Photos and Review by Stephen Bloch

The midwest is filled with bucolic charm, most of the time. It can have a slow pace, the smell of cut grass once the snow melts, and an overall welcoming feel.  Go out to the burbs, and this vibe is amplified.  On Monday night, Kevin Morby’s sold out show had all of these pleasantries at Milwaukee’s (ok, actually Whitefish Bay) newest club, The Argo. Yes, a Monday night in suburbia where 10pm is the hard line time to pull the plugs on the amps.

Both Morby and opener, Liam Kazar, got in everything we wanted under the wire.

Morby is no stranger to Milwaukee, having played many of its venues over the past decade.  He’s currently on tour for his most cohesive and dare I say, thoughtful, release, Little Wide Open. The album was produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner.  While I’m partial to a sixty minute long jam of “Harlem River” or a blistering “City Music” onslaught, his current direction certainly has a broad appeal. 

The show consisted of a healthy mix of new and old.  Despite the newness of his new release, patrons were singing along robustly. This was particularly true on “Badlands”, “Natural Disaster”, and “Javelin”. Definitely catchy stuff. A ramped up “City Music” definitely hit hard.  High energy show for sure.

The opener was Liam Kazar who is just coming off of Jeff Tweedy’s “family band” tour.  Kazar is also anchoring guitar duties in Morby’s sets.

Morby has become a showman for sure….