Summerfest's final weekend

After a fantastic 4th of July, it was cruising time right into the final weekend of Summerfest 2013. Friday, July 5, saw my brother and I take a tour of Milwaukee Brewing Company. Those that know me know that touring breweries is a favorite past-time of mine. I had been to Milwaukee Brewing Company several times, but this was a first for my brother. Couldn't think of a better way to get this Friday started. Our tour guide certainly looked, and sounded, like he had done his fair share of sampling, but I guess that is to be expected.

After the tour, we headed down to the Summerfest grounds. Met up with some friends who were going to see Rick Springfield. I wasn't sure, but tagged along anyways. Did you know Rick Springfield will be turning 64 soon? He let us know. He had the crowd sing him "Happy Birthday" too. He also felt the need to mention just about every movie and tv show he's made an appearance. Talk about an ego. The first song I didn't know. Then he played "I've Done Everything For You", after which we left for the Captain's Deck and watched Hollywood Undead for a while.

Rick Springfield

Hollywood Undead

Hollywood Undead jammed their way through some of my favorites like "City", "California", "Here Me Now", "Comin' In Hot", and "Everywhere I Go". After finishing their set with "We Are", we went back to catch Rick Springfield play the song he's most famous for, "Jessie's Girl". Good timing!

On Saturday, we spent some time at Jo Jo's Martini Lounge on the Summerfest grounds. Usually good for at least one martini every year. The band was playing some good covers. We walked around for what seemed like forever. Some friends went to see 311. We were once again up in the Captain's Desk people watching. Getting ready to settle in and watch Buddy Guy when some other friends said they had open seats next to them for Foreigner. Off we went.

Foreigner

Foreigner was pretty solid. Their setlist was like a greatest hits album, playing songs like "Feels Like the First Time", "Double Vision", "Waiting For a Girl Like You", "I Don't Want To Live Without You", and finishing with "Hot Blooded". A really great show, but it was different. Their current singer, Kelly Hansen, joined the band in 2005. I grew up listening to Lou Gramm's vocals. No diss to Kelly. His voice was just different for me.

Sunday. Day 11. The final day. Dropped my brother off at the airport at 5:30am (Yikes!) to catch his flight home to CT. After a little rest, I'd be ready to go back down for the last day. For a Summerfest lineup that I have been saying was lackluster, to say the least, I ended up going nine days anyways. What can I say? I'm a die-hard. The people watching is worth the price of admission alone...trust me. Sunday was a pretty relaxing day. Little walking around. More people watching. Some old guy thought it would be cool to dress head to toe in chartreuse, even a hat. He looked like a fishing lure. Sorry no pictures. He was kind of blinding.

As the evening rolled along, I settled in to 11th row center seats for Jimmy Eat World. I've never seen them before. Not well versed in their portfolio either, but I knew quite a few, including their biggest hits. They didn't mess around either. Not a whole lot of talking. Not a lot of stage props, just a large banner behind them. They just came out and rocked through song after song. They opened with a song from their newest album, Damage, "I Will Steal You Back" and kicked right into "My Best Theory". After "Futures" and a couple more from their new album, Jimmy Eat World did a pretty awesome cover of Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", which was pretty sweet. Twenty-three songs in the setlist, including "Sweetness", "Heart Is Hard To Find", "Pain", "Bleed American", and their encore of "The Middle".

Jimmy Eat World

After nine days in attendance, countless beers, and immense good times, that's a wrap on Summerfest 2013. All of the pictures are posted now. Check them out.

At the end of the week, I ended up having a fantastic time at Summerfest once again. I may not have been thrilled with the lineup, but I definitely saw some great bands. Check back later to see which bands get awarded or not in my Summerfest 2013 Superlatives. I'm not quite ready to reveal which were my favorites and which were not.  I need to let this digest a little bit. Stay tuned.