Author Archives: T.J.

About T.J.

Editor-in-chief and writer for Midwest music site Playground Misnomer and WUD Music blog contributor.

Announcing the Summer Terrace Schedule

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Recognize these bands? They’ll all be playing the Terrace. Scroll down to put names to faces.

It’s finally here! The school year’s over, which means it’s time to hit the Terrace. We’re really excited to share the summer Terrace schedule with you, as we’ve been working hard to bring shows that everyone will enjoy.

Before we dive head-first into the schedule, take a second to bookmark TerraceAfterDark.org. It’s a nifty site completely devoted to what’s going on at one of the most unique venues in the country. On top of info for the shows you see here, the site has details on movies and special events going on at the Terrace. Additionally, keep following this blog over the summer as we’ll have plenty of info on the shows and bands, a few more summer concert announcements (along with fall schedule announcements), coverage of festivals, mp3′s, and other music-related content. You didn’t think we could go a whole summer without talking to you, did you?

On to the programming itself. Without fail, from the first week of June to the beginning of August we have free events for you on the Terrace five nights a week. In addition to our featured Terrace After Dark shows on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, we have four weekly series for you to check out:

If your dream is to perform on the Terrace, you can fulfill that aspiration on Open Mic Tuesdays. Acts start at 8 p.m., but be sure to get there early to sign up and draw for order. The next night we have your favorite local bands on A.V. Club Local Wednesdays. Next, throw on your overalls for Bluegrass Thursdays from 5:30 to 7:30. Finally, have no fear Behind the Beat fans, as the jazz and blues series continues into the summer at its usual spot of 5 p.m. on Fridays. All series on the Terrace start the first full week of June and end in early August. Check out the lineups for A.V. Club Local Wednesdays, Bluegrass Thursdays, and Behind The Beat below our main Terrace After Dark show schedule.

If you missed the interim schedule and Isthmus Jazz Fest announcement on Wednesday check that out here, and have a look at the full music calendar here. Alright, without anymore delay, WUD Music presents the Summer Terrace schedule. We look forward to seeing you out there!

Thursday, June 7th, 9:30 p.m.
Aer
with OCD: Moosh & Twist

Friday, June 8th, 9:30 p.m.
Royal Headache
with Heavy Times, The Lonesome Savages

Royal Headache

Saturday, June 9th, 9:30 p.m.
Phat Phunktion

Thursday, June 14th, 9:30 p.m.
Free Energy w/ Little Legend

Free Energy

Friday, June 15th, 9:30 p.m.
Peter Wolf Crier
with Chris Bathgate, The Frenettes

Saturday, June 16th, 9:30 p.m.
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles
with Save the Clocktower

Thursday, June 21st, 9 p.m.
The People’s Temple
with Psychic Twin, Pale Girls

Friday, June 22nd, 9:30 p.m.
Gardens & Villa

Gardens & Villa

Saturday, June 23rd, 9:30 p.m.
Natty Nation

Thursday, June 28th, 9:30 p.m.
Elephant Revival

Friday, June 29th, 9:30 p.m.
Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons
with Stolen Silver

Saturday, June 30th*
The Promise Ring
*The Promise Ring’s set will start shortly after the Rhythm & Booms fireworks end

The Promise Ring

Friday, July 6th, 9:30 p.m.
WOOK

Saturday, July 7th, 9:30 p.m.
R. Ring

Thursday, July 12th, Time TBA
MADFORK Festival
featuring
Liturgy, Lotus Plaza, Dent May, Milk Music

