2007-04 Vital Source Mag – April 2007
Downhill, you’ll go mach speed
By the time you read this, I’ll already be dead. No, no! Really, I’m fine. Really! I’ve just always wanted to open with something like that, and now seemed as good a time as any. I suppose I could chalk it up to some kind of April Fools’ gag, but to be honest, it could be the middle of October and I still would have run with it. Anyway, this month’s column is a somewhat random mish-mash of the painful disillusionment of growing old and the utter futility of getting up in the morning. There’s a small glimmer of hope near the end, however, when the author’s faith in mankind is briefly restored after getting drunk at 11a.m. and helping an old lady to a bus stop. Also, a supporting character will relate a delightful story of how she nearly shaved off her right nipple while taking a shower. Wake the kids, mom; this one’s a doozy. My typical day, in a nutshell: wake up at 10 a.m. and eat a bologna sandwich; watch two episodes of The Cosby Show (skipping past the ones involving either the Huxtable grandparents or choreographed dance numbers); catch a few minutes of Springer (skipping past the ones where Steve the bodyguard assumes hosting duties); go to work; come home at 9 p.m. and eat another bologna sandwich; weep uncontrollably for 20-25 minutes; go to bed and dream of boogie boarding. On the weekends I walk through my soon-to-be defiled Downer Avenue neighborhood, mentally composing letters in my head to the land-developing outfit that has recently made it their mission to suck all remaining character out of the area: Dear Party People, Hi, you don’t know me, but I’ve lived on Milwaukee’s Fashionable East Side? for nearly 11 (!) years. I’m a gainfully-employed college graduate with a strong hairline and a modest criminal record. Lately, you’ve been going ahead with plans to erect an eleven-story dorm tower and a 40,000-level parking garage in my charming little neck of the woods. You’ve snatched up most of the nearby commercial space as well, raising leases and driving away even the most established of chains, all of which – as none of the kids say – is really harshing my mellow. Now, I know that behind your misleading, Patriot Act-esque corporate name, there must be an actual group of human beings, though I prefer to imagine you as a ravenous pack of cave-dwelling, baby-eating mutants, swallowing up everything that’s good and decent about my neighborhood (the houses and restaurants, not the babies). Assuming for a moment that you’re not really a loosely-knit band of Morlocks, let me say this: I know that change is inevitable and all that jazz, but seriously, can’t you show a little compassion? To belabor the baby thing a bit more, if the day ever passes that you require every resident to sacrifice their first-born child in order to continue living in this neighborhood (and I wouldn’t put it past you), I would have […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Matt Wild
Low
Two years ago, The Great Destroyer marked a period of incredible transition for Low. Not only did the album itself bristle with challenges to the band’s established method of slow and steady and hauntingly beautiful, but the period shortly after its release also saw bassist Zak Sally leave the band and founding member Alan Sparhawk check into the hospital for mental health treatment. Clearly, there were shakeups, and Drums and Guns refracts the altered configuration of thoughts and people. Producer Dave Fridmann returns to work the subtle transformations that informed his efforts on The Great Destroyer (and with bands like The Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev) ; new bassist and vocalist Matt Livingston fills no one’s shoes but his own and the album feels constantly unsettled. Even now, with listeners braced for new directions, Low’s music surprises. The opening track, “Pretty People,” crackles in with static and feedback as it raises a golem of Eastern-flavored psychedelic meditation. “Always Fade” sets an electronic whirl in the background of a jazz-funk bass line and a thunderous cardboard-like snare snap. And “Take Your Time” drops chiming bells over a deliberately skipping loop of church-like vocal cadences and a tinny drum-machine rhythm. Even in relatively familiar territory – the vocal harmonizing between Sparhawk and wife/drummer Mimi Parker is as tenderly hushed as ever on “Belarus” – Low orient themselves to see and hear things differently. Drums and Guns mesmerizes listeners to do the same. VS
Apr 1st, 2007 by Jon Gilbertson
Kawoomph!
