Mobile Phones and Music | Morrissey on a China Plate

Mobile Phones Make Lousy Music Sound Worse

Using Mobile phones as music devices baffles my mind. Yes, an iPhone might be the exception, only because the "phone" part is almost secondary. If you have seen the HD video and sound that the latest iPhone captures, you would certainly agree with me. What I am talking about is the sound that comes out of the speakers of a non iPhone.

I was crossing the street in downtown Milwaukee yesterday, when I passed by a girl who was waiting for a bus. As I passed, I thought her phone was ringing. To me it sounded like that tinny, over driven sound you may hear when someone has picked a ring tone that is just too much for the phone's speaker to handle. You know what I'm talking about, the sound is all distorted and not very appealing. I was wrong, she was listening to music. It was awful.

I am one of those people who thought that advanced technology would improve the sound that comes out of tiny devices. I'm old enough to remember transistor radios and the sound that they produced. Still, it seems like you just can't make a tiny speaker sound lush, unless you spend hundreds of dollars. If you take a look at the tiny speakers that do sound good, you realize that they are not that tiny. They are just the tweeter portion of what used to reside in a large wooden box, and it sat above the woofer. To me, the only thing that has changed is that the woofer is in a separate box, and the tweeters clutter up your desk, or hang from your living room wall, or sit on thin posts throughout the room.

I have a friend who travels a lot. He lives very simply, to the point where he relies on his iPhone for everything. That phone gets a workout. What I find interesting about this particular friend is that he used to be an audiophile. He is one of those guys who still has vinyl records, and keeps them in individual plastic sleeves. He practically studies the album. He knows who produced it, mixed it, the lyrics, and the performers who played on it. His albums sit high on a shelf now, and he doesn't own a record player anymore. He doesn't own a boom box, or stereo. He plays music through his phone, and that makes me very sad.

Morrissey on a China Plate

I like to do the airport runs for my friend. It's easy, and I like catching people on the way in or out of town. They tend to be excited, or tired, or nervous. Basically, I get to see friends an emotional state that I might not see during other, more normal times. When I came to pick up my friend last Saturday, I found him just about ready to go. He was playing Morrissey through his phone, which he had placed on a china plate on his kitchen counter. The plate he told me, helped to bring out the sound. There was no bass, no mids, just highs and this china plate resonating Morrissey out into his kitchen. How far my audiophile friend had fallen.

Jazz In The Park, Booze in the Back

Jazz in the park starts this weekend. I envision blankets, baskets, cheese. If you want to drink booze this year, you need to buy it from the vendors nearby. No carry ins allowed this year.
Many of the country's most talented jazz performers will be on stage this summer.

The season opens with The Bonifas Quintet. Bonerama from New Orleans plays on June 11th. If you like harmonica, try Sugar Blue. They perform on June 18th. Pete Carney and Orange Alert play on June 25th. For more dates, feel free to check out the Jazz in The Park link.

Kenny B's for the wild times

I had trouble getting out of there last Halloween. Kenny B's in Manitowoc was open late because daylight savings time pushed all the clocks back. There was this killer rock band from Milwaukee on stage. They were all in pirate suits. The club was hot and sweaty.

When I needed a break, I went over to the karaoke side of the bar. There, I found a good pizza and a cold brew. I put my name in to sing a Devo song. The only ones they had were Whip It and Peek A Boo. I chose Whip It. Some woman wanted to sing the parts with me. When the song started up, she chickened out and I was on my own. After the first few lines, I was in the zone. It was great.

The stage is not huge, but that's nice. You feel like you are right there with the band. The pole in the middle can be a distraction, or an added prop. I met a couple of farmers last time. They were both chicks who worked on diary farms. They were tough women who wanted to drink and dance to the music.

