The Mekons, Melt-Banana, Claude Young, Melvins, and more of the best stuff in Madison this week.
THURSDAY JULY 9
Ceremony, Pity Sex, Tony Molina, Tenement, The Frequency, 8:30 p.m.
Weâre gonna be honest: About 95 percent of our desire to go to this show is due to Appleton/Milwaukee outfit Tenement, whoâve long been one of the best bands in the state and a heady force in punk rock generally.Theyâre finally getting a bit of the wider attention they deserve for the ambitious new double album Predatory Headlights, which you can read more about in our interview with the band this week. Tenementâs recordings inhabit an esoteric, adventurous headspace, but live you can expect a rather mercurial stage presence and a set of fiercely delivered but undeniably engaging and catchy punk songs. Headliners Ceremony are a San Francisco band whoâve embraced their own eccentric blend of sounds, from the contorted hardcore of their 2006 debut Violence Violence to the spacious post-punk of this yearâs The L-Shaped Man, which puts a rather unmistakable bold-italic-underline on the bandâs Joy Division influence.
<a href=”http://tenement.bandcamp.com/album/predatory-headlights”>PREDATORY HEADLIGHTS by TENEMENT</a>
La Fete De Marquette. Central Park, through July 12 (free)
Weâve had much to say about La Fete De Marquetteâs electronic offerings the last couple of years, which this time around include sets from Detroit-techno-rooted Claude Young and NYC dance-music veteran Francois K. But thatâs not to discount the Feteâs traditional assortment of music from across the French empire/diaspora, with a bit of other fun stuff scattered in. This year includes yet another east-side-neighborhood-fest performance from Bay Area rapper Lyrics Born (Friday), French/North African folk-music hybridizers LoâJo (Sunday), and some sons of New Orleans heavies in Dumpstaphunk (Friday) and CJ Chenier (Sunday).
Melvins, Le Butcherettes. High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.
Itâs been about a year since King Buzzoâs fluffy tumbleweed of a head last rolled through town, which is about as long as it takes for your ears to stop ringing from the last time they leveled a Madison crowd with their enduring spacey high-decibel technicolor sludge-rock. Buzzo and drummer Dale Crover return here in support of last yearâs Hold It In, which added Paul Leary (Butthole Surfers) to their ranks, and a recently funded Kickstarter for a documentary about the band. The bandâs albums have had their ups and downs over the past 30 years, but the live set has never lost its ability to steamroll chumps left and right. Plus, if weâre lucky, we might get to coax some more Montage Of Heck inaccuracies out of Buzzo.
Man In The Shadow. Vilas Hall, 7 p.m. (free)
Orson Welles is monolithic in the history of cinema, and far and away one of the most fascinating figures ever to pick up a camera, so even his smaller roles are worth dissecting. Thankfully we have the UW Cinematheque to hook us up with relatively overlooked oddities like 1957âs Man In The Shadow, in which Welles channels his villainous side to play Virgil Renchler, ranch owner and all too willing murder-coverer-upper. Directed by Jack Arnold, who reins himself in from his predominantly sci-fi background, and with a script from Gene L. Coon, who penned The Killers (1964), the pedigree here is nothing to sneeze at, making Man In The Shadow far from one of Wellesâ quickie cash-ins. No frozen peas here, folks.
FRIDAY JULY 10
Claude Young, Tinhead. High Noon Saloon, 10:30 p.m.
We understand that the sphere of DJ culture and electronic music in general can be irritatingly sprawling, inconsistent, and ultimately tough to navigate, but the bookers of La Fete De Marquetteâs Musique Electronique stage know what the hell theyâre doing, and each nightâs headliner will be playing a separately ticketed after-show at the High Noon. In the world of dance music, it really doesnât get better than a DJ set from veteran Detroit techno hero Claude Young (although itâs probably worth noting that Young currently resides in Portland, Oregon). Youngâs massive rĂ©sumĂ© of hypnotically hammering techno production, DJ mixes, and film and video game soundtracking seems a bit oceanic, so recommended starting points would be his brain-warping, pounding Dexit Mixtape from 1996 (embedded below) or 2000âs Patterns The Albumâa dynamic collection expertly dialed-in and laboriously synthesized techno cuts that range from polyrhythmic head-spinner âArneimâ to the drippy and acidic textures of âSambaâ to the more meditative and cinematic âMara.â While this will be Youngâs second set of the night, donât forget that itâs also going to be a lot longer than his set at the Fete, and likely to be completely different.
