Can't believe it's been 20 years!

One of the primary reasons for my trip to CT this week was to attend my 20-year high school reunion. I was unable to attend the 10-year due to military commitments. I remember writing a letter back then to the committee wishing everyone the very best. I found out this weekend that they actually read my letter at the reunion. Here's a ten-year-old Thank You for that!

A few of my friends and coworkers in WI had told me that their 20th was the most fun of all the previous reunions. You figure after twenty years that most everyone has settled down in their lives and have put away the cattiness, the jealousy, and the prejudice. They were right. Even though I had not attended any previous reunions, I wasn't going to miss this one...and I'm glad that I didn't! I had such an awesome time reconnecting and talking with everyone who was there. I'm pretty sure I got to every one too. If I missed anyone, call me and we'll talk.

I had an absolutely great time!! I was in awe! The location was breathtaking. It was held at Tyrone Farm, a 160 acre country estate that was established in 1749. Gorgeous views of the area! I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about everyone's life travels, what they are up to, and how they got there. I had no idea we had so many teachers in our class. There were so many, they could have staffed an entire school themselves. Thank you to them! Teachers often have thankless jobs, so Thank you. You are an integral part of our country's future.

Business owners, lawyers, doctors, teachers, and musicians...we've got it covered. But it really doesn't matter what you do. It only matters that you enjoy what you do and that you enjoy the people in your life. Each and every one of us at the reunion, and all the others who were not there, all traveled different paths to get to where we are today. Some realized their childhood dreams. Others realized dreams they created later in life. And some are still working on it. Put me in that category. I'm not there yet. I'm not even sure what my dream is. I have learned a lot of life lessons over the years. I've learned to appreciate friends and friendships while you have them, because you never know how long it will last. I've learned, and still trying, to appreciate life. I don't care much what I do in life, only that I am happy living it.

To all of my classmates ~ Time may have passed...Our paths may not have crossed in twenty years...but we will ALWAYS remain connected by the years we spent together growing up in a small town. You are all AMAZING people! I love you all!

Here are some pictures from my time in CT 

Great times with family and friends!

This trip to CT has been nothing short of a great time so far for me. Arrived last Thursday and spent a couple hours with a friend and his wife. Friday was a little more relaxed. I visited my 94 year old grandfather and had a couple of beers with him. Took him a few minutes to remember who I was, but he did. He still loves to tell his stories about Pearl Harbor and his Hawaiian girlfriends. I took a nostalgic drive around the neighboring towns and areas that I grew up in. So much has changed. So many great memories though. Visited another friend Friday night that lived just down the street from my parents house. This is a funny story about how much I have really forgotten around here as far as roads and how to get around. I asked my friend where she lived. She said "Cleveland street." I told her that I didn't know where that was. So she asked me where I was. I told her "my parents' house on Breault Street." She replies, "You jackass, I'm just around the corner, you can walk." I laughed really hard at that.

Saturday there was a big family party at my cousin's house. Just about everyone was there. One glaring exception was my brother, who is in Iraq at the moment. "Brother, I had a couple beers for you!" The party was a celebration of my twin aunt's 60th birthday, my cousin's 40th birthday, and her daughter's 18th birthday and high school graduation. It was really great seeing everyone again. Was hotter than two squirrels doing it in a wool sock though. Beer was cold.  Grandpa was there, but the heat got to him and we had to take him home. I definitely got a firsthand experience in geriatric care. Thank you to everyone for a great time!!!!

Saturday night I met up with some classmates at a restaurant that I used to work at in high school, Someplace Special. They recently remodeled it and it looks amazing. One of the guys who worked there with me in high school now runs it. Had a few beers. Reminisced. Caught up with each other. Then we headed to the Lake Tavern to see Copperhead perform. I'm friends with the drummer and his wife, whom I graduated with. That was a lot of fun.

The fun doesn't stop there though. Today is my 20-year high school reunion and the main reason for this particular trip to CT. It is going to be so cool seeing everyone again. Stay tuned for pictures, they are coming.