The place is worth the trip if you are within an hour of the club. I'm renting a room the next time I go up there. It's not worth the effort of driving back to Milwaukee after going through the ringer at Kenny B's

Cake on New Year's Eve anyone

It's the Cake party at The Riverside Theater on New Year's Eve. Cake put out a their first album, Motorcade of Generosity back in the 1990's. The have never looked back since that first CD. Later in their musical life, they signed on with Columbia Records. They were one of those bands that appealed to the fans across the Atlantic before they made a splash here in the United States.

There have been numerous line-up changes over the years, six to be exact, but John McCrea still sings, plays a little guitar, an organ and vibraslap. What would the band be without the big personality of John.

One day, John may start living the farm life. For now, he is still touring with the band.

There will be more than just music on that night. I suspect that there will be a Midnight balloon drop.

Get your Riverside Theater tickets sooner, rather than later. This is one fun place to be on New Year's Eve.

Eddie Vedder in Milwaukee

Much to my surprise, I didn't see people getting booted out of their seats last night. The most rabid anti ticket reselling musician performed at a venue famous for kicking rules-abiding fans out for the slightest hint of skulduggery. Don't even think about reselling your tickets, or the manager will come down hard on you. I think his life is devoted to peaking around corners, and searching Ebay for the infamous ticket scalper.

Two points: If a show is already sold out, what's the harm of reselling your tickets? The venue made all that they can make from the show. If I refuse to sit in the balcony for a show, then I am going to buy a ticket from a broker or I'm not going to go. The venue owner can cry and stamp his little feet, and throw a temper tantrum, but there are consumers out there who won't spend the money on a lousy seat.

With that, everyone was warned about the scalpers, Eddie Vedder played his show, nobody left before it started, and the venue made plenty of money since it sold out months ago.

History doesn't make something a lawful act, but ticket brokers or ticket services have been around for over two thousand years. The Romans would pay people to get to the coliseum early to sit in a prime seat. Once the rich person came to the venue, the first person would leave after being paid a small sum. Some men would use their slaves to do the sitting. I guess this venue manager is a slave to his theater. He should lighten up and let it go.

Enjoy the show, sit as close as you can, and don't worry about the crabby little man standing by the sound board.

Alpine Valley

How does Alpine Valley stay in business? Alpine Valley holds nearly 36,000 people. There are VIP decks, lawn seating, and more. What is interesting to me is that there are so few shows each year. Sometimes, Alpine Valley may have only eight events for the entire summer. Half of those events might not sell out.

Live Nation has a great interactive venue map on their site. You can view seating charts, upcoming shows, and overhead maps.

Rumor has it that there is an undercover cop sitting on top of buildings in downtown East Troy. These guys look into people's cars and try to see if people have beer cans tucked in their laps.

These same guys will have someone on the street corner with a can in hand. They see a car pulling up to a stop light and tip their can as a toast. They hope to get the people in the car to reveal their cans and tip back. Then, those people are busted.

Other interesting traps would include the parking situation. If you think about it, there are not enough spaces for all the cars, if everyone came just two to a party. So if you show up late, you end up paying $25 to park in a farm field. Funny thing, the sign at the entrance to the farm lot may say $10, but once you get all the way to the person taking the money, it's $25 to park, and there is no way to turn around if you don't like the strong arm tactics.

So you paid $25 to park, you are a quarter mile from the venue, and you have your cooler full of beer. Don't even think about bringing it into the real lot. The border between private land and Alpine land is not marked. Some cops will give you a very friendly warning and let you know that you have to ditch the brew. Others may wait until you cross the line, and then give you a ticket.

So you are now in the venue and you are having a great time. The show ends, and now you are stuck in a massive traffic jam. You are joined by thousands of people from Wisconsin and Illinois, all trying to get the heck out of the woods.

I went to an Alpine show that ended at 11pm. It took 2.5 hours to get out of the lot, and another 45 minutes to drive the rest of the way back to Milwaukee. When I was a kid, my crappy Chevy overheated while waiting in line to get out of the parking lot. I paid $10 for a gallon of water and poured it into my radiator after the engine cooled down. Finally, after the hellish trip back home, I got busted for bringing my girlfriend home so late.