Liturgy

Saturday, July 14th, 9:30 p.m.
steez

Thursday, July 19th, 9:30 p.m.
Saint Motel

Friday, July 20th, 9:30 p.m.
These United States

Saturday, July 21th, 9:30 p.m.
Maps & Atlases
with Mutts

Maps & Atlases

Thursday, July 26th, 9:30 p.m.
Smoking Popes
with Trapper Schoepp & The Shades

Smoking Popes

Friday, July 27th, 9:30 p.m.
Now, Now

Saturday, July 28th, 9:30 p.m.
Charlie Brooks and The Way It Is

Friday, August 3rd, 9:30 p.m.
Shonen Knife
with White Mystery

Shonen Knife

Saturday, August 4th, 9:30 p.m.
Sidewalk Chalk
with K. Raydio

Friday, August 10th, 9:30 p.m.
Pat McCurdy

Pat McCurdy

Saturday, August 11th, Time TBA
Country Fest
featuring
Hoyle Brothers, Ghost Town Council

Friday, August 17th, 5 p.m.
Blues Fest, Day 1
featuring
Cash Box Kings, Rockin’ Johnny and Mary Lane

Saturday, August 18th, 5 p.m.
Blues Fest, Day 2
featuring
The Right Now, Kane Place Record Club, Johnny Chimes and Gatur Bait

The Right Now

Friday, August 24th Time TBA
Funk Weekend, Day 1
featuring
Tweed Funk, The Mustache

Saturday, August 25th, Time TBA
Funk Weekend, Day 2
featuring
Afro-Zep

Friday, August 31st, Time TBA
Reggae Weekend, Day 1
featuring
Roots Collective

Saturday, September 1st, Time TBA
Reggae Weekend, Day 2
featuring
Taki Allstars

Wednesday, June 13th
Anna Vogelzang, Count This Penny

Wednesday, June 20th
Whiskey Farm, Blessed Feathers

Wednesday, June 27th
Problem Child, Golden Donna

Wednesday, July 11th
Pushmi-Pullyu, Icarus Himself, and El Valiente

Wednesday, July 18th
Giant People

Wednesday, July 25th
Double Ewes

Wednesday, August 1st
CONTROL, Lovely Socialite Mrs. Thomas W. Phipps

Thursday, June 7th
Northern Comfort

Thursday, June 14th
Cork ‘n Bottle

Thursday, June 21st
The Henhouse Prowlers

Thursday, June 28th
Daylight in the Swamp

Thursday, July 5th
The Oak Street Ramblers

Thursday, July 19th
Cork ‘n Bottle

Thursday, July 26th
SpareTime Bluegrass

Thursday, August 2nd
Daylight in the Swamp

Friday, June 8th
Boo Bradley

Friday, June 15th
Green Means Go

Friday, June 22nd
Composers’ Quartet

Friday, July 6th
Alison Margaret Quartet

Friday, July 20th
The Lost Cartographer String Band

Friday, July 27th
Deconumisms

Friday, August 3rd
Michael Vlatkovich Trio

Friday, August 10th
Cork ‘n Bottle


Announcing the Terrace Interim Schedule and Isthmus Jazz Fest

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We hope you’re surviving finals. Stay strong, you’ve only a few days left. Congrats to those graduating this weekend. We’ve enjoyed putting on shows for all you Badgers this year, and the good news is that the fun doesn’t end when your classes do. In fact, for Terrace-lovers it’s just getting started!

This Friday, the Union is scheduled to announce practically the ENTIRE summer schedule. How exciting is that?! It’s exciting for us, too, as we have some HUGE shows we’re really excited to share with you. It’s hard for me to hold back my fingers from writing in all caps what they are and the million reasons why they’re exciting, but I like my job and don’t want to be fired for blabbing. Call me a chicken if you must.

Now, I know that seems like Friday is a lifetime away, so in the meantime check out what we have in store for you over what we call the “interim period.” Interim is the few weekends between the end of the spring semester and start of summer classes. For all of you sticking around to get knowledge fer yer brains over the summer, interim gives you a second to relax and have some carefree fun – so it’s a perfect time to come out to the Terrace. Some of these dates you may have known, but others are new. On top of the interim schedule, check out the lineup of the Performing Art’s Committee’s Isthmus Jazz Fest, which kicks of the summer schedule.