You can go back, but things may not be the same

It's been twenty years since I've lived in CT. Sure I've visited here and there over the years. Seems like every time I come back, something has changed. I remember the heart of Putnam, CT being the K-Mart shopping plaza, a strip mall of sorts. A few restaurants here and there...Center Pizza, Athens, Someplace Special, PJ's Donuts, Ma Frosty's and a few other mom & pop places. Then the antique stores started popping up all over downtown Putnam, which was good because it brought a lot of visitors to Putnam. Putnam is now an antique shopping hot zone.  I can remember in the early 90's when they built the first McDonalds in Putnam on Route 44. At about the same time they built the Walmart that is across the street from it. Putnam now has a lot of thriving stores and the development has done wonders for the city. When I was growing up, there wasn't anything for kids to do. Most of the places to shop were in other towns or in MA or RI. I barely recognize anything. I have forgotten more since I left twenty years ago than I remember. I used to know these roads through Putnam, Thompson, Danielson, etc., like the back of my hand. Last night I had to ask my parents how to get to the Raceway Lounge at the Thompson Speedway. Of course, as I drove there, it all started slowly coming back. 

It was great meeting up with Scott and his wife last night. Rehashed some old memories, told some new stories, and just caught up with each other. Things have changed and the people have changed along with them. I suppose that's what we are supposed to do, right?  But my last memories of Scott and all of my longtime friends that I will run into during my stay here are all twenty years old. We've all grown up (at least I hope we have). We've gone to the winds after high school graduation. We've taken different paths to build the lives that we now enjoy. Some have come back to settle down in northeastern Connecticut, in the area we grew up in. Some have moved to other states. No matter what route we took. No matter what our status is. No matter where we live or what we do for a living. We will always be connected by the great years spent together growing up. 

This weekend, many of my fellow classmates will meet for our 20-year high school reunion. Many have seen each other often over the years. I will be seeing most for the first time since graduation. I am very excited about seeing everyone again...at least those that can make it. This is going to be a blast!

Heading Back East

Summerfest may be over, but that doesn't mean the fun stops. Summer is full of all kinds of activities, events, and festivals here in Milwaukee. Last Friday, I checked out Bastille Days for the first time. Bastille Days is North America's largest outdoor French themed festival held in downtown Milwaukee. Other than watching a contortionist fold himself up and fit himself into a small acrylic box, I wasn't impressed at all. In my opinion, it's a festival geared toward women. Most of the vendors were selling handbags and/or dresses. What about the French food?  Well...what about it?  Anyways, that was just one evening in between significant events in my Summer of fun.

But this weekend I travel to my home town of Putnam, CT for an extended weekend stay.  The big event this weekend is my 20-year high school reunion. This should be really interesting as I haven't seen most of my classmates since graduation. The most interaction I have had with my fellow classmates has been on Facebook. After graduation, I attended the University of Connecticut for two years. I joined the Marine Corps in 1993 and haven't been back to CT for any longer than a few days at any one time. Facebook has enabled me to reconnect with a lot of the people I went to high school with. People change over the course of time. We all grow up, in one way, shape, or form. After high school graduation, it seemed as though everyone went to the winds. I guess after college, a lot of my classmates moved back to, or near, our home town of Putnam. Others never went back, including me. Now, twenty years later, I will get to see many of them in person. 

Summerfest 2010 - The Rankings

As I've previously mentioned, my friends and I normally do some sort of post-Summerfest ranking of the bands that we saw. Mark decided to 'be like Mike' and blogged his rankings (there's a link to his blog from this blog). Chad emailed his minuscule rankings for the last weekend. Joe decided to update his rankings as each day passed, but I think he forgot his final rankings. So where are mine?, you ask. I actually have a hard time ranking all of the bands that I see, mainly because they are from different genres and I listen to and enjoy them differently (or not at all). For example, it's difficult for me to compare the Scorpions to the Silversun Pickups.

Well, in what is becoming traditional Mike-fashion, I am doing something just a little bit different this year. I am NOT going to rank all 34 bands that I saw. You've read my daily recap for each of the bands that I saw. I thought I would try something a little more fun this year and award my first-ever Summerfest Superlatives. You remember those, don't you?  From high school? Well, here they are:

BIGGEST DISASTER
12 Stones - In 2009 they spent a majority of their 6:30 performance yelling at the crowd, telling us how to cheer. In 2010, they didn't bother to show up. Probably a blessing in disguise.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT
The Last Vegas - I had touted this band as my 'must see' of Summerfest 2010 based on their album, which I like. Turns out they are a band that is better on cd than in reality. Go back to the 80's.

