Fever Marlene Tops The Redwalls

This is always promising to see: Fever Marlene, a slick Milwaukee alternative-rock duo with a flair for networking that suggests they have a shot at bigger things, has been booked to headline a concert at the Turner Hall Ballroom, while The Redwalls, a mediocre and perpetually over-hyped Illinois band with a major-label CD under the belt, have been booked as their openers.

Needless to say, in our humble city local acts usually defer to national openers, so this is an encouraging change of pace. Without reading too much into this, though, it's difficult to tell whether it speaks to the rising fortunes of Fever Marlene or the falling stock in The Redwalls, who were dropped from Capitol Records last year. I can't say I pity them, though: Their Strokes-ified take on ultra-safe Beatles Brit-pop always rubbed me the wrong way. Fever Marlene, on the other hand, I wish the best of luck to. The show will be there CD release for their new album, White China.

For more information on the March 7 concert, see the Turner Hall Ballroom's Web site. Fever Marlene will also be headlining a concert at Shank Hall on Friday, Jan. 11.