January 13-18

Take yourselves back to the heady days of last week: Barack Obama was in office, everyone on Twitter was legally required to say how much the Coachella lineup sucked (except Outkast!), and funnyman Louie Anderson was keeping the nation in stitches. Oh, and that whole “polar vortex” thing happened, which really put a crimp on most everyone’s “get-out-of-the-house-and-enjoy-some-live-music” plans. If you were one of the few souls who braved the deadly sub-zero weather in order to keep Milwaukee’s live music scene alive and healthy, congratulations: you’re awesome. Crazy, but awesome.

Thankfully, those frigid days are long behind us. With temperatures expected to stay in the double digits this week (first one to make a “heat wave” joke gets punched), it’s a perfect time to support the local scene without losing one of your valued appendages to frostbite. Here are five shows worth checking out this week and weekend.

Thursday, January 16
The Rural Alberta Advantage at Turner Hall

What would happen if Billy Corgan took time off from whatever it is Billy Corgan does these days and fronted an unassuming Canadian indie rock band? Well, it would probably sound a lot like The Rural Alberta Advantage. Singer Nils Edenloff channels his inner “rat-in-a-cage”-era Corgan on the charmingly low-key Departing, which was released in 2011 on Saddle Creek Records. Opening the show are Milwaukee’s own Midnight Reruns, who released a near-perfect LP of rock ’n’ goodness last November.

Friday, January 17
Diarrhea Planet at Cactus Club
Band names don’t come much more delightful than Diarrhea Planet. (Sorry, The Biff Tannens.) The Nashville band’s simultaneously thrashy and anthemic sound should be manna from heaven for fans of another delightfully named hardcore band, Fucked Up. Oh, and as long as we’re talking about delightfully named stuff, be sure to check out the opening set from Milwaukee’s excellent Heavy Hand, and enjoy the yelp-y goodness of songs like “When I Grow Up To Be Ralph Macchio” and “Vagina Fucking Die.”

Saturday, January 18
Brief Candles, The Delphines, and Fahri at Cactus Club

We know you already have your calendars marked for the Shepherd Express’ Woman Up! festival next month, but what if you want to celebrate the fairer sex without having to be near one of the Real Housewives Of Orange County? Well, you could check out this killer triple bill at the Cactus Club, featuring three Milwaukee bands fronted (or co-fronted) by women. Brief Candles’ terrifically woozy Newhouse EP was one of the best releases of 2013, while The Delphines kept busy last year by releasing approximately 8,000 singles and EPs. (All of them were awesome, by the way.) Fahri has been relatively quiet as of late, making its appearance at this show more can’t-miss than usual.

Saturday, January 18
Dana Coppafeel, Speak Easy, Klassic, Yo Dot, WebsterX at Mad Planet

Dana Coppafeel and Speak Easy may seem like a hip-hop odd couple, but they bring out the best in each other on last year’s excellent Uni-Fi Records Presents. The outspoken Coppafeel has been a fixture of the city’s hip-hop scene for nearly 20 years, while Speak Easy came into his own as a low-key MC on 2011’s So To Speak. Uni-Fi guest Klassik—who lends vocals to the silky “Wait”—joins tonight’s deliriously overcrowded bill, which also features the ever-reliable Yo Dot and 21-year-old phenom WebsterX.

Saturday, January 18
Pablove Benefit Concert at Turner Hall

Former Milwaukeean (and current Elektra Records president) Jeff Castelaz and his wife, Jo Ann Thrailkill, founded the Pablove Foundation in 2009 after losing their six-year-old son, Pablo, to childhood cancer. Since then, Pablove has raised money and awareness for the disease through various arts and music programs, including an annual benefit concert in Milwaukee. This year’s show features reunion sets from three titans of the ’90s Milwaukee punk and alternative scene (Alligator Gun, The Benjamins, Subside) and two current local acts (Vic And Gab, Chris Porterfield). Expect old favorites from Alligator Gun, a new song from The Benjamins, and a warm, un-ironically fuzzy feeling knowing your admission ($15 for adults, $10 for kids) is going to a worthy cause.