Author: John Paulsen (Page 11 of 19)

Summerfest: Day Five (Wilco, 7/5)

July 7, 2006 / John Paulsen

This was our last day at the fest, and we originally planned our return flight to California around a rumored Wilco show. Since I first heard A Ghost Is Born, I’ve become more and more enamored with the band, digging into their back catalog and whatnot, but I hadn’t had a chance to see them live. Luckily, the rumored show proved to be true and we were treated to a great night.

We got down to the Miller Lite Oasis at around 7 PM. Wilco was scheduled to go on at 9:30 preceded by a set by Andrew Bird at 8:00. Bird plays plucky, literate indie rock, using all sorts of instruments, including a violin, xylophone and a guitar. He plays a riff on one of the instruments then that riff is repeated over and over while he plays another instrument. Sometimes he lays three or four riffs over one another to create a very complex song, which is pretty impressive considering his band consists only of himself and a percussionist/organist Martin Dosh, who looks a lot like CAKE frontman John McCrea with his trucker hat and beard. While everyone was standing for their set, I heard a lot of chatter around me. Bird’s melodies make for great background music, but it simply doesn’t demand the listener’s attention.

Wilco came on stage around 9:35 and after opening with “Ashes of American Flags,” they went into a great three-song set, including “Handshake Drugs,” “The Late Greats” (my favorite Wilco song, and one of the best songs from 2004) and “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart.”

Leading up to the show, I put my 16 favorite Wilco tracks on a CD for Amy to help her familiarize herself with the band. Of their 19-song set, 10 were from the CD, so much of the set list was amongst the band’s best work. (Amy only recognized seven songs, so apparently she didn’t finish all of her homework, but I’ll cut her some slack – after all, she is on summer break.)

The band has a tendency to go a little crazy with their intros and outros, but they kept it reined in for most of the show. Jeff Tweedy was a lot more personable than I expected, often engaging the audience with his witty remarks. After seeing the band’s documentary, “I Am Trying To Break Your Heart,” I was expecting zero crowd interaction from the insular singer. At one point he referred to his own his reclusiveness, saying, “You guys get out there and shake your ass. That inspires me to be a better frontman.”

I was extremely impressed by the show, which lasted almost two hours. From the catchiness of “Heavy Metal Drummer” to the Beatles-esque piano in “Hummingbird” to the fantastic instrumental portion of “Spiders (Kidsmoke),” it was just a great concert, top to bottom, and a great way to close out this year’s Summerfest.

Set list: Ashes of American Flags, Handshake Drugs, The Late Greats, I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Impossible Germany (new song), Airline to Heaven, Forget the Flowers, At Least That’s What You Said, Jesus Etc., Walken, Theologians, I’m The Man Who Loves You, Heavy Metal Drummer, Kingpin, Hummingbird Misunderstood, War on War A Shot in the Arm, Spiders (Kidsmoke)

Recommended playlist: I Must Be High, Hummingbird, Forget the Flowers, Theologians, I’m The Man Who Loves You, Jesus Etc., Can’t Stand It, The Late Greats, Thirteen, Misunderstood, Handshake Drugs, Kamera, Heavy Metal Drummer, Wishful Thinking, I Am Trying To Break Your Heart, Outtasite (Outta Mind)

Alternative, Artists, Concerts, External Music, Rock

Summerfest: Day Four (Lewis Black, Pat McCurdy, 7/3)

July 5, 2006 / John Paulsen

The main attraction (for us) on Monday was comedian Lewis Black, best known for his political humor on “The Daily Show” and for his HBO specials, “Black on Broadway” and “Red, White and Screwed.” (Check out Bullz-Eye’s recent interview with Lewis Black, just prior to the “Red, White and Screwed” premiere.)

We decided to get down to the grounds early to see Pat McCurdy again. The 15 minutes he did before the Lynyrd Skynyrd show the other night just weren’t enough. McCurdy was slated to do two sets (90 minutes) of music and his large cult following in Milwaukee came out in force; when he went on stage there weren’t very many seats to be had. McCurdy was funny as usual, and treated his audience to tributes to the ‘80s and the ‘90s. Amy suggested that we fly McCurdy out for our tenth anniversary and rent a party boat. She didn’t say, but I’m assuming we’d invite our friends and family as well. Regardless, if you’re ever in Milwaukee and looking for something to do, try to catch McCurdy. I can (pretty much) guarantee a good time.

