I'm gonna break my...

After nearly twenty years away, Soundgarden returned...and they haven't lost a step. Soundgarden played at The Rave in Milwaukee, WI this past Friday, February 1. Burst onto the music scene in 1984, years before the grunge era took the music world by storm, Soundgarden often got lumped into that genre. Sure there are similarities with some of the darker, mysterious lyrics, but Soundgarden definitely has more of a hippy, bluesy, rock to their sound. What an amazing show!

Leading up to the concert, I had checked out some of the setlist from their tour and saw that they were playing anywhere from 25 to 30 songs every show and changing it up every night. I knew I was in for a treat. With no opening act, Chris Cornell took the stage with the other members of Soundgarden and proceded to play no-frills, no bullshit, rock n roll for nearly two and a half hours. Twenty-seven songs in the setlist from every one of their albums. They performed many of my favorites, leading off with Been Away Too Long and playing others such as Jesus Christ Pose, Spoonman, Outshined, Rusty Cage, Fell On Black Days, and one of my favorites from their newest album, By Crooked Steps.

I did notice that the crowd was a bit older than many shows I go to, but that's to be expected. Many younger kids may not know who Soundgarden is, especially since they have been out of the limelight for some time. But everyone should know that Chris Cornell has one of the most amazing voices in rock n roll. Amazing show! Amazing band! If they come to your city, I strongly recommend you see them!  Oh and before I forget, check out some pictures from the show.

Stone Sour and Papa Roach one week followed by Soundgarden the next! Wow, what a fantastic start to my 2013 concert year.  Stay tuned to who I see next.  Keep on rockin'!

I'm looking at you through the glass...

Don't know how much time has passed

Oh, God it feels like forever

But no one ever tells you that forever

Feels like home sitting all alone inside your head

How do you feel? That is the question...

I feel freakin' awesome!! First concert of 2013 in the books...Papa Roach and Stone Sour at The Rave last Friday, January 25th. Great show! I've seen Papa Roach a few times, but this was my first time seeing Stone Sour.

Despite having some recent health issues and having had vocal surgery in 2012, Jacoby was full of energy and all over the stage. I thought his voice sounded great as he belted out some of Papa Roach's greatest hits - Scars, Forever, Getting Away With Murder, and Last Resort - as well as a few from their newest album - Still Swinging, Before I Die, and Give Me Back My Life. If you haven't heard Papa Roach's new album, I recommend you check it out.

After a short intermission, Stone Sour took the stage and proceeded to rock the house. The last time Corey Taylor was at The Rave was for his solo tour promoting his book. That's the last time I've seen him anyways. They kicked the night off with the first two tracks off their latest album, House of Gold & Bones Part 1. Later on in the evening, Corey revealed that Part 2 would be coming out this Spring. The setlist was jam packed with solid Stone Sour hits...Digital (Did You Tell), Made of Scars, and others. For the encore, Corey slowed it down a bit. He started playing the first verse of Alice in Chains' Nutshell before flowing right into Bother. Finishing the night with 30/30-150 was absolute killer!

Oh, I did take a few pictures.

Pretty awesome first concert of 2013. It's only going to get better. Coming up on February 1st...SOUNDGARDEN! That should be epic!  Other bands coming soon to Milwaukee include Alice in Chains and Bullet for My Valentine. I'm sure there will be more great shows coming and that's all before Summerfest 2013 hits Milwaukee.  Until the next show, keep rockin' my friends!!

Happy New Year!

So what if I'm more than three weeks late! It's still new and it's still Happy! In fact, there's quite a lot that has happened since my last post, which happened to be my 40th birthday and probably one of my best days of 2012. So let's catch up.

Plenty of good times were had after my 40th birthday...

...I went zip lining up in the Peshtigo River area at Wildman Adventure Ranch. That was so awesome! Definitely have to do that again! On the return trip, stopped in Green Bay to check out Lambeau Field and Titletown Brewing Company.

Titletown Brewing Company

...went to Chicago to celebrate friends getting married. Of course stopped in at Goose Island's Brewpub. Not sure where the pictures are. Good times! Congratulations Ray and Alexis!

...went to the Harvest Fair at Wisconsin's State Fair Grounds and spent time at The Micro to sample Autumn Seasonal beers from many craft breweries. I finally killed my first keg!

The Micro

The Autumn Beer List

...saw Rise Against and Gaslight Anthem at The Rave, my final concert of 2012.

