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Mama Digdown's celebrating 15 years

Katjusa Cisar  —  9/07/2008 5:39 pm

On Sunday, Sept. 7, Mama Digdown's Brass Band is throwing a party to celebrate 15 years of playing New Orleans funk and jazz around town and beyond. The "Digdown's Family Picnic" runs from 1 to 5 p.m. at R.P.'s Pasta Company, 1133 E. Wilson St. Digdown fans can get fueled up on Great Dane beer and free R.P.'s spaghetti and meatballs.

From their first gig in 1993 at Art Fair on the Square ("We pretty much crashed the event and were just thankful no one asked us to leave," co-founder Christopher "Roc" Ohly says in the press release), the Digdowns have gathered a faithful fan base and inspired a few groups of local high school kids to form their own brass bands.

High-pitched squealing alert: Menudo, the band that launched Ricky Martin's career, will be appearing in its updated, fresh-faced incarnation at the Majestic Theatre, 115 King St., on Friday, Sept. 5, at 8 p.m. ($10.41). The boys sing beat-heavy, Z104-friendly Latin pop in Spanish and English. Expect lots of sweet coordinated dance moves on stage and hyperventilating 12-year-old girls in the house.

Menudo opens for Saving Jane, a pop-rock outfit fronted by a chick who belts out lyrics like, "What are we selling? Our brains or our belly buttons?" Her girl power anthem, "Supergirl," has been picked up as a theme song by Olympic medal-winning gymnast Nastia Liukin and race car driver Danica Patrick.

On the other end of the accessibility spectrum is Xiu Xiu, a trio that creates what's been called "the catchiest non-catchy songs in indie rock." Jamie Stewart's delicate vocals fly unscathed through a screeching atonal soundscape that takes turns bashing and soothing the listener. He also breaks out a wide range of instruments on the latest album, "Women As Lovers."

The CD booklet credits vibraphones, a cop whistle, scraped cymbal, a signal generator and "heart clogging screamzzz!!!" alongside boring instruments like saxophone and piano. Xiu Xiu plays at the High Noon Saloon, 701 E. Washington Ave., Friday night at 9:30 p.m. ($12 at the door).

Prurient and Common Eider, King Eider open.

Last year's inaugural SoCo Music Festival, headlined by the Flaming Lips, was such a success that it's returning for a second year, this time with the Roots, the Black Keys, GZA, the Benevento Russo Duo and Ha Ha Tonka. It all kicks off at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 6, at the Alliant Energy Center's Willow Island off John Nolen Drive. Music continues until 10 p.m., and admission is free, although it's a 21-and-older show.

Also on Saturday, the Sun Prairie Lions Club is hosting the second annual Sun Prairie Blues Fest in Angell Park (by the racetrack). Milwaukee blues guy Paul Cebar headlines at 8 p.m., with a full lineup running at hour and a half intervals until then, starting at noon: Cliff Frederiksen, Lauren England & the Mud Angels, Bobby Bryan & the Uptown Allstars, Bobby Evans & the Alimony Blues Band and Rev. Raven & the Chain Smokin' Altar Boys. Tickets are $10 online at www.spbluesfest.com or $15 day of show.

Katjusa Cisar  —  9/07/2008 5:39 pm