Jay Farrar

By Jeremy Saperstein Terroir Blues (“terroir” is French word, by the way, literally translated as “soil”) is a much more finished work than Farrar’s first solo effort Sebastapol (which was still a great record. The consistency probably is helped by the first consistent group of Farrar has had with him since the apparent splintering of Son Volt. Mark Spencer (Blood Oranges), Brian Henneman (Bottle Rockets) and Jon Wurster (Superchunk) are among thoses who function as Farrar’s band for this outing, and the reward is seen in a record that contains as much experimentalism as Sebastapol (as in the between tracks noise of parts I-VI of “Space Junk”). “Cahokian” is a perfect song for the mingling of cultures past and present. (“I will wait for you/in the green green spaces/wearing our post-industrial faces”) while “Fool King’s Crown” makes a fairly overt (for the traditionally oblique Farrar) political statement backed by Brian Henneman’s electric sitar. The name of this record is particularly apt — not like the dirt of the Stooges, say, but the earth a farmer might let slip hopefully through his fingers, dreaming of a fine harvest. Farrar is a man at the top of his game right now and seems able to grasp anything he reaches for. This record is a great display of mastery of American music. Act/Resist Records

The Mistreaters

By Jeremy Saperstein Some of Milwaukee’s favoritest sons travel off to the eastern metropolis of Detroit City and come back with an audio document that performs the improbable — it’s as raucous as a live show, but offers the tightness of polished radio fare. Which is not to say that this slab is genteel. Within thirty seconds of the tightly wound intro to “The Other Man” I was feeling my brain slide around in its pan as I rocked my head furiously with the beat. With a short break for the slow bluesy growl of “She’s My Witch”, that’s the way it went for the rest of the disc. Other favorites include the frantically rhyming “Hard On The Eyes” and the high-energy squall of “Brandon Takes It”, which makes me think of any number of other famous Detroit combos. The Mistreaters might only know three chords, but they know those chords cold. And they understand how to deliver them for maximum impact. Estrus Records

The Negro Problem

By Jeremy Saperstein Let’s start with the name: it’s meant as a knowing jibe — something to make politically-correctoids bristle. It oughta make you feel better that leader Stew is, indeed, black — and he’s making some of the finest literate and culturally-aware power-psychedelic-pop I’ve ever heard. The disc is like some sort of hideous hybrid of the every unique artist you care to name (to namecheck: I hear echoes of Charles Mingus, Sly Stone, Brian Wilson, Syd Barrett, Arthur Lee, Ennio Morricone, Roy Wood, John Fred and Burt Bacharach – and that’s just in the two songs that close the album! [“Bong Song” and “Bermuda Love Triangle”]) Despite the name, race is no issue within the grooves of the record, which features tongue-in-cheek references to records that have come before (“If London calls/just say I’ve stepped away” from “Watering Hole”), obscure pop-culture icons (“I’m Sebastian Cabot in your dreams/I’m Sebastian Cabot — what’s that mean?” from “I’m Sebastian Cabot”) and so much more — all in meticulously clever lyrics that continue to unfold through repeated listenings. Smile Records

The Stratford 4

By Jeremy Saperstein An activist San Francisco who combine an echoey, distorted sound with tight songwriting and boy-girl vocals? Nah, it couldn’t be! The Stratford 4 formed from the same roots as fave rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, but give us a dreamier, poppier sound that’s reminiscent of the shoegazer bands of the 80s and 90s while never stooping to pure copying, gracefully entwining sinewy guitar leads with blast of fuzzed out rhythm. Others will hear suggestions of Hoboken’s sometime noise merchants in Yo La Tengo — probably owing more to the S4’s way with a pop tune and their lack of fear of atmospheric freakouts and loud, distorted guitars (the CD title is a good shorthand description of the contents). Jetset Records

Richard Thompson

By John Hughes Richard Thompson’s new CD The Old Kit Bag advertises that it contains “unguents, fig leaves and tourniquets,” presumably for the listener’s soul. It actually delivers better than that; emollients for melancholy, curatives for the blues. It delivers nothing less than the pure healing joy of delectable music. Thompson has been breathing life into the decidedly uncool British folk tradition for 35 years, almost always to tremendous effect. This may be his best outing in all that time. He achieves this by stripping his sound down to the basics: his confident singing, in a voice which sounds as smokey and gladdening as a McEwan’s Scottish Ale tastes, and his guitar playing, which is spectacular. It is obvious here again that Richard Thompson is the real Slowhand. His dazzling guitar artistry is virtuosic, inventive, dancing, superior to the power blues of Eric Clapton because so much more nimble and versatile. He’s more fun to listen to than Clapton, and leaves you feeling exuberant. The songs are all richly detailed and thick with sound, and the backup singing of Judith Owen is a complementary highlight, but the guitar playing carries the day from beginning to end. At times it is so good that it hurts to listen. Richard Thompson, at his peak here, creates arresting beauty for your heart. SpinART Records