What do you want to take away from this? Don't drink and drive. Be ready to pay $25 to park in a field far, far away from the venue. Be careful when walking around with a can of beer. The most important thing to do is to leave before the final song. Give yourself a break and get out of there before the encore at least. Missing one or two songs will save you hours of headaches.

Stone Temple Pilots at Summerfest July 4th

Stone Temple Pilots will play Summerfest on July 4th. This is a reunion tour for the Stone Temple Pilots. Scott Weiland, Rober, and Dean DeLeo, and Eric Kretz all make up the band. There is little worry that this will implode. The tour goes on all summer long, and the Summerfest tickets for that show should be out soon. The hits you are sure to hear are Vasoline, Big Bang Baby, Down, Sour Girl, Interstate Love song, Creep, Wicked Garden, Plush, Sex Type Thing, and Lady Picture Show. Their CD "Purple" hit number 1. and "Core" hit number 3.

For the the Independence Day holiday, why not consider this event. Years ago, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra would always headline the Summerfest July 4th date. That situation changed long ago.

Summerfest is the 10 day festival along Lake Michigan. It's got 11 stages, with the Marcus Amphitheater as the main attraction.

Joe Cocker and Steve Miller play at Summerfest Milwaukee

June 29th, the old school artists of Joe Cocker and Steve Miller come to Summerfest. All I can say is Huh? What? Did I read that right? Joe Cocker and Steve Miller. Joe Cocker's last top ten hit, was 25 years ago. Up Where We Belong was part of the soundtrack to the movie Officer And A Gentleman back in 1983. His only number 1 hit charted forty years ago!! As for Steve Miller, his last successful album charted back in 1982. That's not to say that these guys don't represent classic rock. It's just a surprise to me to see them on the big stage at Summerfest. That's the issue. Do we need more classic rock? When I find out about these concert announcements, I often wonder if anyone else is on tour? The side stages at Summerfest are host to any number of current artists that deserve to take a shot at the Marcus Amphitheater. If we are going to have Joe Cocker and Steve Miller play the Marcus Amphitheater, why not have them come at a time when Summerfest is over.

New Van Halen Date is set for Bradley Center and Bruce Springsteen plays Milwaukee

The new Van Halen date for the Wisconsin Bradley Center tickets you have in hand is April 28th. So the bump over to the new date wasn't too bad, was it? Bruce Springsteen played at The Bradley Center last Monday night, and I heard that there was no big screen above the stage. That is surprising, because The Bradley Center is a very large venue. The Springsteen review for Milwaukee spoke more about the aging of the band, over the quality of the music. Bruce is pushing 60 years old. They can't all be Mick Jagger in their energy. Springsteen's latest disk is more about preaching. What energy to you put into a sermon? I'm still going to get an upper level ticket for Van Halen, just to watch the spectacle.

What's up with Turner Hall?

Turner Hall's Ballroom has settled into its own now. Funny thing, I don't know ANY of the bands coming through the venue. I must be getting old. Ok, perhaps I know a couple of the names on the website, but not many. That means nothing really. Just because I don't know who the bands are at Turner Ballroom, doesn't mean that they aren't popular acts. As long as they bands keep coming, I'm sure to find a reason to go to a show at Tuner Hall Ballroom. They have the same booking manager as The Riverside and Pabst Theater. That's a plus. The Riverside management has access to touring acts that just don't fit in the larger venues, but would be a perfect match for Turner Hall.

Van Halen in the spring

I'm still waiting for the spring to come to Milwaukee. Perhaps when it finally does warm up, we won't even remember how crappy this winter was. I suppose that by the time Van Halen comes to the Bradley Center, the snow will be long gone. I will be sitting in the upper level for that show. I have to see Van Halen one time in my life. Especially since I never liked Sammy. David Lee Roth is the man. It's not that Van Halen Tickets were hard to come by. I just want to sit in the upper level to watch the entire scene. It's going to be better than watching the Milwaukee Bucks

play another sloppy game. Put that Bradley Center to good use.