Photos by Kevin C. Groen Mason Street Grill 425 East Mason Street 414-298-3131 www.masonstreetgrill.com Kawoomph” is the term Mark Weber coined to describe the explosive sound brandy makes as it hits a searing pan of steak au poivre. Mason Street Grill adopted it as the name for its logo: a steer with a chicken hat and flying fish grazing its shoulders representing the breadth of its offerings. Under Weber’s stewardship as Managing Director, the Pfister Hotel’s new flagship restaurant is now at street level and accessible to diverse customers. If you’re with friends, settle into the comfortable leather chairs and banquettes for a memorable feast. Solo diners can pony up to the kitchen counter where they’ll find company watching all the action through the pass. Dinner fare ranges from an exquisite herb-crusted New York Strip steak at $48.50 to a grilled hot dog bun crammed with lobster salad for just $16.50. Steaks come with salad and a side (like the inspired fresh creamed spinach scented with nutmeg) and sandwiches include fries or gingered cabbage slaw. The crispy cracker-crusted pizzas (all under $10) topped with tomatoes and fresh herbs taste like summer. The vanilla-flecked cheesecake is light as mousse. And with a Kenwood Yulumpa Brut for $6.50 a glass, even I, a pauper writer, can afford it. Those who have followed Weber’s luminous career from Arby’s (!) to the Riversite to his own restaurant, WaterMark, would not be surprised by his current appointment, for his cookery is inspired in any setting. He’s received great critical acclaim, but none greater than that of French Novelle Cuisine innovator Paul Bocuse. Among classically trained culinarians, Bocuse (not Emeril or any other TV celebrities) reigns as pope. Thus, it was like Da Vinci honoring a protégé when Bocuse himself complimented a meal Weber had prepared for him at Lake Park Bistro as the closest to his own cuisine that he had ever tasted. He was bred for the food and beverage industry. The chef’s ancestors were brewers in Germany who brought their trade to the U.S. His great grandfather worked for Pabst and his great uncle Clem, as a Miller Brewing VP, brought Lite beer and Lowenbrau to the brand. With thumb and forefinger a couple inches apart, Weber says, “We had our own kiddy mugs this big as long as I can remember.” Weber grew up in Rochester, New York, where his father was a VP for French’s Mustard. The position involved a lot of entertaining that opened portals of extensive gustatory experimentation for his son. Weekends and vacations were spent at the family vineyard in nearby Canandaigua where there was work for all seasons. Three years into an engineering degree at Monmouth College, Weber was bored stiff and left. By then, his parents had moved to Mequon and after a few weeks on their couch Weber ventured out to find employment. He put in a desultory application at the Midway Motor Lodge’s fine dining restaurant, Café Manhattan, hoping they wouldn’t call. “I had […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Cate Miller
The Decemberists’ Chris Funk
Anyone with even a minute awareness of The Decemberists would find it challenging to resist asking guitarist Chris Funk all kinds of ridiculousness, like the random “What’s your favorite Western?” or the general “Why are you guys so fun?” But, it takes only one spin of anything in their catalogue to understand – Guitarmageddon, stage antics and official drink aside – that they are indeed serious musicians. With Guitarmageddon, stage antics and official drink considered, however, perhaps “serious about music” would be a better phrase. Multi-instrumentalist Funk, who personally handled acoustic guitar, banjo, bouzouki, dulcimer, electric guitar, hurdy-gurdy, pedal steel and percussion on 2006’s The Crane Wife alone, is fresh off a European tour and at home in Oregon, a state whose spectacle and character lured him from the Midwest over a decade ago. “I felt like I had done all I could do,” says the Indiana native. “I wanted to move out to Oregon to play music, for some reason.” Portland may now be the hub for a list of acts just as extensive as Funk’s performance credits, but, he adds, “at the time it wasn’t known as a musical city, and not a music-industry city by any stretch of the imagination.” Intuition paid off for Funk, who has toured with The Decemberists for around six years, a substantial tenure. During that short span, they have cultivated an active community of fans and released four LPs and five EPs (including two online exclusives) to critical kudos. As impressive as that sounds, to Funk, it only means that he, vocalist Colin Meloy, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query and drummer John Moen simply “happen to find ourselves in a rock band that people marginally care about.” The understating Funk knows that “blowing people’s minds is really difficult to do these days” and that not many since Jimi Hendrix have accomplished anything of the sort. “I’m not saying our band is doing it; I don’t think our band is,” he says. Yet sitting somewhere between Hendrix and today’s Top 40 are The Decemberists. So