Jeremy Porter Road Blog

Road Blog: Thursday December 11, 2025 - Milwaukee, WI

Road Blog
Thursday, December 11, 2025
Milwaukee/West Allis, Wisconsin

Thursday was a chill day just working in the motel room, running through a couple deep cuts on the guitar, watching some Sammy Hagar – Rock and Roll Road Trip episodes on AXS TV (I’ve never had that channel but it rules), and enjoying some downtime. I’m commuting out of this motel south of Chicago for 3 nights, a decision I was questioning when heading out for the 2-hour trek north to Milwaukee, and the same distance back after the gig. But it’s nice to have a base during the day and not have to be switching rooms, and logistics for the other nights aren’t nearly as painful.

The drive to Milwaukee was surprisingly smooth through the western suburbs of Chicago in rush hour. I listened to Eddie Trunk interview the dude from Stryper and saw the Chicago skyline in the distance to the east. I crossed into Wisconsin and past Mars Cheese Castle, and eventually into the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis. It’s a cool little city with some great looking dive bars and some interesting nightlife. I feel like I could get into some trouble there.

My first destination was Taco John's, just a couple blocks from the venue. If you’re a regular reader, you know I am into TJs and seek them out when I’m playing near one. This was a newer one, and I had the joint to myself. Poor fella who rang me up didn’t know if he was coming or going. He didn’t have great command of the English language (or the register/order entry process) and when he asked me if I wanted Avocado-Ranch for my Potato Oles, I logically assumed it was a single, included dip, not two separate sides – guacamole AND ranch – that I’d be charged separately for. Anyhow, my $9 combo came out to $15 and he forgot to add the bean burrito (best fast-food bean burrito on the market, not up for debate) so it was another $2.44 on top of that. Whatever, I just rolled with it and didn’t wanna get into his shit, he’s just trying to get through his shift and go play Xbox with his girlfriend and was doing his best. So anyhow, I am ALL IN on their fiesta tacos, which are reminiscent of the long-gone steak soft tacos at Taco Bell, and they are amazing. Highly recommended. The nachos and trad tacos, not so much. Also, yeah Tommy, I will acquiesce: the potato oles are great!

A short jaunt around the block and I pulled into Ope Brewing Co. It’s a big place with a nice patio, lots of areas for sitting, drinking, and socializing, and a big stage on one side. There were a decent number of people there, and most had dogs with them. I thought it was a special “bring your dog to the brewpub” event, but nope, that’s just the way they roll here. It was great, and I passed around some scratches and made some new friends while I loaded in and set up.

These brewery gigs are so different. Sometimes they barely know you’re coming and just shrug and tell you to set up in the corner, but other times, like this, it’s a legit venue with pro sound and production, a real sound engineer, and a staff that is excited to have you. I got set up and sound-checked with the engineer (blanking on his name, sorry), grabbed a pint of their peanut stout, met one of the owners (John), and went on around 7:15. The crowd was thin, I’m not gonna sugar-coat it. There’s a lot of new snow in Milwaukee and it was freezing cold, so I knew that would affect attendance, but there were enough people engaged to keep it fun, and playing through that sound system was great, so I had a good time.

After my set I met a dude named Brian who works at some of the venues around town. We talked some Cheap Trick and stuff and agreed to stay in touch. I also chatted with the bartender (Tyler, maybe?) who spends a lot of time the UP near Marquette in the summer, so we had some things in common. I tore down, loaded out, finished that first pint I’d ordered 2 hours prior, and hit the road back to the motel.

I called TrooperGirl22 back home who was pretty close to calling it a day, and we got caught up on this and that. I passed the HARIBO plant just south of the Wisconsin/Illinois line and gave them the Jeremiah Johnson head-nod on count of the millions of their gummy bears I’ve eaten over the years. I landed back at the motel at 11:30 after driving by the adjacent White Castle with a double cheeseburger and small clam strips on my brain, but wasn’t up for the wait with 5 cars ahead of me in line. Maybe tonight. After a nightcap and an Axs documentary about Gram Parsons death and “cremation,” I crashed out around 1am.

Big thanks to John, Kyle, and everyone else at Ope! Brewing Co for having me! Everyone was super cool and I hope to come back with the band when the weather is a bit better and play that stage again!

Tonight my commute is about 75% shorter as I’ll be in Chicago playing with my Windy City brother Gary Camaro at Lizard's Liquid Lounge. He’s on at 8, I’m on at 9, then we’ll do a few together and get ya home early. Hope to see all my Chicago pals! xo