WHO: Bully
WHERE: Cactus Club | Milwaukee, WI
WHEN: Saturday, January 20 – 9pm (Sold Out) | Sunday, January 28 – 7pm
MORE INFO & TICKETS ($15)
Nashville-based Bully will make their anticipated return to Milwaukee this weekend, braving the cold for a very special weekend show at the intimate Cactus Club. The excitement surrounding their first Milwaukee show in roughly two years was so great, that tickets sold out in a week. But do not fret if you were not one of the lucky 200-or-so people to snag tickets, the outstanding demand for Saturday’s show (as well as their previous Cactus Club show in 2016) prompted the group to book another show at Cactus Club the following weekend. The show on Sunday, January 28th is sandwiched between their shows in Davenport, IA on Saturday and Chicago’s Empty Bottle on Monday (that show is free, jsyk).
It’s clear that Bully has been busy since their debut album was released in 2015, and with their generous touring mindset demonstrated by the second Milwaukee show, they do a damn good job at delivering great results even when it’s unexpected.
This as evident in Bully’s touring schedule as it is in the band’s sophomore album, Losing, released last year via Sub Pop. Feels Like, Bully’s debut album, received an insane amount of praise when it was released in 2015. Other bands might ride the coattails of a well-received album for years, but Bully pressed on. Losing (which cracked my Top 10 Albums of 2017 List) is a phenomenal expansion of the angst-driven rock music that the preceding album introduced us to. For this, you can give a high amount of credit to Alicia Bognanno’s musical prowess – not only is Bognanno the band’s singer, guitarist, and lead songwriter, she is also their producer and sound engineer.
The virtue of a hands-on, DIY approach runs deep within Bognanno and Bully, and they showcase it as well if not better than any other band in music today. By putting emotion behind the product, whether it be through personally driven lyrics or their incendiary live shows, Bully takes the connection with their audiences to another level. It’s no wonder the Cactus Club show sold out quickly, Milwaukee’s concert-going crowds respond best to this display of emotion and grit, so expect the 200-cap club to be hopping every minute Bully is on stage.
Bully often deliver what you didn’t know you needed. The kicker is, they do it with such astoundingly impeccable results, you’ll leave Cactus Club begging for more, but at least you’ll exit with a smile on your face.