After a brat and an Italian sausage from Usinger’s Wurst Garden (yum!) we made our way over to the Potawatomi Bingo Casino Stage & Pavilion with Sprecher Brewery (all the stages have multiple sponsors) and tried to locate some seats. We were an hour early so we were thinking we wouldn’t have a tough time, but we underestimated Black’s increasing popularity. As the previous show ended, Amy spotted some seats in the third row and made a mad dash, scraping her knee in the process – don’t worry, there wasn’t any blood. Once settled, we had to listen to a pair of kids in the aisle say over and over, “I’m 16 years-old and I just need a seat. A single seat.” People were asking those already seated to slide over and go thigh to thigh so that they could sit down. Some did and some didn’t. As Black came on, the aisles were still packed.

He comes to Summerfest every year, and he used to perform in the comedy tent in the quieter, South end of the fairgrounds. At the Potawatomi stage, it seemed like we could hear music from three or four other stages. Black made light of the setup saying, “I like coming to Summerfest because it’s…well, it’s the most difficult place to do comedy.” He lamented about the fact that he was the only comedian to be performing at the fest, but promised he’d do something about it: “I will have words with them. I will have words.”

Much of his material seemed familiar, as it was probably used in one of his HBO specials. But Black’s delivery is the draw – he’s the gruff, curmudgeonly guy in the corner, who’s not afraid to shake his finger at people that piss him off. He’s also a lefty, so there were a few easy targets, including our Vice President – “Dick Cheney. (laughter) It’s gotten to the point where all I have to do is say ‘Dick Cheney’ and people laugh. That’s the joke. I can’t make it any funnier.”

Black railed on George W. Bush, John Kerry, creationism, Mike Brown and the Katrina disaster and the war in Iraq. Surprisingly, he kept the act mostly clean, only dropping the f-bomb a few times. As Milwaukee’s famous 4th of July fireworks started up, he closed with a real news item (in an effort to leave his audience less depressed when the show is over), which had the headline “Hippo eats dwarf.” Overall, it was a good show despite the difficult environment.

Four days down – one to go. Wednesday night we’ve got Wilco, and then it’s back to California.

Artists, Concerts

Summerfest: Day Three (Kings of Leon, 7/2)

July 3, 2006 / John Paulsen

Technically, it was the fourth day of Summerfest, but it was our third night at the fairgrounds. The main reason for the visit was to see Nashville’s Kings of Leon, a Southern rock-infused four-piece outfit, which consists of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill and cousin Matthew Followill.

We caught the end of the Whigs’ set. The band hails from Athens, Georgia and their sound – tight hooks and good song structure – fits well opening for KOL. One of the coolest moments of the night came when lead singer’s guitar strap broke. He tried to reaffix the duct tape that was holding the strap on, but it wouldn’t stick, so he grabbed another guitar, plugged in, and finished the song. We only witnessed about twenty minutes of the set, but they did more than enough to get me to their MySpace page. They’re definitely a band to keep an eye on.

As I looked around the venue, it was amazing to see how many youngsters were not wearing ear protection. The mix was very, very loud and I’m certain there was a lot of hearing damage done that night. I didn’t wear earplugs when I went to concerts as a teenager either, but now I prefer it, mainly because I can hear the song better and I don’t have to deal with ringing ears the next day. If your ears are ringing, it means that you’ve damaged them. My message to the kids: Wear earplugs! And stop smoking while you’re at it!

Next up was Mr. North, a four-piece hard rock band out of Dublin, Ireland. Frontman Colin Smith has an impressive voice, but thick guitars with looooong notes just aren’t my thing.

Finally, the Kings of Leon took the stage. The venue had filled up at this point, and I realized, the smaller the band, the cooler the crowd. When a band is small, there is a sense of community amongst its fans, and once a group gets too popular, that feeling is lost. KOL are pretty big, but they aren’t huge. The general rule of thumb is: if frat guys are playing your music at their parties, it’s time to come out with a concept album.

