December Concert Reviews
by Matt Metzler
One thing longtime Wisconsin residents know is that our weather can be downright unpleasant and that was certainly the case this past December. Between numerous snowstorms and some subzero temperatures, there were plenty of winter hazards to contend with. Despite the nasty conditions, musicians played on and you could still attend plenty of great concerts in Green Bay.
The fun kicked off Thursday, December 4th, when Heart brought their Royal Flush Tour to the Resch Center. Local fans of the famous Seattle-based rock band, fronted by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, had waited patiently for this concert, which was postponed a whole year due to Ann’s cancer diagnosis. The show was worth the wait as the entire band was polished and presented a warm, cozy concert perfect for a bitter cold night. Ann spoke in a relaxed voice between songs about the gratitude she felt for all their fans. They played a few Led Zeppelin covers and great takes on their studio-heavy ‘80s hits. They also did justice to their classics from the ‘70s, including “Crazy on You”, “Magic Man” and “Barracuda”. Throwing Joni Mitchell’s Christmas tune, “River”, into the mix was a nice touch.
Opening for Heart that night was Cheap Trick. While Heart was often quiet and reflective, Cheap Trick came out with guns blazing, pummeling the audience with heavy lighting effects and blaring instruments. Because the two performances were so different, it would be unfair to compare them. I’d love to see Cheap Trick again when in the mood for a full-on show because they are an iconic band that still releases new material, keeping their sets fresh.
One artist who loves Cheap Trick is Daniel James. For nearly a decade, he was the lead vocalist of the beloved Milwaukee punk group Indonesian Junk, who took their name from “Surrender”, one of Cheap Trick’s biggest hits. His current group, The Daniel James Gang, also appeared in Green Bay this past December, on the 12th, as part of a 4-band lineup that played at a new venue on East Mason Street called Mad World Artist Collective. The Daniel James Gang plays radio-ready rock and James leads the band with a gruff vocal approach and butt-kicking guitar solos. James is a veteran Wisconsin musician who’s been in countless groups and likes to highlight the other talented performers he plays alongside. During the set, he invited his fill-in bassist, Mary Joy, to sing one of her own tunes.
The headliner of the Mad World bill was a veteran punk band hailing from Detroit called the Idiot Kids. I didn’t catch much of their set but what I did was captivating. This band plays with intensity and doesn’t skimp on melody. They kept the talking between songs short and let the vocals speak for themselves. The Idiot Kids fit the bill if you’re looking for heavy rock and roll that makes you dance.
Daniel James and the Idiot Kids both showed off the serious side of punk, but there was still plenty of levity courtesy of the first two bands that played that evening. Opening the night was Beaker from Milwaukee. They play fast, funky punk thanks to Carl VanDommelen’s slap bass technique. True to their name, the members of Beaker grace the stage in lab coats and drink soda from chemistry flasks. They may look like they came straight from the laboratory but, with their biggest song being “Squirrel Killer”, don’t expect a boring lesson at a Beaker show. If you’ve ever snuck a whoopee cushion onto your unsuspecting middle school biology teacher’s chair, then this is the perfect science-themed rock band for you. I was impressed by Beaker’s set. They are certainly silly but also very talented musicians who put on a great show.
Equally quirky was the performance by Smart Shoppers. This local quartet of argyle-clad goofballs has such an obsession with stores that they’ve shot all of their album covers at different Green Bay retailers, including Webster Avenue Market and Mason Brothers’ Red Owl on 9th Street. Lead singer Joey Shops even performed wearing a fake gold chain, price tag still attached, with a shopping cart on the end. The band’s bouncy musical style, which made me think the B-52s went to Pee-wee’s Playhouse instead of the Love Shack, got even the most straight-laced concertgoer’s toes tapping. Shops, whose real name is Joseph Lambert, did such a great job organizing the entire evening at Mad World that you would think he is a professional event coordinator. He’s a genuine human with great taste in music. Hopefully Smart Shoppers will play more shows like this again soon. I’ll plan on going when they do, I just need to buy a Piggly Wiggly T-shirt to fit in with the crowd.
The final Titletown concert I attended in December was The Missing Miles late on Saturday, the 20th, at Frets and Friends on University Avenue. Frets is your friendly neighborhood dive bar with short strands of multicolored Christmas lights dangling from the ceiling to illuminate the stage and a piece of plywood turning a pool table into a serving station for brats and sloppy joes. The Packers dropped an overtime heartbreaker to the Chicago Bears minutes before showtime, leaving many area football fans down in the dumps. Fortunately, The Missing Miles’ joyous blend of bluegrass and jam band styles had everyone in the audience, even fans wearing Jordan Love and Tucker Kraft jerseys, grinning.
If you’re in need of a smile, perhaps a night checking out a band in Green Bay will deliver the goods. The Resch Center, Mad World Artist Collective and Frets are just a few of the G.B. venues that provide live music all year long. Also, fsm maintains an events calendar year round. You can find it in every issue of the journal or at fsm.ink/calendar. If you look, I’m sure you’ll find there are some killer concerts to check out here in Titletown, even in the dead of winter.
After 15 years working in radio, Matt Metzler stepped away from the microphone in 2018. Now, spurred by a love of local music and culture, he is pursuing a career in journalism.
