Summerfest 2010 - Day 6, Tuesday, June 29

Greetings followers, readers, and fellow Rock fans!! More than halfway through Summerfest now. Day 6 is in the books. Great day. Beautiful weather...though a bit on the cool side again and because of that I am now the proud owner of a new Leinenkugel's sweatshirt. Should serve me well.

The day began with 18 holes of golf at Fairways of Woodside in Sussex, WI.  This is a beautiful course. Tee time was at 10:00am. Clubhouse paired us up with another couple of guys but had us playing behind four older ladies. Holy cow!! Their farthest drive off the tee was 20 yards.  Going to be a long day...UGH. Change of plans...going off the the first tee (Clubhouse had everyone starting off the 10th).  Play was steady and good.  Solid play on the front 9 shooting 45. Back 9 turned out to be a lot more difficult ending up with a 50. Nearly didn't make the turn as one of the greens keepers lost a finger in a tragic lawnmower accident. This perplexed us though...Isn't there a warning sticker on mowers that tells you not to put your hand in there?

On with the shows...

Arrival at Summerfest about 6:30pm and straight to THECOOLTV Rock Stage. Settled in about 8 rows back from center. I did have food there. It was a delicious chicken parmesan sandwich, but couldn't tel you the name of the restaurant/booth I got it from.  I'll try to pay more attention next time. Again, beer was flowing nicely. Little Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat and some Miller Lite.

First band to perform was Some Hear Explosions. Supposed to start at 6:30pm, but was closer to 7pm. Three piece band with a female lead singer. Apparently she is originally from Wisconsin but now calls Los Angeles home. Her mom or aunt was sitting behind us. Said she was also in Papa Roach video for their song Hollywood Whore. Sat through, somewhat painfully, the first three songs before going for a walk to get my previously mentioned chicken parmesan sandwich and Leinenkugel's sweatshirt...and a beer. Lead singer was cute, which may have elevated their rankings just a tad, but the music wasn't that good. She was also the reason for my Facebook status' last night..."This next song is about f#*king."  Their last song was the best song. :-)

Some time after 8:00pm, The Last Vegas took the stage. These guys had been my "must see" band of this year's Summerfest. Mostly because I really like their album. They were pretty good live. They kind of remind me of an 80's hair band, minus the make up. Maybe L.A. Guns? They also have that 80's sound which is pretty cool. Volume on the vocals was low. The lead singer's voice was drowned out by the band a little. Overall a good show.

Met a new friend, sort of. Some really drunk kid who kept buying me beer.

The headliner for Tuesday, June 29 was Papa 'freakin' Roach. Saw them last at Summerfest in 2007. A great show then and another awesome show last night!! Outstanding!!!  Kicked azz and rocked out on most all of my favorites including Getting Away With Murder, Lifeline, Forever, Last Resort, and Kick in the Teeth. Papa Roach never fails to deliver a high energy show!!

Today is Day 7 and the headliner tonight is Chevelle. Always a great concert. Today is also the World's Largest Happy Hour between 5:00pm and 7:00pm.

Raise your glasses!  Cheers!

Summerfest 2010 - Day 5, Monday, June 28

Day 5 is in the books and another great night at Summerfest. Well, what would you expect anyways?! Great music, great beer, and thousands of your closest friends. What's not to like about that?! Someone suggested that I write about the food there too. Well, I really haven't sampled any of the food from the many great places to eat at Summerfest. We've barbecued and eaten before going down and then heading straight to the stage. I will be sure to write about the food when we do eat down there.  The beer on the other hand is cold and plentiful. Just what you would expect in Milwaukee, WI, a.k.a. "Brew City."

Weather down at the lake front was cooler and windy. Had to wear a long sleeve shirt. Certainly didn't detract from the good times to be had. Straight over to the U.S. Cellular stage to grab seats on the bleachers. Row 4 again. Heard/Saw the last one or two songs from The Alumni Club. Nothing special there. Not even paying attention to them. Thought the lead singer looked like Jani Lane of Warrant. When my friends and I review bands, we have  rule that we have to hear/listen to at least three songs to consider them for the post-Summerfest rankings.  Yes, each of us rank the bands we saw from worst to best. My rankings this year will be a lot longer than in years past.

The 8:00pm band was New Medicine. I had nothing to go on these guys. Never heard any of their music. Went in blind and deaf to this one, because we were mainly there to see the headliner. New Medicine was pretty good though. Not good enough to make me want to buy their album, but didn't put me to sleep either. Did a cover of John Fogerty's Fortunate Son.

10:00pm rolls around and the main event for this stage comes on stage...Hawthorne Heights. These guys are an alternative/punk/rock/screamo kind of band. I have all their albums and really like them. Their last two albums not as great as the first two. However, the live performance of the songs from those albums turned out to be much better! Played all of my favorites, including Ohio Is For Lovers. The only major drawback was their incessant self-promotion in between each song...asking the crowd to buy their cd and a tshirt. Though they did say the high fives were free. Other than that, a great show.

