Concerts

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Crowd dances to the sounds of Zappa

Seconds after 8:00 p.m., Dweezil Zappa and his tribute to his father, Zappa Plays Zappa, strode out onto the Barrymore Theatre stage to the theme from “Star Wars.” The space-y theme was a fitting introduction to the wild world of Frank Zappa’s music. To keep things interesting, both for fans and for themselves, the band is touring behind the 40th anniversary of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention’s 1975 album, One Size Fits All in the first set and then a selection of tunes from throughout Zappa’s catalog in the second. The first frame opened with the intricate composition, “Inca Roads.” The six-member outfit paid fitting tribute to the complex tune, nailing each segment of the meandering song.

Zappa Plays Zappa pays tribute to the legendary Frank Zappa

Madison's weekend Entertainment

Welcome back weekend, we’ve missed you old friend. 

Live on King Street provided shelter from the storm with the sounds of Benjamin Booker

I can’t dance. I feigned my way through grade school talent shows, stumbled over my feet at high school homecoming dances, hoping that one day I would grow out of it.

Madison's weekend entertainment

It’s the weekend and that means dancing, singing and entertainment galore. 

Lizzo perfoms powerful set at Majestic

Tuesday night the Majestic promised a stacked lineup of female hip-hop artists. First up was Denver-born soul hip-hop songstress Povi. Though at past performances she has glistened on the stages of Denver and her current home Oakland, Calif., unfortunately her Madison performance fell slightly short. While the crowd was hyped up on excitement for the acts to follow, no one was really familiar with Povi’s music, so audience engagement and participation was low. Even with the music itself being relatively unknown, it was nice to bop around to, and I did marvel at the beauty of Povi’s vocal strength, that is until the peak of awkward concert events occurred.

Ratatat lights up the Orpheum Friday night

The Orpheum Theater welcomed a sold-out crowd for Ratatat Friday, kicking off what will be an impressive fall lineup at the venue for fans of electronic music. 

The sky's the limit when the price of admission is free

Feeling free at summer music festivals

Sasquatch!

Kiesza showed off her moves to small crowd at the Majestic

Why do people go to concerts? It seems like a superfluous question considering the answer should be quite obvious. Live music holds a certain appeal. What’s more, seeing an artist you know perform a song that you remember intimately right in front of you is an unrivaled experience. But this holds true for all genres of music. Some concerts, though, are more than just the sum of the music the artist will put on a show for. Some attract the crowd because the artist is also the performer. Some concerts are frequented because you want to feel the music. You might hope that you get such a concert from most dance music artists, but with Kiesza, you go in knowing that. And that alone is a gift by itself. 

Foxygen nailed it at The Sett last Friday

Foxygen made a stop at the Sett this past Friday on their “Farewell Tour” and brought arguably the most entertaining show our campus has seen in 2015 thus far. The nine-piece band, which includes three mesmerizing back-up dancers, played a set that consisted of songs off of their two most recent albums, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic and …And Star Power, enticing the crowd to dance around to favorites such as “Shuggie” and “How Can You Really.” 

Prepare for AlunaGeorge’s unique sound at Revelry 2015

While likely known most in the United States for their collaboration with Disclosure on “White Noise,” this duo from London has been making waves overseas ever since their debut album Body Music was released in 2013. As EDM, hip-hop, alternative rock and folk have their respective representatives this year at Revelry, the rising prominence of electropop and R&B will be expressed at the festival by a duo cut from the same cloth as Sylvan Esso and CHVRCHES. 

Guster blends 25 years worth of music at the Orpheum

Last Wednesday Guster came to the Orpheum stage and performed a concert that transcended nearly 25 years worth of music. With their newest album Evermotion having just been released, the group was back with a multi-generational set list that had the audience reminiscing about the good old days and swaying to the beat of their new laid-back sound. 

The Pines perform to small audience

While people across Madison fixed their eyes on the Badger game Saturday night, a meager but appreciative crowd settled into the High Noon Saloon to hear music from folk band the Pines. 

Rapper Lil Dicky provides entertainment for Majestic crowd

Professional Rapper Tour was not something to be overlooked. This past Friday Lil Dicky was watching the Badger game while preparing for a sold-out crowd at the Majestic Theatre. They played the Badger game with an open bar before the concert. They have a nice screen that proved to be useful later in the night. My best friend was downtown and ready to see his first show ever at the venue. I was pretty impressed by how hyped the crowd was when arriving.

Catch Kid hopes to make the crowd smile

Remember when Aaron Carter shared the stage with Hilary Duff? Thirteen years later Aaron is back and ready to bring the party to Madison, only instead of Hilary Duff, a local trio gets to make an appearance. Catch Kid are a band based here in Madison made up of front man Nate Rusch, guitarist Jeremy Van Mill and drummer Luke Osiecki. If that name sounds familiar it’s because they were rocking the WSUM stage at Freakfest this past November. I had the pleasure of catching up with these super awesome guys to see what their plans include for 2015—of course covering the upcoming show with Aaron Carter Thursday. The real question is: Who are these guys? 

Tory Lanez’s rapid flow impresses crowd

Daystar Peterson, better known by stage names Tory Lanez and Argentina Fargo, is a rapper from Ontario, Canada who has been emerging in a big way with his high-pitched singing and heavy rap-flow. Lanez performed in front of a small, yet eager, crowd at The Frequency Monday night.

How to be solitary at concerts and love it

To say I’ve seen a lot of concerts in my relatively short span of time seeing concerts may almost be an understatement. From AC/DC to ZZ Top, it’s tougher for me to name a band or artist I haven’t seen than it is to name the one’s I have—or at least it feels that way sometimes.

Ron Pope impresses amidst dissatisfaction

Known the world over for his internet hit, “A Drop In The Ocean,” Ron Pope graced the stage of the High Noon Saloon this Friday with a performance that was energetic and fun. Despite a disrespectful crowd, he worked the room to salvage the night and demonstrate his mastery as a performer.

The Daily Cardinal presents: Bonnaroo 2014

Going to Bonnaroo is a bit like going to a museum filled with lots of stuff to see in a short period of time—except hotter, dustier, and less judgmental. Everyone is trying to get a glimpse of as much as they can, but most know they’ll have a more intimate experience at their hometown venue when the new act comes to town. Trying to see as many performances as possible at Bonnaroo is surely a valid quest, but be prepared to make tough choices. There is too much going on to see it all, but that is also the beauty of Bonnaroo. It is complete sensory overload and you will be pissed at yourself that you had to pee twice during James Blake and that you had to choose between seeing The Flaming Lips, Frank Ocean and the Skrillex Superjam. Still, the four-day fest is completely exhilarating. And the moment you get on the freeway heading home tired and dirty in the middle of the night, you’ll immediately wish you were back on The Farm.