Genre Archives: Alternative/Indie Rock

The Wrecks

By majesticmadison on July 25, 2022 in

Based on the latest local guidelines, attendees are no longer required to provide proof of negative COVID-19 test AND/OR vaccination for entry into this event. Other shows on our calendar may still have specific health and safety requirements based on artist request. Be sure to check our venue website for the latest updates and guidelines as entry requirements are subject to change.

ABOUT THE WRECKS

Nick Anderson (Vocals)

Aaron Kelly (Bass)

Billy Nally (Drums)

Nick “Schmizz” Schmidt (Guitar)

Hailing from rural Wellsville, New York – almost exactly two hours south of nowhere, it’s not too surprising that there wasn’t much of a music scene. So, in the absence of one, Nick Anderson built one from scratch. In search of like-minded souls who loved the punk and alternative sounds he preferred, Nick turned to the internet. He recruited Aaron Kelley, Billy Nally, and Nick “Schmizz” Schmidt, to road test a new band: The Wrecks. The band’s top five tracks on Spotify have been listened to more than 80 million times, & their first single was a Top 40 Alternative Radio hit. Their most recent single, the post-breakup anthem “I Love This Part” finds the Wrecks’ music evolving as they approach the completion of their second album. Now as they progress towards an even larger reach that far extends above the foundation that they have already built, The Wrecks are poised for a wide-open road ahead of them.

Animal Collective

By majesticmadison on June 8, 2022 in

The Animal Collective show previously scheduled for June 4 has a new date of July 24. All tickets previously purchased will remain valid for the new date. For any further ticket inquiries please reach out to point of purchase.

ABOUT ANIMAL COLLECTIVE

At the beginning there were two of them — Avey Tare and Panda Bear — banging drums and tweaking synths in their bedrooms, singing strange and sometimes heartbreaking songs about imaginary friends and childhood pets. Carried along by washes of squalling feedback, the music was noisy, and it was weird, but it was, at heart, pop music. This was the start of Animal Collective. For fifteen years Dave Porter (Tare), Noah Lennox (Bear), Brian “Geologist” Weitz and Josh “Deakin” Dibb have been rewriting the musical map, their line-up and aesthetic shifting with each astonishing release as they continue their pursuit of a new psychedelia. Their wild path has taken them from cramped concrete basement shows and forest floor singalongs to immersive installations at the Guggenheim and performances to millions on national television. So where now from here?”Caveman circles,” says Lennox, discussing the vision for their eleventh full-length album, Painting With; “Caveman circles, the first Ramones record, early Beatles and electronically produced. I think that was kind of our starting point.” Dizzyingly upbeat and gloriously realised, their latest LP bounces and pops with an urgent, ecstatic energy, propelled by polyrhythmic beats and gurgling modular synth, with Lennox and Portner’s vocals gleefully falling in and out of syncopation and off-kilter harmony. The songs are as experimental and deeply textured as anything that has come before but sound as sharp and snappy as chart hits, finding the band at both their most minimal and most ambitious: “The idea with cavemen was about being more primitive — the way we sounded when we were first playing together in New York” says Portner. “I feel like what we were doing with the last record [2012’s Centipede Hz] was something a little more complicated. This time we wanted to strip it down and simplify it, like techno and punk… And then put the Animal Collective filter on it all.”Working as a trio, Portner, Lennox and Weitz began trading demos in early 2015, pursuing a goal of what Portner calls “really short pop songs: no B.S, get in, get out material…” The three met up in Ashville during that Spring and began exploring the songs together. “I feel like lyrically there’s some really tough stuff” says Lennox, “but the intention was for the songs to have the spirit of trying to work things out. To make things better.” The group made a conscious decision not to tour the songs first in an attempt to keep them fresh, something Weitz found to be “a freeing process. That shift in perspective contributed to how much space is on the record.”Recording took place in the legendary EastWest Studios in Hollywood, home to sessions by The Beach Boys and Marvin Gaye. Making the space feel like home was essential: they lit candles on lily pads and projected a two-hour reel of dinosaur movies — spliced together by Dave’s sister Abby — on a constant loop. A baby pool was set up to help add to the vibe of the room, but the group soon discovered it sounded amazing when thudded and treated with effects. “Everything sounded good in that room” says Weitz.You can hear it. Everything about Painting With feels crisp and direct as though delivered in super high-definition Technicolor; the pitter-pattering handclaps of Lying In The Grass, the delirious arcade-hall rave of Burglars, the galloping bass and piano of the radiant On Delay — even Bea Arthur’s introduction to Golden Gal seems to shimmer. The interplay between Avey Tare and Panda Bear’s vocals (recorded while sat on high pedestals to lend the singing an “airy” quality) is brought front and centre with an uncharacteristic clarity: “With the vocals, it’s not like a typical call and response or harmony.” says Lennox, “It’s like two voices become one. Without one singer it doesn’t really work the same way. They dance with each other.” Portner interrupts: “Both vocals are meant to complete one thought.” The band put much of this down to their close collaboration with engineer Sonny Diperri: “He played a big part in how the vocals sounded. We didn’t put a lot of effects on the voices like in the past… We tried to be really careful about reverb, to not make everything washed out. When there is echo on the album almost everything is acoustic reverb. It attests to the greatness of those old studios — it’s cool you can record in your apartment, plenty of great music has been recorded that way, but there is something to say about the time that went into crafting these rooms. It feels like a lost art form.”In their search for more organic sounds, the trio challenged themselves to incorporate elements they usually find off-putting, either structurally or sonically “I remember specifically we brought up saxophone and brass instruments” recalls Portner. They enlisted the services of multireedist Colin Stetson — whose resumé includes collaborations with Arcade Fire, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Bon Iver and Tom Waits — to appear on the album’s rapturous, swirling opener, FloriDaDa, an ode to breaking boundaries and not seeing any separation in people or places: “We were huge fans of Colin’s and the sound that he has is super unique. We don’t notate a score for somebody, so it was cool to have him come in and lay down a bunch of ideas while the song was playing.” After discovering John Cale was a fan of their music, the group invited him down to the studio to record drones for Hocus Pocus — a slow-burning collage of stroboscopic vocals and bleeping, squelching modular synth that gives way to delirious release. Discovering the song wasn’t in a key the viola could be tuned for came as “a happy surprise” as they found themselves working with Cale’s material in new and exciting ways, his bowed tones and electronic manipulations forming a hypnotic transition into the beautifully sun-warped Vertical.

