Summerfest 2018, take 2

As disappointed as I was in the Summerfest lineup this year, I decided to take a gamble tonight. We had been settled in at Kates’ parents since Sunday night and I nearly decided to stay put, doubting it was worth the 2 ½ drive over to Milwaukee, essentially to hear two songs.

But Foster the People was playing, and I really wanted to hear two songs live and have the unmatched Summerfest experience. A night to myself, to be me.

So I went. I dropped my stuff at Orrin’s and Kelli’s house – which has become our de facto Airbnb when we visit the state each summer. I rolled into downtown around 6 p.m., found a parking garage and began my walk to the grounds.

With the lakefront fireworks set to launch at dark, a crowd was filling the grounds surrounding the art museum. It was a festive and gorgeous night downtown. But what night at Summerfest isn’t?

I took my time strolling through the grounds tonight, more so than usual, wanting to soak up the sights and sounds. As I told my mom the other night, I live for being in that atmosphere every summer.

There was a lot of great music coming from the side stages tonight. I caught a long-haired rocker at the Tiki Lounge doing “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Better yet, I walked up to another stage where a classic rock cover band had a crowd of people dancing to a spot-on version of “Melt with You,” and they followed it with a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell.” Further down, a male duo was wielding their guitars on a grunge-style original.

I passed through the marketplace. Gazed at the Ferris wheel. And grabbed a cheeseburger at one of my favorite Summerfest eating spots, Miss Katie’s Diner.

I settled in at the Miller Lite Oasis to hear Attica Riots last song, “Blood, Sunshine and Hysteria.” And I liked it.

Drax Project, a New Zealand outfit, came on at 8:30 and announced they were playing their first U.S. show. The crowd immediately jumped to their feet on the benches as the band opened with “Toto.”

The jazz-pop band’s hour-long set featured a mix of songs off their newly released EP and unreleased tracks, including “Hollywood.” They kept the atmosphere light and fun and were a perfect warmup for Foster the People. … I liked them, too, and have already downloaded their EP, along with a few Attica Riots tracks. Summerfest did me good tonight.

As if it was planned, Drax Project left the stage and Milwaukee’s lakefront fireworks began lighting up the sky behind us, providing an entertaining interlude while the stagehands went to work to set the stage for Foster the People.

Rarely off schedule at Summerfest, the clock struck 10 and the stage began filling with fog. It barely let up the rest of Foster the People’s set, a flashy showcase –literally – of punchy electronic rock.

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel …

As white clouds enveloped and sometimes obscured Foster the People, I couldn’t help wondering about the indie-pop band’s smoke budget. Must be sizable. 

Not that it was needed. Foster the People has enough hits, including “Pumped Up Kicks” and “Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls)” to attract an overflow crowd at the Miller Lite Oasis Tuesday night. Plus a light show that competed with and sometimes complemented the fireworks over Lake Michigan.

Lead singer Mark Foster played guitar and keyboards and commanded the stage in a Hawaiian shirt while powering through “Helena Beat,” “Coming of Age” and “Don’t Stop.”

Commanding indeed.

But seriously. The sole reason I went to Summerfest tonight – although, once there, I found several other things to enjoy – was to hear “Pumped Up Kicks.” It was the song of the summer in 2011, and it felt like everyone in the crowd was there last night to hear it. It helped that “Sit Next to Me” is hot on the radio this summer – it might be my favorite song of this season – and I like “Don’t Stop,” too.

I played Foster’s three albums a couple weeks ago to re-familiarize myself with the band’s work, but still nothing about them excited me like the songs I named above. Tonight was one of the rare occasions I went to see a band perform without a broad admiration for their whole catalogue. Tonight was all about discovery and hoping to find a deeper appreciation.

It turned out to be the right decision. With a youthful crowd cheering them on, every song seemed to begin with a roar of synthesizers. Foster bounced and slid his feet across the stage at times like he was channeling James Brown. The flashing lights combined with the pumping electronic beats made it a full-fledged party. I couldn’t sing any of the songs word for word tonight, but it didn’t matter. I just listened let my eyes soak up the spectacle surrounding me.

One of the highlights included a romping cover of the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop.”



To close out the set, Mark Foster, who hadn’t spoken more than a few words to the crowd all night, offered up a rallying statement about the issues dividing our country – something I was expecting before “Pumped Up Kicks” – and then glided into a smooth-sounding “Sit Next to Me.”



The band had barely left the stage and the crowd started a fist-pumping chant of “Pumped Up Kicks” when Foster returned. They fired off “I Love My Friends” and then their signature hit – which the band seemed to play hastily as if they just wanted to please the crowd and get it over with.



The setlist:

1. Houdini
2. Are You What You Want to Be?
3. Pay the Man
4. Helena Beat
5. Coming of Age
6. Waste
7. Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)
8. Lotus Eater
9. Blitzkrieg Bop (Ramones cover)
10. Pseudologia Fantastica
11. A Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon
12. Doing It for the Money
13. Loyal Like Sid & Nancy
14. Sit Next To Me
    
    Encore
15. I Love My Friends
16. Pumped Up Kicks

Summerfest 2018, take 1

So I saw James Taylor perform tonight. For the third time. ... Twelve years ago, I was dreaming of seeing him just once.

But when Summerfest began announcing its headliners last spring and my mom saw James Taylor was coming, she urged me to get tickets, mostly for Dad. James Taylor is one of his musical heroes and seeing him live was a bucket list item. I was skeptical of how my mom might do, though, with her MS in the loud and crowded environment of Summerfest, but she insisted she wanted to go with us. So I jumped on it the morning tickets went on sale and snagged us three bleacher seats at center stage. Kates, having seeing him with me two times, was comfortable staying back with the girls.

To my surprise and delight, Mom was all about getting the full Summerfest experience. While Kates and the girls went to Orrin’s for the day, we hung out at our hotel and then headed for the Summerfest grounds mid-afternoon.

With Dad driving and me navigating in the front passenger seat, getting through Milwaukee traffic was the toughest test of my mother’s delicate mind. She freaks out at the swerve or brake of any vehicle and raises her voice at my father any time he goes even one mile per hour over the speed limit. “Oh-my-gosh-geez-camoni” she shouted at one point of distress, leaning back and grabbing her seat as if we were riding a roller coaster. It was only that treacherous in her mind.

When she said during our drive that she needed a beer, I would have sworn she was being facetious. But she asked Dad and me to stop at the first Leinenkugel’s stand we came to inside the grounds and had Dad buy us a round of Summer Shandys. What a moment that was, and, wow, it tasted good.

I led them on a tour of the grounds, explaining how the landscape has changed in my 15 or so years of going to Summerfest and showing them some of my favorite spots. We stopped at a couple of the stages to get a taste of the culture - from the Ecuadorian band that plays somewhere on the grounds every summer to a bongo drum collective. Mom reflected on coming to Summerfest back in 1974 when it was mostly gravel and the stages were much smaller. Now it’s paved with state-of-the-art stages, and full-scale restaurants and dining areas, among other features, from one end of the grounds to the other.