Here’s what we’ve got for you:

Friday, 5/18, 9 p.m.
Dirty Beaches and Xiu Xiu w/ Father Murphy

We’re kicking off your vacation with a bang  with two indie rock forerunners. Dirty Beaches, the project of Alex Zhang Hungtai, has gained a lot of buzz and acclaim in its short existence. 2011 debut Badlands drew an 8.2 on the ever-critical Pitchfork and was nominated for the prestigious Polaris Prize, attracting numerous fans along the way with its haunting lo-fi sound.

Xiu Xiu know something about creating “haunting” tunes. Featuring Jamie Stewart’s weepy vibrato and prominent synthesizers, the California group has been the epitome of avant garde for over ten years and at least as many full-length releases, including February’s Always. It’s no surprise that openers Father Murphy, then, show considerable influence from Xiu Xiu in their own music. Any true fan of unique, artistic music will want to be at the show this Friday.

Dirty Beaches and Xiu Xiu sound like this:

Saturday, 5/19, 9:30 p.m.
70′s vs. 90′s Graduation Dance Party featuring the VO5 and The Beat Chefs

Here’s a dance party that has something for everybody, and just in time for graduation. Bring your visiting parents and relatives out to the Terrace Saturday night to hear VO5 play covers of 70′s songs that will take them back to their own youth or college years. But first, listen to The Beat Chefs play the songs you grew up with in the 90′s (Feel free to wear Zubaz, slap bracelets, and light-up shoes). It will be a great chance to think about where you’ve been and party in honor of where you’re going. Watch VO5 tear up “We Are Family” on the Terrace last year below.

Friday, 5/25, 9:30 p.m.
The Handphibians w/ Grupo Balanca

If you’ve never seen Madison’s own The Handphibians before, do yourself a favor and come to the Terrace next Friday – but make sure to tie your shoes really tightly or wear sandals because they tend to blow peoples socks off. It is a spectacle to say the least when the samba-flavored giant ensemble (seriously, they often have up to at least twenty people) takes the stage. The beats from the onslaught of drums make not moving an impossibility, so be sure to hydrate regularly and carb-load accordingly. Just watch this insanity:

Madison’s Grupo Balanca will get the Brazilian beats going featuring a smaller (but not small by any means) lineup. Put on something colorful and get ready to dance, Madison.

The Trinidad Tripoli Steel Drum Band
Saturday, 5/26, 9:30 p.m.

The Trinidad Tripoli Steel Drum Band’s story begins before most of us (and many of our parents) were alive. Trinidad’s Hugh Borde spearheaded Trinidad’s steel drum band movement in Post-World War II Trinidad. Borde, his family, and his band made their way to the U.S. in the 70s and took it by storm; The Trinidad Tripoli Steel Drum Band appeared on various variety shows and recorded an album with Liberace in 1972 that would go on to win a Grammy. Forty years later Borde’s band is still going strong and playing sunny steel drum music that will keep a weekend of dancing going. Make sure to catch these legends when they make their stop on the isthmus.

Check Borde and the 1970 version of the band on the David Frost Show (yes, as in Frost v. Nixon) below.

Friday, 6/1, 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 6/2, 12 p.m.
Isthmus Jazz Fest

Gear up for a weekend of saxes, horns, scatting, and drum solos. The WUD Performing Arts Committee is bringing some of the best Midwest jazz talent to the Lake Mendota shore in this year’s Isthmus Jazz Fest. Check out the Performing Arts Committee’s fantastic blog, The Green Room, to get the scoop on each of the acts listed in the following lineup. Oh, and like WUD Music, the Performing Arts Committee always welcomes new student members, so consider joining over the summer or when you come back in the fall! The lineup:

