Like the hobbled hero from some Hollywood movie, a clearly ailing Levon Helm rallied his strength during Tuesday night’s performance to give those who gathered at a downtown Milwaukee casino an enthralling lesson in American roots music. Continue reading
With original frontman David Lee Roth back in the fold, Van Halen finally have a brand-new album out that is meant to bring a jolt of vitality (and a mark of respect) for what has become something like a reality- show-meets-oldies act. Continue reading
Bon Iver’s sold-out show at the regal Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee was an all-out feting that included standing ovations and the reading of a proclamation that it was “Bon Iver Day” within the city limits. Continue reading
Once, Robbie Robertson was a rare ’60s musical triple threat: guitar ace, songwriting visionary and master orchestrator of talent. Now, his new solo album, “How To Become Clairvoyant,” is easily the most vanilla creation of his solo career. Continue reading
Fueled by equal parts of fear and ambition, Britney Spears has now released a new record, “Femme Fatale,” that swings for the fences in an attempt to solidify her shaky hold on the pop audiences and to slide back into the pole position in the ongoing contest with her dance-pop adversaries, young and old. Continue reading
Bob Dylan underscored his trouble-making philosophy countless times during two back-to-back sets at Overture Hall in downtown Madison on Monday night. Throughout both concerts, he demonstrated many times how his unpredictability can reveal the breadth of his genius. Occasionally, however, it also showed his mischievousness. Continue reading
Only hours after sharing the stage with President Barack Obama at a campaign rally in Madison, Wis., unassuming indie-rock group the National finally seemed poised to shed their bashful ways and play to the kind of larger audiences that rock stars — even presidential ones — are accustomed to. Continue reading
Newly reunited Stone Temple Pilots were once the greatest guilty pleasure of the ’90s rock scene. Two decades after they ruled the airwaves, the alternative-rock group is hoping its new disc will allow them to defend their arena-rock status and maybe bring their fans out of the closet. Continue reading
Building on the critical success of 2007’s “Boxer,” Brooklyn-based the National toss down the gauntlet for rock album greatness with their new disc, “High Violet.” In a time when iTunes singles are the new normal, here’s a body of indie-rock anthems that while thoroughly modern, invite a return to the best of the album era. Continue reading
Following up their strongest disc in years, the psychedelic-rock space cadets in the Apples in Stereo have completed a record that attempts to blend a secret ’70s dance-floor obsession into their mission of creating the perfect pop album. The new disc, “Travellers In Space And Time,” narrowly misses the mark. Continue reading
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