BAND THAT PISSED ME OFF THE MOST
Beatallica - Seriously, this band angered me. I love the Beatles and I love Metallica. Mixing them together was a musical travesty.

UTTERLY FORGETTABLE
Terrible Things - Band name says it all
Shorelines End
The Blakes
Niki Barr Band - Except for the 7-foot tall bass player

BUCKETLIST BANDS (SAW AND NEVER NEED TO SEE AGAIN)
311 - Just not into, nor greatly familiar with their music. Glad I got to see them
Flyleaf - Another good show, but didn't do much for me

BANDS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD SEE
Lovehammers - I finally saw their complete show and was not disappointed. I would definitely see them again
Pepper - Opened for 311. Lot of energy and lots of fun
Here Come The Mummies - Even if only for the costumes, props, and hilarious lyrics

BANDS WITH MOST POTENTIAL

Paper Tongues - Great album. Great live performance

Cinder Road - Good sound. Good luck

American Motherload - Good heavy rock band

BIGGEST SURPRISE and BEST PERFORMANCE

Skillet - They are the biggest surprise because, well, Mark and I were not prepared. We did not have nor listened to any of their newer material (older stuff isn't that good). They also get the top award, beating out every band I saw at Summerfest to date. Never have I seen such a tremendous stage show on one of the free stages - smoke, flames, fireworks, lights, banner, elevators, energy, and a HOT FEMALE DRUMMER!! I'm a Skillet fan now!

Okay, maybe a quick Top 5...

TOP 5
5.  Hawthorne Heights
4.  Red
3.  The Offspring
2.  Papa Roach
1.  Skillet

BEST OF THE REST
Chevelle
Scorpions
Lovehammers

But wait, I did promise you pictures, right?  If you are my friend on Facebook, you have already seen these. For the benefit of those who are not, check them out.

PARTING SHOTS

There is a definite correlation between how much you enjoy a concert and how close you are to the stage. I will absolutely make a better effort to get closer seats for all future shows. Showing up last minute is not acceptable. Also, taking pictures at concerts can be difficult, especially in the evening and when the bands have back lighting or use a lot of red lights. I take a lot of pictures just to get a few good ones. I'll get better. I'm working on it.

Summerfest 2010 - That's a Wrap!

That's a wrap people! Summerfest 2010 is officially over! As I mentioned in my previous post, it definitely is bittersweet. Summerfest is such a great time! Live music. Cold beer. Good food. Great friends...and Memorable times!!!

11 Days and 34 bands later, I have completed what I set out to do. To those who said I couldn't do it, or wouldn't do it..."How You Like Me Now?"

These last 11 days have been so amazingly fun! Always a great time! I have such a passion for music and a love for live music that Summerfest has been like my mecca ~ an annual pilgrimage to a place that feeds my heart and soul and allows me to escape reality and recharge my mind.

I have to give a hearty Thank You to the crew of awesome friends, and friends of friends, I had the opportunity to share in this experience with...THANK YOU to Mark and Pam, Hillary, Dusty, Heather, Chad, Joe and Jaime, Nicki, Rick, Kevin and Amy, Angie, and Mark. Also a Thank You to some new friends I made...Pam, Melissa, Joe, and Carla.