...the month of September I was really busy...busy buying my new home! I finally decided to plant some roots here in WI and purchase a house. I closed on October 1. It was exciting and stressful all rolled into one. You homeowners out there know what I mean. Check out my new home. So much storage, I don't know what to do with it. It's also still quite empty, but I have plenty of time to fill it.

...I had an awesome house warming party in November. Opened up my new home to my friends and we warmed it up!

...in November, we did a small, Milwaukee-only brewery tour that I set up. Started at Milwaukee Ale House. No tour here, just sampling some of the fine beer on tap. the Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery for a historical tour of the old Pabst corporate offices. Yes, beer was included. It's very cool to learn the history of beer in Milwaukee and to also learn and see how the new owner is renovating the building. Last stop was a tour of Sprecher Brewing Company.

..each year at work, we have a two-week long employee giving campaign, consisting of many activities, raffles, and fun events to raise money. For the last seven or eight years, a couple friends and I coordinated and ran Office Olympics. We passed the torch last year and this year was the first year we were able to participate. So much fun! I ended up as Grand Champion for 2012!

...December saw a road trip to Potosi Brewing Company. It was a 2 1/2 hour drive to get there but sooo worth it. Food was fantastic and the beer excellent!

2012 finished with a low-key New Years Eve celebration at my new house. Nothing too exciting. Just a few friends enjoying some adult beverages and having a good time.

The new year is full of promise and hopefully some choice opportunities. Only three weeks into it and things look promising.  From a music perspective, some great new albums have been released and the concert scene is shaping up very nicely. Looking forward to seeing Stone Sour, Papa Roach, and Soundgarden. Also coming to town are Alice in Chains and Bullet for My Valentine, which I plan on seeing. Never a shortage for concerts. As the weather eventually starts warming up, the many ethnic and music festivals will begin.  Milwaukee is a great place to live!  Cheers to 2013!

Milestone achieved

I just turned 40 yesterday (August 26th). It's definitely a significant birthday, but not for negative reasons. They say 40 is the new 30 and I am inclined to believe it. I'm a firm believer that you are only as old as you feel. Most often I feel like I am 5 to 10 years younger than I really am. I do my best to eat healthy and stay active. I surround myself with good people and fill my life with various activities. Though it's only been a day or two, life at 40 is great!

I celebrated by birthday on Saturday and, let me tell you, it was a fantastic day! Nearly 20 of my friends joined me on a riverwalk boat brewery tour. We started out at one restaurant, Molly Cools, and got on a boat that took us to two breweries (Milwaukee Ale House and Rock Bottom) before returning to Molly Cools for dinner. The tour included two drinks at each location. Rock Bottom had their basement tasting room set up with a bunch of drinking games such as bags, beer pong, flippy cup, and giant jenga. I played giant jenga, but lost. We all had such a great time.

Life is great and it will continue to get better. I am truly blessed to have so many great friends and family in my life. I want them to know how much they mean to me and how much I value them. I've always been told to treat people just as you would want to be treated and I live by that rule. This weekend I felt honored that so many of my friends joined me to celebrate my milestone birthday and we had an absolutely fantastic time!

Thank you!!

It's a Trapt!

I saw another great concert last Friday...Trapt at the Brat Stop. It was the pre-party for WIIL Rock Fest (which I didn't go to). I went to last year's pre-party as well and saw Pop Evil and Evans Blue. At that time, Evans Blue was a band that I had been waiting to see for a few years and they finally came around. I've been wanting to see Trapt in concert for several years now as well and I finally saw them. It was a fantastic show!

The two bands performing before Trapt were The Dreaming and Royal Bliss. The Dreaming was an interesting band and surprisingly had decent following. It became clear once I learned that the lead singer and the drummer were original members of the band Stabbing Westward. Nearly half of their setlist contained Stabbing Westward songs, including this one that you might remember...

I wasn't familiar with Royal Bliss at all. They apparently tour the Southeastern Wisconsin scene a lot. Royal Bliss are a modern rock band with some good, heavy, rock and roll sound. Though I was uncertain in the beginning, I thought they rocked.

The headliner this night, and the sole reason for attending this show, was Trapt. Trapt are from California and  have had numerous hits from their four studio albums including Echo, Stand Up, and the one everyone knows, Headstrong. They also played Still Frame, End Of My Rope, Contagious, and three songs from their new album due out in November. Here are some pics.  It was a great show! I look forward to seeing them again!