It’s just that that kind openness to playing with expectation and experimenting with form that lies at the heart of this personal and human album. “When we were doing (2007’s) Strawberry Jam, I thought it would be cool to literally rename ourselves The Painters.” recalls Portner, “Everyone kind of rolled their eyes at that one. But Noah brought the idea back [this time]. We talked about painting — cubism, Dada, these distorted ways of looking at things…” It’s all there in Painting With: the sound of artists finding vivid new ways to shape their ideas and challenge their own conventions, creating music that is at once startlingly fresh and still recognisably, uniquely Animal Collective.

Soccer Mommy

By majesticmadison on May 18, 2022 in

ABOUT SOCCER MOMMY

Sometimes, Forever, the immersive and compulsively replayable new Soccer Mommy full-length, cements Sophie Allison’s status as one of the most gifted songwriters making rock music right now. Packed with clever nods to synth-filled subgenres like new wave and goth, the album finds Sophie broadening the borders of her aesthetic without abandoning the unsparing lyricism and addictive melodies that make Soccer Mommy songs so easy to obsess over. Sometimes, Forever is the 24-year-old’s boldest and most aesthetically adventurous work, a mesmerizing collection that feels both informed by the past and explicitly of the moment. It’s a fresh peek into the mind of an artist who synthesizes everything — retro sounds, personal tumult, the relatable disorder of modern life — into original music that feels built to last a long time. Maybe even forever.

Sophie was only 20 when she put out Clean, her arresting studio debut, which became one of the most beloved coming-of-age albums of the 2010s. Its bigger-sounding followup, color theory, brought more acclaim and continued to win her fans far outside of the lo-fi bedroom pop scene she cut her teeth playing in. But with all the highs came inevitable lows. Navigating young adulthood is often spiritually draining, to say nothing of the artless administrative chaos associated with being a popular full-time musician. And yet she never stops writing, consistently transforming bouts of instability into emotionally generous music. The latest culmination of that process is Sometimes, Forever, which sees Sophie once again tapping into the turn-of-the-millenium sensibilities she’s known for. This time, though, she advances her self-made sonic world beyond the present and into the future with experimental-minded production, an expanded moodboard of vintage touchstones, and some of her most sophisticated songwriting to date.

