Box Social and Quinn Scharber bring bacchanalian abandon back to Montmartre

Half a year ago, Madison’s The Box Social and Milwaukee’s Quinn Scharber and The... spent one of the coldest nights of the winter blowing the minds of Café Montmartre’s packed house of thrillingly rabid booze-soaked fans. If you were one of the lucky masses in attendance that night, you know that both bands performed with an electric energy delivered from complete sincerity, honesty and confidence about the work they were there to present. To say that the evening was special would be a massive understatement. This Thursday, the bands will be back to do it all over again.

Saturday night marked the official release of Quinn Scharber and the...’s first full-length album, Being Nice Won’t Save Milwaukee, on The Bus Stop Label. Scharber (lead vocals and guitar), Thom Giebel (bass), Joe Kirschling (drums) and Joph Bravo (tambourine orchestra maestro) presented a white-hot set to mark the occasion, complete with a handful of even newer tunes that promise to lead the way for the creation of another fantastic album down the line. Scharber’s sweetly raw vocal delivery is a highlight of the band’s live shows, as he expresses a rare vulnerability that so many singers aspire to achieve. The band’s sound is a seemingly effortless blend of the brightness of power pop greats like Big Star and Guided By Voices and the kind of self-aware, bittersweet introspection of songwriters like Elliott Smith, and the often-referenced cathartic rock of The Replacements.

The Box Social, having recently presented their brand of high-energy power pop to the Summerfest crowds for the first time (where they were voted Fan Favorite Emerging Artist), are preparing for a series of exciting upcoming shows, including billing with The Toadies and Bob Mould. Nick Junkunc (lead vocals, guitar), Nick Woods (lead guitar), David Griesbach (bass), and Brian Peoplis (drums) were also recently honored by being named the Best Band in Wisconsin by FuseTV. In the event that you’ve somehow forgotten, a Box Social show will always remind you why rock is fun. The danceable punk-influenced beats and an abundance of pop hooks found on the band’s latest release, Get Going, are only enhanced by a live setting.

Both The Box Social and Quinn Scharber and the... make music that inspires instant devotion. In the same way that a generation of teenagers cried in their bedrooms to the Smiths, understood exactly why Iggy slashed open his chest onstage, or felt their skin chill with goosebumps to Dylan’s prophetic “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” theirs is art devoid of sterility.

It’s possible, though, to commit the crime of overanalyzing the appeal of art, and to unintentionally lay misrepresentative impressions upon it. These are not art school wunderkinder with $200 haircuts and pretension to spare. While both bands are most certainly serious about the music they make, they possess a healthy, endearing sense of Midwestern humor that permeates their songs. Self-deprecation, sarcasm and blissful, bacchanalian abandon are common themes in their music that listeners should find easy to relate to.

The bands will return to Café Montmartre this Thursday, July 24, at 9:30 for what promises to be yet another unforgettable show.