As most people know, the cleaned up and arguably maturing Cactus Club was supposed to re-open last weekend with a fresh, focused look at the bands that played there. Owner Eric Uecke spoke of his plans to impose a new quality control to showcase bands that have genuinely invested in doing something worth listening to.
Milwaukee's Now & Never Again is one of those bands -- one that was scheduled to play there on Thursday, Aug. 16. Due to construction delays, the venue's re-opening has been pushed back a week and Now & Never Again has relocated its Thursday night gig with The New Loud to Puddler's Hall, 2461 S. St. Clair St.
Comprising a seasoned cast of characters -- Clark Rendall and Nate Greene played in The Panic, Jason Hildreth in Esperanto and Dave Koehnlein in U.A. -- Now & Never Again cultivates a combo of crunchy guitars, commanding vocals, poignant lyrics and poppy energy.
But it's also got a secret weapon -- something missing in much of Milwaukee rock: a dark dance beat.
Rendall's keyboards nod to the dance punk aura of bands like The Faint and the group's impassioned, industrial explorations recall Nine Inch Nails. But there is something about bassist Hildreth's casual mention of The B52's that assures you that Now & Never Again is doing its own unique thing.
"Their older material has a punk mentality, but it's upbeat and fun," he says. "Some of Clark's keyboard parts are definitely influenced by The B52's songs, especially something like 'Rock Lobster.'"
Fair enough. And from here, the influences -- "the history of the United States of America, as well as the current state of affairs" -- get even more interesting.
"Our lyrics definitely contain subtle political references and statements about current affairs, but they are very abstract," says Hildreth. "We prefer to put an idea out there, whether it's a reference to war, the prison system, love, death, and let the audience draw their own conclusions. We don't go out there and beat people over the head with a message."
Considering the origin of the band's name, the political awareness makes sense.
"It's a reference to a society that is ignorant of its history and seems to have very little concern for its future. The idea that the population is only concerned about living for today and not taking into account the repercussions of their decisions, whether it is world leaders, lawmakers or citizens, is what the name suggests to us. Also, we think it sounds pretty cool."
For now, the band's got a three-song, self-titled EP out -- help yourself to an MP3 steam on the Myspace.com page -- but promises something like two full album's worth of both older, unrecorded as well as brand spanking new material for the Cactus Club stage. What else can you expect come Thursday?"
"You never know, we might come out like the Chili Peppers circa 1987 with just socks on," says Hildreth.
And there you have it.
OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.
As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”
