Loving You Sunday Morning

What's better than one Barylski in Milwaukee?  How about two? Hahaha.  My brother arrived in "Brew City" yesterday. He got lucky in that he missed his connecting flight to Milwaukee, so was delayed about an hour and a half. He's been wanting to experience Summerfest for quite a while now and finally got his chance.  

After helping my friend Mark make some progress building a tree house, we headed down to the Summerfest grounds.  On the docket this night was none other than the Scorpions. Based on the massive crowd they drew the last time we saw them at Summerfest 2010 (I also saw them back in 1988), we knew to arrive a little earlier to the stage if we wanted to get decent seats. This was my first show at the brand new BMO Harris Pavilion and I have to say I really like the new venue. Not a bad seat in the house. The seats were all on an incline toward the stage, kind of like in the Marcus Amphitheater, but not exactly. It was more of a gentle slope.  The sound was amazing too. I will definitely look to see more concerts at this stage. Hopefully they will replace the rock stage with something like this. Great job Milwaukee World Festival, Inc.!

Upon first arriving at the stage, Animation, a Rush tribute band, was playing. I'm not a huge Rush fan, but my brother is.  They were decent though. The next band was Moxy Roxx.  Never heard of them before and maybe for good reason. They really weren't that good at all. Nearly put me to sleep albeit for a few songs that had good beats. We weren't there to see them anyways.

Right about 9:50pm, the Scorpions took the stage and proceeded to rock the house. This is their farewell tour as the band is retiring. Sure we've heard that before. Hasn't Kiss done like three farewell tours?  The Scorpions have been around since 1965 though and at age 64, lead singer Klaus Meine can still hit all the notes. What an amazing performance! They played all of my favorites including "Holiday", "Blackout", and "Big City Nights."  

With this being my brothers first time at Summerfest, I think it was successful. I'm trying to give him a good taste of Milwaukee. Summerfest, food from Saz' so far. Brunch today. Lakefront Brewery tour tomorrow. Should be a great week. 

The name of the band is...

Cowboy Mouth!  Last night was my second day at Summerfest. Already started out this year by missing the first day. No worries, there are still 8 more to go. Since there wasn't any big name band that I was dying to see, last night turned into somewhat of a walkabout night. Arrived on the grounds just before 6:00pm to see Your Villain My Hero. They are a cover band that covers mostly pop music. We've seen them pretty much every year for the last three or four years. Very entertaining band. Once they finished, was time to walk around. A stop at JoJo's Martini Lounge is always on the agenda. Checked out the brand new BMO Harris Pavillion. Very nice new stage addition to the grounds.

The beer...shame on me for not mentioning the beer. Last year, Leinenkugel's and 10th & Blake each brewed a special Summerfest beer, Summerfest Amber Ale and Big Gig IPA, respectively. This year, for the festival's 45th anniversary, Leinenkugel's brewed a special Summer FesteWeizen.   It's a Bavarian Style Hefeweizen brewed with malted wheat with a creamy finish. Very flavorful with notes of bread and banana. It's a must try for SF goers.

Headlining at the Miller Lite Oasis stage last night was Fun. I've listened to their album and wasn't that impressed, but they did have a good song or two, including the one everyone knows, "We Are Young." My friends camped out at one of the picnic tables in the back, not needing to be up close for this band. Though, judging from the massive crown of people (mostly teenagers), there was no way they were getting any closer than they did. The intense crown reminded me of the crowd for the Scorpions a couple years ago. Crazy packed!  Fun came on at 10:00pm. I heard the first couple of songs and decided to take a walk with some other friends I met up with. I figured, with only one album, they would play "We Are Young" at 10:55pm.  I was dead on correct too!!  In between, I checked out Cowboy Mouth. I had never heard of this band and had no idea what to expect. Turns out they were a lot of fun. The drummer/singer had so much energy. I bet he'd be a blast to hang out with.

A calmer, quieter night at Summerfest compared to other nights.  Today, my brother flies into Milwaukee. He got tired of hearing me talk about Summerfest and wanted to experience it for himself.  Going to be a great week.  Tonight I'll let my brother choose what band we see. I have a feeling it may be a retro night with the Scorpions and ZZ Top both headlining stages.

All my life I've been searching for something

Something never comes never leads to nothing. FOO FIGHTERS!!! Oh hell yeah!!! Last night I saw, quite possibly, one of the best concerts I have seen in a very long time and from one of the greatest bands to grace the music scene in the last 15 years or more. AMAZING with a capital A!  If the triple digit temperatures weren't enough to make my face melt, the blistering, energy-filled set from the Foo Fighters got the job done.