Having walked the entire grounds and with the James Taylor show scheduled to begin at 7:30, we made our way to the amphitheater entrance. With Mom in her wheelchair, the guest services staff was accommodating at every turn, pointing us to our seats and providing a place for us to store her wheelchair during the show.

We had been sitting for a couple minutes when the crowd erupted, and we looked up to see Mr. Taylor walking on to the stage. He welcomed the crowd, assured us we were in for a great night and then introduced his opening act, the one and only Bonnie Raitt.

Admittedly, I’m probably under appreciative of her work. Growing up, if I wasn’t listening to oldies stations and classic rock with my dad, I was listening to light radio with my mom, and the latter is how I got to know Bonnie. “Something to Talk About” was a staple, as was “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” two songs I might put on a list of my 500 all-time favorites. I also remember how much I hated hearing “Love Sneakin’ Up On You” when it came out in 1994. By that time I was deep into my teenage years and had migrated to the top 40 radio stations more suited for my age, bit that song was so overplayed no matter what radio station I listened to that summer.

With all of those memories as a backdrop in my mind, she was an exciting act to see. While she stuck to a set filled mostly with bluesy covers that I didn’t recognize, her voice was still crisp and her command of the guitar appearing effortless.

About midway through her set, she pulled out “Something to Talk About” - which was every bit as great as I had hoped.



She followed it with “Nick of Time,” a song I’d forgotten about, and it sounded so good live.

From the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel …

Across 10 songs, she showed she was worth every accolade and then some, including a smoking blues-rock rendition of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” (with Ivan Neville’s keys throwing a bit of gas on the flames).

And she dedicated a sparsely gorgeous cover of John Prine’s “Angel From Montgomery” to women suffering around the world, including those “separated from their children right now,” an apparent reference to the immigration crisis. 

And before she wrapped up, she slapped on some lipstick as Taylor returned to the stage to jam along to John Hiatt’s “Thing Called Love,” the friends huddling together, electric guitars in hand.

After an intermission and a complete set change that morphed into a colorful house, the stage soon came alive with a prolonged video retrospective of Taylor’s career through interview and concert footage, photos and TV appearances that included - a favorite from my childhood - his performance of Jellyman Kelly on “Sesame Street.”

Finally, Taylor appeared with his band and took centerstage on his iconic stool and began strumming “Carolina In My Mind.”



Similar to when Kates and I saw him a few years ago in Kansas City, the show seemed to begin quietly and took time to hit its stride. Mixed with the easy going melodies of “Walking Man” and “Handy Man,” he threw in lesser knowns “Sunny Skies” and “First of May.”

Part of the reason the first half the show seemed to drag could be attributed to the man sitting in front of us and his dingbat female companion, who proceeded to play games and scroll through social media feeds on her brightly lit phone the whole time Taylor was performing. And when she wasn’t doing something on her phone, she was stretching her back and moving in a way that blocked our views of the stage. Her father or much older boyfriend or whoever the guy was sitting next to her never raised a finger to stop her. It was the worst concert etiquette I’ve ever witnessed, and we were thankful to God when they got up halfway through the show and never returned.

Like the Kansas City show, Taylor and his band turned the energy level up when he hit “Mexico” and barely let up on the gas pedal the rest of the way, spinning hit after hit.

We marveled during the previous shows at Taylor’s storytelling ability and comic timing, too, and it was present tonight also. One story he told tonight that I didn’t recall from the other shows revolved around him playing “Something In the Way She Moves” for Paul McCartney and George Harrison when he auditioned for Apple Records. George liked it so much that he rewrote it himself, Taylor quipped.

And the multimedia production that provided the backdrop to Taylor and Co. throughout was a show of its own. Jumping off on the retrospective that opened the show, the screen alternated from close-ups of the band members to colorful scenes of Americana and beautiful landscapes to go with Taylor’s lyrics. Every time Taylor introduced a band member, a photo appeared of the musician performing as a child or early in their career. During “Sweet Baby James,” images rolled across the screen of the lyrics printed in a book, giving the audience the sense they were following along with a bedtime story.



While I enjoyed my personal favorites like “Mexico” and “Your Smiling Face,” Taylor’s performance of “Fire and Rain” felt especially poignant. It’s Dad’s favorite, and I could feel him flush with emotion as he listened to it.



The nostalgia and good vibes were really flowing by the time Taylor closed out his set. Bonnie Raitt joined him on stage for a rousing cover of “Johnny B. Goode.”

.@JamesTaylor_com & @TheBonnieRaitt back on stage together again @Summerfest to pay tribute to @ChuckBerry. More coverage @journalsentinel pic.twitter.com/9LtWL0ZNTc

— Piet Levy (@pietlevy) June 29, 2018

That initially appeared as though it was going to be Taylor’s last song as the band bowed and waved to the standing crowd. But then Taylor appeared to call an audible, huddling with his band and waving a finger as if to say, “one more.” A camera shot on the big screens showed a woman wearing headphones in the audio booth and waving a finger back at Taylor in agreement. The result was Taylor leading a crowd sing-along of “You’ve Got a Friend.”



Finally, Bonnie Raitt rejoined James once more. I knew what was coming and they took their seats on a pair of stools to sing, “You Can Close Your Eyes.”



It had been a truly special and memorable night with my mom and dad. We left the grounds with smiling faces.

The setlist

1. Carolina In My Mind
2. Country Road
3. Sunny Skies
4. Walking Man
5. First of May
6. Handy Man
7. Steamroller
8. Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
9. Up On The Roof
10. Mexico
11. Something In the Way She Moves
12. Sweet Baby James
13. Fire and Rain
14. Shed a Little Light
15. Your Smiling Face
16. Shower the People
17. How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)
    
    Encore
18. Johnny B. Goode
19. You’ve Got a Friend
20. You Can Close Your Eyes

Summer vacation, day 7: Happy 50th, Summerfest

Seven days into our summer vacation and I finally got to join the Summerfest party tonight.

The Big Gig is turning 50 this year, and I was determined not to miss it. Living eight hours away and having a growing family has made it more difficult in recent years. Due to the girls' summer activities this year and our travel schedule for this vacation, tonight was the earliest I could get here.

After Summerfest announced this year's headliners in the spring, I was whining out loud to Kates about all the great bands I was going to miss during the first half of the festival. The Moody Blues. Toto. Hanson. My beloved Guster. Paul Simon played the Marcus Amphitheater.

"We could move back to Wisconsin," Kates said. And my whining stopped right then and there. I love my job too much and am not ready to have that conversation yet.

Sunday night we were in town, and I debated coming down to the festival to catch Steve Miller Band. But I opted instead for a quiet night with the girls and several episodes of "Fuller House."