what are they doing exactly? “We’re a pop band and that’s about it.” It’s clear that Funk is realistic, even while contributing to a group especially keen on narrative, mythology and folklore. That being said, The Decemberists aren’t your trendy, textbook cool, or even a particularly marketable band, which is why signing Capitol Records to push their new release last year, instead of their alma mater Kill Rock Stars, was a potentially risky move. Thankfully, outside of the inevitably larger venues and increased ticket prices, corporate pitfalls have been innocuous thus far to the quintet, who places “serving music” above all else. “The responsibility is initially with yourself,” Funk explains. Integrity will prevent the release of anything they’re “not into” in the future, regardless of what label is driving their deadlines. “When we make a record, we feel an unspoken responsibility to make ourselves happy and entertain ourselves.” The Decemberists are celebrated for their over-the-top theatrics and […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Amber Herzog
The 2007 WMSE Rockabilly Chili Contest packed quite the punch
As predicted, the 2007 WMSE Rockabilly Chili Contest lived up to its rollicking title on the opening day of April. Despite some inclement weather, the event overflowed the hall and showcased some remarkable 38 chili recipes from area restaurants and cooks. This reporter could only make it through 13 lucky bowls before my stomach wanted to crawl under the cool of the front porch to die. Many great exotic and innovative elements were sampled, along with a few misses and two comforting bowls of Wisconsin-style chili (minus noodles). For the first time in the event’s five-year history, the “People’s Choice” award for meat chili ended in a tie between Wicked Hop and Meat and Metal! from 964 votes. Each chili recipe was a dark and thick brown affair, with a medium kick and a smoldering finish. The winner in the veggie chili category was Stacy Stangarone of Annona Bistro, whose Sweet Potato and Black Bean chili was the buzz on the crowd’s lips. Despite the popular theory that a recipe closely following the middle of the road with the crowd’s tastes would win, in this category the unique idea appealed best. Stangarone’s recipe still tastes very much like a regular chili, but is lifted up to a higher level with certain key ingredients. Crawdaddy’s alligator sirloin based chili was a stewed affair with a light taste. Alligator, by the way, tastes a lot like turkey. Rush-Mor/Palomino probably had the most elaborate affair with their green chili. After plating, the dish was topped with cornbread crumbs and a small lime that was then eyedropped with everclear and set aflame. Mehrdad Dalamie, of VITAL Source and Bremen Café fame, racked up 22 ingredients in his spicy yet thorough concoction, while Solly’s Grille came through with a gorgeous piece of road food good enough for Route 66. One of the most consistent vendors was again Mary Krimmer from Soup’s On! who put out both meat and veggie versions of tremendous character and verve. Koppa’s and Fuel Cafe were some of the first to run out. Sarah Kordus stood under the daunting banner of the reigning champions’ corner, and luckily her batch was as good if not better than last year. Another buzz had gone through the room about Fuel’s veggie batch, which bravely used relatively unknown wheat gluten known as seitan. Often used as an alternative to tofu, it gave the taster the distinct feeling they had just eaten meat-based chili. Finally, one of my favorites was from the Riverwalk Bistro. Billed as “Chorizo and shortrib chili,” it was similar to the two meat winners but provided a little more texture and smokiness than the others I sampled. The event appeared to perfectly serve the exposure satisfaction for WMSE and the vendors. Cold Pabst beer in cans was a favorite spice quaffer, steel guitar music ruled the airwaves and rumors were confirmed that WMSE is securing an even bigger venue for next year’s event. Keep watching http://www.wmse.org/ for final complete tally results, and […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Brian Jacobson
Burning hearts and sharp tongues vie for a higher state of bean
The definition of what makes the best chili – or even just a great chili – is always in dispute. Mostly, the disagreements are over a few particular ingredients and the level of capsaicin (or heat) warranted by any number of chili peppers or powders. On the national competition level, winning recipes posted by the ICS (International Chili Society) in the past two years used a combination of eight different chili spices per pot. No doubt, chili can be a serious business. But from the sounds of the local contenders in this year’s WMSE 5th Annual “Rockabilly Chili Contest,” it’s all in fun. “I like challenges,” says Glenn Fieber, owner of Solly’s Grille. “It’s a fun thing and great exposure for a good cause.” “There’s so much enthusiasm there,” says Sarah Kordus of Koppa’s Fulbeli Deli. “It meant a lot to me and it was for a good thing.” “We all love food,” says WMSE radio host and contest starter