Some notes from the last 11 days that may or may not have made it to any blog entries:

• Good to see the bands and stages using more banners, lights, and effects than in years past
• U.S. Cellular Stage - Based on the sound of Silversun Pickups last night, Chevelle might have just sucked...though I do think they need to upgrade that sound system
• Did not hear Todd Rungren's Bang The Drum All Day ("I don't want to work, I want to bang on the drum all day")...It was always a fun way to end the night.
• It was a year for HOT female rockers, but maybe I just paid more attention this year. Skillet's drummer, Jen Ledger, is smokin' hot!  
• Being up close is so much better
• Guitar picks are cool, but only if they have the band's name/logo on them
• Only one round of golf this year for me
• The "streak" is over, Barry - I kept it going as long as I could. It was a valiant effort though and fun
• High Fives are FREE

I believe I mentioned in the beginning that my friends and I do post-Summerfest ranking of the bands that we saw. I highly doubt that I will do a traditional ranking based on the number of bands I saw, but I may do a Top 5/Bottom 5. I may also do something a little different. My friends know that I've added something new just about every year. It started when I did my first Summerfest Review w/Pictures. It's grown since then and now I have this blog. Stay tuned for the rankings. Pictures are coming. Today is my day to relax.

Once again, Thank You to those who shared in the Summerfest experience with me and Thank You to those who followed along by reading this blog.

354 days until Summerfest 2011!!!

Summerfest 2010 - Day 11, Sunday, July 4

What better way to celebrate Independence Day than to spend it at Summerfest listening to great music? Day 11 was bittersweet. Bitter because it was the last day of Summerfest 2010. Sweet because I had accomplished what I set out to do, "run the gauntlet"...attend all 11 days of Summerfest.

As you might imagine, the last day, for me anyways, was more relaxed than previous. Arrived about 6:00pm. Headed over to Major Goolsby's for a great cheeseburger, stopping at the Summerfest Store along the way. No purchases this year. I already got my Summerfest tshirt and bought a sweatshirt on one of the cooler nights.

Made my way over to the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage and claimed a seat on the bleachers. 6:45/7:00pm The Henry Clay People took the stage. They are part of the Emerging Artists Series. Played a couple of original songs then took requests from the audience. They refused to play Freebird though...HAHAHA! They played Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World instead. I think it's a sign of a pretty good band that can play pretty much any song on demand like that.  They were good.

After toiling whether or not I would go to THECOOLTV Rock Stage to see Sick Puppies, who I saw at the Big Snow Show back in December 2009, I decided to stay where I was and check out Against Me! for the first time. I think I made a good decision. I wasn't very familiar with Against Me!, only knew a few of their songs. Thought they were really good. Kind of a punk band the likes of Rancid or Dropkick Murphys. Well, that's the best comparison I can make at this time. Really good show. Good decision on my part. Another band checked off the list.

The 10:00pm band was Silversun Pickups. Saw them at Summerfest back in 2007 as an 8:00pm opener. I really like both of their albums, with the edge going to their newest one Swoon. Awesome show. I highly recommend seeing them live if you like their music. Solid show. The female bass player looked like she had been plucked off the streets as she was wearing some kind of flowery sun dress. Looked odd. The drummer is fun to watch. Seems to make the same head banging motions the entire time. The singer could definitely jam on the guitar. After playing Lazy Eye, I left to check out the end of Halestorm at THECOOLTV Rock Stage.  My friend dumped it trying to cross the bleachers. Saw them play I Get Off then we headed for the exits.

A great ending!

Summerfest 2010 - Day 10, Saturday, July 3

After attending the first nine days of Summerfest and making it to the last weekend, it's really all downhill from here. Day 10 was much more relaxing than previous days. The crew I was hanging with dwindled to three. Summerfest still rocked on though.

Headed down to the grounds after dropping a couple friends off at the airport. For the first time I actually walked past the Harley-Davidson stage to the south side of the park. Saw the new Saz restaurant and the new layout for the M&I Classic Rock stage.  Lot more space with the new setup. Only about 5:00pm and people are already lining up for the fireworks.

First stop was JoJo's Martini Lounge for a couple of martinis. Always a great place to relax and enjoy a drink or two.

Continued walking around, past the Briggs & Stratton stage, a stage I have NEVER been to. Then a new, small, very small stage...Cascio Interstate Music Groove Stage. Enough bleachers for about 100 people maybe. Seemed like it was a stage for bands that are just starting out...garage bands. Moving on...

Over to the Miller Lite Oasis to check out Here Come the Mummies. SO glad we stopped by! These guys were dressed as mummies and their songs were HILARIOUS!!  Lots of sexual innuendos and funny costumes and props. With song titles like Libido Knievel, Horizontal Mambo, Boom Boom Room, and Attack of the Weiner Man. Definitely haven't seen anything like that before.  I'm going to try to get their songs. I got my picture taken with one of the mummies.  Pictures coming soon, promise.  Though I did make a huge mistake by forgetting my camera at the house this day. Had to rely on my cell phone and other people's pictures.