To support her vision, Sophie enlisted producer Daniel Lopatin, a.k.a Oneohtrix Point Never, whose recent behind-the-boards credits include the Uncut Gems movie score and The Weeknd’s chart-topping Dawn FM. While the pairing might seem unexpected, active listening reveals a kindred creativity; both artists are interested in utilizing memory-triggering sounds and melodies to make invigorating music that transcends its influences. On Sometimes, Forever, Lopatin employs his boundless synth vocabulary and knack for meticulous arrangements to complement Sophie’s well-crafted compositions. The result is an epic-feeling mix of raw-edged live takes and studio wizardry.

Nowhere is Sophie’s exploration more spellbinding than “Unholy Affliction,” a first-half highlight with a paranoid post-rock rhythm and cursed-sounding synths. “I don’t want the money / That fake kind of happy,” she sings with dead-eyed disaffection. In addition to showcasing Sophie’s appreciation for textures that are at once pretty and unsettling, “Unholy Affliction” foregrounds one of Sometimes, Forever’s more compelling narrative tensions: the push and pull between Sophie’s desire to make meaningful art and her skepticism about the mechanics of careerism. “I hate so many parts of the music industry, but I also want success,” Sophie says. “And not just success — perfection. I want to make things that are flawless, that perfectly encapsulate what I’m thinking and feeling. It’s an unachievable goal that keeps you constantly chasing it.”

Sometimes, Forever fixates on those sorts of contradictory forces: desire and apathy, ecstasy and misery, good and evil, self-control and wildness. Straight-up love songs — like the ultra-catchy “Shotgun,” which likens romance to a chemical high without the gnarly comedown — rub up against much gloomier fare, like the Sylvia Plath-referencing “Darkness Forever,” a sludge-rock fever dream from the album’s midsection. The weightless “newdemo” spins delicately layered harmonies and mystical synths into an end-of-the-world reverie; the impending apocalypse has never sounded so jaw-droppingly beautiful. “I didn’t want to make something super depressing without any sense of magic,” Sophie explains.

The title Sometimes, Forever refers to the idea that both good and bad feelings are cyclical. “Sorrow and emptiness will pass, but they will always come back around — as will joy,” Sophie says. “At some point you’re forced to say, I’ll just have to take both.” She articulates this sentiment on the gut-punch opening of “Still,” her clear voice imbued with a heartbreaking blend of wisdom and hurt: “I don’t know how to feel things small / It’s a tidal wave or nothing at all.” Sophie understands that Sometimes, Forever is lyrically dark, with macabre imagery haunting even its most upbeat passages. But because she’s in a better place than when she wrote the songs, she has no trouble luxuriating in the moments of uncomplicated bliss that coexist alongside the bleakness.

One of those moments comes on the record’s penultimate track, “Feel It All The Time,” a song-length metaphor about a resilient old truck. “I wanna drive out where the sun shines / drown out the noise and the way I feel,” goes the hook, a heart-bursting blur of shoegaze-y Americana. By song’s end the narrator returns to a state of world-weariness, resigned to the fact that she probably can’t outrun her demons forever. But for a few flickering moments — Sophie’s voice freewheeling over warm guitar ripples, the sun-drenched sound of a generational talent at the height of her powers — it feels like maybe she could keep on driving, faster and faster until all of that existential darkness is behind her, just a cloud of red dust in a dirty rearview mirror.

Calexico

By majesticmadison on April 19, 2022 in

ABOUT CALEXICO

Calexico
El Mirador

Calexico’s Joey Burns and John Convertino return in 2022 with their luminous 10th studio album, El Mirador; a hopeful, kaleidoscopic beacon of rock, bluesy ruminations and Latin American sounds, to be released on April 8. Convening at longtime bandmate Sergio Mendoza’s home studio in Tucson, Arizona, the ensemble recorded throughout the summer of 2021, crafting one of their most riveting and whimsical productions to date. Convertino, who now resides in El Paso, and Burns, who relocated to Boise in 2020, channeled cherished memories of Southwestern landscapes and joyful barrio melting pots into an evocative love letter to the desert borderlands that nourished them for over 20 years.

“El Mirador is dedicated to family, friends and community,” says Burns; singer, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of Calexico. “The pandemic highlighted all the ways we need each other, and music happens to be my way of building bridges and encouraging inclusiveness and positivity. That comes along with sadness and melancholy, but music sparks change and movement.”