L’auberge Espagnole

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Get Out of Town

By Jeremy Saperstein I think Wisconsin is the best state in the union in which to live. Okay, I’ll grant you that I’ve only lived in two others, but my search pretty much ended here. To quote myself, from a postcard I wrote to a pal back in Minnesota “Small towns, cheap beer – Good God, man! What more could you want?” I wrote that in the last century, when I was young, foolish and drunk, but my views haven’t changed. Wooed by the hills, farms and – yes – the inexpensive beer, I moved to southeast Wisconsin years ago, and I haven’t looked back. Well, to be truthful, I do look back in the summers when hordes of people converge on my quiet southside neighborhood for any of the festivals centered in Maier festival park, especially the Big Gig. This year promises to be extra sticky with the potential masses of Harley Fest 100 visitors. Before any enraged festival goers or hog riders march on my house like the villagers in a monster movie, clutching pitchforks and burning torches, let me issue a small caveat: I have no problem with the festivities. Like most everyone, though, I sometimes just want to be alone. On the other hand, there are always concerts I want to see at Summerfest. And I have nothing but admiration and respect for the fierce loyalty and brand recognition Willie G. has built for his all-American endeavor. I welcome the fests. Really. Sometimes, though, you need to get away. Because we’ve chosen to live in a town bordered by a Great Lake on the east and Chicago to the south, there aren’t a lot of directions you can ramble without becoming wet or swarmed by FIBS (a nice acronym for our southern neighbors). I’m not talking about needing an island paradise, or even the great Northwoods. There’s plenty of leisure to be taken right here in our fair state, within just a few hours by car. Start by going south Somebody once wrote this about diners in Wisconsin: Good diners in Wisconsin always have an indigenous dish for breakfast – a Mess, a Garbage Plate, a Scramble. They’re all based on scrambled eggs and sausage or peppers or onions or whatever else the pro prietor likes or needs to move off the shelves, and they all take on legendary qualities for fighting off hang overs among locals. With this in mind, one of the first stops you make could be Frank’s Diner in Kenosha (508 58th St., Kenosha). Frank’s breakfast specialty is the Garbage Plate, and is a huge mixture of ham, green peppers, eggs, hash browns and jalapeno peppers, and will stomp any hangover into the ground. An original railcar diner, Frank’s is located in the heart of downtown Kenosha and has a reputation that has outlasted owners and patrons alike. “Order what you want, eat what you get” originated as a tongue-in-cheek motto among the regulars (including local luminaries and politicos) and has become, […]

Spellbound

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By Andrew Muchin The memory is nearly 40 years old, yet it’s vivid and intense: I’m seated with my father and grandfather in a wooden half-pew at the back of Anshe Poale Zedek Synagogue in Manitowoc. Both the men’s pews before me and the women’s to my right are filled with worshippers dressed in their best clothing. Every man wears a black skullcap. Every woman sports a fancy bonnet or has clipped a square of black lace to her sculpted hair. The worshippers recite and sing Hebrew prayers and chat in hushed tones. Even as a child, I know most of the 150 people who are gathered for a major Jewish holiday. My friends from religious school are seated with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and even great-grandparents. And 20 of them are from my extended family, comprising four generations. The traditionally observant congregation is a true community, with all of the warm acceptance and occasional lack of privacy that the term implies. As a six-year-old, I don’t know much about Judaism, but seated with my people at the synagogue, the amber light from tall stained glass windows bathing the sanctuary, I feel part of something larger than myself. The demise of small town Jewish culture In those baby-boom years, Manitowoc was one of 14 small Wisconsin cities with a synagogue and active Jewish community. Just 25 years earlier, that number was 20. As the late attorney Leonard Loeb, a native of Watertown, once told me, “You used to be able to travel the entire state and never eat treif,” or non-kosher food. In my lifetime, a fragment of the Jewish people’s 4,000-year history — those active, optimistic times I remember so fondly in Manitowoc — has been replaced by a sense of semi-doom. These days, the entire Jewish community couldn’t fill two pews in the sanctuary. I’m part of the problem. I haven’t lived in Manitowoc since my family moved to Milwaukee in 1970. Like me, most of my religious school classmates have left. Meanwhile, the majority of the worshippers I recall have died. There’s little economic or Jewish communal rationale for young Jewish families to stay in Manitowoc or move in. Manitowoc Jewry, like the communities in Fond du Lac and Sheboygan, is slowly dying of attrition. How soon those three populations will duplicate the demise of congregations in Arpin, Ashland, Hurley, Marinette, Stevens Point and Superior is not clear, but the handwriting is on the wall, to paraphrase Hebrew scripture (Daniel 5:5). A past filled with colorful characters Small-town Wisconsin’s Jewish communities — which produced Harry Houdini (maybe the most famous man of his time), writer Edna Ferber, State Treasurer Solomon Levitan, Major League outfielder Morrie Arnovich, Green Bay Packers co-founder Nate Abrams, Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.); several rabbis; and many of the state’s most important industrialists — are no longer a staple of the Badger State. I may be front-man for a statewide Jewish history project, but I’m far from Manitowoc’s most interesting or influential […]