Somewhere around 7:30pm, settled in at THECOOLTV Rock Stage waiting for Framing Hanley. Newer band and wasn't sure what to expect. Album I listened to was decent. Live performance not so much. Their look didn't match their sound. They have more of a rock sound, but an emo look, like Fall Out Boy. Listened to about four songs and left.

Fireworks started after 9:00pm...not sure of the exact time.  Fireworks are fireworks and they are always cool. These were no different. Before the fireworks, an Army veteran who had just returned from Iraq had sung the National Anthem at the M&I Classic Rock Stage.

Made it through the massive crowds back to THECOOLTV Rock Stage in time for the band that I was there to see, Flyleaf. Saw Flyleaf at Summerfest back in 2007 when they were an 8:00pm act. Headliners this year. They were a great show then and I thought they were better this year. Guess you should expect bands to get better after time. I normally don't care for rock bands with female lead singers, but Flyleaf is an exception. Love the energy! Singer belts out the lyrics and twirled. Lead guitarist kept zipping back and forth across the stage. The bass player was climbing and jumping off of speakers and amps all night long.  Then the other guitarist just stood there on the right side of the stage.  Great energy!  Great show!

Today is Day 11, the last day of Summerfest.  Not going today would be like running a marathon and stopping at mile 20. Two bands on tap for tonight, Sick Puppies at 8:00pm and Silversun Pickups at 10:00pm.  Different stages so not sure how it will work. If the crowd is as insane as it has been, just may skip the Sick Puppies and catch Against Me, who are on the same stage as Silversun Pickups.

One more day! One more day!

Summerfest 2010 - Day 9, Friday, July 2

The ninth day of Summerfest is brought to you by Lakefront's Monkey Wheat Ale and Wong's Wok. Well, that's what I had for dinner last night anyways. Beautiful weather and another fantastic day at Summerfest. Lazy day before going down to the grounds. A few rounds of frolf (backyard frisbee golf) and a few beers. Arrived about 7:00pm I believe and the stage was once again insanely packed with people. I had anticipated the Scorpions to be a huge draw for fans based on their popularity, longevity, and this is their farewell tour. Found some seats in the back just in front of the sound tower. 

The warm up band was a cover band called Johnny Wad. They were okay but not as good as The Barbeez from Thursday. Definitely an older crowd tonight. We took turns going to eat. This is where things took a little different of a turn. When I left to eat, I went to Wong's Wok as mentioned. Then I walked around a little bit. It was about 8:00pm so I walked over to the U.S. Cellular Stage to try to see/listen to The Heavy.  They sing the song called How You Like Me Now which is featured in a Kia commercial.  That stage was insanely packed too.  Didn't stay very long there. I walked around some more and then made my way back to the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse.  Guess I shouldn't have left because I could barely move. Closest I actually got to where my friends were sitting was about 50 yards to the left. No worries.

The Scorpions put on a great show! They played all of their classic hits - Holiday, The Zoo, Bad Boys Running Wild, and my personal favorite Big City Nights. Their encore songs were No One Like You, Winds of Change, and Rock You Like a Hurricane. They didn't move around stage like they did when I saw them back in 1988, but they were good. Fulfilled my retro requirement for Summerfest.  Usually see at least one older band.

Let me tell you about something interesting. Let me tell you about the shirt I was wearing. I was wearing a shirt with the word "GIVE" on it. The GIVE shirt was created by a friend of a friend to try to spread the word about giving to others without asking for anything in return...the emphasis is on others and not yourself. I encourage you to check out the website at www.thegiveshirt.com. All proceeds from the sale of this shirt are given to charity. So, as I was saying, I was wearing my GIVE shirt last night and it garnered attention that I hadn't expected. Several people asked me about the shirt and I got into some interesting conversations about giving. This one woman came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and asked me "What if I asked you to give me your shirt?." Hahahaha. I wasn't expecting that. Kind of caught me at a loss for words. Then she asked me about switching shirts, but I told her that I wouldn't look good in ruffly shirts. 