From beginning to end, these modern rock legends powered through a lineup of hits from all of there albums as well as a few snippets of covers such as the Police's "Message in a Bottle", Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water", Pink Floyd's "In the Flesh?" (sung by drummer Taylor Hawkins), and Cheap Trick's "Surrender" to which Dave was playing a checkered guitar loaned to him by Cheap Trick guitarist, Rick Neilsen. Opening with "All My Life" and rolling right into "Times Like These", the Foo Fighters transitioned between older songs and newer ones to give us a performance we will soon not forget. At one point during the set, Dave Grohl apologized for not stopping in Milwaukee during their last tour and proceeded to make up for that with an extra long, no frills setlist.

I do need to mention that the opening act was Silversun Pickups. Third time I've seen this band. They are a really good band, though something was up with their sound and microphones. Still a very entertaining opener as they got the crowd warmed up for the headliners.

Back to Summerfest tonight.  Not sure who is on the schedule tonight. Could be Fun.

It's here!!!!

351 days ago, I was walking out of Henry Maier Festival Park after watching Hollywood Undead. The completion of another fantastically entertaining Summerfest. Well, it's here again folks! Such an exciting time of year here in Milwaukee, WI as the city comes alive with hoards of music fans and festival goers. As per usual, I'm taking time off from work for the entire 11 days. Initially, the 2012 lineup was a bit lacking of bands that I've been really wanting to see, but there are still a number of great bands to see. I could give up the names of some of the bands that I will see, but, just as in years past, which bands I see could change daily.  I will say that this is the first year that I have actually purchased tickets to see bands at the Marcus Amphitheater...Foo Fighters (with Silversun Pickups) and Iron Maiden (with Alice Cooper). I'm very excited to see those two bands!  I'll fill you in on the other bands as the week unfolds.

Oh yeah...one more exciting thing...after years of hearing me talk about Summerfest, my brother has decided he wants to check it out for himself. He's flying in Saturday, June 30th and staying through Sunday, July 8th. This week has the potential to be epic.

ROCK ON!!!

Are you ready?

I said Are You READY?? Oh yeah, just over two weeks until the World's Largest Music Festival...Summerfest 2012! It's the 45th anniversary for this 11 day highlight of Milwaukee's lakefront. 11 days, 11 stages, and over 700 bands from all genres of music. Always a great time!

In years past, I've attended what I like to call a 'Summerfest warmup' show just prior to the 'Big Gig'. This year was no different, other than I haven't written about it until now, sort of. On Friday May 25th, some friends and I went to see Nickelback at the Bradley Center (my first ever concert at this indoor arena). Wait...don't scoff...don't laugh. Nickelback happened to be touring with Bush, Seether, and My Darkest Days. Now that's a lineup you can't pass up. Nickelback is the only band of these four that I had not seen live yet. I have read a lot of the articles and heard all the criticism, but needed to see for myself. Here's one good article worth reading, A Night With the World's Most Hated Bands. It's actually a pretty good read. Nickelback came out at a the time after grunge music ended and before the nu metal movement began. So you could say they were lost. They obviously found a formula for success and have become a very successful band. It's funny to hear people hate Nickelback for no apparent reason other than to just hate them. Are they bandwagon haters? Who knows? Nickelback doesn't really care because even with all the haters out there, they sell out every single concert. To each their own. Back to the concert...

Friends and I head downtown early, find a good parking spot, and head to the bar across the street, Center Court I believe it's called. We had a few beers and some food...

Oh here's a funny story... While sitting there (the windows were open) a lady comes to the window looking for help. Let's call her a 'lady of the afternoon'. She had a hotel room key and needed to be there by a certain time apparently. She was asking how to get there because the "road was broken". Honey...the road was closed to cars, not pedestrians. It was funny!

...As we are sitting there, we look across the street and see a guy with a mohawk riding a skateboard. It was My Darkest Days' lead guitarist Sal Coz Costa. So of course we went out and met him. Cool guy!

Some time later, we are in the arena and we are right up against the barricade on the right side of the stage. We quickly make friends with the security guards and the people around us. Going to be a good night. First band up, My Darkest Days. Saw these guys in 2011 with Bush and Chevelle. Had never heard of them then. Now I am a fan. Really good band. Their most popular song is probably "Porn Star Dancing".

Next up was Seether, a band that, although I really enjoy their music, I had thought they were pretty boring live. Maybe it's maturity...on my part. Maybe they have stepped it up a bit. They played just 8 songs and most of my favorites.

Third band to hit the stage was none other than Bush. Second time I see these guys in the last year. Great band. Very glad they got back together. Their new album is really good. If you haven't seen Bush, go see them.

Finally, the headliner of the night, Nickelback. For all of the crap that people give to this band, they certainly put on a great show. Sure they have all of the sterotypical 80's stage gimics like fireworks, pyro, levels, props, glitter, etc., but they know how to work the stage and perform to the audience. While they may not be the first band I think of when I want to listen to music, they do have a lot of really good songs.