Richard Stuntebeck, “and this is a great way to get exposure for the radio station and for the restaurants.” As the conversations with four of the 30-plus participating chefs wear on, however, some spirit of the showdown begins to slip out. “Yeah, I really would like to win,” admits Stacy Stangarone, owner of Annona Bistro. “I have a twin sister, so I’ve always been a competitive person.” Almost everyone has a gimmick or touch of flair planned for the Sunday afternoon event that again promises to pack the Harbor Lights Room of downtown Milwaukee’s O’Donnell Park. Some will offer buffalo as their meat, while others top their chili with a shot of Jack Daniels. Some employ chocolate and a squirt of vinegar, or abide simply with sides of cornbread, cilantro and sour cream. Stangarone’s recently developed veggie chili combination “is a riff on sweet potato and black bean.” Kordus insists that the three kinds of specialty sausage made at Koppa’s on Milwaukee’s East Side and two different kinds of bean were paramount to their Meat Category victory last year. Solly’s will use chorizo and just enough poblano pepper for “a happy burn.” Gene Gallistel of Riverwest Co-op was on the team that won best veggie chili last year and thinks that their red chili sauce – which is not tomato-based – contributed to their win.“It’s just slightly spicy and slightly sweet. We’re working from three separate recipes and cooks, so we pick and choose from that. Even though it’s the same base, it’s unique each time,” says Gallistel. And one entry might even contain alligator meat, according to WMSE’s Stuntebeck. This speculation began in January, when many of the interviewed contestants, organizers and chiliheads partook in another large contest held to raise money for Camp Heartland at Serb Hall. Many participants in the upcoming Rockabilly event also participated in the Heartland chili event, which made it a kind of spring training scouting report. It also gave some the extra chance to gauge audience preferences and adjust accordingly, which can be […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Brian Jacobson
Green Gables
The Green Gables were perfectly pitched on the set of First Stage Children’s Theater as they opened a musical version of the L.M. Montgomery classic novel Anne of Green Gables this past weekend. The book, music and lyrics, all penned by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman, do both literally and figuratively sing on stage from the first notes of “Have you ever seen such red hair?” Milwaukee’s well-known Richard Carsey was musical director along with Alissa Rhode and together the two skillfully integrated the score into the script. The melodies of the songs “Providential” and “A Dress with Puffy Sleeves” are two of the memorable selections, which were all well executed by the ensemble. Easing the beloved Anne Shirley through her teenage years during the 1900s in music is a formidable task, but both the production and the cast carry her with considerable charm. From the moment 14-year-old Jenna Wolfsohn steps on stage as Anne saying, “Anne looks so much more distinguished with an e,” she creates a character to embrace. As she finds her place among the people of Prince Edward Island in Avonlea, the music underscores her trials, including the death of Matthew in the second act. Her outspoken nature is clearly captured. By combining her talents with veterans Linda Stephens (Marilla Cuthburt) and Michael Duncan (her brother Matthew) a family is created during the performance that remains ever true to the love that abounds when an orphan finds a home. The Gables Cast, many of whom are First Stage Academy Students, includes standout performances by Kendall Iris Yorkey as Diana and Alex Miller as Gilbert. The Academy often jump starts the careers of these young actors, as Alex will be heading off to college auditions to pursue a BFA in musical theater. Corinne Kenwood, as Minnie Mae, was thrilled to be making her First Stage debut. The entire ensemble was an asset to the production as they walked the aisles of the Todd Wehr Theater in chorus or executed clever choreography around the outskirts of the delightful set. Members of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra were the distinguished three-piece orchestra, which accompany this polished presentation. Since “Anne of Green Gables” has just entered public domain, now free from copyrights, several versions are in production around the country, including one currently in New York. This two-hour version, adeptly directed by John Maclay, moves quickly and smoothly, enchanting even the smallest members in the audience. At the end the ensemble sings, “Dreams are made of perfectly happy thoughts, and perfectly happy thoughts do come true.” First Stage’s Green Gables is an evening of dreams come true, especially for those children who dream of stepping on a stage. A perfect way to remember the Anne of Green Gables from childhood. VS Green Gables by First Stage Children’s Theater is presented in the Todd Wehr Theater, Marcus Center for the Performing Arts through April 22. Tickets: 414-273-7206.