Today is Day 10. My Summerfest crew is dwindling. Just me and one other guy heading down tonight. Though I'm sure that thousands of my other friends will be there. Tonight I see Framing Hanley and Flyleaf at THECOOLTV Rock Stage.

Thanks for reading!!

Summerfest 2010 - Day 8, Thursday, July 1

Eight days into my quest to 'run the gauntlet' and the end is just around the corner. Last night brought me and my friends to a different stage, the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse. I hadn't been at this stage yet this year. This is probably the newest stage and second largest (as far as crowd capacity). The Miller Lite Oasis is by far the largest in terms of number of people. The sound quality at this stage is far superior to the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage, which is probably the oldest stage and in the most need of an upgrade.

Got to the stage at about 6:00pm. The Barbeez were playing. They are a cover band and played songs from Journey, Styx, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Metallica.  Cover bands always make for good background music and the occasional sing-a-long to an oldie. The group of guys to my left were obvious fans of the wacky weed and had a joint that rivaled Cheech & Chong. Hilarious! Funny to watch the 'scouts' too. Scouts are the lone people who walk up and down the rows to try to find open spots to sit.  Keep moving. Another group of five guys were seen playing some weird game that was quite disturbing. All five were grabbing each other in the junk...some odd nut-grabbing game. Why?!  See what I mean? You see ALL kinds of things at Summerfest!

On the paper schedule, the 8:00pm band was TBA.  Not really sure I like TBA, but they didn't show up anyways. In their place was a brand new band called Terrible Things.  Foreshadowing of what was to come? Perhaps. The drummer was from the band Coheed and Cambria. The singer was from the band Taking Back Sunday...I had been wondering why I hadn't heard anything from them in a while. Now I know. Turns out it was a foreshadowing. They were terrible. How many bands do you know that write a song about their own band name? Their first song was called Terrible Things.  Good luck guys!

Terrible Things didn't play long at all and finished about 8:30. A sad half-hour set.  That left us an hour and a half wait for the main event...The Offspring!  The Offspring made their second consecutive Summerfest appearance, having played the Miller Lite Oasis last year. Crowd was insane then and it was once again insane last night. One of the guys was taking bets on what song they would open with. I didn't join in, but my suggestion was spot on. They opened with You're Gonna Go Far, Kid. Minus the on-stage theatrics they had last year, another solid show!! A lot of their favorites were played and even a couple I wasn't familiar with. The Offspring is awesome!!

Guess I didn't mention that the last couple of days we got our very own Rock Band back together. The name changed to Burnt Jelly, but we definitely rocked the house. Last night was no exception. Returned from SF and rocked to some classics of our own. Played guitar on Wednesday. On vocals for a bit last night. Rock on!!

A quick message to my friend Barry in Phoenix - The streak is in jeopardy! Only 3 days left.

Today is Day 9 and tonight I see a band that I last saw on September 13, 1988 (nearly 22 years ago. Crazy that I remember that?). Tonight it is time to enjoy some Big City Nights as we Rock You Like a Hurricane...SCORPIONS! This is their farewell tour.

Summerfest - More than just music

For the last seven or eight days, I've been writing about Summerfest and the many bands I've seen. But there is more to Summerfest than just music. There are shops. There are vendors selling all kinds of things from artwork to clothing and jewelry to home improvement products. Each of the branches of the military are represented. And the food...did I mention the food?  I know I previously mentioned that I hadn't sampled much of the food, but I have now.  The food is plentiful and delicious!  Of course, being in the Brew City, the beer is plentiful as well. Miller is obviously a huge sponsor, but other Wisconsin breweries are also on the grounds - Leinenkugel, Lakefront to name a couple.  All good. I actually prefer the microbrews to Miller.

With all the people at Summerfest, the people watching is fantastic. You can see people from all walks of life. Some wearing things that would make a priest blush. Others wearing clothes they definitely should not be wearing in public. White guys with afros. Eight in multi-colored mohawks. Emo haricuts.  And MULLETS everywhere. Could fill up an entire photo album with pictures of outstanding mullets. The bands aren't excluded. The lead singer from Paper Tongues had a 'jheri curl' mullet. The singer for Neon Trees had a mohawk mullet. Sweet!

