Vampire Weekend Moves Milwaukee Show To BMO Harris Pavilion

Things must be working for Vampire Weekend.  The band just announced that they are moving their June 4 date from the Riverside Theater to the BMO Harris Pavilion, on the Summerfest grounds. The band is still supporting their 2011 album titled Modern Vampires of the City. It was released in 2013, and has received very positive reviews in Rolling Stone.
The album won Best Alternative Album in that same year.  Now even more fans can see them live in Milwaukee.  At the time of this post Vampire Weekend tickets were available, but you might want to get moving if you are looking to see them play live this summer.

Dead Man's Carnival Comes to Turner Hall Ballroom

The performers in Dead Man's Carnival have names like "Zero the Clown, Chassy Dee Lux." They are backed up by Sir Pinkerton, the band. This is old school carnival at its best. If you need a dose of fire breathing, burlesque dancing, and some serious work with whips, DMC is your one stop shop. Otherwise known as a variety show, or vaudeville in the modern era, it may be worth your while to check it out. Keep the kids at home for this one, unless you don't mind that they may witness their first fan dance. The show is scheduled for April 30 at the Turner Hall.

Riverside Theater Tries its Best to Make Me Hate That Venue

I lucked out when I landed 11th row tickets to see Flight of the Conchords. Yea, way back when I bought them from the Riverside Theater's online site, there was a message that the tickets were "will call only." That was no problem for me. I was happy to pick the tickets up the night of the show.

In the days leading up to the performance, there was an announcement that the tickets would be ready for pick up two hours before the show. That gave me and my friends time to eat dinner downtown, and be in the show with time to spare. It didn't end up that way.

At 5:10pm I walked over to the Riverside Theater and that's when the person at the will call window told me that we would have to come back one hour prior to the show to pick up the tickets, and "then you have to walk directly into the theater." WHAT!!!

I wanted to hand two of the tickets to my friends who got to John Hawks late, and thus were eating dinner later than we were. Now, I had to wait for them, hope that they get their food in time, force them to rush through dinner, because at 6:20pm I SEE A LINE GOING INTO THE RIVERSIDE THEATER THAT'S SO LONG, IT'S GOING TO TAKE AN HOUR TO GET IN!!!

Who runs that place? How does he/she still have their job? We got to our seats at 7:20pm, the show started at 7pm. It took 45 minutes to get into the venue. We didn't have time to buy a drink, look at the merch booth, nothing. Is that what The Riverside Theater wants? They want their patrons to NOT buy drinks, buy merch, enjoy the show? Is this some anti ticket scalper stuff? How many people will stop going to the Riverside Theater after they get jammed? Let's start with my group. That sucked. What if it was raining? Were we supposed to sit there in the rain for 45 minutes, because a ticket broker might have purchased a couple pairs of tickets, and that pissed off the Riverside Theater management? Never again.

Turner Hall for gigs so small

If your band is on the rise, or on the decline, Turner Hall might be the right fit for you.
The Riverside Theater is too big for some emerging acts. The Pabst is the same. The same folks that manage both of those venues took over at Turner Hall.

It's a club that will make you feel like a star if two hundred people show up. The place is rustic, and open.

Acts like Juliana Hatfield, Alex Chilton, and Shawn Colvin perform there. One show that I would check out is .357 String Band on January 10th. Nothing is better than punk played with banjo.

Flight was great

Flight of the Conchords was hilarious. The Riverside Theater was a perfect venue for the show too. I must say that being in the 12th row didn't hurt. You could see the expressions on the faces of Jemaine and Bret. They performed for nearly two hours. Their relaxed style was refreshing and funny. The comments shouted out from the crowd was ridiculous, but they handled it well throughout. The evening was opened by a cast member from the show. It was a sold out show at the Riverside Theater.

Summerfest shows

The major concert announcements for Summerfest have started. So far, I haven't found a band that I want to see. I'm going to see the Police play after Summerfest, in late July. I wonder what Stevie Wonder will be like. That might be my old school gig for Summerfest. I hear that he brings a super tight band with him. That would do nicely. Meanwhile, Milwaukee is still cold and grey. If the temps hit 60+ we might get excited about seeing rock and roll shows in Milwaukee. For now, it's not even on the mind. Who wants to freeze by the lake? Not me. I'd rather be comfy in some warm venue like The Riverside Theater, as the city thaws out from a long, cold winter.