Thursday 07/02/09

Blueheels CD Release Party with an opening set by the outstanding Blake Thomas

Blueheels Press: "From silence to gale-force fury in a heartbeat."-The Village Voice

"Last year Bon Iver was Wisconsin’s biggest musical success to be catapulted out of state and onto critical acclaim and national attention. This year belongs to the Blueheels." -muzzleofbees.com

"If, within 18 months, these boys aren't headlining international concert tours, there's no justice in the world." -John Mendels(s)ohn (The Isthmus-Madison, WI)

Friday 07/03/09

Sheamus - Traditional Irish drinking songs that will get your foot tappin' and your hands a clappin'

Saturday 07/04/09

A Funky Fourth Of July with Pinot (from Los Angeles)
and Absolute Gruv (from Minneapolis)

Pinot is an L.A.-based funk ensamble (with former Neenah resident & drummer Sam Brawner)

Absolute Grüv is a Minnesota based band committed to reinventing classic R&B and Blues sounds with a modern twist. The 4 piece combo brings keys, guitar, bass and drums to the table. When combined their Jam Band style and the Grüv's roots in jazz and blues make the bands growing repertoire of originals truly unique.

Monday 07/06/09

Mike MC's Music Mug - $1 mugs of beer while Mike plays some ipod ear candy for you

Thursday 07/09/09

OPEN JAM - Hosted by The Tiny Kox Band
Free darts, $10 botomless cup

Friday 07/10/09

Grey Leaf - Greyleaf is a not just a name it's more of a feeling. It's about when you are out with your friends and the people you love and want to have a good time and relax. Our good time feeling comes from a group of musicians rooted in the Fox Valley. The birth of Greyleaf was spawned by jam sessions that started in 2005 and eventually evolved from two members to the current line-up. The sound you will hear has diverse influences from our many backgrounds. The combination of rock, funk, blues, and reggae come together to an create an inviting sound all of their own.

Saturday 07/11/09

Antioquia -This San Francisco Bay Area based quartet of three men and a lady create music that dances from genre to genre as if there’s no such thing. Their sound has been called “Afro-Colombian Progress Rock,” but can truly only be characterized as "Antioquia."

Antioquia pulls inspiration from artists and visionaries ranging from Muddy Waters to Megadeth, Phish to Fela Kuti, Grace Slick to Gandhi, Toto la Momposina to Talking Heads. But what distinguishes Antioquia from other genre-bending acts are the rhythms that permeate their sound, from the Afro-Colombian garabato and puya to their adaptations of West African dunun rhythms, and their dedication to sustainable living and non-violent action.

Each member pushes the others to explore unfamiliar territory, understanding that it’s within the intersections and clashes of their individual musical styles that the juiciest combinations are found. Peppered with fits of improvisation, bouts of silliness and crowd-rousing percussion pieces performed off stage, an Antioquia set is everything but predictable. That said, each show can be depended upon to bring the audience closer to the stage and closer together.

Monday 07/13/09

Mike MC's Music Mug - $1 mugs of beer while Mike plays some ipod ear candy for you

Thursday 07/16/09

OPEN JAM - Hosted by Soul Glo
Free darts, $10 botomless cup

Friday 07/17/09

The Joe Tones & The Delta Jets

The Joe Tones originated in Wisconsin's Fox Valley in September 2005. Members include "Harmonica" Jody (Joe) Vanesky, Denise Crouse, Tony Theisen, David Will and Gary "Guitar" Shaw. The Joe Tones are a jump blues band, mixing blues with Americana, roots music, west coast swing, funk, jazz, and world rhythms. Veterans of the music scene in Wisconsin, members of The Tones have played practically every major (and minor) festival in Wisconsin, from blues fests to Summerfest. After years of touring (the band members have about 140 years of experience playing music) the Tones are doing their own thing --- playing to audiences that enjoy that rich, ensemble blues sound.

Saturday 07/18/09

Andy's Automatics - First a little background: Few Fox Valley bands have a name as fitting as Andy’s Automatics, a band that consistently delivers a packed bar and a foot stompin’ good time.

The hillbilly/honky tonk band has been busy winning over fans for more than five years. With songs fit for dim lights, dirty floors and cold beer, Andy’s Automatics is led by Lubahn’s bold twang and the pedal steel flair of Soffa.

Monday 07/20/09

Mike MC's Music Mug - $1 mugs of beer while Mike plays some ipod ear candy for you

Thursday 07/23/09

The Bottle Rockets - In a country where interstates don’t take you to new places, but to the same places, where everywhere you go you’ve already been or you’ve just left, The Bottle Rockets’ new album absolutely nails a sound and a vibe with a palpable sense of place. Lean Forward is suffused with the determination and resilience of their distinctly midwestern roots; theirs is a celebration of pragmatism and tempered optimism, not the delusions and exhortations of glassy eyed zealots—they aren’t going to fall for that. Oh, it’s a flat out, smoking rock record, too.

