8:00pm $12.00 (smoke-free show)
From David Luhrssen, Arts & Entertainment Editor, Shepherd-Express, January 2006: "As the late 1980s blurred into the early 90s, when college radio was the watchword and grunge had yet to sweep away all else, Milwaukee enjoyed a vibrant alternative music scene. Its leading exponents seemed largely oblivious to passing fashions. They played all different kinds of music drawn from many sources, but shared a devotion to songwriting--specifically, the power of a four-minute pop song to shake the room and suggest an entire world of meaning.
Among the best of the talented tribe of Milwaukee songwriters in those years was Mike Benign, who along with bassist Paul Biemann had been the core of Umbrella Man and Arms & Legs & Feet before regrouping as Blue In The Face in 1991. The band's name may have referred to years of tasting a measure of local success while the tantalizing golden apple of national success stayed forever out of reach.
As with nearly every other Milwaukee band, the apple eluded their grasp in the end. Blue In The Face faded to gray, leaving behind vivid memories of a talented ensemble playing crack arrangements of great songs. Benign was always a low-key, observant presence on the Milwaukee alternative scene in the 80s and early 90s, drawing inspiration for his lyrics from his other night job: pouring drinks at the long-since defunct L.A. Freeway in the heart of East North Avenue's entertainment strip.
With Elvis Costello and Crowded House's Neil Finn for models, Benign wrote concisely, melodically, danceably but in a style that was his own. Fronting Blue In The Face, he was was fortunate finding the right chemical equation of musical talent, players who infused his songbook with heart, soul and rock muscle."
The Wooldridge Brothers, originally from Indiana, were a vital part of the Milwaukee music scene in the 90s, releasing three albums and playing throughout the Midwest, as well as at national music festivals such as South By Southwest in Austin, Texas. Formed by brothers Scott and Brian after their earlier band The Squares had run its course, the Wooldridge Brothers incorporated elements of the early Americana genre along with the pop and rock craftsmanship. Scott Wooldridge is now a Minneapolis native and has been for the last 10 years and Brian Wooldridge still resides in Milwaukee, WI to which he calls home.