Since we got there early, we were in the second row, standing on a set of bleachers. As soon as the KOL show started, a lot of people tried to get down front, but many turned around when they saw that there was nowhere to stand with a good vantage point. In general, the crowd was drunk, but reasonably courteous, so the people around us weren’t much of a distraction.

The Kings of Leon sounded great, though Caleb’s vocals were a little buried in the mix. They played a total of 19 songs in just over an hour, moving from song to song without much conversation in between. The band has been in the studio working on a new album, and they played several new songs during the set. Based on this snapshot, the new album should be solid.

The band played several great songs, including “Milk,” “Molly’s Chambers,” “Wasted Time” and “King of the Rodeo”, but the best moment of the night was the guitar opening of “The Bucket.” They closed the main set with a rousing rendition of “Trani” before playing two more new songs as an encore. I’ve seen the band play three times, and they’ve yet to play my favorite song (“Joe’s Head”) but it’s hard to complain after such a great show. I’d argue that Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak represent one of the best debut/sophomore efforts in rock history, and if the new songs are any indication, the Kings of Leon are still on the rise.

Alternative, Artists, Concerts, Rock

Summerfest: Day Two (Everclear, 6/30)

July 1, 2006 / John Paulsen

Last night, we had no real plans while down at the fest. Some friends came into town to go with us, so we were ready to play it by ear. We ended up seeing local cult hero Pat McCurdy perform a short set before the Lynyrd Skynyrd show at the Harley Davidson Stage. McCurdy combines comedy with his music, performing both original songs, such as “Sex and Beer” and “I Wish I Had a Monkey Paw,” as well as covers. He does a great bit where he plays several ‘80s or ‘90s songs and strings them together, creating a rapid-fire sing-a-long medley.

After that we headed to the U.S. Cellular Stage to catch a bit of Blue October. One of our friends (Joe) told me that they have a hit, “Hate Me,” but we weren’t around long enough to hear it. They have those thick guitars that are reminiscent of Linkin Park, Staind and Puddle of Mudd – I’m not a big fan. Joe tells me they sound much better on the CD, and from what I listened to on iTunes earlier in the day, I’d have to agree.

We headed over to see Everclear on the Mountain Dew Stage. Amy and I have always liked Everclear (stemming from the days of So Much For the Afterglow, one of the very best post-grunge albums of the mid-‘90s), but they have sounded progressively worse the past few times we’ve seen them. Unfortunately, Everclear is now just Art Alexakis with a backup band instead of the standard lineup of Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund.

The band actually sounded pretty good as they moved through hits like “Wonderful,” “I Will Buy You A New Life,” “Father of Mine” and “Santa Monica.” For an encore, Alexakis brought a ton of girls up on stage to dance and played “867-5309 (Jenny).” I’ve seen this encore before and it’s a little disturbing, but I’m not sure exactly why. Maybe it’s the scene, maybe it’s the song – I don’t know.

After the show, we raced to the shuttle hoping to find a reasonable wait. The previous night, we queued 45 minutes to get on a bus, but this time, there was no line. As we hopped on the bus, we tried to describe to our friends how fortunate they were, but they just don’t know how good they had it.

Alternative, Artists, Concerts, Rock, Songs

Summerfest: Day One (Tom Petty/Pearl Jam, 6/29)

June 30, 2006 / John Paulsen

My wife (Amy) and I weren’t planning to return to my hometown of Milwaukee for this year’s Summerfest, but the lineup – which includes Pearl Jam/Tom Petty, Kings of Leon and Wilco – was just too good to pass up. The ten-day event, which was founded in 1968, now draws more than 900,000 visitors, making it one of the largest music festivals in the world.

The day began as it usually does, by catching a Wisconsin Coach Lines bus down to the fairgrounds. The fare is $7 roundtrip, which is a pretty nice deal, since you don’t have to worry about fighting traffic or parking. Unfortunately, our 5:35 PM bus didn’t arrive until 6:00 PM and, at that point, there was more people at the park and ride than could fit on the bus, creating a situation where boisterous high school/college-age kids pushed and shoved their way onto the bus. We discovered that there was a three-hour power outage at Summerfest that afternoon, and that they were working to restore the power, which might have been the reason for the delay.