Hawthorne Heights ended at about 11:00pm, yet other stages were still rockin'. So we headed over the THECOOLTV Rock Stage to catch the end of Saliva.  Pleasant surprise as we weren't really expecting to see them at all.  But, hey, why not?!  Caught the last three songs of their set... Ladies and Gentlemen, Always, and Your Disease. Sorry, I'm still not impressed with Saliva. Somewhere along the way they got really soft, but those three songs are probably three of their best.

Today is Day 6 for me. Golfed 18 holes today. Beautiful day for golf. Tonight's lineup consist of the one band at Summerfest 2010 that I want to see most, The Last Vegas at 8:00pm and Papa Roach at 10:00pm.

Rock on!!

Summerfest 2010 - Day 4, Sunday, June 27

As the quest continues, Day 4 brought a different genre of music - alternative/pop/rock/funk - a definite change of gears from previous days, but a welcome change. Rain earlier in the day brought in some humidity, but a cold beer always helps keep you cool. Tonight's beer of choice was Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat.

Arrived at the Summerfest grounds about 6:00pm. Settled in row 4 just right of center for the night's festivities. On tap was three very new alternative bands - Civil Twilight, Paper Tongues, and Neon Trees - each with only one album released.

Civil Twilight was just a three piece band from South Africa. They have had some of their songs featured on TV shows such as One Tree Hill and House. Probably their most popular song is Letters From The Sky which was featured on One Tree Hill. Good 6:30ish warm up for the night.

The 8:00pm act was the band that I wanted to see most this night, Paper Tongues. I really liked their album. Good stuff. I do recommend checking them out. Lot of guys on stage...drummer, 2 keyboardists, bass player, 2 guitarists, and a singer/rapper. Paper Tongues performed with a lot of energy. Excellent show. Everyone dancing and singing along. Felt bad for one of the guitarist who was fixing his guitar for the first three songs. Paper Tongues didn't miss a beat though.

10:00pm headliner was Neon Trees. Now I didn't like their album as much as Paper Tongues, but they made up for it with a powerful, energetic concert. Lead singer had on some weird white jumpsuit with neon lights wrapped around the arms. Love the mohawk-mullet too! Another female drummer. Have I mentioned that female drummers are Hot?!! Day 4 was successful. Did not disappoint.

Day 5 will bring on Hawthorne Heights, an alternative rock scream-o band.

Summerfest 2010 - Day 3, Saturday, June 26

Greetings music fans! It's been a great Summerfest so far and I expected nothing less from Day 3. As mentioned in my post from yesterday, Day 3's lineup was supposed to consist of 12 Stones, Red, and Skillet. I've seen 12 Stones at Summerfest in 2008. While I thought their albums were good, their live performance was less than stellar. Here is my review of them from 2008:

"Ahhhhhh come on! So much promise. I really liked their album and was looking forward to this show. But, alas, I was disappointed. Why did the leader singer have to be such a dweeb? Completely ruined it for me. Spent more time telling the crowd how to cheer. Shut up and sing!"

Needless to say, we weren't expecting much from them and were hoping to heckle them a little. But alas, that was not to be. 12 Stones cancelled. Put them on the list of bands that I never need to see again. So they got a band that had just finished at another stage to come and play again on THECOOLTV Rock Stage. The band was called The London Soul. They had a classic rock, funk sound to them. They were good. Hey, they got paid twice.

Probably the band I was there to primarily see was up next at 8:00pm...Red. I've seen Red in 2007 and 2008 and they never disappoint. Their two albums rock! Great show!! Music was great! Stage performance was awesome! They did play most of my favorite songs from them. For those who don't know them, the bass player and lead guitarist are twins. The were throwing their guitars around and spinning them around. The drummer did a very cool drum solo that was different than most. He drummed to popular songs from the Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, Dr. Dre, and Eminem. Was very cool! Then they started jamming some AC/DC...Back in Black, You Shook Me All Night Long. Red finished strong and once again did NOT disappoint!

Headlining Day 3 at 10:00pm was a band that, I have to admit, I wasn't too high on...Skillet. Had listened to some of their older stuff and wasn't that impressed, so I had no expectations. But the crowd was INSANE! Reminiscent of the crowd at The Offspring last year. So I figured I was definitely missing something that Skillet had this big of a draw. A very young crowd too as was evident when I walked through the aisle with a beer and all the kids oohing and ahhing and saying 'that looks good'. Had to laugh. Adults too, but lots of teenagers. Anyways...on to the show...and what an awesome show it was! I was very very surprised! Their performance and music kicked a$$!!! Never had I seen so much smoke, fireworks, and pyro at a side stage! And I never have seen elevators on stage at SF either! You only see that stuff at the big arena shows. Was really awesome!! Skillet has a female guitarist/keyboardist and a female drummer...both HOT!! Think I'm in love! HAHA The drummer could wail!!! Drum solo was awesome! Another guitar solo! And just what might be the first time I have ever seen a rock band have both a violin solo and a cello solo! Very cool!! Skillet even came out and did an acoustic cover of Metallica's Enter Sandman. That was awesome. Many of the young kids didn't know what was going on. Great show!!! Definitely the surprise performance so far.

