Robbie Fulks

Saturday, May 3
Maritime w/ White, Wrench, Conservatory @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 8 p.m.
  Once coldly dismissed as another Promise Ring side project—and not a particularly interesting one at that—local indie-rockers Maritime have picked up a well-deserved following over the years, as their records became better and their live shows stronger. Last fall they released their finest record yet, the tuneful, peppy Heresy and the Hotel Choir, which met with a symphony of local accolades. Some of the praise surely resulted from hometown pride—with long-distance bassist Eric Axelson (formerly of Dismemberment Plan) out of the picture, Maritime now feels like a true local band, not a transnational side project—but equally strong reviews from the national press further fueled the sense of excitement surrounding the group. Openers White, Wrench, Conservatory put a bold spin on the traditional shoegaze sound, thanks to some help from an old Hammond organ, an accordion and a half-dozen or so effects pedals.

Sunday, May 4
Dead Meadow w/ Father Phoenix @ Mad Planet, 9 p.m.
  “Dead Metal?” Jimmy McNulty asked on a recent episode of “The Wire,” mishearing the name of the band his teenage sons were listening to. “What’s wrong with The Ramones?” Such is the generation gap. Despite Dead Meadow’s proclivity for a little bit of extra noise, and a few longer, spacey tangents, however, there’s nothing all that foreign about the D.C. group’s sound. Their songs begin with the same hard and bluesy foundation that heavy rock bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin have been using since the late-’60s. That they’re signed to the ever-cool Matador Records lends them a certain prestige that many similar stoner-rock bands never acquire.

Monday, May 5
The Presidents of the United States of America @ The Rave Eagles Club, 8 p.m.
  It’s doubtful that even a casual music fan from the ’90s wouldn’t remember at least one of The Presidents of the United States of America’s charming novelty hits (after all, “Lump” was parodied by “Weird Al” Yankovic, a surefire mark of pop indelibility). Most, however, are less aware of the work the “Drew Carey Show” theme-song-singing Seattle band has done since their peak. After a few hiatuses and some shuffling of personnel, the band has returned to the road behind the recently released These Are the Good Times People, their sixth studio effort, one filled with songs in the spirit of “Kitty” and “Peaches.”

The Presidents of the United States of America

Tuesday, May 6
Protestant @ The Borg Ward, 8 p.m.
  Respected fixtures of Milwaukee’s increasingly powerhouse DIY punk scene, Protestant melds ultra-heavy black metal riffs with fast and ferocious, Black Flag-styled hardcore, but still finds room for enough experimentation to push some songs past the five-minute mark on their latest album, The Hate. The Hollow. They inaugurate the new album tonight with a CD-release party in advance of a short tour out east later this month. Pulling Teeth, Under Pressure, Malachi and Northless open.

Wednesday, May 7
Streetlight Manifesto w/ MU330, The Supervillains @ Turner Hall Ballroom, 7 p.m.
  When the Pabst Theater organization announced that it would begin booking concerts at the Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukeeans knew to expect different kinds of acts than the ones that typically play the Pabst, but nothing could have prepared them for the sheer amount of ska groups booked at the ballroom. Case in point, New Jersey’s Streetlight Manifesto, one of the ska scene’s youngest and most commercially promising bands, returns to the ballroom for their second show in less than five months tonight. With their punkish enthusiasm and requisite punchy horns, they’re one of the few modern ska bands to demonstrate appeal outside the usual circles. They’ll share the bill with ska veterans MU330 and relative upstarts The Supervillains.

Streetlight Manifesto