So tonight was the night. I really wanted to see Tegan and Sara. I've enjoyed their stuff for more than a decade now and, after a few missed opportunities, wanted to be a part of their Summerfest stop this year.

I left Kates and the girls this afternoon with Kates' parents on the other side of the state. I met rush hour traffic in Milwaukee, found a parking garage near the art museum and was on the grounds around 6:30.

I went true Wisconsin for dinner and got myself a Usinger's Italian sausage covered with marinara sauce and grilled onions. With a Mountain Dew, of course.

From there, I explored the grounds. I passed through the Summerfest store to see if I could pick up anything unique to mark Summerfest's big 5-0, but the merchandise was way overpriced - $50 t-shirts! $30 for a commemorative guitar pick! I paged through the commemorative book, and it also was a major disappointment, filled with large photos and little written content. It lacked any creative design and looked like some kid made it by importing Summerfest's photo collection into some Shutterfly photo book software and clicking the order button.

Further lowering my expectations of any interesting or attention-grabbing output from Summerfest's creative or archiving staff was the "Summerfest 50" history exhibit, which I should note was created in partnership with the Milwaukee County Historical Society - and you'd think that partnership would help raise the bar. ... But it was nothing more than a series of banners printed with photos and some captions, mostly copied straight from the commemorative book. The exhibit was meant to be a chronological history, but some of the photos - based on my own Summerfest history knowledge and what I had just seen in the book - were clearly out of order. No Summerfest memorabilia either. My history faculty friends at the university and their students would have put that exhibit to shame.

I explored the grounds a little longer. I saw a bikini-clad woman hipping a hula hoop while playing a saxophone.

A woman painted in gold and wearing a suit, performing as a statue in the middle of the lakeshore walking path. And a young man repeatedly juggling for a minute or so before turning into a statue, a sign on the ground in front of him asking passersby to drop money in his bucket to see him come alive.

I also heard two covers of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" within my first hour on the grounds. ... The crowd was noticeably sparse tonight, compared to most Summerfest nights, though. After all, the ground headliners were lightweights, with REO Speedwagon being, arguably, the major draw at the BMO Harris Pavilion, while Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers was playing at the Marcus. There were Plenty of good seats available for Tegan and Sara.

A semi-cool guy rock band - King Washington whose sound reminded me of the BoDeans - played at 8.

It was Tegan and Sara's turn at 10, and what can I say? They were a pleasure to see and hear.

Rainbow lights moved over the stage - which was set with three huge beachy inflatables spelling out T-&-S - as the band came on to the sound of Le Tigre's "I'm So Excited." I'm not sure that was planned, but it was a fitting introduction.

The show took on a relaxed, chilled vibe as their synth pop and layered vocals filled the space. The girls - conceding they are 37 years old, though they still look like 18 - bee-bopped and twirled around the stage while they sang. They were cute. And genuine with the crowd as they shared about their exploration of Milwaukee earlier in the day and complimented the crowd on having a beautiful city. At one point they gave a shout-out to all of the single people in the crowd and tried playing matchmaker - "90s-style." They proclaimed their open support for the LGBTQ community without getting political. "There's lots of love to go around at a Tegan and Sara concert," Tegan said.

The show really hit its stride when Tegan moved away from her Korg synthesizer, strapped on a guitar and the band banged out the thumping "Northshore." They followed it with an equally thunderous "Living  Room," which is one of my favorites. Here's a snippet ...



In honor of 10 years since releasing "The Con," they announced plans to perform the full album and stripped-down version of those songs during upcoming shows. They proceeded to go acoustic on their next three songs, "The Con," "Call It Off" and "Nineteen."

The acoustic set was just enough of an interlude before they got back to their electronics and turned the volume back up with a series of songs from their latest album, "Love You to Death," including "Hang on to the Night," "BWU," "Stop Desire" and "U-turn."

Of course, they ended their set with "Boyfriend" ...



And "Closer" ...



Two of their biggest hits, there was no other way out. And they sounded great.

And that was it. An efficient exploration of the best material in their catalogue that lasted barely an hour. But it was a pleasure.

Here's the setlist ...

1. “Back in Your Head”
2. “How Come You Don't Want Me”
3. “I Couldn't Be Your Friend”
4. “Goodbye, Goodbye”
5. “Drove Me Wild”
6. “I Was A Fool”
7. “Shock To Your System”
8. “Alligator”
9. “Northshore”
10. “Living Room”
11. “The Con”
12. “Call It Off”
13. “Nineteen”
14. "Hang on to the Night"
15. “BWU”
16. “Stop Desire”
17. “U-turn”
18. “Boyfriend”
19. “Closer”

Get Ready for Summerfest's 50th!

Oh, snap. I can.not. wait.

Summerfest turns 50 next year. The countdown to June 28 has begun.

Summerfest 2016 Headliners!

Aw yeah! I wait all winter for this announcement to come each spring.



I probably won't get to see all of them, but I'll be eyeing dates for, at the least, Death Cab for Cutie, Ray LaMontagne, Ben Folds, Indigo Girls, Bruce Hornsby & the Noisemakers, O.A.R., and even Richard Marx.

The countdown begins.

Throwing it back at Summerfest

The week of concert experiences that I just had is now history and will be impossible to top.

Mates of State and The New Pornographers last Sunday. The Weepies on Wednesday. And I capped it with Toad the Wet Sprocket last night to end Summerfest. Holy man.

In fact, last night was something of a 1990s extravaganza at Summerfest. Bookending Toad the Wet Sprocket were Tonic and Smash Mouth, all of whom are touring together this summer.

I saw Tonic during their heyday in 1998, and I liked enough of their songs that I was interested in seeing their 5 o’clock show last night. … It didn’t work out. The band was playing at the BMO Harris Pavilion, a newer stage on the grounds that I’m still trying to like, and it was swallowing their sound. The music was way too loud and indecipherable for my tastes, so I walked away after a few songs.

After grabbing a tasty burger and a glass of Mountain Dew at the stand for Miss Katie’s Diner – one of my favorite Summerfest dining spots – I headed to the Miller Lite Oasis to stake out a spot for Toad the Wet Sprocket. I found it in the third row, just left of center stage.

A short time later, Pet Engine took the stage. I gathered that they were a popular rock band playing the Milwaukee circuit during the 1990s and they provided a strong warm-up to Toad with their original alternative rock songs. Though they clearly had some longtime fans in the crowd, I think it’s safe to say the majority, including me, warmed up nicely to them by the end of their set. They threw in a rock cover of “Rainbow Connection” for good measure, too.

Funny thing about the crowd. Looking around, I got the sense that I had finally left the teenie bopper set behind this year and was proud to be in the mix with an older, more mature crowd that knew good music. The crowd was filled with people around my age through Baby Boomers – and it was that way at all the other shows I attended during the last week, too. … Heck, the guys in Pet Engine could have been the men in the Dad Life video. That, and they had a guy playing guitar who could easily have passed for Phil Dunphy.