Next thing I know, we’re on the bus, sitting next to one of the aforementioned high school/college-age kids who decides to dip (slang for sucking on chewing tobacco) without a spit cup. He simply spit onto the floor of the bus. The girls around him told him how disgusting it was, so I just tried to pretend that it wasn’t happening, telling Amy, “This is our last Summerfest for a while.” It was our three-year anniversary, and I didn’t exactly want to spend it watching tobacco spit dropping to the floor. Blink-182 was right: nobody likes you when you’re 23. Or 22…or 21. Really, all the way down to 17.

I heard a guy behind me say, “I’ll give you a hundred bucks if you can name the #1 pick from the draft last night.” I let his friend think about it for a while and then I said, “Andrea Bargnani.” I glanced back at him and he gave me a smirk for ruining his game. Later I heard him say to his friend, who was trying to get the $100, “I asked you, not him.”

Getting off that bus was a great feeling, not unlike how immigrants must have felt when they arrived Ellis Island. (Different circumstances, of course – but the same feeling, nonetheless.) By the time we arrived, the power was back on.

Our plan this evening was to catch the Pearl Jam/Tom Petty show at the Marcus Amphitheater. I’m a member of the Tom Petty fan club, so I was able to secure third row seats to the show. I’ll submit a proper review later, but suffice to say, the show was great. It was very cool to see two bands of this magnitude on the same stage.

Amy had a couple of interesting conversations in her travels to the beer line and to the bathroom. While waiting for a brew, a young(er) girl asked her if she had ever seen Pearl Jam before. The conversation continued like this:

Amy: Yeah, I saw them in ’94 in Indiana.
Girl: Is that an amphitheater?
Amy: No, I saw them in 1994.
Girl: Oh!

Granted, Amy looks younger than she is, but the girl was obviously surprised that she was attending a PJ concert twelve years ago, when the girl was probably still in grade school, waiting for her boobs to come in.

And, of course, there is always drama in the women’s bathroom. Amy was in the “Women In” line and there was another line coming in from the “Women Out” door and one of the women (late 30s/early 40s) started giving Amy crap about standing in the wrong line:

Amy: We’re in the right line.
Woman: Oh, really?
Amy: You’re in wrong line. You’re in the “Women Out” line.
Woman: Thanks, I can read. I’m illiterate. (indistinguishable pissiness to the girl behind her)

The people around us up front were great until the final third of the Petty show. During an intimate, acoustic rendition of “Learning to Fly,” a guy behind us was yelling loudly on his cell phone. Then he hung up and continued to speak loudly to his buddy, who seemed more reserved than his drunk friend. Both guys were old enough to know better. I hesitated to say anything, but I turned around and indicated to the not-as-drunk guy that maybe they could keep it down a little. He was very cool about it and nodded, saying something to his friend about keeping his voice down. This, of course, didn’t go over well, and I could see the drunk friend making gestures at me behind my back. I let it go until he started pouring beer behind our seats so that some of it would splash onto our feet. I turned around again and gave him a “I-dare you-to-f*ck-with-me-one-more-time” look and his friend took his beer away from him and they switched places. He spent the rest of the night on his cell phone, but wasn’t as loud as he was before. Unfortunately, for the remainder of the concert, I was worrying about what this a-hole was going to do next, and I didn’t have as good of a time as I should have. Thanks a lot, a-hole!

Getting out of Summerfest is always a challenge. For some unknown, inexplicable reason, Wisconsin Coach Lines doesn’t load multiple buses at once, so everyone has to wait – buses and customers – while each bus is loaded individually. It was a 45-minute wait to get on the bus, when it wouldn’t have taken more than 15 minutes if it were set up correctly. This is very frustrating for a guy who used to be an industrial engineer, an industry that specializes in efficiency. Once in my seat, I breathed a sigh of relief. Day one is done!

Artists, Concerts, Rock