Summerfest...final weekend recap

Summerfest 2012 is officially over. The last day was on Sunday. Another great year of great music, great friends, and great fun. Let me recap my final three days at the World's Largest Music Festival...

Friday, July 6th, we headed down to Summerfest a little earlier than previous days. I wanted to see The Heroes Lie, an up and coming band from Milwaukee. I've seen them a few times before, including at last year's Summerfest. They are a really solid rock band that's been getting some national exposure lately. It's pretty cool to kind of see this unfold. No where to go but up for these guys. 

We walked around a little bit and stopped at the Miller Lite Oasis and checked out Atmosphere, some hip hop DJ group. They were entertaining, as were the people watching. The extreme heat brought out skimpier clothing, which some people can get away with and others shouldn't even try. People watching at festivals is always a great time! Back over to the Rock Stage to see Art of Dying. I saw this band last year at the Rave. They definitely rocked out, setting the stage for the night's headliner, Adelita's Way. Before Summerfest announced Iron Maiden and the Foo Fighters, Adelita's Way is the band that I wanted to see the most of all. Man did they deliver. A fairly new band with only two albums, they played a lot of my favorites, including "Criticize", "Sick", and "Dirty Little Thing". From beginning to end, this night was one of the best this year. If you haven't heard of Adelita's Way...check them out!

Saturday saw a couple of friends, my brother and I take in a riverboat beer tour. It was a beautiful day for de'boat'chery and it turned out to be a great event. 

We arrived at the Summerfest grounds in time to get some food and head over to the Marcus Aphitheater, where my brother and I saw Aerosmith. Again, not my first time seeing them (saw them back in 1987 and 1988), but it was my brother's first time. Aerosmith is one of those bands that continue to perform at a high level, even at their age.

On Sunday, the 11th and final day of Summerfest, things were a little more subdued, a bit more relaxed. Definitely not as much drinking on the last day as during the rest of the festival. I did some walking around and enjoyed the great weather. About 8:00pm, I was at the U.S. Cellular Connection Stage with some friends who were there to see Bush later that night. I had previously decided that, after seeing Bush twice already in the last year, I was going to see Halestorm at the Rock Stage. So this band called, Ours, starts playing. I thought they had some promise...right up until the singer opened his mouth. Oh my...terrible. So I promptly walked over to the Rock Stage to see New Medicine, a decent rock band that I've seen before. Certainly better than Ours.  

Headlining the Rock Stage on the last day of Summerfest was none other than Halestorm. I've never seen a complete show from this band and I'm very glad that I saw them on this day. Not only is the lead singer, Lizzie, hot, she has an amazing female rock voice...powerful yet melodic. She belted hits like "It's Not You", "Rock Show", the ever popular "I Get Off", and "Love Bites (So Do I)" off their latest album. They even did an outstanding cover of Skid Row's "Slave to the Grind". Not only was Lizzie's vocals powerful, her brother Arejay did an amazing drum solo. This young man played with more energy that I have seen from a drummer in a very long time. He could be the human version of Animal from the Muppet Show. Jumping up and down in his seat. Throwing sticks. Dropping sticks. About a third of the way through his solo, he threw the sticks into the crowd. Then he proceeded to continue the drum solo with his bare hands. After tiring of that, he then grabbed what might have been the biggest drum sticks I have seen - must have been three feet long - and finished the drum solo with them. It was pretty amazing. 

When Halestorm finished, I was able to catch the last five or six songs from Bush. Perfect way to end Summerfest 2012. Another great music festival! You've read what I've written about my time at this great music festival, now check out some pictures. Oh, but it's not over just yet. Stay tuned for the Sumerfest 2012 Superlatives.  Here is the one from 2011.  Keep on rockin!!!