Summer isn't over yet

It's been quite a busy Summer this year so far. There have been activities and fun times just about every week so far - Beer sessions and tastings at Sugar Maple, special firkin tappings at Stubby's, golf, beach volleyball, Lakefront Festival of the Arts, concerts, Summerfest, beer festivals, and much, much more. The weather has been fantastic. Sure we had the several days in July where the temperatures hit over 100 degrees, but I'll take that over sub-zero temps any day. 

A couple weeks ago, I went to the Milwaukee Firkin Craft Beer Festival and had a great time. This festival is geared toward highlighting some of the finest breweries and brewpubs that Milwaukee and Wisconsin have to offer - Milwaukee Brewing Co., Lakefront, Ale Asylum, Tyranena, Central Waters, and Big Bay, to name a few. Other breweries from around the country that were also on hand to share their beer with the attendees included Lagunitas (Petaluma, CA), Bell's (Kalamazoo, MI), Founders (Grand Rapids, MI), Sixpoint (Brooklyn, NY), Left Hand (Longmont, CO), and Oskar Blues (Longmont, CO). A couple great things about beer festivals like this one are that you are surrounded by other people who truly enjoy good beer and the breweries use these opportunities to experiment with new styles or flavors. They brew smaller batches, put them in firkins, and allow consumers to taste them. They do this to see if this new one-off brew is a hit with consumers. If it is then sometimes they decide to brew it in a larger batch for distribution. Tasting these one of a kind beers is what I enjoy doing. Wait...what's a firkin you ask?  A firkin is actually an old English term that refers to a small wooden keg, though they aren't wooden anymore. It's much smaller than a quarter barrel. Breweries use firkins for the special beers that I've mentioned. SO, my favorite firkin at the Milwaukee Firkin Craft Beer Festival was a beer that isn't even for sale. It was called Jazz Hands and was brewed by Brouwerij Von Hotcrackers. Jazz Hands is a braggot style. A braggot is a centuries old recipe that is made by blending spices and herbs with mead and beer. Let me tell you it was fantastic!

The calendar just flipped to August and that means the Summer is not quite over yet. August is also the month of my birthday. This year is a milestone as I turn 40. I'm hoping to make this a very fun and special birthday month. Not all fun though...I've got the obligatory 40-year physical this week. I'm not worried about that as I do my best to exercise and eat healthy.  Coming up I'm seeing Trapt  on Friday, August 10 and running the Friends of the Hank Aaron State Trail 5k the following morning. Suppose I should take it easy on the beer the night before. The following week friends and I are running in the Warrior Dash for the second year in a row. Such a great time. I'm looking forward to attacking the obstacles and throwing the axes. The very next week is my birthday weekend and it should be a great time. My plan is to get as many of my friends as I could to go on the Riverwalk Boat Pub Tour on Saturday, August 25. It's a fun boat tour that starts at a bar, then you travel by boat along the Milwaukee River to two other breweries and finally back to the originating destination, where I hope that we'll be able to stay and have dinner. To be honest, the only sure thing so far is the boat tour. Maybe brunch on Sunday, which is my actual birthday. Sunday afternoon is another beer school session at Sugar Maple. Should be a great weekend. Stay tuned!

In other news, all the while that these fun and games have been going on, I have been house hunting. I started a couple months ago and have been taking my time trying to find the right place. I've been living in WI for 12 years now and figured it was about time I settle in and plant some roots. I really do love Wisconsin and the Milwaukee area.  I can, and will, still visit my homeland back in Connecticut. Maybe now friends will come visit me. 

Summerfest 2012 Superlatives

Another Summerfest is in the books. Summerfest 2012 was a definite success and it's time for me to announce my Summerfest 2012 Superlatives. This will be the third year that I do this. If you're interested, check out the Summerfest 2010 Superlatives and the Summerfest 2011 Superlatives. They are good reads. It's fun to go back and see what I thought back then.  The superlatives are my own way of reviewing Summerfest and ranking all of the bands that I saw. I see each band differently and feel I enjoy bands from different genres in different ways. That's why it is difficult for me to just list them out.

Just as in previous years, I'd like to give a big Thank You to all of my friends, old and new, and family, who enjoyed this Summerfest experience with me: my brother Dennis making his first ever appearance, Mark and Pam, Joe and Jaime, Chad and Anne, Chad's brother Todd, Dusty and his new 'girlfriend' Kelly, Rick and Lori, Zach, Marc, Spiro, Nicki, Evelyn, Julie, and the Hansons - I know Hanson played the Potawatomi stage, but I'm talking about my Hanson family friends Hillary, Alicia, Julie, and Charles. Again, if I missed anyone, please accept this Thanks and my apologies.