Apr 1st, 2007 by Peggy Sue Dunigan
The 2007-2008 Fine Arts Season Preview
By Russ Bickerstaff and Evan Solochek Having survived the uncertainties of a Milwaukee winter, things settle down as our performing arts groups begin to look forward to next season. As usual, 2007-08 events closest to the present happen to also be the furthest from Milwaukee, as spring pushes performances further away from the theatre district for the summer. West of Madison, The American Players Theatre in Spring Green is one of the most consistently satisfying theatre companies in the state. The outdoor repertory group starts its season this June with a production of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, which may have a difficult time topping Milwaukee Shakespeare’s outstanding production of the same play earlier this season. With a talented APT cast including Michael Gotch and James DeVita, it’s definitely going to be good. Along with the usual Shakespearian bits, the APT will be performing Shaw’s Misalliance and Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana. To the north and east, The American Folklore Theatre in Fish Creek starts its season in June as well with the world premiere of A Cabin With A View. It’s a musical romantic comedy based on E.M. Forster’s novel of the same name, with the AFT’s usual touches of Wisconsin charm. AFT’s season also includes reprisals of two of its biggest hits: Belgians in Heaven and the irrepressible Guys On Ice. Further in the future but closer to home, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre opens its season in August with a production of Ron Hutchinson’s comedy Moonlight and Magnolias. The impressive cast of Michael Herold, Marcy Kearns, Daniel Mooney and Gerard Neugent relate the story of those strange hours that passed as the script for Gone With The Wind was written. The Chamber’s season also includes performances of short monologues (with Talking Heads, which opens in October) and a play based on the very, very long Dostoyevsky novel Crime and Punishment. The Boulevard Theatre opens its 2007-2008 season in August with David Mamet’s brilliant dramatic tribute to the art of the sale with Glengarry Glen Ross. The Boulevard’s freshly announced season features some clever choices for its tiny space, including the holocaust drama The Last Letter, a play about Clarence Darrow, a romantic French farce and Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well. Shakespeare continues to catch the stage in rather unexpected places as The Milwaukee Ballet’s upcoming season features graceful interpretations of both Hamlet (in November) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (in April). In keeping with the production standards of the Ballet, set and costuming for April’s show should be every bit as impressive as the performance itself. In addition to the familiar standards of the Nutcracker and the annual trip to the Pabst, the Milwaukee Ballet’s season also includes what should prove to be a lavish production of La Bayadere, a sumptuous tale of love and jealousy. And now to raise the curtain on the coming season…. ACACIA THEATRE COMPANY Integrating art and faith, Acacia provides occasion for all to consider their lives in relation to God. Season […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Russ Bickerstaff
String of Pearls
Michele Lowe’s String of Pearls follows the title object through 30-years, as it passes from owner to owner to owner. Slowly, the necklace makes its long journey full circle as it leaves its mark on the lives of a large number of characters. Featuring some impressive talent in a small space, Renaissance Theaterworks’ production of the play is an enjoyable collection of dramatic moments. For the most part this is a string of disjointed moments held together by a single prop. The prop itself isn’t always extremely prominent in each of the stories that the play consists of, so it ends up feeling like more of a symbolic gimmick than a character that mixes with the rest of the play. The action onstage is largely spoken directly to the audience, making String of Pearls feel like a collection of monologues that aspires to be a single, cohesive play. It may not quite make it, but there are so many genuinely touching moments here that it hardly seems worth the effort to string them together at all. Renaissance has put together a cast for its production that not only captures attentions and imagination throughout the play’s many stories, it also manages to keep things flowing gracefully enough that each story seems to