MadTracks: 'Caprihina' by Caravan Gypsy Swing Ensemble Jessica Steinhoff on Thursday 01/21/2010 12:00 pm, (2) Recommendations Made from limes, sugar and a distilled, fermented sugarcane juice called cachaça, Brazil's national cocktail, the caprihina, is deceptively simple. It squeezes a ton of flavor out of just three ingredients, much like a song of the same name. >MoreMadTracks: 'Kite' by New People Bob Koch on Thursday 01/14/2010 11:00 am, (2) Recommendations Last year Madison trio New People unveiled one of the best power pop discs from a local band I've heard in recent times, their debut The Easy Thing. >More
Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra returns in 2010 with 20th-century works From dazzling to sublime Sandy Tabachnick on Friday 01/22/2010 The Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra begins the new year with the perfect cold-weather concert, Friday in Overture Center's Capitol Theater. "Concerto for String Orchestra" by Grazyna Bacewicz jumpstarts 2010 with fiery energy. Then Joaquín Rodrigo's "Concierto Andaluz" transports us to sunny Spain, and "Variaciones Concertantes," Alberto Ginastera's masterpiece in 12 movements, explores Argentina from its great wide plains to the urban glitter of Buenos Aires. >More'Bach in a Backpack' series gives early risers a tuneful fix Randal Harrison's redeye recitals result in ambitious trial run Jessica Steinhoff on Friday 12/18/2009, (2) Recommendations Randal Harrison would like to dispel a rumor. It's about classical music, which he's played -- and enjoyed -- since he was 6. >More
Droids Attack: Must Destroy (Crustacean) Rich Albertoni on Friday 02/05/2010 Droids Attack deftly transcend the sludgy cathartic doom that's grown cliché in heavy metal. The Madison trio of Brad Van, Tony Brungraber and Nate Bush can serve up droning electric guitar growls with the best of them. But they're also skilled at forging energetic riffs that keep their music vital. >MoreSean Michael Dargan: Snap Your Fingers & Stomp Your Feet (Slightly Charmed) Rich Albertoni on Friday 02/05/2010 There's something sublimely old-fashioned about this local recording. In an age when most rock songs are layered with a pastoral folk drone or baroque electronica, Dargan frequently embraces the brightly accessible verse-chorus-verse guitar rock that once ruled. >More
Husband and wife soloists Pinchas Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth join MSO in a musn't-miss concert John W. Barker on Saturday 02/06/2010 10:10 am On its opening night, Friday in Overture Hall, the Madison Symphony Orchestra's latest program yielded that rarity, the perfect concert, when everything comes together just right. >MoreVinyl Cave: A record drive is underway for DJ Mike Carlson Bob Koch on Friday 02/05/2010 12:53 pm, (4) Recommendations News of house fires likely strikes fear into the heart of anyone who's a record collector; pretty much even the proximity of heat can damage a collection in very short order. The simple accumulation of time spent over the years digging through countless crates of vinyl to build a working collection creates something that as a self-contained unit is irreplaceable once it's gone. >MoreMadTracks: 'Tantz Tantz Allemin' by The Shtetlblasters Jessica Steinhoff on Wednesday 02/03/2010 1:00 pm, (3) Recommendations At first glance, electro jams and klezmer songs don't seem to have much in common. Electro sprang from funk musicians' fascination with programmable drum machines in the 1980s. Klezmer, on the other hand, sprang from the synagogues of southeastern Europe in the 1380s or thereabouts. Now the two have come together in Madison, of all places, thanks to The Shtetlblasters, a five-piece ensemble that got acquainted at Middleton High School a few years ago. >MoreVinyl Cave: In Europe by Big Mama Thornton Bob Koch on Saturday 01/30/2010 8:00 am Alabama-born blues singer and drummer Big Mama Thornton is mostly remembered today by many as a footnote in the saga of two famous rock performers. Thornton helped with the lyrics and was the first to record the Leiber-Stoller classic "Hound Dog," several years before it was made famous to rock 'n rollers via pre-Army Elvis Presley's cover version. >MoreMadison Music Scene & Heard: Haiti benefits, live tunes on State Street and Up North Bob Koch on Monday 01/25/2010 12:00 pm Like much of the rest of the world Madison is rallying to gather financial support for Haiti, as the country continues to try and recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake. Here's a roundup of upcoming music events working toward that goal that have been announced as of this morning. >MoreVinyl Cave: Supercharger by Supercharger Bob Koch on Sunday 01/24/2010 12:00 pm, (3) Recommendations In this age when the music industry's cash cow "anniversary" reissues are beginning to recycle albums from the 1990s, isn't it time to fete perhaps the best record released in that grunge and alt-rock besotted decade? Of course, I'm talking about the debut album by Supercharger. What, you haven't heard of Supercharger? Blasphemy! >More
Madison music shops release best of 2009 lists Bob Koch on Wednesday 12/30/2009 2:00 pm, (3) Recommendations A sure sign that Old Man Time has sent a lot of calendars to the recycling bin is the appearance of staff picks compilations at local independent record stores. During the season when retrospective lists are seemingly being compiled for everything, lists of favorite records can actually be useful beyond inspiring heated debate among music nerds. >MoreMy top 10 Madison songs of 2009 Rich Albertoni on Thursday 12/24/2009 10:00 am, (2) Comments, (14) Recommendations Earlier this month I offered my picks for the top 10 Madison albums of 2009. My favorite local tunes of the year are all from those albums (that's why I dug them), so have a listen to my countdown of the top 10 Madison songs of 2009. >More
Vinyl Cave: Zero to 99 by Boston Spaceships Bob Koch on Sunday 01/17/2010 12:00 pm For fans who couldn't keep up with the amount of music sneaking out under various names during the days of Guided by Voices, a peek at Robert Pollard's website shows that his penchant for unleashing tons of music hasn't slowed down any, even accounting for the fact that some releases with dates in the past couple years are archival in nature. >More
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