The Whigs, What Made Milwaukee Famous, and The Dead Trees @ Warehouse Live

After getting a preview of The Whigs at Cactus Music earlier in the day, Eggs and I headed to Warehouse Live's Studio on Wednesday, May 7 to experience a full set. Providing support were Austin-based indie powerpoppers What Made Milwaukee Famous and Portland's The Dead Trees.

Full review after the jump

Eggs and I ambled into Warehouse during The Dead Trees' set. This four-piece indie-rock group's sound interweaves folk and Americana influences, with garage and pop elements thrown in for good measure. Though we only caught half their set, we liked what we heard enough to pick up their six-song EP Fort Music.

What Made Milwaukee Famous was up next, and my attention was immediately grabbed by guitarist/vocalist/keyboardist Michael Kingcaid's bullet guitar strap, which made for a rather odd match with his blue pageboy cap. WMMF launched into "Blood, Sweat, & Fears" to open their set. Kingcaid continued to amuse me with a plethora of phallic guitar movements and a propensity to abruptly drop to the floor, only to rebound just as suddenly. In fact, all the band members were fun to watch; there's a great onstage dynamic among all five, but especially so between Kingcaid, guitarist/vocalist Jason Davis, and bassist John Houston Farmer. While Kingcaid and Davis provide the majority of WMMF's vocals, Farmer, keyboardist/guitarist Drew Patrizi, and drummer jrm all contributed their voices as well.

They played the dreamily smooth "Cheap Wine" next, followed by "Sultan", "Self-Destruct", and a cover of Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)".

After being scolded (several times) by an inebriated-sounding chick for not having any girl tees at their merch table, Kingcaid dedicated "Sweet Lady" to a blonde named Hannah. The row of pre-teens at the front of the stage swiftly turned and shot daggers in her direction. "Sweet Lady"'s upbeat (despite lyrics like "I think I love you, but I can't help thinking that you love somebody but me") poppiness showcased the nuances in Kingcaid's voice. WMMF finished out their set with "For the Birds" and "Resistance St."

During the break, Eggs and I caught up with our friendly neighborhood taper, then staked out our spot for The Whigs. It seemed that much of the audience had come primarily for WMMF - which makes sense, given Houston's proximity to Austin - because we didn't have much competition up front. Or maybe it was just that the aforementioned pre-teens' mommies had already come to pick them up. Anyway. The Whigs soon took the stage, and I think that much of the audience had no idea what level of 'rocking' was about to take place.

Sporting a Cactus Music t-shirt that he must have picked up earlier in the evening, bassist Tim Deaux marched forward and back between his microphone and a speaker like an indie jazzercise instructor (They're offering Hipstercise at the Y? Sign me up, yo!). Across the stage, guitarist Parker Gispert lurched back and forth, sporadically letting kicks fly. He had me convinced that he was inevitably going down and taking a hi-hat (or two) with him - I'm still amazed that he didn't fall. Drummer Julian Dorio added to the movement madness by wildly thrashing his head and enthusiastically mouthing his rhythms as he played them.

Deaux and Gispert operated as a musical tag team of sorts, trading duties on guitar, bass, and keyboards. About halfway through the set, members of Colour Revolt - who had opened for The Breeders down the street at the Meridian earlier that night - appeared and shared a swig of Jack with Gispert. A definite highlight of their set for me was "Right Hand On My Heart", with its explosive climax and gentle falling action:

Eggs won't stop talking to me about camera lenses and hoods, and it's making it very difficult to complete this review. Just thought I'd let you know.

They closed their set with "Need You Need You", a rocker that brought the best out in Gispert's onstage acrobatics:

For the encore, members of The Whigs, What Made Milwaukee Famous, and The Dead Trees convened onstage for a sorta superjam. They danced (?) and shouted their way through the Rolling Stones' "Get Off Of My Cloud":

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed all three bands; I've been rather snotty about music lately, but I didn't leave this show with any snarky comments spilling out of my mouth. I wasn't sure how I felt about the odd choreography of The Whigs initially, but even that grew on me and has already imprinted itself in memory, to be forever considered an essential component of their shows.

Eggs wasn't overly fond of What Made Milwaukee Famous. He pronounced them 'too pop' for him, which I can understand. Strong elements of pop are apparent throughout their work, so if you're not a fan of that genre, it might be best to steer clear. I (or the adoring pre-teen in me), however, found their performance captivating and I hope to catch them again soon.

The Whigs' quieter mini-set they played at Cactus Music earlier in the evening was promising, and they didn't fail to deliver during their Warehouse set. I'm not much of a fan of Dave Matthews, but dammit dammit dammit, I have to love ATO Records.

Check out more videos from the show on our YouTube channel, or view more photos.

The Dead Trees
What Made Milwaukee Famous
The Whigs

Carpe ientaculum.

--Cereal