naturally flow from the one before it. And though we are, for the most part, watching a string of monologues, the actresses here have a strong enough chemistry as a whole to make it feel like they are all interacting with each other in a single story. Each actress holds several roles over the course of the play. None are so pleasantly wide-ranging as those performed by long-time Milwaukee stage actress Mary MacDonald Kerr. The butch, overweight lesbian gravedigger she plays at the end of the show may not fit her physically, but she plays it sympathetically with more than enough heart to make her performance truly engaging. Earlier on, she plays a comically annoying mother of an adult daughter, the comically hip mother of a much younger daughter and more. Kerr stands out in a script that hands many of the fun roles to her with only a smattering of truly heavy drama. While Tracy Michelle Arnold plays a number of roles herself, nowhere is she more memorable than in the role of an Irish funeral home employee who is looking after her aging mother. Arnold plays both high comedy and endearing drama from the subtle, Irish intonations of a woman whom seems to have spent a great deal of time pummeling. She’s brilliantly reserved in the role. So much comes out of so little in her performance here. Making her Renaissance debut in this production, it’s nice to see the American Players Theatre actress on a much smaller local Milwaukee stage. Tammy Workentin and Laura Birmingham round out the cast. Birmingham renders some really powerful moments as a woman looking back over her life at the beginning of the play and perhaps looking forward to new life […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Russ Bickerstaff
Unintended consequences
By Jon M. Gilbertson Sweden apparently values a well-rounded education for its children. That’s probably why Emil Svanängen – the man who releases modestly constructed, eminently beautiful albums under the curiously affectionate name of Loney, Dear – was playing clarinet when he was 8, then playing piano and fronting a jazz trio in his teens. Even after a few years of less directed musical pursuits, he got a bit of help from Jönköping, the town where he grew up. “I got a computer from my hometown,” Svanängen says. “They started to rent them out for the citizens, and that is how I got the opportunity to have one. I started recording with it and real cheap equipment and making record after record, and suddenly, I had a fourth record ready.” That record, Loney, Noir, initially came out in 2005, and in much the same manner that Loney, Dear records had always come out. Svanängen had played and recorded the entire album himself, largely in his apartment or in his parents’ basement. Then he transferred the stuff to CD-R’s, put together some cover art and sold the things. And he was fine with doing that. “I was quite happy, and I wanted the music to spread, but I wasn’t chasing anyone to release it,” he says. “It was living on its own as it was. The only pressure came from myself. I could sell albums the day I was finished and it wasn’t a problem. It was a good situation to check out how people could react to the music.” In one of those rare occurrences of pleasant serendipity, however, the good music of Loney, Dear went further than Svanängen had intended. It started getting attention in the Swedish press, and the British imprint Something In Construction released the third Loney, Dear album, Sologne, in 2006. And that March, Svanängen visited Austin, Texas to perform – with a full band, no less – at the South By Southwest music festival. “Our manager wanted us to go there, and that made a change for us,” he says. “He’s more interested in progress than I am. That is where things started happening.” Shortly thereafter, Svanängen got an e-mail from Tony Kiewel, the head of A&R at Sub Pop, the deservedly famous indie label that introduced Nirvana and Postal Service to the world. The label wanted to work with him, and he, in turn, was ambivalent toward the label. “I got a record deal in the mailbox and I didn’t sign it for five weeks because I was kind of afraid of it,” he says. “I think I was afraid of too much touring and tough jobs. They wondered what had happened to the deal.” He did sign, and so it was that Loney, Noir finally got its stateside release this February. It’s the sort of record that should do better on an indie than on a major: its songs deal in small-scale majesties, in slow build-ups to moments of exquisiteness and the magnificent […]
Apr 1st, 2007 by Vital Archives
