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Maybe it’s because I’m reading Jane Jacobs’ landmark "The Death and Life of Great American Cities." Maybe it’s because our almost-complete new office space looks straight down onto it. Onto Front Street, that is; that one short block of apparent nothingness, surrounded by the force that is the Safe House.

For a variety of reasons, then, I’ve been thinking about Front Street, which now seems so ironically named, fronting as it does onto nothing and serving as the ultimate definition of a Milwaukee "backstreet." It might, arguably, be the only "backstreet" left in the heart of the city (Market and Everett might also qualify. I’ll let the talkbackers duke that one out).

Looking down, in the photo above, there’s not much to see on Front Street. At street level it’s much the same. The eight-story building converted to the City Hall Square Apartments takes up much of the west side of the street. There’s also the building’s more recently constructed parking structure and the buildings that form the Safe House complex, up at Wells Street.

An office building takes up about a third of the east side of the block, from Wells Street south. Then there is a strip of beautiful vintage store fronts running along the rest of that side. Atop some of those buildings are patios serving folks who live above the retail space.

In the evenings, Safe House customers provide most traffic. During the day it’s delivery and service vehicles serving the Water Street businesses on the east side of the street.

Mostly, a pretty humdrum scene.

But when I look at it, I see a block adorned with hanging baskets. Artists have …

Milwaukee's Eric & Magill, who released an EP called "Two Travelers" in February, will follow it up with a second full-length record this summer.

Ryan Weber and Eric Osterman release "Night Singers" on July 23. You can hear the song, "Baggage and Clothes" now here.

"This song was written as a reflection on the sometimes-crazy nights or events I’ve had while living and working in a more remote region of Kenya," says Weber.

"Things can go from fun to I think I might die in a matter of minutes. So in this it is a reflection that really anything we’ve accomplished, how we perceive ourselves, what we might believe in, what we say, where we’ve been, what we own ... how none of this really matters when you’re just hoping for survival. And really how none of these things matter in life."

The duo's first full-length record, "All Those I Know," came out in 2011.

Due to the geographic distance between the two, making the new record wasn't easy, says Weber.

"Mixing 'Night Singers' was quite a challenge. Finding a studio was like nearly impossible. Thus, it was mixed in some three locations, a pickup truck on the Ugandan/Kenya border, on headphones in my bedroom, and a 'studio' down the back alleys of Kitale, Kenya.

"The 'studio' basically had some home stereo speakers in a cement hallway. During mixing much of my time was spent explaining what I was doing to a crew of Rastafarian rappers that were also refugees from S. Sudan. Not exactly the most ideal conditions to mix, but absolutely the strangest. "

The tracklisting for "Night Singers" is:

• What I Say
• Baggage and Clothes
• Calendars
• Épingles et Aiguilles
• Psycho
• We're the Ghosts
• All Your Dreams
• Peaks and Valleys
• Love Found
• Night Singers

With a return by Paul McCartney on tap this summer at Miller Park, the arrival of "Rockshow," is well-timed.

The film, which screens at the Bayshore iPic at 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 16, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, was filmed on the same 1975-76 U.S. tour that led to Paul McCartney & Wings’ triple-live album, "Wings Over America."

The record, which topped the charts in America in 1977, is itself getting a deluxe makeover this month.

Unlike the vinyl, however, "Rockshow," which took years to emerge, finally debuting in 1980, doesn’t appear to have any studio overdubs (though, admittedly, it’s not easy to tell). And this cut of the film has 30 songs and runs 141 minutes – restoring the original length, which was chopped for home video release – including a 12-minute interview with McCartney.

For me, "Wings Over America" was a seminal record, arriving at the height of my Beatles fixation. I played it ad infinitum (maybe ad nauseum, according to my mom), so seeing the same band playing the same songs – often in the same performances captured on the record – offers a new and unusual, but interesting, dimension.

As a drummer, I was pleased to see that Joe English used the same non-traditional open grip (left hand on the hi-hat, right hand on the snare) that served me well (or not, depending on whom you ask!).

The inclusion of a number of tunes not featuring McCartney as frontman – including Denny Laine singing "Go Now," a hit for the Moody Blues during his tenure – remind us that despite what many thought, McCartney really did view Wings as more than a solo vehicle.

But, Milwaukee, even 30-odd years ago, McCartney mixed new material with old favorites and that’s a reminder that he’ll likely do the same when he performs here on July 16. The oldies will likely overlap: "Maybe I’m Amazed," "My Love," "Yesterday."

But what was new when "Rockshow" was filmed – "Silly Love Songs," "Let Em In," "Beware My Love," etc. – are now oldies, too. Expe…

Local hard rock outfit Enemy Star has called it quits, according to guitarist and founder Paris Ortiz, who wrote in today to say the band will play two final gigs this weekend, including one at Club Anything with a special surprise guest ... one that is closely tied to an Enemy Star band member.

In a Facebook post, Ortiz and singer Kassy Gruszkowski wrote:

"It’s not very often that bands can genuinely claim to end on good terms. This is a rare occurrence, and we are very happy to say we are fortunate enough to go our separate ways with fond memories and feelings.

"We’ve had an excellent run since the fall of 2009. We put out 'Light It Up,' our first and last album. We’ve gotten great coverage in various publications both online and in print, and we had the opportunity to play on Fox 6 Wake Up morning news. We’ve played tons of great gigs with many talented bands. We even started writing new tunes. Yet, things began to slow down for us and some of us got involved in other creative outlets. No complaints or anger here – we are all very proud and supportive of the accomplishments of our members, even if it means the band ends. Our main concern is seeing that everyone is happy, and sometimes that means we end up pursuing other endeavors. We have other fantastic things to look forward to and will continue to support each other as we always have.

"You’ll certainly see Paris around the music scene. He has lots of exciting plans hidden away, so don’t lose track of him. Dan (Kubinski) has practically set his bass on fire with all of his adventures with Die Kreuzen and Boy Dirt Car. Kassandra is getting swept up in theater and acting, and will continue to release music with The Mill Dogs and John Prassas. Mike (Olson), best known as the monster behind the kit of Realm … what kind of secret planning has he done, and what does he have in store for the future?

"Try not to think of this as a sad thing. We’ve celebrated our successes, and now as we depart, we …