It’s that time of year again folks, Summefest is upon us!
Apologies for the long review, I meant to post this in two
parts, but there were some snags with posting yesterday.
For those who are just tuning in, Summerfest is the world's
largest music festival. (Literally, it’s in The
Guiness Book of World Records!) It takes place in the heart of Milwaukee, WI and brings in acts
ranging from small, local talent to internationally renowned superstars. It’s
an eleven day long, twelve stage spectacle with scores of local artists both of
the musical variety and the craft variety. Jewelry makers, fortunetellers,
incense, and cheep t-shirts can be found all over the grounds in addition to foods
from the local restaurants. There’s even a kids zone (though if you want to see
any of the bands in the eight or ten pm slots, you might want to leave the kids
at home). It has to be seen to for the scale to be truly appreciated.
People come from all over the country, sometimes all over
the world for Summefest. IF you’re a music fan and can get out to Milwaukee, WI,
go. Period.
The Marcus Amphitheater : 4/6 I have a soft spot for the
Marcus Amphitheater as I grew up with Summefest and the main stage was always a
special treat because of aforementioned extra cost. While the sound system is of course not the
best the view is nearly always good and the two significantly large screens are
visible enough and large enough that even on the lawn they are visible.
It’s an expansive venue that stretches that dominates one
entire corner of the grounds and attracts the really big names that headline
the festival.
I love the Marcus personally
The show:
I did not manage to watch a full set weds day night, so this
is the speed review section
Edward Sharpe And TheMagnetic Zeros: (3/6) Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros had a psychedelic,
lo- fi feel to it with a lot of country influence. Their sound was very
innocent and a yearning for the past that seemed out of place in a modern
environment. While I understand that
they are meant to be a mellow band, their lack of energy was palpable. I’m mot
sure if i was simply the fact that they were that stoned, or if they simply did
not know how to put out energy well.
They get points for getting the crowd to participate, but overall
not stellar.
Avette Brothers (3/6): The Avette Brothers band took a few
songs to get for me my mind around. It didn’t help that they took a long time
to get their energy up and warm up. They had a surprising number of instruments
that probably haven’t been on the Marcus’ stage often. They scored some pretty
major points from me for the use of a double bass that the bassist actually
carried around, not as in a double necked bass guitar mind you a classical
double bass. And the bass got a solo. So did the cello and the banjo. The banjo
player was particular good.
On the whole, they were good, but not great.
Violent Femmes (2/6) I wasn’t expecting much from a 90s one
hit wonder, and they still managed to fall short of those expectations. While I
have no problems with a band being stoned/high/drunk on stage, they have to be
able to preform well enough to give a good show. The band has to really be
terrible to make me leave 20 minutes in. I did. They get a point for the fact
that it was somewhat coherent. Even the solos were just terrible. It was bad
enough that I was seriously wondering if there was something in their style
that I was missing and they were somehow making that sound on purpose. Given
that the album I recall from when I was younger did have a “stoner rock’ feel
I’m still not sure.
Day 2:
Fun with Walk the Moon and Family of the Year at the Marcus Amphitheater,
Milwaukee WI
Family of the Year: (2/6) I had some issues with reviewing them as the first band in a set is often the sound check band and the bass was *atrociously* off. I find it's a common thing to overdo the bass in order to compensate for weak middle end.
It never works.
The lead vocalists had absolutely no energy to speak of. If a band is
first line opener energy is often you’re only tool. You need to give it
everything or you will fall flat on your face. They were aiming for that same
lazy sound that the above bands had. They sounded lo-fi, nebulously out of
place in time and Sleepy. They were also far too wholesome for my taste and no energy
to speak of. They would have fit right in a few decades ago as a first tear at
a big festival, they seem out of place in time and not in the nostalgic way.
The lyrics were repetitive and felt like they would have
been more appropriate for a child’s venue.
Walk the Moon (3/6): In keeping with the semi-retro feeling
of the past couple days, they have a lot of 80s influent and a solid, bouncy
feeling. It was something easy to dance to. However, Walk the Moon took a
significant effort to warm up. Innately they were clumsy and musically disorganized.
They had one thing that a lot of younger bands
don’t-- they had the ability to
re-collect themselves. I could see the bassist gesturing to the sound
guy and had a very good sense that they were putting the effort and taking the
opportunity to tour with a bigger band seriously
Still not the greatest band I’ve heard, but far from the
worst.
Credit where its due for the amount of crowd interaction
they got, and actually getting the audience going. Even second tier openers
often have issues getting a dedicated crowd motivated. I was impressed to see
the number of fans there to see them explicitly.
Not bad
Fun. : Give me a second; I need to get my story straight.
(5/6)-- I feel like I’m eating my words in a lot of ways.
I’ve been a bit non-pulsed by fun, but
the songs of theirs I do like I
love. I saw them last year at one of the
free stages and they were only fair and nearly inaudible due to some technical
issues. However, even then I could sense
lead vocalist Nate Ruess’ endearing, shyness.
Last night, however, Ruess was charmingly awkward and
insanely energetic. He was the capstone to an excellent night
This year, I think fun really found their stride. The energy
was amazing and they very much lived up to their name. The show was, well, fun.
It also captured that phase a lot of bands have when they rise to fame
quickly. There’s a particular, mind
blown smile that i just love. It happens when the sheer wonderment that the
massive audience in front of them is actually here for their band hits for the
first time.
I don’t know what exactly what it was about their general
feel but I have an instinct that we will remember Fun. for decades to come if
they put the amount of energy into their next album as they did their live
show. I was also very impressed at the
dynamics of the group. In many bands there is a lead vocalist and everyone else
is treated as secondary. I feel like Ruess was genuinely affectionate toward
his band mates and fans.
In fact, the overall genuineness of front dude was
wonderful. He also expended a ridiculous
amount of energy, sprinting from one side of the stage to the other so hard
that toward the finally he fell over briefly. It was unreal.
I was also impressed at the sheer number of instruments that
came out per member. One of the members is listed on the studio work as playing
nine different instruments, touring I think he reduced the number to four.
Moreover, it wasn’t just for one or two songs, he was constantly switching off
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