At 8 p.m., it was Toad the Wet Sprocket’s turn. Going in, I had no idea of what to expect.

Toad the Wet Sprocket was one of the defining bands of my youth. I got hooked by hearing their songs on the radio during the mid 90s, and I fell hard for them when my girlfriend at the time loaned me her copy of "Dulcinea." I asked for the album that Christmas and got two copies of it. ... I added "Fear" to my music library shortly after that, and the rest of their albums in later years (Here's a good read about the making of "Fear."). ... I was crushed when I learned of their break-up in 1998 – and Ben Folds Five, the only other band I truly cared about around that time, did the same a short time later.

The one and only time I saw them was at H.O.R.D.E. Fest during the summer 1998 and their performance is a blur to me. As I remember it, their set was unfairly brief, and me and my buddies were positioned far beyond the stage in the lawn section where people laid out blankets to sit on. I couldn’t even tell you what songs they played that day. …

Toad was largely dead for the better part of the 2000s. Do they still have it? I wondered.

The answer is a whole-hearted yes, and it was worth every bit of the three-hour drive from The Farm and fighting post-Fourth of July traffic to get there. … While I was on cloud nine Wednesday night just having a chance to see The Weepies, and that was a great performance, I have to hand it to Toad as the most enjoyable performance of the week.

Kicking off their set with “Good Intentions,” all of the elements just sounded … right.



Glen Phillips’ voice hasn’t aged, and the band sounded every bit as fantastic as when I listened to them on the radio and my CDs throughout the late 90s. Mixing in a few newer songs – which sounded as great and fit in well with the old stuff – they started to get the crowd going with “Come Down” and “Stupid.”



Then they really hit a groove with a run of old fan favorites, starting with “Way Away” and “Is It For Me.”

“Crazy Life” sounded great with the crowd singing along at its loudest to that point. Next, a fast-paced “Nanci.” ...



Then they closed out “Brother” and “Nightingale Song” with extended jams, featuring a mandolin solo on the latter. And from there they rolled right into “All I Want” and “Fall Down,” wasting almost no time between the two. “All I Want” really got the crowd singing, too.



I was so wrapped up in the music and atmosphere that I had completely forgotten about “Walk On the Ocean.” It, too, was excellent and included an extended jam.

By the time, Toad left the stage, the clock was pushing 9:15, but the crowd was hooked and wanted more. A chant of “Toad, Toad, Toad, Toad …” erupted and after a couple minutes the band members returned to the stage, looking humbled but excited to play another song. By then, though, the tech crew was already setting the stage for Smash Mouth, who were due to come on at 10.

The discussion that ensued between Toad and the crew was like watching baseball players debate an out call with a crew of umpires. But Toad won out and Glen Phillips signaled to the crowd with his finger that the band could play one more song ... Even then, the crew had already turned off their mics and it took what seemed like a couple more minutes to get them back on. When they did, the band started into their encore song, but the mics weren’t turned loud enough and the vocals couldn’t be heard. Several people in the crowd began signaling the sound booth to turn up the mics, and when they did – already halfway through the song – the crowd erupted in a loud cheer.

It was such a crazy few minutes that I couldn't make out the last song.

Here's the spot-on review of the show from OnMilwaukee ... and aha! The encore song was a cover of David Bowie's “Ziggy Stardust.”

The band, featuring Glen Phillips on lead vocals and guitar, Dean Dinning on bass and vocals, Todd Nichols on lead guitar and vocals, and Randy Guss on the drums, was a straight up, no BS, rock/pop show with a characteristic absence of glitz and glamor.

The crowd was made up of a combination of die-hard fans -- many of which knew all the words to the songs -- and a good showing of Smash Mouth fans, many donning green faces and Shrek-eared headbands.

The setlist
1. Good intentions
2. Whatever I Fear
3. Something’s Always Wrong



4. New Constellation
5. California Wasted
6. Come Down
7. I’ll Bet On You
8. Stupid
9. Architect Of The Ruin
10. Way Away
11. Is It For Me
12. Crazy Life
13. Nanci
14. Brother
15. Nightingale Song
16. All I Want
17. Fall Down
18. Walk On the Ocean

Encore
19. Ziggy Stardust

(Updated 09.02.2015) Here's a late-breaking video Glen-Phillips-at Summerfest interview posted to the Summerfest YouTube Channel ...



As for Smash Mouth, I can count the songs I know from them on one hand: “All-Star,” “Can’t Get Enough of You, Baby,” “Walkin on the Sun.” … Throughout the afternoon, I had been debating in my head whether to stay for their performance. Really, Toad the Wet Sprocket was who I came to see, and I would have been more than delighted to see them and leave.

But I had a change of heart when someone started tossing “Shrek” ears to the crowd, and I realized, Oh yeah, they had that cover of ‘I’m a Believer’ in the ‘Shrek’ movie, too. So I figured I’d stay, at least for a little bit.

Funny thing about that crowd again. When Toad the Wet Sprocket finished their set, the crowd changed completely. All of a sudden my 30-something-to-Baby-Boomer crowd had deserted me and I was surrounded by mostly rough-around-the-edges, cigarette-smoking, beer-nursing 20-somethings. They represented the immature, cutting-into-the-tiniest-spaces-on-the-benches teenie boppers I loathe at Summerfest. The crowd I thought I had finally gotten away from. … And I got the impression they were only there because they liked “All-Star” and hearing “I’m A Believer” – the Smash Mouth version they surely think is the original, which, kids, is not even The Monkees, but Neil Diamond! – on “Shrek” when they were 10 years old.

As the kid next to me predicted, they opened with “Can’t Get Enough of You, Baby,” and it sounded decent. But, oh were they loud. … I endured a couple more songs – that I didn’t recognize – before jumping from my spot on the bench and vacating the area. As I walked away, I thought I heard “Everyday Superhero,” which sounded all right, and “Then The Morning Comes,” which I really enjoyed in its day. ... As I got closer to my car I could hear them across the parking lot playing “Why Can’t We Be Friends.” Oh yeah, I realized, they covered that one for a modest hit, too.

I really should have left when Toad the Wet Sprocket finished.

And gone to see Kansas instead. Here's there's performance of “Dust in the Wind.”

Adding to my annoyance, I was craving a Taco Bell fix and found the closest location. But when I pulled up to the drive-thru, the cashier told me the restaurant wasn’t serving food because its sewer was backed up. Lovely. 

So I headed for the McDonald’s down the street. But their was no microphone in sight to place my order at the drive-thru. When I pulled up to the window, thinking I could place my order there, the girl I saw through the window ignored me.

Finally, I found a Taco Bell two more miles across town. I decided to pull up even though the line of cars in the drive-thru nearly extended beyond the parking lot. I was able to place my order soon enough, but then the line slowed to a snail’s pace. It took me almost an hour – an hour! – to get my food, as part of the search that started more than 90 minutes earlier just to fix a little Taco Bell craving. The struggle was real.

