Get Psychedelic, Man

Milwaukee Psych Fest

In the upper Midwest, the twilight of April is a period of waiting for things to happen so that we might in our turn make other things happen: for example, we wait for the weather to stay spring-like so we can push our winter gear to the back of the closet.

As the nights get warmer, just like in a Thin Lizzy song, our lighter jackets will come in useful for live shows that will, depending on which you attend, simulate/stimulate a high, catalyze the throwing of the metal fan’s devil-horn gesture or generate consistent amusement rather than rib-hurting hilarity. Which brings us to this week’s picks.

Thursday, April 24 through Sunday, April 27

Milwaukee Psych Fest at Cactus Club

Defining music as psychedelic isn’t easy, and not just because the musicians and fans are stoned. (Fun fact: not all of them are.) It’s also because, under the right circumstances, almost any music, from the Teutonic drama of Wagner to the mirror-ball ecstasy of Kylie Minogue, can be trippy, woozy, etc.

Nevertheless, the second annual Milwaukee Psych Fest fits almost anyone’s definition of the term, with a minimum of three bands a day (and eight on Saturday, divided between an early show and a late show). Highlights should include the circa-1990 UK-based space-rock heaviness of Loop, the Chicago-bluesy fuzz of Killer Moon and the economically aggressive hardcore hypnotism, via Minneapolis, of the Blind Shake.

Get into and out of your head, man:

S. Carey at Club Garibaldi

Even if you weren’t aware that Sean Carey is the go-to drummer and pianist for Bon Iver, Eau Claire’s impressive entry among indie-rock embodiments, you would spot the resemblances just by sitting down and listening to Carey’s work both with and without BI architect Justin Vernon.

Not unlike Vernon, Carey is more an impressionist composer than a classicist storyteller: the new S. Carey disc, Range of Light, takes inspiration from the late naturalist John Muir but colors the landscapes with moody hues from Carey’s own sensorium. Not entirely postrock and not merely ambient, his music is quietly, elaborately fascinating.

How he’ll go over in a rock club is another question:

Friday, April 25

Black Label Society at Rave

Zakk Wylde was one of the guitar heroes of the most recent “Experience Hendrix” tour, which is to say he played lots of extended, proficient six-string solos. As he showed off, spectators could understand why Ozzy Osbourne mentored Wylde: they shared, and share, a love for hard rock and a disdain for the new.

Fronting Black Label Society, Wylde has touched upon the subtler elements of his chosen crunch, but mostly he has offered rock ‘n’ roll that 16-year-old dudes could’ve banged their heads to as much in 1974 as they can in 2014. The latest BLS album, Catacombs of the Black Vatican, came out at the beginning of April and is more more more of the same.

Hey, Wylde knows what he likes and he knows other people like it too:

Friday, April 25

Demetri Martin at Pabst Theater

Long before Time magazine quoted conventional comedians putting down the likes of Lenny Bruce in its 1959 article “The Sicknicks,” the idea of underground comedy has made working yuksters complain about how different jokes aren’t funny jokes. Ever heard punk-rock fans argue about what’s “really” punk? This is like that.

Demetri Martin is probably a lightning rod for the yuksters, because the NYC native presents himself in a manner so low-key that he could be Steven Wright’s nephew. In his stand-up (2006’s These Are Jokes), on TV (Important Things With Demetri Martin), or in print (Point Your Face at This), he’s more likely to shrug and draw a graph than to deliver a punchline with a rimshot.

Here he is on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, which has hosted comics both “straight” and “alternative”:

Sunday, April 27

VNV Nation at Turner Hall Ballroom

EBM, or Electronic Body Music, is not to be confused with EDM, or Electronic Dance Music. How not to conflate the two? Well, VNV Nation makes EBM, not EDM, so that’s one way to make the distinction, which is, otherwise and admittedly, difficult to measure without calipers and a music snob in the vicinity.

VNV (Victory Not Vengeance) members Ronan Harris and Mark Jackson probably don’t care that much about the definitions; conversely, they’ve cared very much for two decades about creating and performing electronic music with a passionate, positive humanity. The latest VNV Nation album, 2013’s Transnational, has plenty of hearts and beats for ravers and wallflowers alike.

Bodies could dance to this: