed by Brown’s elegantly pretty voice.
Opener:Paul Cebar, a Milwaukee favorite in a solo-mode performance.
Time and place: 8 p.m. Saturday, Anodyne Roasting Coffee Company, 224 W. Bruce St.
Price: $20 at the door and anodynecoffee.com.
— Jon M. Gilbertson,
Special to the Journal Sentinel
BRIAN WILSON
Style: Quintessential 1960s pop music seen off by its primary creator.
Backstory: In 1966, the Beach Boys issued “Pet Sounds,” which was initially a commercial disappointment in the United States. Time and posterity have been very kind to it, though, and its main maker, Brian Wilson, has long been hailed as a genius for the sonic construction and sweep of songs like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “God Only Knows.”
Why you should go: Last year, Wilson began a 50th-anniversary tour of and farewell to “Pet Sounds,” playing the entire album and a significant portion of the rest of the Beach Boys’ substantial list of great and era-defining pop songs. Al Jardine and Blondie Chapin, one a founding Beach Boy and the other a later member, will also say goodbye to the masterpiece.
Time and place: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Riverside Theater, 116 W. Wisconsin Ave.
Price: $47 to $125 at the box office, the Pabst Theater box office (144 E. Wells St.), (414) 286-3663 and pabsttheater.org.
— Jon M. Gilbertson
REDD KROSS
Style: Cranked rock ‘n’ roll with a lot of melodic and harmonic refinement inside the fuzz.
Backstory: California brothers Jeff and Steven McDonald started their first band when they were students in middle school, and that band eventually turned into Redd Kross. From about 1980 to 1997, the band rose from local force to national alt-rock sensation, turning on the likes of Sonic Youth and Nirvana. Then it took a break for roughly a decade.
Why you should go: On the “Beneath the Valley of the Teen Babes from Monsanto Tour” (a Russ Meyerian reference to the 1984 EP “Teen Babes from Monsanto”), Redd Kross will be joined by Dale Crover — from another very influential band, the Melvins — on drums. The group’s comeback album, 2012’s “Researching the Blues,” is still vibrant and will shake a room.
Opener: Appleton-based hardwired rock band Tenement.
Time and place: 9 p.m. Wednesday, Cactus Club, 2496 S. Wentworth Ave.
Price:$13 in advance at cactusclubmilwaukee.com. $15 at the door.
— Jon M. Gilbertson
THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS
Style: Power-pop fizz and fun granted Canadian and indie respectability.
Backstory: A couple decades ago, several musicians to our north, each with perfectly fine careers, joined up for kicks in a “supergroup.” In 2000, as the New Pornographers, they issued “Mass Romantic,” a super-bouncy and super-intelligent introductory full-length. From then on, the Pornographers have made time to record and tour when schedules permit.
Why you should go: The seventh New Pornographers full-length, “Whiteout Conditions,” came out earlier this month and continues a long run of good stuff, including A.C. Newman’s songwriting, Neko Case’s voice and an overall enthusiasm tempered by self-awareness, a soupcon of irony and a deft use of synths.
Opener: On-edge Americana artiste Waxahatchee.
Time and place: 8 p.m. Thursday, Pabst Theater, 144 E. Wells St.
Price:$32.50. Each ticket includes a digital download of "Conditions."
— Jon M. Gilbertson
LOCAL SHOW SPOTLIGHT
Wonder Uncovered
8 p.m. Friday, Turner Hall Ballroom, 1040 N. 4th St. $22.50 at the door and through the Pabst. More than 40 Milwaukee musicians reimagine Stevie Wonder's classic album "Songs in the Key of Life." — Piet Levy