At least Toad the Wet Sprocket rocked.

Going back to Summerfest!

I'm not sure how or why I've been so lucky these last few years. Now five years into this “adventure” and living hundreds of miles away, we managed to return to Summerfest last night.

Every year -- at least for the last few years -- I leave wondering if it will be my last trip to the World's Largest Music Festival. But every year it offers something to get me back, and for the most part the schedule works out in my favor. ... If this is my last year -- for a while -- it was a heckuva way to go out.

It's also continuing a remarkable run of seeing some of my all-time favorite bands at the heights of their careers, in some neat venues and some pretty unique performances. Fun at Summerfest two summers ago. Guster at Summerfest on the Fourth of July. Ben Folds at the Kauffman Center with the Kansas City Symphony. Ingrid Michaelson at Summerfest. Nickel Creek at Kansas City’s Uptown Theater. The New Pornographers in Omaha.

And now. By the end of this week! I will have seen four! of my favorite bands and artists. Mind blown.  

(A disclaimer: When I say favorite bands and artists, I'm including only modern, active artists who have released an album of original material in the last five years , which excludes bands like The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Chicago, The Carpenters, Simon & Garfunkel, The Mamas & the Papas and even Fleetwood Mac -- because of the modern clause -- among others. And if I were to concoct a Top 10 list -- ok, 11, because it's too hard to remove one of these -- of the bands or artists who fall into that category, it would look something like this, in alphabetical order: Ben Folds/Ben Folds Five, Guster, Ingrid Michaelson, Matchbox Twenty/Rob Thomas, Mates of State, The New Pornographers, Nickel Creek, Sara Bareilles, The Shins, Toad the Wet Sprocket, The Weepies.) 

When this year's Summerfest headliners were announced in March, my mind was blown. But the early schedules showed Mates of State and The New Pornographers both playing at 10 o'clock tonight on separate stages, and that presented a conundrum for me because, although I had seen both once before, I badly wanted to see both again. ... Then, more luck. At some point, as the acts, stages and show times were solidified, Mates of State were moved to the 6:30 p.m. time slot at the Miller Lite Oasis, and The New Pornographers were set to perform on the same stage at 10. Golden.

Also on the docket last night were The Mowgli's, who I would have liked to see only to hear this song. ... And Paris Hilton. Really. More on her in a bit.

So we departed The Farm after lunch yesterday and headed for Milwaukee. We made a pit stop at Lowe's to get ear plugs for the girls to wear at the Fest and arrived at Orrin's and Kelli's house. It's also become something of a tradition for them to join us for one night of Summerfest and provide accommodations for us before they take off for their own vacation. ... Phoebe and Brawley also have become fast friends since she joined the family last summer.

We arrived at the Summerfest grounds around 5 and let the girls play in the fountains for awhile -- next to a collection of guys beating on buckets and attracting quite a crowd. As they say, there is something for everyone at Summerfest, and this was definitely entertaining.

After splitting up on a search for food and meeting up again at a picnic table to enjoy our sustenance, we grabbed a spot on the benches at the Miller Lite Oasis. Third row!

We arrived just in time for Mates of State and it was a glorious feeling to be seeing them again. First, a tweet and a good, quick read...

PREMIERE: @matesofstate still love each other more than you’ll ever love anything http://t.co/9CvlPp2MpJ pic.twitter.com/N4kxVzMWCn

— Noisey (@NoiseyMusic) June 9, 2015

Going in, I had read that their summer tour was offering something of a greatest hits collection, which pleased me and boosted my confidence that we would hear a lot of their hits and fan favorites. Indeed, we got to hear a lot from “Re-Arrange Us,” and Kates and the girls and I shared some fun moments singing and swaying to those songs -- “My Only Offer,” “The Re-Arranger” and “Now” -- which are come of our favorites to play during our dance parties around the house.

And yet, they didn't play “Fraud in the '80s,” which makes that 0-for-2 in the times I've seen them play. Aside from “Hoarding It For Home” and “Ha Ha,” they ditched their older stuff. “Palomino” was the only track from “Mountaintops” -- arguably their strongest album -- to get any play.

They balanced their set with new stuff from their just-released EP, "You're Going to Make It,” and it was all good. I've always believed live performances should enhance your appreciation for the artists, their craft and the music they're performing -- and Mates of State succeeded last night when it came to the songs from the EP. Going in, the album's third track, "I Want to Run,” was the only one I really considered a favorite. Interestingly, they played all of the tracks from that album except "I Want to Run.” And now I'd call all of them favorites.

“Staring Contest” -- which, by the way, has a great video featuring the Mates and their kids -- was particularly great, but my favorite moment of the entire set was their finale. Kori Gardner took Jason's Hammel's seat at the drum kit while he took center stage at the mic, and they rolled into “Beautiful Kids.” Jason got about as close as he could to the crowd, kneeling at the front of the stage and making eyes with people. Then, as the song reached its climax, Kori moved to the center mic and beat her drumsticks on the mic stand while Jason continued to bounce around the stage.

While this go-around with Mates of State didn't feel as tight or intimate as my first date with them in Kansas City, their synergy remains as infectious as their music and it was a terrible shame that they were relegated to a 6:30 show and couldn't attract a larger crowd at Summerfest. Here's the end of “Beautiful Kids” ...



Mates of State's setlist ...
1. So Many Ways
2. Palomino
3. My Only Offer
4. Get Better
5. Staring Contest
6. Gonna Get It
7. The Re-Arranger
8. Hoarding It For Home
9. Now 10. Side of Boxes
11. Ha Ha
12. You Are Free
13. True Love Will Find You in the End
14. Beautiful Kids

(Updated 07.02.2015) Here's a good read about Mates of State from The Kansas City Star.

By the time Mates of State were finished, Kates and the girls had gone to make their bed times. In the meantime, my good friends from K-Town, Laura and Kevin, joined Orrin, Kelli, and I ... and the sleepy sounds of Field Report were forced upon us. Bon Iver would have been more interesting. It made no sense for them to be playing between Mates of State and The New Pornographers. Mates of State was so much more deserving of the 8 o'clock slot.

Finally, the clock struck 10 and The New Pornographers took the stage for the moment we'd all been waiting for. As I predicted to Orrin, they opened with the fist-pumping, can't-get-it-out-of my-head “Brill Bruisers.”

It was no match for my iPhone camera ...



As I'd also expected, Neko Case and Dan Bejar hadn't made the trip, which altered their setlist and made me ever more grateful for the euphoric show I got to see last fall in Omaha. While their big sound was still there last night, it was just a different show and vibe.

Just as the Omaha show, I was planted in front of stage left and mesmerized watching Kathryn Calder perform on the keyboard. She proved herself more than capable of filling in for Case, and her voice really soared on “You Tell Me Where,” “Mass Romantic” and “The Bleeding Heart Show.”

