Although it was only a matter of time until this happened�you can only run a venue this prominent for so long until the city starts paying attention�this still stings. City inspectors have cracked down on the Borg Ward, the all-ages venue and arts space on 823 W. National Ave. that has become one of the most active music halls in the city. Here�s the e-mail the venue sent out: ...

It’s been nearly three months since the Echo Base Collective was shut down by the Milwaukee Police for various alcohol-related offenses. To help pay down some of the exorbitant legal fees the Echo Base’s founder incurred, tonight at 8 p.m. The Ring will host a similarly low-key bill of small local and regional acts . . .

On April 23, the Echo Base Collective prepared for what they thought would be a quiet Wednesday night of folk and performance groups. The 20 people who showed up had just heard a New York spoken word group, Batter Recharger, and were waiting to hear a Chicago band and the local group Dharma Bumz. Members of Dharma were loading equipment through a garage door on the side of the building when two police officers appeared. “I told them they should talk to Dave,” said Keith Armstrong, singer for the Dharma Bumz, referring to Dave Casillas, the organizer of Echo Base. “They said they already had and were already in the building.”

The eccentric Israeli garage/prog-rock group Monotonix, which makes no effort to hide its affinity for all things Thin Lizzy, headlines an 8 p.m. show at the Echo Base Collective with openers Call Me Lightning tonight. Largely on the strength of their wild live shows, which occasionally include pyrotechnics, the group was . . .