Oscillating between haunting desert noirs and buoyant jolts of cumbia and Cuban son, the album is permeated by longing. The title track conjures images of a lighthouse, beckoning to lost souls in the night with hypnotic bass lines and cascading percussion. That same search for meaning and safety carries over onto “Cumbia Peninsula,” a soaring dance floor epic about confronting our fear of the unknown. The song weaves themes of immigration, a world in turmoil, and the virulent manipulation of information; never offering a diagnosis but wholeheartedly advocating for unity and compassion as a treatment for our social ills.

“El Mirador” features gossamer vocals from Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, while Spanish rocker Jairo Zavala brings his signature bravado to “Cumbia Peninsula.” By working with friends and recurring collaborators, Calexico also highlights the unique social and linguistic intersections at the US-Mexico border and the magnificent possibilities of a borderless world. “The album is trying to convey openness,” adds Burns. “Look around you. If you’re in the North, you need a South to live in balance. We’re all breathing together.”

“There is romance in this music,” says Convertino, Calexico’s drummer and fellow co-founder. “When I was driving out to Tucson to work with Sergio and Joey, I didn’t have any specific song ideas in mind. I was searching for a vibe and a mood.” The instrumental “Turquoise” perfectly captures El Mirador’s atmospheric universe, where swirling rhythm guitars and distant horns recall dark, heavy skies, almost echoing the record-setting monsoon season that engulfed Arizona during their studio sessions.

Burns and Convertino have been performing together for over 30 years, sharing a deep love of jazz and usually building songs on a foundation of bass and drums. But all these years later, Calexico is still breaking new ground. El Mirador showcases a sunnier side of the band, cutting through two years of pandemic fog with a blast of danceable optimism. Writing and recording alongside Sergio Mendoza (keys, accordion, percussion), the album expands on long running influences of cumbia, mariachi and the plethora of diaspora sounds flourishing throughout the Southwest.

“I’ve been playing with Calexico for about 15 years, and I admire Joey and John’s constant search for new sounds,” reflects Mendoza, who’s newly built home studio became a refuge for the band and reduced pandemic risks while fostering a more organic creative process. “After so many albums,” he adds, “I’m really proud we were able to achieve something so fresh together.”

Mendoza was born and raised in Nogales, where he soaked up the classic cumbias, rancheras and corridos that soundtrack daily life at the border. This rich melange of influences translates into the effervescent “The El Burro Song,” complete with mariachi strings, slide guitars and zapateado performance that transports the listener to a papel picado-decorated backyard party. On “Liberada,” piano and Cuban percussion provide an exuberant canvas for a universal tale of resilience, where even in the face of adversity, celebrating your uncle’s 80th birthday always comes first.

Calexico delivers one of their most loving desert anthems on “Cumbia del Polvo,” enlisting a production assist from frequent collaborator Camilo Lara, who infuses the song with his signature wizardry of electronic beats, organic instrumentation and otherworldly backing vocals. El Mirador‘s all-star guest list is rounded out by poet Pieta Brown, who wrote “El Paso” and “Then You Might See,” as well as Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam, who provides backing vocals on the fluttering choruses of “Harness The Wind.”

El Mirador stands both as a lookout point and beacon in the dark; an opportunity to search inwards, ponder our connections to the Earth and its people, and hopefully illuminate a path forward. After decades on the road Calexico’s music remains boundless and romantic, still gazing upon the horizon in search of their next adventure.

Chicano Batman

By majesticmadison on April 12, 2022 in

Thao

By majesticmadison on January 18, 2022 in

Please note that Majestic Theatre, High Noon Saloon, Orpheum Theater, and The Sylvee are requiring all fans to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours OR full vaccination for entry to all events at the venue moving forward. Additional policies may apply on a show-by-show basis. More details available here.

Thao Nguyen is a veteran artist, songwriter, touring musician, and producer based in Oakland, California. Her latest album, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down’s ‘Temple’, was released in May of 2020 on Ribbon Music. She will be touring with her backing band throughout 2022.

Kishi Bashi: 151a 10th Anniversary Tour

By majesticmadison on December 9, 2021 in

Please note, Kishi Bashi is requiring all fans to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination for entry. A negative COVID-19 test will not be accepted.

DO I HAVE TO BRING MY VACCINATION CARD OR WILL A PHOTO / PHOTOCOPY SUFFICE?

You can show an original vaccination card, a copy of your vaccination card, or a picture of your vaccination card that will be matched with your ID. Your records from the WI Immunization Registry are also acceptable.