Also duplicating the Omaha show, “Adventures in Solitude” -- sounding just as sparkling and beautiful with Newman on the acoustic guitar and Calder on the keyboard -- and the sped up “Mass Romantic” were standouts of the set.

Here's a snippet of “All The Old Showstoppers."




Of course, the only way they could end it was with a throwdown of “The Bleeding Heart Show.”



Here's the review from Radio Milwaukee ...

The New Pornographers' setlist
1. Brill Bruisers
2. Moves
3. The Slow Descent into Alcoholism
4. Use it
5. Dancehall Dominae
6. Your Hands (Together)
7. Another Drug Deal of the Heart
8. The Laws Have Changed
9. You Tell Me Where
10. Testament To Youth In Verse
11. Fantasy Fools
12. Adventures in Solitude
13. All The Old Showstoppers
14. Champions of Red Wine
15. Sweet Talk, Sweet Talk
16. Backstairs
17. Sing Me Spanish Techno
18. Mass romantic

Encore
19. The Bleeding Heart Show

So about Paris Hilton. ... The crowd for The New Pornographers -- a fantastic rock band with wide appeal -- was surprisingly sparse. Why? Because the teen-to-20-something crowd had flooded the ground around the stage where Paris was not really singing or performing but playing DJ, pushing buttons, turning knobs and spinning records on an electronic console by herself at center stage.

After The New Pornographers performed, Orrin, Kelli and I wandered over to take in the spectacle. Sure enough, it was Paris doing whatever she was doing. The kids were packed in like sardines around the stage, and still some managed to dart in and out like ants off to other priorities while talking on or tapping smart phones. From our vantage point, no one was paying attention to Paris.



In other Summerfest news and observations ...

The Rolling Stones kicked off the festival last Tuesday night in what was probably the most anticipated and buzzed-about performance in Summerfest history. Tickets sold out in seven minutes and I had a handful of friends who were lucky to be there. They weren't disappointed.

Here's a good read about how Summerfest landed The Stones.
And here's a good read about Summerfest and the Stones from The Wall Street Journal. 

Sheryl Crow also played Wednesday night, but we saw her in 2010. ... Vance Joy and OK Go are playing Thursday night, and The Doobie Brothers are playing Friday night, but they don't fit our schedule. I do plan to return Sunday night for Tonic, Toad the Wet Sprocket and Smash Mouth.

Stevie Wonder played Saturday night, and it would have been great to see him again. But I'm more than content with the memories of my night with him in 2008 ... Here's an interview with Stevie from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Summerfest 2015

Here's one more sign that summer is coming ...

An email landed in my inbox this morning with a video trailer announcing the headliners for this year's Summerfest.

Watching on my iPhone, I tapped the play button with high anticipation.

There's a lot of recognizable names -- some pretty big, including Sheryl Crow, who we saw there in 2010 -- during the first minute-in-a-half. But I was underwhelmed.

Then The New Pornographers popped up. Whoah. 

Toad the Wet Sprocket, too! Yes!

And Mates of State. Boom!

I screamed out loud when that last one flashed on the screen. With some luck I've been fortunate to see all of them once -- The New Pornographers last fall in Omaha, Mates of State in 2011 in Kansas City, and Toad the Wet Sprocket in 1997 in Kansas City on the heels of their Coil album. But the prospect of seeing just one of those three bands -- all of whom are among my all-time favorites -- at Summerfest is enough to make my musical brain explode.

Now I'll be eagerly anticipating the dates of their performances and strategizing about how I can fit them into our summer vacation schedule. 

Here's the epic video ...

Kansas City, they don't come

My claim that Kansas City is a music black hole, it seems, is growing stronger by the month.

I’ve received a flood of concert announcements in my inbox lately, with several coming from my all-time favorite artists and bands.

Toad the Wet Sprocket is touring with Counting Crows.

Ingrid Michaelson is promoting a new album.

Fleetwood Mac is reuniting – with Christine McVie!

Nickel Creek is reuniting – after a seven-year hiatus!

Do any of those announcements include a stop in Kansas City or any place in its proximity?

Nope. Nada. Zilch.

If we were still living in Chicagoland? I’d be set.

Seriously. What is it about Kansas City?

For now, I'll take solace in the good chance I'll return to Summerfest -- the coolest and best music festival in the world -- this summer. Ray LaMontagne, Pentatonix, Fitz & the Tantrums, Foy Vance, Tegan & Sara, and -- if I'm really lucky -- Dave Matthews Band. For the record, Bruno Mars would be at the top of my must-see list, but that will be near impossible because I'm committed to something else the night after he makes his Milwaukee stop.

Behold ...

Guster 'nother night at Summerfest

A few weeks ago I was listing to my library of Guster music and mourning the idea that I was going to miss Summerfest again this year. And now, here I am, having just finished a second night of this year's Big Gig.

With Guster.

I ventured back to Milwaukee on my own this afternoon, driving the two hours across the state to get here. Once again, Orrin and Kelli provided me with a ticket to tonight's festivities and a place to rest my head before I head back to The Farm tomorrow morning.

It was good. ... It's been wonderful being back here again, and so many of the memories of our glorious 2011 summer vacation in the Third Ward have come back.

As I approached the Summerfest gates this afternoon I heard a band playing Chicago's "Make Me Smile" -- one of my all time favorite songs -- blasting from the Miller Lite Oasis, horns and all. Immediately, I thought, That's where I'm heading.

I walked up to the stage to find a classic rock cover band, aptly called The Tons O' Fun Band. They followed "Make Me Smile" with another Chicago hit, "Beginnings." Other than the brass section murdering the classic instrumental section that makes the song's finale, this band's sound was pretty decent.

Compare Chicago's original, to this ... 



I walked the rest of the grounds to see what else I might be missing and soon returned to hear Tons of Fun dole out "Superstition," "Play That Funky Music White Boy" and "Power of Love." Eventually, the band ended its set with "25 or 6 to 4." Turns out the band includes Terry Luttrell, the original lead singer for REO Speedwagon.

When I began walking the grounds again, JoJo's Martini Lounge caught my attention. There, a simple outfit called Jesse's First Time was doing more classics. I heard them do "Suite Judy Blue Eyes," "Mrs. Robinson" and "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'."

After grabbing a cheeseburger at Miss Katie's Diner, I stumbled on the Comedy Sportz tent and caught a couple sketches. In one, the comics selected a little girl from the audience -- she was maybe 4 or 5 years old -- to supply the sound effects for their skit. She was adorable and the crowd loved her no matter what sounds came out of her mouth.

Then I settled into my spot at Guster.

Matt Pond was on the stage. A bunch of douches smoking cheap cigars moved in around me. When Matt Pond finished and his groupies moved out, I promptly moved to a better spot. Closer to the stage. At the center of the seating area.