This year we have been noticing a large contingent of 'douchebags'.  Well, of course d-bags are everywhere. There was a big d-bag in front of us at 311 last Friday, dancing like a tool and raising his fist and elbow to his girlfriend's face. They really are everywhere, we just really started to pay more attention to this breed of Summerfest goer. So much so, that we've thought about putting together a photo collection of 'Douchebags and Mullets'. Might not do that until next year, but we got a good start this year. Some real classics.

The women wear some of the craziest clothes, from short-short-shorts to 6 inch stilletos. Mini sun dresses are very common. Lots of examples of what not to wear. There are those who can pull of the short dresses and small boobilicious tank tops and there are those who should just cover up. One wrong move and they are coming out! There was one girl in a short sun dress the other night. She sat in the row in front of me. She was fairly well endowed and proceeded to pull not 1...not 2...but 5 little nip bottles of vodka from her cleavage. That's talent.  Wonder what else she had in there? Then she stuck two of them in her bra...one on each side. Yes, I got a picture of that.

Some people even showcased other hidden talents too. Such as the group of guys who built about a 6-foot tower of beer cups on the bench. Very nice! Got a picture of that too.

So there are hot girls and not-so hot girls, douchebags and tools, young people and old people, bikers and college students, good looking people and those missing teeth.  All kinds of people from all walks of life. Great for people watching.

Pictures? You are probably wondering where all the pictures are, aren't you? I have been taking pictures every day. I just haven't had the chance to post any of them yet. I will upload them to Facebook. Patience please.

Summerfest 2010 - Day 7, Wednesday, June 30

Greetings everyone. My quest to "run the gauntlet" is becoming more clear as each day passes. Last night was Day 7 of 11 days of the World's Largest Music Festival. I had free tickets, but needed to be at the grounds by 4:00pm. Got there at 4:07 and got in just fine. Cutting it close though. Head over to the U.S. Cellular Stage to claim 3rd row seats. A bit early but camping out at a stage and listening to band after band after band is always a good time...except when the bands aren't that good.

Now the U.S. Cellular Stage sponsors the Emerging Artists Series between 3 and 7pm. This series focuses on new bands trying to make a name for themselves. Some are really good, while others are not. Arriving at 4pm, we saw three bands from the Emerging Artists Series.

As we arrived at 4:15pm, we saw The Blakes. Now, to be honest with you, I don't remember much from this three-piece act, except that the drummer looked like a spaz. Looked like he was trying way too hard. Possibly due to lack of upper body strength or talent...or both.

Next up at 5:30pm was Shorelines End. Again, not a whole lot to remember. Weren't that good and only played a 30 minute set.

Right around 7:00pm, the last of the Emerging Artists for this day took the stage, Cinder Road. This band had promise. I heard a song or two from them. Had a decent rock sound. Lead singer reminded me of Chris Robinson from the Black Crowes. The band, as a whole, reminded me of the surfers from the movie Point Break, except these guys were a band and not bank robbers. The bassist actually looked like Turtle from the movie North Shore.  With all these comparisons and no talk about their music, you get the hint that they weren't high on my list...but better than the previous 2 bands.

The 8:00pm band was The Nikki Barr band.  Can you say TERRIBLE.  Female lead singer who couldn't really sing. She spent some time talking about how "rock music has gotten too much pussified" and other sexual references. Next!

10:00pm brought on one of my favorite bands...Chevelle! These guys have never failed to put on a great show! Saw them and met them at Summerfest in 2007. Saw them again within the last year with Buckcherry at The Rave.  Great show!!  Sound quality was lackluster as the vocals were again drowned out by the rest of the band...BUT I don't put that against Chevelle...the sound at the U.S. Cellular Stage has been weak all weak long. They should definitely invest in some upgrades. Music was killer. Performance was awesome! Bass rocked it hard!!!!

Today is Day 8. Started with golf at Silver Spring Country Club.  Tonight...The Offspring.

Rock on!!!!