Lean Forward continues the Rockets’ creative resurgence ignited by 2006’s Zoysia. Reunited with producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel (who ran the knobs on the Bottle Rockets’ seminal albums The Brooklyn Side and 24 Hours A Day), the Bottle Rockets do what no other band does better — look into the hearts and minds and faces of the dying small towns in America and crafts populist anthems with the sympathetic eye of Woody Guthrie and sonic stomp of Crazy Horse. They are songs that demand the windows be rolled down and the volume turned up. And with the hooks, you’ll wonder how they make such problems sound so good …

Friday 07/24/09

The Rockin' Bones & The Ragadors

I first saw the rockin' bones in 1984. They've come full circle and then some. Dave nooe was playing at calibans in downtown neenah wailing original americana songs all by his lonesome and happy humans were moving to a brand new sound. Soon nooe was joined by dan clark, kurt bauer and stab. Pre-90 jonny z and dan bush took over bass and drums respectively and this line up released a cd called second chance to dance. The bones introduced original voodoo psychobilly to the people of the fox valley. Some call it cowpunk and others refer to it as rockabilly, alt country or blues whatever it's called the rockin' bones are hypnotically dance friendly. With several cds released, featured songs on a handful of compilations, an appearance on mtv and countless gigs throughout the united states. Now the bones are back in wisconsin digging up their roots and reapping a new fan base with prophetic rhythmic fury. The current lineup features founder nooe and his band of 3. Joe plays the big bass and contributes vocally while kuiter beats the drums, rudy blows sax and char thumps electric bass. With new and old songs the bones have risen.

The Ragadors burst onto the scene in late 2008 with a surprising collection of material that could only be the product of years of musical frustration, experimentation, and honing.

With their high-energy, heavily blues-influenced rock & roll, this quartet based in Milwaukee, WI has been captivating audiences from day one. The Ragadors’ guitar driven, foot-stomping tunes are layered with classic melodies, catchy hooks, and a lyrical maturity that is not often heard from a group of four young punks.

Saturday 07/25/09

The Right Now "Soul is still alive, due in part to a bunch of white dudes from Chicago...the real draw here is lead singer Stefanie Berecz, whose dusty, hypnotic voice puts her in line to be another Jennifer Hudson–type success story." - Avant/Chicago

"The band is not afraid to channel Motown soul, punch it up with groovy funk, or lay down some radio ready pop hooks. The rhythm section keeps it bouncing as the horn section alternately defines or smoothes the edges with jazzy panache." - 365 Ink

"[The Right Now] met [Berecz's] big, fluid voice with the full-bodied support it needs, striking just the right tone on everything from the bluesy “Afraid Not to Die” to the sticky-sweet “Candlelight and Satin Sheets.” - Chicago Reader

James Brown may have been the Hardest Working Man in Show Business, but the title of Hardest Working Woman in Show Business has long been up for grabs. That is, until right now.

Monday 07/27/09

Mike MC's Music Mug - $1 mugs of beer while Mike plays some ipod ear candy for you

Thursday 07/30/09

OPEN JAM - Hosted by Chrispy of The Wandering Foolz
Free darts, $10 botomless cup

Friday 07/31/09

pat mAcdonald & Melaniejane -

"In the interstellar desert there is a milky way bone man navigating a highway that does not exist. He speaks with a searing harmonica, setting the guitar lines on fire like the yellow breaks separating the highway at dusk as they pass in a rhythm of 33 and a 3rd, boot heels on the floorboards of a haunted car..." -EXOTIC UNDERGROUND (SEATTLE)

"A fuzzed-out, gut-thwack of a show" -MILWAUKEE JOURNAL

“Lowdown, swampy, sexy, menacing…” –AUSTIN CHRONCLE

"MacDonalds ability to craft wry paeans to dislocation and disappointment and put them inside catchy, often upbeat tunes makes him one of rock musics enduring, well-kept secrets. There are very few people out there who have the longevity and still possess the kind of brilliant power he does." -PORTLAND TRIBUNE

Although melaniejane still continues to perform solo as a singer/songwriter she has also been developing a new sound over these past few years with her electric cello and backing tracks. It all began while trying to come up with something "different" to perform at the No More Handguns benefit (Tribute to John Lennon) at Linneman's Riverwest Inn in Milwaukee, WI. "Come Together" was the first performance in this medium and the performance of this song continues to be a hit with audiences wherever it is performed. click here to view

melaniejane performs regularly with pat mAcdonald as--what she affectionately calls herself--his "sideguy." Playing electric cello, percussion, keyboard, background vocals and accordion against his raw guitar, cigarbox guitar, harmonica and full-out, rock-on stomp board, these two carry the weight of a full band. While performing with pat, melaniejane truly finds herself "at home" as they rock their way across the US and--in the late fall--Europe.