Friday, June 1
4:00: Ladies Must Swing
5:00: The Rand Moore Quartet
6:30: Gerri DiMaggio and friends with special guest Donna Bender
8:00: The Rajiv Halim Quintet
10:00: The Modern Sounds
Saturday, June 2
12:30: Student Block (UW-Whitewater Big Band, Edgewood Big Band, UW Jazz Orchestra, High School Jazz All-Stars)
4:00: The Dave Stoler Quartet, featuring John Greiner
5:30: The Alison Margaret Jazz Quartet
6:45: The New Breed
8:00: Mary Stallings (Free, in the Union Theater)
10:00: Madisalsa
Again, this is only a small percentage of the Terrace fun we have planned for you this summer, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled on Saturday for practically every date from June to the beginning of September. The Union plans on launching a whole site devoted to the Terrace schedule, so stay tuned for that link when it goes live on Friday. Finish out those finals, grab that diploma if you’re getting one, and then head down to the Terrace for great summer music.

Weekend in Photos

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Blackbird Blackbird. All photos in this post by T.J. Matzen.

We had another great weekend, and luckily there were cameras to document most of it. There was lots of dancing at Blackbird Blackbird, Canopies, and Kiazma. The energy of the acts from the Surgeons in Heat record release come through in the pictures below. The Dear Hunter brought the prog to the Sett (These pics were sent along to us. They weren’t able to be included in the post, but check them out.) Ezra Furman brought the cool to Der Rath. No pics from that show, but if you have some to share, please send them along to wudmusiccom@gmail.com.

Surgeons in Heat

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Tonight!: Surgeons in Heat LP Release w/ The Midwest Beat, The Fatty Acids, and Pioneer at Memorial Union

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“Listen – I think you’ll be impressed.” If those words came from your slacker cousin, you may be able to dismiss them. But when they come from David Dye of NPR’s legendary music show World Cafe, those words carry a great amount of weight. You can hear him use them in reference to Milwaukee/Madison AM Gold quartet Surgeons in Heat if you listen to a December 2011 episode, and the bold statement has only gotten truer. This month, the band dropped their sophomore EP, Midnight At Bellevue, which calls on soulful hooks that infiltrate your brain through your eardrums and bury themselves there. It’s a peaceful takeover, and one you’ll surely welcome if you download it the EP for free at their bandcamp.

Bandcamp’s great, but fans of physical releases will rejoice, too, because this show celebrates the release of their Surgeons in Heat LP. On one side the vinyl contains their debut, the Surgeons in Heat EP, and you can find the new Midnight at Bellevue EP on the other. As a recent PopMatters review asserted, their emergence on the national scene has begun and it will only continue to intensify, so this will likely be something you’ll want to pick up to say you “knew them when.”

Joining them will be three other local acts Wisconsin is lucky to call their own. The Midwest Beat have been wowing Madison crowds for years now with their guitar-driven pop. They’re no stranger to the Terrace or to acclaim from local press, hopping their way onto Best of Madison lists practically every year. A.V. Club Madison raved about their most recent release, Gone Not Lost, saying the “tunes come neatly gift-wrapped with big hooks, back vocals that actually serve a purpose, and all the little details like bridges and pre-choruses that have somehow slipped through the cracks of modern pop.”

The Fatty Acids are no stranger to accolades themselves, having found themselves up against some act called Bon Iver (no, not Bonnie Bear) for Wisconsin’s band of the year at this year’s WAMI Awards.They’ve released two full-lengths, Stop Berries, Berries and Berries, Berries, and Leftover Monsterface (both available for free at their bandcamp). With names like that, you know they’re not dull. Their quirk pop sound is as big as their humor, with horns, howls, and drums beaten so mercilessly by Cole Quamme that you wonder how they’d survive a show. Their live show is known for its raucousness, as a dismembered R2D2 can attest to.