ARE MASKS REQUIRED?

Masks are not required but are encouraged. Vaccination or testing requirements are still in place for this show.

WHAT KIND OF COVID-19 TEST IS CONSIDERED A DIAGNOSTIC TEST?

A PCR or antigen COVID-19 test will be accepted – please be sure to bring proof of your negative test result, dated and time-stamped.

WILL AT HOME COVID-19 TESTS BE ACCEPTED?

At-home covid test results will only be accepted if the test works in conjunction with an app or website to display timestamped results with your name.

I HAVE RECEIVED MY FIRST COVID-19 VACCINATION DOSE, WILL MY FIRST DOSE VACCINATION BE ACCEPTED AT ENTRY?

Proof of full vaccination requires the last vaccination dose to be administered at least two weeks prior to the event date. If your dose is from a vaccine series that requires two doses, full vaccination status requirement would be met only 14 days after the second dose. For those guests who have only received the first of two doses, proof of a negative COVID-19 diagnostic test will be required and taken within 72 hours prior to the event date.

HOW CLOSE TO THE EVENT DATE SHOULD I TAKE A COVID-19 DIAGNOSTIC TEST?

For events that require proof of a negative COVID-19 diagnostic test, most events are requiring the test to be taken within 72 hours prior to the event date. Check the event details page for Health Check requirements for your specific event.

WHO WILL CHECK VACCINATION STATUS OR NEGATIVE COVID-19 DIAGNOSTIC TEST AT ENTRY?

At entry, Event Staff will validate your negative COVID-19 diagnostic test results OR vaccine proof. Test results must be dated and time-stamped to be accepted.

WILL EVENT STAFF FOLLOW THE SAME HEALTH CHECK PROTOCOL AS FANS?

Yes. All venue staff and vendors will be required to follow the same onsite Health Check requirements as fans. We are all in this together and working by the same guidelines.

WHERE CAN I GET MORE INFO REGARDING COVID-19 VACCINATIONS?

You can find information about where to get vaccinated in Dane County by visiting https://publichealthmdc.com/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine

WHERE CAN I GET A COVID-19 TEST?

You can find more information about where to get tested in Dane County and surrounding areas by visiting https://publichealthmdc.com/coronavirus/testing

WHAT IF I WOULD RATHER GET A REFUND?

Refunds will be available for anyone who submits confirmation of a positive test result 72 hours ahead of the show. For tickets purchased through any resale or third-party site, please reach out to your point of purchase directly.

CANCELLED Altin Gün

By majesticmadison on November 16, 2021 in

Altin Gün at Majestic Theatre on April 9, 2022 has been cancelled. Refunds are available at the point of purchase. For any further ticket inquiries please reach out to point of purchase.

Please note that Majestic Theatre, High Noon Saloon, Orpheum Theater, and The Sylvee are requiring all fans to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours OR full vaccination for entry to all events at the venue moving forward. Additional policies may apply on a show-by-show basis. More details available here.

Briston Maroney

By majesticmadison on October 22, 2021 in

Please note that Majestic Theatre, High Noon Saloon, Orpheum Theater, and The Sylvee are requiring all fans to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours OR full vaccination for entry to all events at the venue moving forward. In accordance with current Dane County Public Health guidelines, this performance will also require masks regardless of vaccination status. Additional policies may apply on a show-by-show basis. More details available here.

POSTPONED Willy Porter

By majesticmadison on October 4, 2021 in

This show is being postponed due to a positive COVID case in the touring party. The show is being postponed- not cancelled, with a new date to be announced. We hope to have a new date as soon as possible, and all tickets will be honored for the new date. We are opening a 30 day refund window due to the inconvenience. All refunds will be made at point of purchase.

Please note that Majestic Theatre, High Noon Saloon, Orpheum Theater, and The Sylvee are requiring all fans to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours OR full vaccination for entry to all events at the venue moving forward. In accordance with current Dane County Public Health guidelines, this performance will also require masks regardless of vaccination status. Additional policies may apply on a show-by-show basis. More details available here.

Some folks are lucky to find what they love to do at an early age and settle in for the long haul working to expand and improve their work over the arc of a lifetime. Willy Porter is one of those folks. He has followed his own path to explore the sacred language that music truly is. 30 years after his solo recording debut, he continues to reach further into his guitar & pen while stretching the form of what his own music can be. He’s currently working on his 13th album for release in early 2022.

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