Billed as the world’s largest music festival, Summerfest (http://www.summerfest.com) starts next Wednesday, June 29th. If you live in Milwaukee, you know it as numerous drunken people and nowhere to park in the downtown area. Like most Summerfest veterans, we complain it used to be cool, with good music and decent beer. Gone are the days when you could catch an afternoon concert with Guided by Voices, Chuck Prophet, or the Lemonheads. My favorite Summerfest memories include: seeing Roy Orbison and John Lee Hooker on the same day, Joe Strummer actually rocking the “Rock Stage”, watching a packed Wilco show from the VIP seats (when they still rocked), and a great double bill with Fountains of Wayne (Stacie’s Mom) and Fastball (The Way – Come on, you love that song). If you like REO Speedwagon, Styx, bad cover bands, Miller beer, and hordes of drunken people, then Summerfest is for you. If it wasn’t for Summerfest, bands like Morris Day and the Time would be unemployed. Here are my picks for this year’s music:
June 29: Hall and Oates
June 30: Wanda Jackson
July 1: Girl Talk
July 3: Best night of the fest, Blue Oyster Cult/Alejandro Escovedo/Jayhawks/Urge Overkill
July 7: Old 97’s/Kings Go Forth
July 8: Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings
July 9: Flaming Lips
Word of advice, if you don’t arrive one to two hours prior to start time, good luck seeing the band. I have heard REO play but have never actually seen them. I will be hanging out by the Lakefront Brewery beer tent and forever trying the hole-in-one contest. I have yet to hit the green.