But there are 8 more days to go in my quest to "run the gauntlet". Day 4 is tonight. A little change of pace tonight. I started the week with some rock n roll. Day 2 brought music with more of a reggae, rap, dub genre. Day 3 was more rock n roll. Tonight I see three new bands...Civil Twilight, Paper Tongues, and Neon Trees. I really like Paper Tongues and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing them.

Have a great day everyone. Rock on!!

Summerfest 2010 - Day 2, Friday, June 25

When the Summerfest schedule was released, I saw enough bands listed in the lineup to think this was going to be a good year. Maybe not a great year as far as bands I have not seen yet, but a good year as far as bands that I enjoy or wouldn't mind seeing again. Nevertheless, Summerfest is a great time!

Well, I had commented to some friends that I 'could go every day' and they challenged me. They said I would never go all 11 days of Summerfest. They said it couldn't be done. That was it for me...the challenge was set. I am now heading into Day 3 of "Running the Gauntlet"...all 11 days of the World's Largest Music Festival.

Friday night was Day 2. On tap was 311 at the Miller Lite Oasis Stage. We get there and the stage was jam packed with people. Reminiscent of Judas Priest and The Offspring from last year. We managed to find some seats close, but not front row like I had on Thursday.

The 8:00pm band was a band called Pepper. They are originally from Hawaii and play a mix of reggae, dub, and rock. They were really good. I enjoyed them a lot. A very entertaining and fun show.

The headliner, as mentioned, was 311. Now I wasn't sure what to expect from 311. I was hoping that their live show would be a lot better than some of their albums. I had hopes that they would surprise me. They started off good, playing upbeat songs and many of their more popular songs. This is where it went downhill for me. The drummer performed a drum solo, which was a bit long, then the other guys came out and they all joined in on the drum solo. That turned out to be cool. But then the guitarist had to do his solo. Then the bassist had to do his solo. Then they all did some sort of a jam session/instrumental. Throw in two encores, which the last one they came out and played two songs I wasn't familiar with. A less than stellar performance for my standards. I was certainly expecting a bit more. Maybe if I was more of a 311 fan I would have enjoyed it more? Who knows? As it is, I'll check the box on another band that I have seen and add them to the list of bands I do not need to see again. Pepper, on the other hand, I would see again.

Backyard frisbee golf today. Getting ready to head down for Day 3. Tonight's lineup consists of Red and Skillet.

I'll check back in tomorrow with a recap of Day 3. Rock on!!

First night of Summerfest 2010

First night of Summerfest was really good. Got in the gate about 6pm. Grabbed a cold Blue Moon and headed to THECOOLTV stage for some good rock n roll! Well lookie here...seat for me in the front row. Great seats to enjoy the shows.

First band up was American Motherload at 6:30. American Motherload is from Chicago. Apparently they had taken a couple years off since there last appearance at Summerfest in 2007. This is a really good heavy rock band. Hope they stick around. I look forward to seeing them again. Did a cover of Led Zeppelin's Communication Breakdown.

The 8:00 show as Beatallica. Now I had seen their name here and there but never had an itch to listen to them. Talking to some of the fans there to see them, they said that if you took the Beatles and Metallica and mashed them together, you get Beatallica. I thought "Interesting"..."I love the Beatles and I love Metallica, this should be interesting". Reminds me of that episode of Friends where Rachel mixes up the recipes for Shepards Pie and a Truffle and when Joey eats it, he says, "What's not to like? Meat? GOOD! Jam? GOOD!" HAHAHA.......ANYWAYS...Beatallica absolutely BLOW!!! I actually HATED them for completely screwing up my Beatles songs and my Metallica songs!! I found myself not knowing what to do. I was glad when it was over.

Opening night fireworks. Very surprised at the lack of people. More than half the bleachers were still open. I can remember opening night with Drowning Pool a couple years ago and it was packed. Oh well...I was in the front row!

Headliner was the Lovehammers. I really like this band. Some of you may remember Marty Casey (Lead singer) from the television competition Rock Star: INXS when the band was searching for its next lead singer. Lovehammers have been around for a while. They put on a great show! Marty jumped into the sparse crowd, as he usually does. Great energy! Great show!

Today is Day 2. On tap for tonight...311...or...The Gracious Few (a band comprised of members of Candlebox and Live, including Candlebox' Kevin Martin on vocals). Have to wait and see which one I see.

Stay tuned...

The Big Gig Begins Today

I moved to Wisconsin just ten years ago, but it wasn't until 2005 that I was introduced to the greatest music festival that I have ever been to, Summerfest. After serving eight years in the Marine Corps, I had forgotten just how much I loved live music. In 2005 I only went one night, but it only took that one night to get hooked.

Summerfest has become an annual event with me and my friends. A couple of us take the entire week off. We golf during the day, barbecue in the afternoon, and enjoy great music down at the lake front. Each year, the number of days I have attended has increased. Eight days last year. This year, I'm attempting to 'run the gauntlet'...all 11 days! There are plenty of good bands to see and at least one I want to see every night.

My lineup for tonight includes: American Motherload and the Lovehammers (You might remember Marty Casey from Rockstar: INXS)

So let the fun begin! Summerfest begins tonight!