July 2003

By Jon Anne Willow Dear Readers, First off, I’d like to congratulate the winners of our Danceworks Summer Camp scholarship drawing and essay contest. We received lots of entries (interestingly, not one single essay) and, after tough deliberation, chose three. The winning entries are below, and black and white doesn’t do them justice. Thanks to everyone who entered. We had a great time with this month’s cover story. With the economy “a little slow” these days, more of us are looking closer to home for vacations. In our last editorial meeting, a straw poll revealed a rising popularity (at least for now) in day trips. Everyone had fave spots within a day’s drive, where one can discover the spirit of Wisconsin — from grass roots entrepreneurs building attractions in the middle of nowhere, to awesome (someone else’s words) limburger cheese sandwiches. We chose a handful of our favorite nearby getaways. We hope you enjoy our little tour. Speaking of the spirit of Wisconsin, Andrew Muchin’s piece on Wisconsin’s Jewish history is both a nostalgic look at times that once were, and a wistful reminder that the close knit community that once defined rural America is fading, never to return. The pictures are phenomenal. With the Tobacco Control Board now a thing of the past (that didn’t last long, eh?), the already fragile “tobacco settlement” allocation for anti-smoking efforts has once again been substantially reduced. And even research showing a decline in youth smoking in the state over the course of the Board’s tenure (a brief three years) could not save them. Coincidentally (?), the tobacco lobby in Wisconsin is uncommonly strong. But there’s at least one group that will fight on, whether or no they are brought into the funding fold of the new office in the Department of Health. Strive Media Institute is a full service agency (they produce the FACT anti-tobacco campaign), publisher, and producer of an Emmy-winning TV show (Gumbo TV), based right here in Milwaukee. Their work is good, really good, as a matter of fact. And the coolest part is that they’re all high school students. Writers, producers, photographers, web developers, on down the line. Strivers become leaders, and know that the only way to keep the power with the people is to understand the bigger picture. These kids are amazing, as are their adult mentors. Strive is another hidden gem in Milwaukee’s bursting treasure chest. Frizell Bailey reports on Strive and the Big Tobacco big picture in Wisconsin. By the time this issue has been on the streets a few weeks (the challenge of the monthly), a new budget will probably be passed. Everyone seems to have their pet watch areas. While it’s so hard to pick just one, I am most intrigued by Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer’s movement to “time out” property taxes for three years. Doyle has said he will veto it, no matter how much wheeling and dealing Panzer and Dennis George (D- Milwaukee) accomplish behind closed doors. And while […]