About Elly. Vilas Hall, 7 p.m. (free)
About Elly is the latest film from Iranian director Asghar Farhadi to see U.S. release, though it was actually released abroad in 2009, before Farhadiâs excellent 2011 drama A Separation and 2013âs The Past. In About Elly, Farhadi veers into mystery/thriller territory when the title character goes missing during a group vacation to the Caspian Sea. About Elly already has a good a critical reputation as any of Farhadiâs films, so we recommend catching this screening of a 35mm print UW Cinematheque has snagged for the filmâs Madison premiere.
SATURDAY JULY 11
Francois K, Lovecraft. High Noon Saloon, 10:30 p.m.
Regardless of which of the many pillars of dance music you stand behind, thereâs a solid chance that Francois Kevorkianâbetter known by his DJ and producer alias Francois Kâintentionally or inadvertently had a hand in it. Cutting his teeth spinning at legendary (and now-defunct) NYC clubs like revolutionary, LGBT-friendly dance club Paradise Garageâoften credited for being the origin point of house musicâand Studio 54, heâd become known for his tape-edits, remixes, and production work, remixing artists as diverse as Joni Mitchell, Jean Michael Jarre, and Musique. Oh yeah, not to mention his work on Depeche Modeâs masterpiece Violator. This is an incredibly rare opportunity to witness a serious deck-master who was absolutely crucial to the evolution between disco and house music. Not to be missed.
Invisible Mansion, Trophy Dad, Hello Dmitri. Mickeyâs Tavern, 10 p.m. (free)
Grand Rapids, Michigan band Invisible Mansion coat their wiry guitar hooks and amiable vocal melodies in a healthy but not smothering layer of lo-fi shoegaze static. Songs like âMithril Woodâ and âSand On The Cornerâ pull off a nice balance of noisy texture and propulsive songwriting, so thereâs a lot of atmosphere to revel in here but also enough craft to keep it all in focus. The bandâs recordings are spread across one-off singles, a few EPs, and a 2013 split cassette with Madisonâs own Dharma Dogs.
<a href=”http://invisiblemansion.bandcamp.com/track/mithril-wood”>mithril wood by invisible mansion</a>
Brennan Connors & Stray Passage. Mother Foolâs, 8 p.m.
Madison trio Brennan Connors & Stray Passage brings together three versatile musiciansâConnors on saxophone, Geoff Brady on drums, and Brian Grimm on cello, bassâintro truly unpredictable, but still driving and coherent, sets of jazz improvisation. Theyâve blasted their way admirably through sets at noisy bar venues like Mickeyâs, but this Mother Foolâs show might be the best way to take them in, with a cozier and more listening-focused environment that should accommodate the trioâs meanderings from spacious and meditative passages to fearsome dissonant outbursts.
SUNDAY JULY 12
Polka! Press Moving Fundraiser. Polka Press, 1 p.m.
Itâs been just five months since Madison printmaking collective Polka! Press moved into a new space on Willy Street, but the organization recently found out that itâs going to have to move again soon. To help pay to move a bunch of printing presses and other unwieldy gear, the artists of Polka are inviting Madisonians to come into their current space and do some of their own printing on clothes and other things. Theyâre dubbing the event âPrint A Bird On It,â with a sly wink to Portlandia. Supporters can also bid on classes and works of art in a silent auction benefitting the moving fund.
Matthew Sweet, The Orange Peels. High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.
MONDAYJULY 13
Jamaican Queens, Made Violent, Cold Fronts. Frequency, 9 p.m.