Pioneer will get us started at eight. Pioneer is made up of the three Madison-dwelling members of Surgeons in Heat along with Jacqueline Kursel. You would probably never know there was any relation between the two bands if you weren’t told; Kursel and Kenny Monroe trade off vocals in some stripped-down folk complemented with cello. It’s beautiful stuff, and Madison’s taken notice – it’s why when acts like Cate Le Bon and Breathe Owl Breathe come through town you can find Pioneer on the bill. Check out their bandcamp to listen to a few of their tunes.

If you don’t want to come down to Memorial Union at 8 p.m. after those descriptions, I don’t know what else I can do for you. Well, except tell you to download Surgeons in Heat’s “No One Left” below, watch their “The Price” video, and check out the links within the article, as they show just how talented these bands are. See you tonight.

Download Surgeons in Heat’s “No One Left”

Just Announced

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This week’s Just Announced is dance party heavy. There are two DTF dates to announce with Nick Nice and Gabe Herrera, but that’s not all. Last fall a few thousand of you packed the Terrace for our first installment of Rave on the Lake. Now, gear up for the sequel, which happens next Thursday. Finally, celebrate your time at the greatest school in the world with the Graduation Dance Party featuring VO5 and The Beat Chefs on the Terrace on May 19th.

We also have a bunch of openers and interim period dates to announce, so check those out below. Make sure to keep an eye out on May 9th, when we’ll have a formal announcement of the summer Terrace schedule. In the meantime, get excited over the dates already announced by checking the calendar.

4/27 Kiazma opening for Blackbird Blackbird and Canopies- The Sett: Union South

4/27 DTF w/ Nick Nice – The Sett: Union South

4/28 The Gazettiers opening for The Dear Hunter – The Sett: Union South

5/3 Rave on the Lake 2.0 – The Terrace: Memorial Union

5/4 Imaginary Friend opening for Kina Grannis – The Sett: Union South

5/4 DTF w/ Gabe Herrera – The Sett: Union South

5/10 WUD Theater and WUD Music present Clyde Stubblefield – The Sett: Union South

5/19 70′s vs. 90′s Graduation Weekend Dance Party ft. V05 & The Beat Chefs- The Terrace: Memorial Union

5/25 The Handphibians w/ Grupo Balanca

5/26 The Trinidad Tripoli Steel Drum Band

Week in Photos

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All Nick Offerman photos by Stacey Lansing of Mixtapes Heartbreaks

For those that crave familiarity and are alarmed by this post being named “Week in Photos” instead of “Weekend in Photos,” don’t worry; it’s going to be ok. This post is only titled the way it is because it includes photos from the weekend plus some from Nick Offerman’s sold-out Union Theatre show. You wouldn’t want to deny people his majestic frame just for consistency of title, would you? Of course not.

Thanks to Stacey Lansing of Mixtapes Heartbreaks who lent her photography talents to us for the Nick Offerman show.

All photos from Kimya Dawson/ Adelyn Rose by Molly Palzkill.

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Saturday: bleubird + Ceschi w/ Phonetic ONE at the Sett

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You’ll want to be at the Sett this Saturday to catch indie hip-hop at its best. Two months after labelmate Astronautalis played the same venue, bleubird and Ceschi will bring their rhymes to Madison. Local favorite Phonetic ONE will set the stage for the night. It’s sure to be a party.

bleubird released his U.S. debut in January after making a name for himself living in Canada and Europe. The debut, CANNONBALL!!!, was produced by Astronautalis and Radical Face and features a little bit of everything – from the playful (I highly recommend “Black Sandcastles”) to sullen, storytelling (“Geihe 1977″ highlights his family tree) to stream of consciousness. In addition to recently touring Europe with Astronautalis, bleubird’s played shows with an impressive array of artists including Xiu Xiu, Deerhoof, and Battles, so you know his show’s got to be good.