Without further ado...

General Observations and Notes

• My brother Dennis made his first ever appearance at Summerfest after listening to me talk about it year after year. Great week!
• Only 9 days attended this year. Down from 10 in 2011 and 11 in 2010. Don't worry, this downward trend won't continue. 
• I give credit to Hillary for attending all 11 days. Just know that when I did it in 2010, there wasn't a day off in the middle. Kudos to you, Hillary!
• The 'walk about' trend continued.
• Not only was this the first year I purchased a ticket for the Marcus Amphitheater, I went 3 times! Unheard of!
• Only saw 27 bands in the 9 days attended, partly due to 3 nights at Marcus.
• The new BMO Harris Pavilion is an awesome venue! Sound system is great! Seats are great! Crowd control during the show is top notch!
• Do all 70's bands have 4 guitars?
• Dennis, Dusty, Kelly, and I took in a Riverboat Beer Tour that took us from Molly Cool's to Milwaukee Ale House to Rock Bottom. We never made it back to Molly Cool's though. Instead we stayed at Rock Bottom (Flip cup was too much fun to pass up) and then walked to Summerfest.
• Temperatures hit a 'melting' point.
• Subsequently no golf nor frolf for me.
• Tree deck building at Mark's house was something new. Great job Mark and crew!
• Limited Rock Band playing.
• I really enjoyed Leinenkugel's special beer celebrating the 45th Summerfest, Summer Festeweizen. Yum!
• The phrase "Have you met my friend Mike" made a comeback, but wasn't used much.
• Great seats are important!

BIGGEST DISASTER or BAND THAT PISSED ME OFF THE MOST
As I was thinking about this category, I was asking myself if there was a band like 12 Stones in 2010, Red Jumpsuit Appartus in 2011, or Beatallica in 2011, that was so terrible they infuriated me?  Yes, yes there was, and it happened on the last day of Summerfest. A band called Ours opening up for Bush. The few opening notes to their first song had promise. Then the singer opened his mouth. Terrible!

UTTERLY FORGETTABLE
Fools for Rowan - 2nd year in a row. Only thing good was the two cute girls in the band.
Fun.
Moxy Roxx - Old dudes who opened up for Scorpions. Awful drum solo.
Animation - Rush tribute band. I'm not a fan of Rush.
Kessler - Lead singer was pretty hot, but that's where it stops.
Ken Saydak Band - Bluesy background noise before Fools for Rowan and Skillet

BUCKETLIST BANDS (SAW AND NEVER NEED TO SEE AGAIN...OR WON'T)
Aerosmith - 3rd time I've seen them. Same show as it was 20 years ago.
Alice Cooper - Never a big fan, but glad I got to see him.
Scorpions - I'll add them here only because this is their supposed farewell tour.

BANDS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD SEE
Skillet - Simply AMAZING!
Cowboy Mouth - Surely not a headliner, but definitely a lot of fun.

BANDS WITH MOST POTENTIAL
Lazarus A.D. - from Kenosha, WI
The Heroes Lie - from Milwaukee, WI

BIGGEST SURPRISE
Halestorm - Powerful vocals! Great energy! Amazing drum solo!
Atmosphere - a Hip Hop/DJ group from Minnesota. Most packed I've ever seen the Miller Lite stage at 6pm.

BEST PERFORMANCE
Skillet - Never before, since I have been going to Summerfest, have I seen a band put on such an amazing show on a free stage with fireworks, sparklers, fire, explosions, lights, elevators, and a drum set that elevated and spins! Skillet won this award back in 2010 and they win it again in 2012, only it was better because we were closer!

TOP 5
5. Adelita's Way
4. Iron Maiden
3. Scorpions
2. Foo Fighters
1. Skillet

BEST OF THE REST
Bush
Halestorm
Art of Dying

Take another look at the pictures.

PARTING SHOTS
I have seen over 100 concerts over the last three or four years, many of them I've written about in this blog. As I have watched, observed, listened, and felt each and every show, one thing is for certain. You cannot fully enjoy a rock show if you have terrible seats. You need to be up close! 



Still five and a half months left in the year and already have two more shows lined up - Trapt at the Brat Stop and Rise Against at The Rave/Eagles's Ballroom. Rock on friends!!