It barely hit me that it was the Fourth of July until I took notice of the people sporting red white and blue around me. There were a lot of T-shirts with slogans like Team USA and 'Merica, bandanas and hats. The Rush T-shirts also were out in full force with that certain band playing at the Marcus tonight. I wore my blue Milwaukee Air Guard T-shirt and my red baseball cap with a "G" that on this particular night stood for Guster.

They say Summerfest has something for everyone. I've seen so much over the years that the outrageous fashions and people watching hardly fazes me anymore.

ZZ Ward opened for Guster as a co-headliner. I hadn't heard of her before tonight, but clearly she had fans in the crowd, especially the ladies who seemed to know every word.

Her souful rock sound, fused with R&B and hip hop elements, reminded me of Toby Lightman. But her non-stop wide smile and long blonde hair, capped with a fedora, reminded me only of Taylor Swift. Not to mention her multiple songs about breakups.

She led the crowd in a sing-along on "Home," and she played a mean harmonica on "If I Could Be Her." She had the crowd thoroughly rocking on her last song, before an encore of "Blue Eyes Blind." I really enjoyed hearing and watching her perform.

Next up, Guster ...

There was a disappointedly small crowd. Which sort of makes me wish I had tried to see Barenaked Ladies at the BMO Pavilion at 8. But I've seen BNL twice, and by not seeing them a third time, I got to see a new artist in ZZ Ward, so it's all good. (Check out this entertaining backstage interview with Barenaked Ladies at Summerfest.)

Guster's performance did seem to start a little slow tonight, but that's forgivable. They're touring this summer with Ben Folds Five and Barenaked Ladies -- oh, how I'd love to see one of those package deals -- and lead singer Ryan Miller made light of the fact they're used to playing 40 minutes each day, making it "the easiest tour ever." After Guster performs, he told the crowd, he goes backstage and eats cheeseballs. Tonight, they had to play "a real concert."

And those of us who showed up were thankful for that.

Here's one of my favorite Guster tunes, "Manifest Destiny."



Soon enough, the Guster boys were buzzing through their songs, three minutes at a time and cutting across most of their albums from "Goldfly" to the most recent "Easy Wonderful," chipping fan favorites from each. By the time they rolled into "Do You Love Me," the show had turned into a good 'ol Summerfest party with beach balls being bopped above the crowd, dancing on benches and smiley people singing everywhere you looked.

Brian Rosenworcel was the usual dynamo on the percussion, while Miller, Adam Gardner and Luke Reynolds took their turns on guitars and keyboards. Miller put on a harmonica for "One Man Wrecking Machine."



Gardner pleased the crowd with his trumpet solos on "What You Call Love" and the epic "Ruby Falls" -- also one of my favorite Guster tunes. ...



And "Happier" gives me chills every time I hear a live version of it and the crowd sings along.



It was classic Guster.

For the encore, Miller started it off by giving the crowd a choice: "Parachute" or "I Spy." Judging the crowd's noise level on each choice, they went with "I Spy."

Saving the best -- sort of -- for last, Miller yelled "We're going to play this once, and you will never hear it again!" Then Rosenworcel stepped to the center mic at the front of the stage and belted out Katy Perry's "Firework." His vocals were atrocious, but no one cared because it was the Fourth of July and Guster was doing its thing.



The setlist
1. What You Wish For
2. Manifest Destiny
3. Architects & Engineers
4. Homecoming King (Capped with a quick take on the theme from "Chariots of Fire.")
5. Demons
6. One Man Wrecking Machine
7. What You Call Love
8. Come Downstairs and Say Hello
9. Do You Love Me
10. Happier
11. Ruby Falls
12. Ramona
13. The Captain
14. Barrel of a Gun
15. Hang On
16. Amsterdam
17. USA Rap/This Could All Be Yours

Encore
18. I Spy
19. Satellite
20. Airport Song
21. Firework

So much Fun

I'm laying in a Third Ward apartment in Milwaukee. The Harleys are roaring by on the streets below. My ears are ringing. And the excitement of the day is keeping me from falling asleep any time soon.

I've been lucky to have a lot of great birthdays in my lifetime. But today may hold up as one of the best.

Say it with me: Dreams came true tonight.

As always, I'll start with some background ...

Kates and I got a late start on planning our vacations this year after all the excitement of the spring died down. We didn’t come to a consensus until just a couple weeks ago that the week of July 4 would be our best window – between softball games, summer school, visitors to our house, vacation bible school at our church and my work responsibilities.

All along – the spring ritual that it is – I was tracking Summerfest’s lineup announcements. Rare as it is, this year’s lineup left me unimpressed. There were more bands this year than in past years with which I had little familiarity. Several bands on the docket this year I’ve seen multiple times – Barenaked Ladies and OAR to name two – and had little interest in seeing again. … Except for two: The Go-Gos are playing July 3 and Guster is playing July 4. I've seen both previously, but would love to see them again.

Then there was toniiiiiiight. Fun at the Marcus Amphitheater. I was bummed I had to miss them at Summerfest last year, having a sense they were on the verge of going big. Sure enough, they did and most nights I heard one of their songs on the radio – or watched them on the Grammys – I was left thinking, What if. …

Kates and I discussed trying to work the Fun show into our summer vacation plans. But it was so late in the game I figured we had little chance at getting good seats. I had a number of responsibilities at the university that, I figured, would make it tough for me to leave. And I had played up the experience so much in my head that I had begun to doubt I’d even enjoy the show.

We decided to forego Fun and begin our vacation June 28.

Until …

I received a text from Orrin Tuesday afternoon …

Kelli got two free tickets to Fun this Thursday night at the Marcus Amphitheater. They’re yours if you want them!

Oh. My.

The gears in my brain started churning. How can we make this work?

With plans to start our vacation and be away from work Friday, I’d already begun working ahead. But finishing my projects an extra day earlier, not to mention getting excused from Thursday’s university board meeting, was going to make it tough.

Tuesday evening, I finished a draft of my news release for the board meeting. Wednesday, I finished a couple items I needed to write for the president and my cover story for our alumni magazine. At around 8:30 Wednesday night, I emailed all of the documents to my boss for her to review and then dialed her number to explain the situation and request starting my vacation leave a day early. Almost simultaneously, Orrin called Kates to confirm the tickets were ours and talk details.

We were gonna make it work.

So Kates and I got the girls to bed and went to work packing for our trip. We made it to bed about 1:30 a.m. Thursday.

Five hours later, we were awake again. I badly needed to mow our lawn because rain prevented me from doing it earlier this week, and it would have been past our knees had I left it until we return in nine days. So I woke the neighbors and mowed our lawn, while Kates finished packing our suitcases inside.