Spoof fest Milwaukee

Some Milwaukee Rock Bands play at Spoof fest every year. It's a great mix of talented musicians who make up the bands at Spoof fest. It can range from a Led Zeppelin tribute, to a Morrissey band. You never know what you are going to get at Milwaukee's Spoof fest. I hear it's coming up in spring of 2008. Considering how well the Milwaukee Bucks are playing these days, you might want to stick to rock and roll shows.

WWVHD What Would Van Halen Do?

Van Halen's last tour stop is Milwaukee Wisconsin. Their tour wraps up on April 7th at The Bradley Center. Now, does the band pull out all the stops for their last show? Does Van Halen tick off the days on the tour calendar, look at Milwaukee, and think screw it, I'm done. This all comes about because the Van Halen tour was extended. I suspect that the band had planned to extend this tour based on ticket sales. Sales were good, so the band added dates, and Milwaukee was one of them. If you have nothing left to give, why not leave everything on the Bradley Center stage. I'm going to get an upper level ticket and watch the spectacle.

Another local venue, Turner Hall

Milwaukee Turner Hall is now booking shows. The same guy who runs the Riverside theater is running Turner Hall. I suspect he's trying to compete with the Rave market. Turner Hall is not huge. At least this venue is in a good location. Don't get me wrong, The Rave is a cool place visually, but it's an echo chamber and (in my opinion) a fire trap. Here's to you Turner Hall. I hope some great bands take advantage of the new venue.

Where did all the Ozzy fans go?

You would think that the Ozzy show would be sold out. It's not. You can still get good tickets to the Ozzy/Rob Zombie show at the Bradley Center. Mind you, they aren't in the first 30 rows, but side stage seats are good. That's going to be an echo chamber show. The Bradley Center is was built for Hockey, not rock shows.

Trans Siberian Orchestra Milwaukee

Trans Siberian Orchestra, or TSO as the devoted fans call it, are coming to Milwaukee's Bradley Center on December 16th. They now have multiple bands called TSO that tour the country at the same time. This band seems to attract all sorts of fans. Young, old, rockers, non-rockers all dig this stuff. I think I will wait one more year before I check them out. Some time I will pick up a TSO ticket, but not this time.

Ozzy Osbourne Bradley Center December 13th

It's not Ozzfest, it's OZZY!! I have this friend (yea, a friend not me) who loves Ozzy, lives for Ozzy etc. He goes to every Ozzfest Wisconsin show. This time, he's even more fired up. He called to tell me that he's ready for Ozzy tickets to go on sale at The Bradley Center. It's months away, but my friend has lined up already. At least in his mind, he is in line for Ozzy tickets.

Rumors, tours, and folklore

Grapevine Milwaukee: Rumors of possible tours featuring Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, and Van Halen all float by. If Bruce Springsteen came to Milwaukee, it would have to be a Bradley Center show. Same rule applies for Metallica and Van Halen. Where else but the Bradley Center for those headliners? Alas, these are just rumors. None of the bands listed here have committed to anything. Heck, Metallica isn't even on tour. We shall see.

Rush at Marcus Amphitheater....any takers?

Sales have slowed for Rush tickets at The Marcus Amphitheater on 9/6/07. After checking, I found center section seats still available. A band that was so huge in the 80's is now more worthy of a Milwaukee Theater venue compared to The Marcus Amp.

According to Rush Is A band, some of the new album reviews didn't even get a rating. Is it over for Rush?

Blue Man Group coming to Milwaukee's Bradley Center

These guys are great musicians. Don't think for a minute that this is just art. I saw them in Boston about 10 years ago, and I was very impressed. I still have the shirt with the paint splatter on it. It's funny, it's percussion, it's music, and it's coming to the Bradley Center on October 14th, 2007.