On CANNONBALL!!!‘s track “Time For Real” (available below for download) you can catch some lightning quick spitting from a featured appearance by Ceschi. Ceschi’s songs paint descriptive pictures with the skill of a literary genius, putting the listener in the shoes of a struggling artist in his most recent release, 2010′s The One-Man Band Broke Up. He’s also responsible for creating the label Fake Four Inc, through which some of our favorite artists like Busdriver, Sole, and the aforementioned Astronautalis and bluebird tell their stories.

Getting us started will be a local favorite, Phonetic ONE. A member of UW-Madison’s First Wave Spoken Word and Hip Hop Learning Community, Phonetic ONE showed the world what the Madison Hip-Hop scene has to offer in a big way with 2009′s Phonetic Phenom EP. Since then he’s followed that up with the On The Bus Stop LP (which had a pretty great promo) and shared the stage with acts like Eyedea & Abilities, Doomtree, and F. Stokes. He’s currently a contender in the Chegg College Battle of the Bands, which has had past contestants like Local Natives and Mike Posner.

Make sure to come out for the 9 p.m. start of bleubird, Ceschi, and Phonetic ONE at the Sett on Saturday. Below, Download separate tracks from bleubird and Ceschi along with “Time 4real,” on which they share the mic. That’s lots of music people. Listen, love, come to the Sett.

Download bleubird’s “Time 4real ft. Ceschi”
Download bleubird’s “Down Like Brothers ft. Radical Face”
Download Ceschi’s “Bad Jokes”

 

Weekend in Photos

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Big Freedia and the Divas. All pictures from Big Freedia, Sissy Nobby and DJ Diamond from this show by T.J. Matzen.

We had a great weekend, and a lot of you came out to share it with us. Big Freedia’s “Azz Everywhere” was descriptive of what the Sett looked like Friday night with hundreds of people shaking their rears (even doing it on stage on several occasions) – bouncing to the New Orleans Bounce of Freedia and Sissy Nobby, as well as DJ Diamond’s Chicago juke. Screaming Females, Caveman, and Giant People brought energy to Der Rath with raucous tunes. That show got some love from The Isthmus Daily Page. Check out pictures from the shows (more after the jump), and if you’ve got some to add show us at wudmusiccom@gmail.com.

Caveman. All pictures from Screaming Females, Caveman, Giant People by Molly Gallagher.

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Just Announced: BADBADNOTGOOD

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BADBADNOTGOOD are officially listed as a jazz trio, but simply describing them that way doesn’t reflect their hip-hop side, creating music worthy of sample by the most popular rappers. Exhibit A: Tyler, the Creator loved their Odd Future cover sessions so much, he got together with them and created a series of collaborative videos. BBNG released their second album, BBNG2 two weeks ago, currently available at their bandcamp for free download. You can see them live on the Terrace on May 11th. Check out a video of the Tyler the Creator / BBNG sessions below and get excited (but try not to be terrified by the pig mask).

Just Announced

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We have a little of everything for you in this week’s announcements. You like blues? Check out Madison’s own Boo Bradley at The Sett this weekend.How about electronic music? This weekend’s DTF will be with UW student Ben Benson. If you’re into local acoustic duos, Color Me Once will play Memorial Union on Saturday. Opening for Blackbird Blackbird on April 27th will be Milwaukee’s critically-acclaimed electronic-infused indie pop band Canopies, who you may have just caught with Reptar last week. Rap fans, we’ve got two for you: Spliff Hemmingway on May 5th in Der Rathskeller and Aer and OCD: Moosh & Twist on the Terrace June 7th. Check out the new dates below and see the calendar for all dates announced already.

4/13/2012 Boo Bradley – The Sett: Union South

4/13/2012 DTF: Ben Benson – The Sett: Union South

4/14/2012 Color Me Once- Der Rathskeller: Memorial Union

4/27/2012 Canopies opening for Blackbird Blackbird – The Sett: Union South

5/5/2012 Spliff Hemmingway – The Terrace: Memorial Union

6/7/2012 Aer + OCD: Moosh & Twist – The Terrace: Memorial Union