At 9 a.m. we were on the road, and, oh, what a trip it was. We couldn’t have asked for a better drive with two kids under 5. We made no stops until a rest area in Iowa for lunch and bathroom breaks around 11:30 a.m. Another stop for gas and caffeine around 2:30. And on to Wisconsin. …

Our only hiccup occurred around the I-88 interchange in Illinois, which we missed, causing us to spend a good 45 minutes trying to turn around and get back on track because the Illinois tollway system holds motorists hostage and allows only limited exits or stops. Before driving through Illinois make darn sure you’ve made your food and bathroom breaks and you know your route.

Faye slept for most of the drive, and when she wasn’t asleep she was peering over at her big sister in wonder. Phoebe watched movies and played on her LeapPad before we spent the afternoon hours making song requests for Kates to play on the iPod. We must have listened to Phoebe's favorites “Home,” “Some Nights” and “Good Time” – we declared “It's always a good time” as the motto of our trip – a few times each.

We made one more quick restroom stop beyond the Wisconsin border and arrived at our destination – Kelli’s and Orrin’s apartment in Milwaukee’s Third Ward – about 6:50 p.m. We made it. Orrin and the grandparents were waiting at the curb to meet us as I pulled up to the unloading zone. …

Then I got another gift. We had planned to unload our things and then I’d search for some parking – knowing it wouldn’t be easy in downtown Milwaukee, during Summerfest. But before I could turn the car off, Orrin saw something and said, “Um, you might want to keep the car on for another minute.” I followed Orrin’s finger pointing to the car behind me, which was leaving its parking spot.

Divine intervention.

I put the car in reverse and backed up about 10 feet into a free parking space. From there, we unloaded our belongings and headed upstairs to the apartment. We ate leftover pizza for supper, left the kids with the grandparents and walked the two blocks to the Summerfest grounds.

The night was perfect.

* * *

We were easily amused by the ticket takers, bartenders and others who told us to “Have fun.” … We did have Fun.

We entered the Marcus Amphitheater and found our seats while the second of the opening bands, Walk the Moon, wrapped up its set. Family of the Year played before them. I hadn’t heard of either band, nor did I care to hear from them tonight. We waited patiently as they finished. During the break, Orrin and I headed to the VIP section – a perk that came with our tickets – for a round of beverages.

Fun took the stage shortly after 9. And as the show hummed and thumped along, it far exceeded my expectations. Enough that it might just be the best show I’ve seen.

Here’s an excerpt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s review …

A string of hit anthems launched by the massive "We Are Young," two major Grammys for best new artist and song of the year, and now another first Thursday night at the Marcus Amphitheater. Looking out at the near-capacity shed, frontman Nate Ruess announced, "This is the biggest show we've ever played in our whole entire life."

You have to think more blockbusters are lurking down the road — fun. writes and plays fist-pumping anthems made to order for giant amphitheaters. Ruess claims he writes most of his best stuff during middle-of-the-night bathroom breaks. You have to think he's a man of turbulent dreams. These are big bursting tunes, part rock opera and part pure Broadway greasepaint. Ruess talks a lot about the hip-hop influences in the "Some Nights" album but what these ears hear is a whole lot of Queen.

Listen to those clarion horns in "One Foot." Or even better, that bombastic singalong in "Carry On." If the Mormon Tabernacle Choir does a fun. cover album, don't be surprised. And because of deadlines, we didn't even hear the biggest firecracker of all, "We Are Young."

None of this, incidentally, is meant as a put-down. Rarely has a band been as aptly named as fun. A spirit of playfulness pervaded the music. It was there in that toy piano line in "All Alone" and the nursery rhyme cadences of "At Least I'm Not as Sad (As I Used to Be)."

And if that weren't enough to dismiss the suspicions of pretense, there was Ruess himself, a nonstop bantam dynamo who was clearly having a ball. Little wonder that the Marcus crowd was up on its feet and singing along much of the way.

The reviewer says he heard a whole lot of Queen. But I kept thinking Electric Light Orchestra, Supertramp and a little bit of Rolling Stones. Even Ruess’ stage presence resembled pieces of Mick Jagger.

They opened with the pounding “One Foot” and then “At Least I’m Not As Sad” – one of my personal favorites within the Fun catalog. I was thrilled to hear it live – Emily Moore singing the interplay with Ruess’ lead vocals and all.



We’ve been playing all of these songs around our house for the last year, and there were only a couple I didn’t recognize from the first one or two notes. Throughout, I was impressed with how well the group was able to replicate its studio sound on the live stage. The band, the harmonies and Reuss – it all sounded so fantastic.

And those elements were backed up by some stunning visuals both on screen and in the crowd. There were flashing lights. Images flashing on a huge screen behind the band. And confetti explosions.

Each song built on the power and momentum of the one before it, inching closer to the hits everyone came to hear. Every song sounded new and fresh, and I could count every one of them as a highlight of the show. “All Alone,” “Why Am I the One” and “All the Pretty Girls” sounded even better to me live than their album counterparts.

Around the midway point, a familiar trumpet melody began. I looked at Kates and said, “This is a cover! What is this? I can’t think of it!” Then, Reuss broke in, “I saw her today at the reception …”

Another highlight. And an addition to my favorite live covers.



The crowd roared at the sound of the opening drum beats of “We Are Young.” Kates and I grabbed each other’s hand, and the sing-along commenced immediately as a group of stage crew members tossed 16 glow-in-the-dark beach balls – eight from each side of the stage – onto the crowd …



The band capped their set with “Take Your Time (Coming Home).” Near the end of the song, Reuss raced up the aisle just a few feet from us, security guards chasing after him to hold back the crowd. He disappeared for a few moments in the crowd near the top of the amphitheater’s lowest tier. Then, he raced back down, security guards chasing after him again, and jumped back onto the stage with an exasperated look that sort of said, “Whoah, I can’t believe I just did that, but it was really fun!”

The band left the stage – and would you believe some people in the crowd did, too!? Blasphemy.

When the band returned a minute later, cell phone lights began popping on in the crowd. Reuss remarked what a beautiful sight it was and told us to hold on because there was going to be a place for those lights in a few minutes. He paused and then sang the opening lyrics for “Some Nights.”



They segued into “Stars” for the finale. The cell phone lights reappeared and danced above the crowd. I believe it's the coolest thing I've ever experienced at a concert.



We didn’t know until Reuss noted that tonight’s show was the kickoff of their summer tour. He stopped at several points during the show, overcome with the appreciation of the crowd, to take in the awesomeness of the scene.

It did strike us when he gazed on the capacity crowd and proclaimed it “the biggest show we've ever played in our whole entire life." You would think venues like “Saturday Night Live” and their jaw-dropping Grammys performance were bigger.

It doesn’t matter. We were thrilled to be a part of it.

The set list:
1. One Foot
2. At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)
3. All Alone
4. Walking the Dog
5. Why Am I the One
6. All the Pretty Girls
7. It Gets Better
8. Barlights
9. Carry On
10. The Gambler
11. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
12. We Are Young
13. Take Your Time (Coming Home)
Encore
14. Some Nights
15. Stars