On the freshly released Downers, Detroitâs Jamaican Queens gut a bit of the preciousness of contemporary indie-pop and replace it with raw emotion, structural shake-ups, and loads of synthesizer, drum machine samples, and bizarro vocal processing. Most tunes are guided along by the warped crooning of vocalist Ryan Spencer, as sparse, slow, but hard-hitting electronic rhythms pulse forward, while deep, synth-powered basslines hammer in and out of the mix. Thereâs also an admirable tangentiality to everything: âYou Can Fall In Love With Anyoneâ opens with a heady, folky waltz, but slowly unravels into a massive Phil Spector-channeling wall of pop. Similarly, âEmo + Poorâ begins with a slow-cooking groove, before launching into a pounding four-on-the-floor thump with clattering synth arpeggios, and wailed vocal hooks, essentially spiraling into full-on synth-pop.
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TUESDAY JULY 14
The Mekons. Mineral Point Opera House (Mineral Point), 7 p.m.
According to Lester Bangs, The Mekons are â…the most revolutionary group in the history of rock ‘n’ roll,â and thatâs the kind of accolade that never quite rubs off, even though itâs been a long time since Bangs said that, or much of anything really because heâs dead and stuff. Starting off as a post-punk band in Leeds in the late â70s, The Mekonsâ fence-riding country fried clatter has become intertwined with the ridiculously named âcow-punkâ genre, and has been captured on a heaping handful of some legitimate landmark albums, influencing a host of future alt-country folkies. Their most recent studio album is 2011âs Ancient & Modern was their most recent album, and a very good documentary, Revenge Of The Mekons, was released in 2013. In addition to hitting the Mineral Point Opera House, of all places, The Mekons are promising that this will be a full-band show, featuring currently Chicago-transplanted members like Jon Langford and Sally Timms. Donât miss an opportunity to catch these weirdos in a beautiful old space where the next act on the calendar is, appropriately enough, a John Denver Tribute Show.
WEDNESDAY JULY 15
Melt-Banana, Torche, Hot Nerds, Zebras. High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.
For the past 20-plus years, Tokyo noise-punks Melt Banana have been summoning sonic chaos of the highest order. Itâs been a couple years since vocalist Yasuko Onuki and masked guitarist Ichirou Agata resurfaced as a duo following a six-year gap between albums with 2013âs infuriatingly tight Fetch. Part of the tightness is due to the intense drum programming that ;mercilessly pummels the listener as the acrobatic riffing of Agata chugs, screeches, and stutters below the mighty yelps of Onuki. The duo is currently at work on new material, but nothing has been formally announced, so expect to be playfully slammed into every corner of Melt Bananaâs twisted 11-album bounce-house of a discography.
Jessica Pratt, Julian Lynch. Frequency, 8 p.m.
Jessica Prattâs 2012 self-titled debut album proved that the LA-based songwriter needs just rolling acoustic guitar lines and her distinctively pinched but unpretentious vocals to transport the listener to a far-off, luxuriously reflective place. More importantly, Prattâs songcraft can keep you there, with the at once stately and conversational melodies of standouts like âMidnight Wheels.â Pratt recorded both that album and this yearâs On Your Own Love Again herself at home. On the new album, she uses vocal harmonies and some gentle instrumental overdubs to flesh out, but not upset, that rarified headspace. Ryley Walker, originally scheduled to be on this show, has canceled, but Madisonâs Julian Lynch will play insteadâand we really recommend catching the set of new material Lynch has been brewing up in recent months.
The Hussy, Tree Blood. Shitty Barn (Spring Green), 7 p.m.
Sturdy folk and mild-mannered indie-rock are Spring Green venue The Shitty Barnâs bread and butter, but every Shitty Barn season includes a few pointed departures from that. Minneapolisâ Tree Blood might be the most grimy-sounding band to play the place yet, touring here behind this yearâs I Am A Disgusting Pig, an album of punk-rock tunes that combine crusty, hoarse-voiced hardcore with an amiable pop streak. This also is the first SB show for Madison duo The Hussy, who talked with us recently about their new album, the diverse and at times surprisingly gentle Galore.
<a href=”http://treeblood.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-a-disgusting-pig”>I Am a Disgusting Pig by Tree Blood</a>