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Farewell Milwaukee Setlist (Partial)
Previously
Excerpt from
Fine Line (20 Mar 2009):
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It was a night of local music at Turf Club, with Farewell Milwaukee headlining a mix of country-infused rock & roll.
The first opener was Big Lake. The Minneapolis based trio (all guitars: lead, bass and steel) are very Americana country. The dual vocals create some great harmonies on top of that steel guitar sound, such as on the chorus lyrics “you and I” on the second song. As so often is the case for genre, we got a “We’re going to play some sad country music for you” from the lead singer. How Many Times was indeed the most country sounding song so far. The next song, Proof, is off the new album and traded steel guitar for an electric one. I’m always impressed by a band that can do their thing without a drummer holding them in time. Our first appearance of harmonica (only one of two appearances of the night!) was a prelude to more intricate harmonies in the vocals. Having started a little late, the band was surprised to know they only had time for one more song, but quickly rebounded to finish strong with two final songs (you read that right).
Next up was A Piano in Every Home. This sound is much more alt folk, though again, guitar heavy. The first song could easily play on both country and alternative rock stations and the band easily slides between those genres. This is upbeat music and the crowd reacted favorably. Several good guitar solos kept things moving and really, the band kept everything rolling along. They noted it was the first time they had played at Turf Club in five years. They moved into some newer material, which had a little more Americana feel, but continued to have that high energy. Anchorage started with a long guitar intro and also slid more towards the alt folk sound. A good bit of chatter between songs brought up “bad shows”, mentioning a Mankato Rib Fest show (“not THE rib fest, just A rib fest, and I think that was the problem”). A late song gave us three vocalists, melding together effectively. As they finished up with the song Phoenix (a reference to the mythical bird, not the city), the quartet completed a solid forty minute set that never felt rushed or padded. A quick chat with lead singer Travis (“don’t be too hard on us”) had effusive praise for the headliner, who they had played with before back in 2019.
The headliner, Farewell Milwaukee, appeared as a sextet playing in the Americana folk rock space. They brought a sense of real joy to be performing right from the start. This is a band that is very comfortable with each other, as they easily moved into the second song with a keyboard intro, but all knew where to jump in. Songs routinely had three to four singers and the blending of vocals was impressive. There’s a bit of a Credence Clearwater Revival sound here, but they have their own distinct sound. A specific call back to Big Lake’s take on “sad country songs”, led to this one: “these country songs are all sad, some are just upbeat”.
Farewell Milwaukee has a real strength in its ability to spread its sound in different directions. A song in the middle of the set highlighted the keyboards as well as two of the backing vocalists taking over near the end of the song. Guitar work was featured across several members with different effects from each. The band was clearly pleased, as we got a “we’re going to go ahead and play for a while”, with a great reaction from the crowd. There was an excellent moment where we simply got a “I’m really happy now”, followed by a take of how sometimes you just have to say it when it happens, because who knows when that feeling will come again. The song Way Out highlighted those feelings as the band was on fire throughout, with an earnestness that never felt cloying or artificial. We got a switch of lead singer (Joey got the cheers!) in the latter half of the set and was a real highlight of the evening. A late appearance of an additional vocalist (Bethany), gave a different texture to a number of songs she provided backing vocals for. Recluse, off the 2106 album FM, was a stripped down song that then built up to the full band. The rest of the evening had the combination of nostalgia and happiness, with Poison Rain being a great example. Rather than a traditional encore, the band chose to play on through with Hurt No Moreand Tears Won’t Fall to finish up a tremendous set.
After the show, I spoke with lead singer Ben Lubeck. Noting the strength of the show even though they haven’t released new material since 2016’s FM, Lubeck said that even though things are sporadic for the band, there is real strength in all of the hours they have logged together. It allows them to pick up right where they left off and be comfortable with each other. Lubeck mentioned they have played three shows in the last few months, which these days is lot, but in a good way.
We also talked about the band’s high energy performance and Lubeck said that at least for him, he is channeling the audience’s energy and it was here tonight. He said when the audience isn’t into the music, it can be a real drag and that he starts to fade early. The audience involvement helped the band level up with it and Lubeck said the longer you are on the music scene, the more you appreciate a great audience and that real sense of gratitude also impacts how he and the band perform. And on cue, as we finished talking Lubeck and other band members were caught with other fans new and old to close out a great evening.
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Farewell Milwaukee |
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Farewell Milwaukee at Turf Club (09 Jan 2025) |
| thaddeus ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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