Venue: The Summerfest Rock Stage (4/6):
I have discovered this tiny, far away from everything else stage
is fast becoming my favorite stage. While many of the bigger bands come to the
Miller Light Oasis, I have had repeated problems with that stage. This stage
often has better acts, and doesn’t have the overcrowding problem the Oasis and
Harley Davison stages have.
Show:
Makeshift
Prodigy: (3/6)
Ouch.
Makeshift Prodigy is one of my pet bands from back home in Chicago
(I tangentially know their manager) however they have never quite made the leap
from being decent to being really good. I’ve struggled to figure out exactly
what didn’t quite click for me. I loved their style, their amicable nature, the
lyrics were wonderful, the presentation fun.
But the frontman consistently does a few things that make is
performance not quite solid.
First, he sings just a little outside of his vocal range. Which
can be fine, however he does not have the breath support to hit some of the
higher notes he aims for. The result is breathy and will break his voice if he
doesn’t learn to support it. The second thing is easily corrected. Part of
Anthony Banagara’s charm is that he’s shy-natured it lends to the intimacy of a
lot of his shows; however, he does not pull the audience in. There is no eye
contact. This gives the impression of a child rocking out in his bedroom,
rather than an actual performer.
However, the talent is there, and the stage antics are positively
adorable-- Banagara spent a lot of his time making his upright piano his
personal jungle gym (doing flips over it, climbing/standing on it) and was very
bouncy. He has a good sense of how to use his honed skill on the keyboard and
the addition of a bowed guitar was a very nice touch and he managed to pull it
off well.
The backup vocalist/keyboardist/tambourine player(yes really),
however, had presence in spades and charm to spare. He also had vocal talent,
which was wonderful.
Overall, these guys have always had promise, but in the two years
I’ve been following them they have yet to really gain momentum. Good luck to
them.
You have to get up pretty early in the morning to put on a good
show before sunset at a festival, doubly so to nearly earn a 6 from me. These
guys did both.
Art Of Dying is feel good arena rock with a positivity that is
rare in rock and roll these days without going soft and hackneyed.
This is my third Art of Dying show and
they have consistently improved their act. I feel like their album at this
point does them a disservice. While it is a great album, it lacks the arena
rock style and charisma that Art of Dying bring live. Jonny Heatherington has charisma and a knack with the crowd
that I’ve not seen in a long time. Gracious, but not humble
Heatherington gives a dynamic show and has the ability to get even a lazy
crowd on its feet. He is also very good about actually disappearing from the
stage to let his band mates have their big moments--Including a killer drum
solo and an extent guitar solo
The guitarist is also a very talented and has a powerful dynamic
with the front dude
However, there were too many set breaks for an opener. Often bands
that are well known enough to be the last opener forgets that they are intact
still openers. You only have one hour tops, do your thing fast.
Another thing that went a long way with me was how courteous and friendly the entire band was and what a fun sense of humor Heatherington showed.
I look forward to meeting them again.
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