This Month in Milwaukee EIGHT THINGS TO DO IN MARCH

BY ALLEN HALLAS, ELIZABETH LINTONEN, DAVID LUHRSSEN AND BLAINE SCHULTZ

MARCH 3-MARCH 4

Manic Focus

Miramar Theatre

A two-night electronic extravaganza will kick off the week, celebrating 11 years of Brew City Bass, which worked its way up from throwing club dates to eventually owning the storied venue. Both nights are headlined by producer and DJ Manic Focus, who blends funk and hip hop with modern EDM. With Menert and Statik Flow on Friday and Jaenga and Spunback on Saturday.

MARCH 4

Leo Kottke

South Milwaukee

Performing Arts Center

Leo Kottke’s guitar does most of the communicating during his solo concerts, but he is also known for his dry self-deprecation and for spinning amusing tales between songs. Along with John Fahey, he was a proponent in the ‘60s of the finger-style playing associated with the folk-blues-country playing traditions that inform much of Kottke’s work.

March 11

The Dollyrots, The Von Tramps, Gold Steps, The Stinkeyes X-Ray Arcade

Husband-and-wife duo The Dollyrots return to Cudahy on March 11, headlining a night of female-fronted bands at X-Ray Arcade. They’ll be joined by Minneapolis ska-punk hybrid The Von Tramps, Milwaukee-by-way-of-Austin pop punk band Gold Steps, and Wisconsin punks The Stinkeyes. The all-ages show brings together a host of exciting acts from throughout the Midwest for the next evolution of riot grrrl-led music.

MARCH 13

Os Mutantes at Cactus Club

It’s not every day that Brazilian pioneers Os Mutantes make their way to Milwaukee. On March 13, a very special set will happen when the band come to town in a joint production from Cactus Club and Rush-Mor Records. Combining elements of psych rock with samba and bossa nova, the band were able to fuse the sounds of South America with England and the United States as rock and roll was beginning to ascend around the world. The band began playing out again in 2006 and have since released music via David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label. An entirely unique experience comes to Bay View this month.

MARCH 14

Liam Callanan

Boswell Book Company

A bold, funny novel of Italian cities and midlife crises, When In Rome is the perfect novel for anyone looking for a heartwarming story of redemption. Milwaukee-based author Liam Callanan will present his latest work on March 14 at 6:30 p.m. at Boswell Books. When In Rome is a thoughtful take on one woman’s journey as she learns what it means to experience transformation, face her past, and find peace in the future.

MARCH 16

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio Shank Hall

Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, aka DLO3, plays a steaming blend of Blues, Funk. Jazz and Soul. Lamar, a self-taught keyboard player, updates the classic Hammond organ sound recalling greats Baby Face Willette, Booker T. & The M.G.'s and the Meters. Unafraid to pull out all the stops, the trio traffic in grooves deep enough to trip in. As the saying goes, if they don’t get you moving, check your pulse.

Through March 5

The Hobbit First Stage, Milwaukee Youth Arts Center

“I think all of us harbor in our core the secret desire to be swept up into an adventure where we might find ourselves the hero. Folks connect with Bilbo,” says The Hobbit’s director Jeff Frank, speaking of why J.R.R. Tolkien’s story has endured. They see themselves and travel along with Bilbo on this unexpected journey. Along the way the book explores what it means to be a leader, to be a friend and what in the end we should value the most. There is as much power in these simple truths as there is in the grand magic and wonder of the world that Tolkien created.”

MARCH 31

Bug Moment, North Warren, Pescatarian At Best, Handmade Wolves, Socially Suspect

Shank Hall

A generation of young indie rock on the East Side is moving out of basements and DIY spaces into Milwaukee’s clubs like a tidal wave. Five of those acts will flock to Shank Hall at the end of this month, when Bug Moment headlines a stacked bill of young bands. Spanning the sonic gamut from shoegaze to punk, this quintet of bands is certainly part of a new movement in Milwaukee music that cannot be ignored.