Good for What Ales You

By John Hughes Cattail Ale, a Wisconsin-style mild ale, is Lakefront Brewery’s first release of a year-round beer in six years. “The Cattail Ale is a special formula we’ve been working on for a while to reflect a style of ale indigenous to Wisconsin,” says Russ Klisch, president of Lakefront Brewery. “We recognized the demand for a handcrafted mild ale in our lineup to appeal to wider audiences.” He added that Cattail is now second in overall sales, just behind Riverwest Stein, and the most popular beer on the tour. “The beer is a mild ale. When people come to a tour, they’re not all beer fanatics. People who just like to enjoy a beer like Cattail a lot. Real beer enthusiasts might not find it as flavorful.” Russ’s own favorite brews are Eastside Dark and Cream City Pale Ale. But, he adds “I find myself drinking a lot of it at home. It’s a very drinkable beer.” The recipe is a true craft ale brewed with only water, yeast, hops and malted barley, in keeping with the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516. The ale will be available only in Milwaukee and Waukesha counties until inventories are built to allow wider-ranging sales. Lakefront Brewery, established in 1987, makes handcrafted beers such as Riverwest Stein, East Side Dark, Cream City Pale Ale and Klisch Pilsner, as well as specialty brews such as Pumpkin Beer, Holiday Spice, Belgian White, Oktoberbest and Extra Special Bitter (ESB), and a non-alcoholic Golden Maple Root Beer. Its’ rental hall is also noted for some of the more memorable parties here in town. At great sacrifice to themselves, we had some VITAL SOURCE staffers sample Cattail Ale. Below, their heroically acquired dispatches. John Hughes, Staff Writer I am a zealous devotee of Lakefront Brewery’s Riverwest Stein, East Side Dark, Fuel CafÈ Stout, and Cream City Pale Ale beers. The newly available Cattail Ale will not be supplanting them anytime soon. It is an excellently crafted, flavorful, lightweight beer. I find it good but overshadowed by its siblings. It will have a sweet niche as a companion to an overbearing, gigantic hamburger and fries meal, or a massive Mexican dish, where you need some respite. Also, on a hot Milwaukee day, sitting in the shade of your backyard with this one, contemplating your sweetie, would make for a tasty afternoon. Four stars. Jeremy Saperstein, Pop Culture Editor Cattail Ale, the latest offering from Milwaukee’s Lakefront Brewery, is a great summer beer. The first sips I had were at a cookout, standing on someone’s driveway in the hot sun, and it went down smoothly — almost too smoothly. Only my strong sense of decorum kept from overserving myself and becoming, well, a charming and lovable drunk. Cattail Ale is a deep golden color in the glass and, unlike a lot of the microbrew hordes, doesn’t possess an annoyingly cloying sweetness — only a rich, malty flavor that makes me want more. Ken Morgan, Theater Columnist Picked up a twelve-pack, […]

Parenting Freedoms

By Lucky Tomaszek Let Freedom Ring Having lived in a couple of different states before moving to Wisconsin, and having made lots of cyber-friends from all over the country, I can tell you that we live in a pretty good place for parenting freedoms. This state truly seems to trust parents here to make the best decisions for their children. However, under our current presidential administration, things are changing around the country. Parents need to be watchful, keeping an eye on what’s going on in the world of parenting politics. Consumer activism is the most powerful tool in America for maintaining or changing the status quo. Freedom in birth Wisconsin’s laws about homebirth and traditional homebirth midwifery are conveniently vague. The law does not discuss homebirth. The law also does not address non-nurse midwifery. The absence of mention of these subjects make Wisconsin an alegal (or gray) state for people who want to give birth at home with a non-nurse midwife. Right now, that’s very nice for the home birthing community. The state knows that families are choosing homebirth and that traditional midwives are attending. Midwives receive birth certificate forms from the state and sign them. Midwives also advertise openly here, in newspapers, magazines and even the phone book. Unfortunately, it’s always possible for this to change. Because traditional homebirth midwifery is not protected by law, it would be very easy for the pendulum to swing the other way, as it has in Illinois. Twenty years ago, Illinois had an active homebirth midwifery community, and now, due to the state re-interpreting the Nurse Practice Act, there are approximately five non-nurse midwives practicing in the state. Similar to our lack of regulation regarding traditional homebirth midwives, Wisconsin also has no laws on the books regarding freestanding Birth Centers. Currently, there is only one freestanding Birth Center in the state, located in Madison. The Certified Nurse Midwives who are running the Birth Center are putting together legislation in the hopes of regulation and thus, protection from being closed down, if the law is re-interpreted as it was with homebirth midwifery in Illinois. There are some murmurings of a freestanding Birth Center opening in the Milwaukee are in the next two or three months. But the woman who is working on this wants to see how it goes in Madison and lend her hand to legislative efforts before dedicating her heart and soul (and hundreds of thousands of dollars) to a project that could be washed up by a change of spirit in the Wisconsin legislature. Freedom to vaccinate (or not) Most people vaccinate their kids automatically, out of a desire to protect their children from illness and disease. But vaccination is a deeply personal decision that should be made by people who have chosen to become truly informed about the benefits and risks. Both the pro- and anti- vaccination camps have compelling evidence to support their claims, and both have some truly inspiring things to say about the rightness of their own […]