Check out the rest of the pics. After the concert, we did take in a really good cover band back at the Center Court bar. It was a good night and a good warm up to Summerfest. What's on tap for Summerfest?  What bands will I see?  I'm sure the list of bands I see may be different at the end of the 11 days, but I will tell give you a few of them I plan on seeing, including two biggies...Halestorm, Art of Dying, Adelita's Way, Skillet, Iron Maiden, and...are you ready for this?  I said..ARE YOU READY???  The Foo Fighters!!!  Look for more in a couple weeks. Rock on!

Best is yet to come

Saw yet another great concert the other night (5/16/2012) at The Rave...P.O.D. and RED with Icon For Hire and Love & Death. It was a last minute decision on my part to go. I bought the tickets yesterday afternoon. I am so glad I did. I last saw P.O.D. at Summerfest in 2006. If I remember correctly, they weren't even a headliner. They played at 8:00pm. At that time, I knew they had a couple of good songs. What I didn't know was how good they were live. Last night was just as great of a performance. P.O.D. is set to release a new album this Summer, their first album since 2008. Here's the recap...

The opening act was Icon for Hire from Decatur, IL. This four-piece band was pretty good. They have a female lead singer. Now normally I have a difficult time getting into rock/metal bands with female singers. Sometimes they seem to try to hard or something and the singing is just terrible.  As I've written in previous blogs, the drummer may be the heartbeat of a band, but the singer can make or break a band altogether. This is especially true for established bands that change their lead singer. It really is a different band with a different singer. Whoa...let me reel myself back in and get back to talking about Icon for Hire... this singer is really good and she was backed by a talented band. It's usually a good sign when the drummer, as well as the rest of the band, has a lot of energy. They only played a short half hour set, but threw in a cover of House of Pain's Jump Around. Nice!

Next up was Love & Death, the new band of former Korn guitarist and co-founder, Brian "head" Welch. Another short set, though they haven't even released a full album yet. I could definitely hear the Korn influences in their music. Near the end of their set, they performed and instrumental cover of Korn's Got the Life and a pretty awesome metal cover of Devo's Whip It!


RED was up next. I've seen this band several times over the last few years and never get tired of them. Great music and always an awesome live band! RED came right out and hit us with song after song and barely stopped in between. Beginning with the opening track off their latest cd, Until We Have Faces, RED performed with tremendous energy.

RED Setlist

Finishing off the night was P.O.D. They played six songs from their upcoming album, opening with the title track Murdered Love. Their set was filled with power and energy and the crowd really go into it. A large mosh pit developed in the middle and P.O.D. provided the fuel for the swirling bodies, especially when they rocked favorites Boom, Youth of the Nation, Southtown, and Alive. During Youth of the Nation, they brought out a young 17 year old Milwaukee kid, whom they met earlier that day, to play drums. The kid did a fantastic job...talented.  Right before the final song, lead singer Sonny's son came out (with assistance) to give his dad a birthday cake. All of the other bands were on side stage to celebrate as well. Sonny told the crowd that he would share the cake after the song. Needless to say, as soon as the cake touched the crowd, you would have thought it exploded...cake everywhere! Happy Birthday Sonny!

P.O.D. Setlist

Great show! So glad I went! Great live music is therapeutic...it's feeds the soul!

Check out the pictures.

"Don't ever let life pass you by"

Great lyrics from a great band...Incubus.  Friends and I saw them last night at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, WI. Amazing show! I've been wanting to see them for several years, but they haven't been on tour since like 2008. So finally I get my chance.

Tickets were general admission, which I thought was odd considering the Riverside Theater normally is a numbered seat venue. I knew the show was sold out. I just wasn't sure what to expect upon arrival. What I didn't expect was the line waiting to get in to be so long. It wrapped around the building, alongside the river, across the bridge the next street down, and back down alongside the river on the other side. People had been waiting in line since 4:00pm.  We arrived about 6:30. Hey, we weren't the last ones in line. Fortunately there isn't a bad seat in the house.

There was no opening act, just about an hour and a half of great music from Incubus. No frills. No talking. No stories. They just flowed from one great hit to the next. Lead singer, Brandon Boyd's voice is simply amazing. He has such a powerful voice and vocal range. In some ways he is similar to Chris Cornell. Both are outstanding vocalists. Incubus played all of my favorites and even a couple of obscure songs that I wasn't that familiar with, such as Earth to Bella and A Certain Shade of Green. With so many great songs from their albums, the setlist was awesome from the top to the bottom. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this show. Live music has a way to clear your head and feed your soul, especially when it's a great band like Incubus.  Check out the pictures from the show.