Feast or famine, I always say. There was a time in Milwaukee when good national gigs were few and far between. Those days are over, thankfully, but even back then there were those odd nights with multiple shows that threw us into a dilemma or had the potential to, depending on one's tastes. (The Clash vs. Sinatra, Run DMC vs. Rank & File, etc.).
Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010 is one of those nights.
On one hand, you could hit Riverwest and go to The Mad Planet to check out Margot and the Nuclear So and So's at 9 p.m.
The Midwestern band -- now basically a core trio of Richard Edwards (who has relocated from Indy to Chicago), Erik Kang and Tyler Watkins -- releases its third disc, "Buzzard," on its own Mariel Recordings three days later, so you'll get a chance to hear the new music live on the eve of the record's official debut.
The dozen songs on' Buzzard" are as melodic as ever, and still with a bit of grit to keep it real (whatever that means, right?). In this case it means an infectious record that will spend a lot of time in the player.
If you've been reading the music press at all in the past year then you might opt instead to see The Gaslight Anthem at The Rave that night instead. That show starts at 7.
New Jersey's The Gaslight Anthem has been all over the place lately, garnering rave reviews for a sound that shares a bit of common ground with the workingman's anthems of another famous Jersey guy.
The band's third record, "American Slang," certainly has a Springsteen-ian tone, but you'd never mistake it for the Boss, because TGA has its own voice and a bit more edge than Bruce.
Florida's Fake Problems -- also on the bill, which includes The Menzingers, too -- has a new record, too, "Real Ghosts Caught On Tape," which is an interesting blend of punk, post-punk and modern indie. Like "American Slang," that disc is out via Side One Dummy.
I'll add here, with a nod to talkbacker Missedone, that Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors, who play at The Pabst on Saturday, and comedian Neil Hamburger, who is at the Cactus that night, further complicate your decision.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
