If one were to imagine a location for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see a legendary Italian progressive rock band in an extremely intimate setting, you might conjure images of exotic prog festivals in Verona, France or even the world-renowned Baja Prog festival in Mexico.

I doubt that Superior Street in Bay View would make the list.

But if you’re a prog music fan with an adventurous spirit, Friday night brings that once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the tiny Club Garibaldi, 2501 S. Superior St., as the Italian Progressive Rock band Il Castello di Atlante stops in town for a performance the likes of are rarely seen in the good ol’ Midwest. Milwaukee-based prog rockers Fibonacci Sequence open the show.

"When it comes to prog rock, Italian Prog is considered to be some of the best in the world," said Mark Krueger, host of WMSE’s "Planet Prog," the longest continuously running prog rock radio show in the world. "For a band of this caliber to come and play Milwaukee is fantastic, and if you’re a prog fan, you should not miss this show."

Il Castello di Alante plays genuine Italian symphonic prog. Lyrics are strictly in Italian, but the precise and complex music speaks clearly in a language that every prog fan can appreciate.

So how exactly does an Italian band end up playing Friday night in Bay View?

It just so happens that Krueger and Daniel DuChaine, owner of Rush-Mor Records in Bay View heard that the band was making the arduous drive from a prog fest in Mexico to another festival in Canada and convinced it to stop in Milwaukee and play a show on the way.

"This is their only show in the U.S. We’re very lucky to have them play here," said DuChaine. "It’s rare to see a band like this play live outside some of the world’s top prog festivals – I’m excited about the show and hopefully prog fans here in Milwaukee will realize how cool this is and turn out."

Doors open at 7 p.m. and Fibonacci Sequence goes on at 8 p.m. Advance tickets are $17 at Rush…

As a stand-up comedian, Tracy Morgan has gained a reputation as someone whose shows are fraught with controversy. This perception became reality during Morgan’s show at The Pabst Theater on Sunday night.

After having previous shows in Milwaukee cancelled, Morgan brought his "Excuse My French" tour in front of an appreciative crowd on Sunday night. Looking noticeably larger in a shiny purple shirt, Morgan addressed his weight gain and said he had to lose some since he was being mistaken for Cedric the Entertainer. The vast majority of the show was dedicated to graphic talk about sex and Morgan’s complicated views of marriage and women.

While Morgan made a point to state that previous audiences and groups had misconstrued his act as misogynistic, there were certainly elements to his set that gave weight to this interpretation. The element that stands out was his possessive take on marriage and how sexually open a spouse should be. However, Morgan somewhat counteracted this later by strongly speaking out against any violence towards women.

Midway through the show, after Morgan talked about the possibility of hooking up in Milwaukee, an inebriated woman made her way down the aisle to the front of the stage. After some brief chatter, she then quickly exposed her breasts to Morgan, much to his delight.

Even though security then escorted her to the lobby, she was somehow allowed to remain at the show and eventually made it back to her seat.

This was a mistake as at the end of the night, Morgan implored her to return to the front of the stage and flash the crowd what he had seen earlier. She did return and thankfully, after failing to successfully negotiate a pact with Morgan where he would have also exposed himself, the woman decided against the public display but let Morgan have another peek.

It was really disappointing to see Morgan egg her on and provide encouragement, so a wave a relief was felt when she, thankfully, didn’t go through with exposing herself to…

After a week in which he released a new book and had his new comedy series premiere on IFC, Marc Maron capped it off with an extended stand-up performance at The Pabst Theatre on Saturday night.

Known for his distinct assertive yet neurotic personality, Maron began the night by talking about the panic he’d had about his wardrobe before he went out on the stage. Not only had he accidentally spilled soda on his shoes, but he happened to be wearing a shirt almost identical to that of the night’s opening act, Johnny Beehner. Rather than change shirts, Maron wore a jacket to help disguise this, but still went ahead and told everyone about the attempted cover-up.

After improvising the first few minutes of the set, Maron took a pause and then reflected how he loved this moment. He explained that it was the moment between going from off-the-cuff into planned material that would define the performance. "Who the f*** knows what’s going to happen? Theoretically, I should." Then he described his attitude about not wanting to prepare for shows. "If I don’t prepare and I pull this off, I’m a f***ing genius. And if I fail…well, I didn’t prepare."

Maron’s style of absolute honesty is an element that has contributed to his podcast "WTF" (you should know what this stands for) becoming one of the most popular and most relevant comedy podcasts. However, Maron certainly isn't for everyone and he noticed a female audience member in the first row who didn't seem into the show.

After prying, Maron learned that the 22-year old was attending the show because of her boyfriend, who was a Maron fan. This created a touchstone for Maron throughout the evening, as he frequently checked back in on the couple and at times found himself tempted to make the date as uncomfortable as possible.

The night consisted of a wide range of stories covering topics such as Maron’s constant judgment of others, his hatred of morning zoo radio, his intolerance the way atheists present their argu…

The waltz and George Jones. One gone as of a couple days ago, and the other nowhere, being shown the door in popular music.

That George Jones (who had been booked to perform at the Northern Lights Theater in Milwaukee in September) lived to the ripe age of 81 wasn't his fault. He spent a lot of his life trying to end it with alcohol, cocaine and serial heartbreak. In that last department, he gave as well as he got – his singing was a painful pleasure that millions endured repeatedly. It must be that real hurt is still more appealing than the kind of feigned fun a lot of popular music is trying to sell.

One of the great voices of the 20th (and part of the 21st) century, Jones had a special affinity for that lopsided and soon-to-be obsolete rhythm, the waltz. It probably only seems all his songs are in the key of G and in 3/4 time, but you would swear. His voice, which sounds vulnerable and wounded, probably needs the prettiness of a waltz to make it bearable.

One of his best came from a very unlikely source, James Taylor. Listen to "Bartender's Blues," a song he wrote specifically for Old Possum Eyes, and savor his uncanny delivery of this weeper – it's so good you might even be able to forgive Taylor for inventing the whole singer/songwriter genre.

In many cases a good song wasn't always found by his producer, Billy Sherrill. He probably knew that an average one sung by an instrument that good would be lifted up to higher stature and on those occasions where the writer really did his job, the sublime was a mere chip shot. Sherrill sweetened the tracks to the point of toothaches with strings and creamy background vocals. It's a far cry from George's early Starday hits that had a lot of spit and grit to them, but he applies just the right topspin to the lyrics to make you forget just how far uptown you've been dragged.

Listen to "Picture of Me Without You," and try to decipher whether it is the words, the melody, the rhythm or the singer. Does it matter? Prob…