Summerfest '07: Day 1

... This morning, our friend Tiffany asked me if I would be watching the game this afternoon. Dumbfounded, I stuttered and said I wasn't sure. Then Kates reminded me this weekend was the Brewers-Cubs series. Oh Yeah! Kates followed with the story of phone conversation with her parents last night, during which her father -- a big Brewers fan -- asked about my thoughts on the series. "He's in Summerfest mode," she told him.

Pretty much!

Yep. Summerfest. Yesterday. Ready set go ...

I was on my way out of the office yesterday a little after 3 p.m. Went home to grab all my gear. Made a pit stop for gas ($3.06!) and I was on my way to the Ryan Road shuttle stop within the hour ...

I had arrived early enough that I had no trouble finding a parking space. But, I had forgotten to grab some one dollar bills on my trip up -- fare is $6 round trip, and all I had was a twenty. That meant I had to take a walk to the McDonald’s one block over on a quest for change … Apparently the older gentleman walking in front of me had the same idea because when I got to the McDonald’s counter and asked for change, the cashier rolled her eyes and motioned to her manager, “This guy needs change too.” Annoyed, they did oblige the other man and me by exchanging our large bills for ones and fives. And then they promptly put up a sign telling other would-be Flyer riders that the restaurant was not giving out cash.

Note to self: Don’t forget small bills for remaining Summerfest Flyer rides. Note to developers: Build a bank next to that McDonald’s.

Back at the shuttle station, a line of people waiting to board the bus stretched about 60 feet into the parking lot. Mostly middle-aged adults, guys in Pink Floyd and Grateful Dead T-shirts. Joining the line behind me were a trio of high school-aged boys -- two Asians and a white boy wearing a stocking cap and sporting a fuzzy goatee. I’ll bet they’re going to see O.A.R. tonight, I thought. Almost on cue, one of the boys says, “I can’t wait to rock out to some O.A.R.” Yep, they’re going to O.A.R. … Then as an attendant at the stop was assuring us he would try his best to get everyone on the next shuttle, the Trio is waffling over whether they should wait for the bus or hop back in their car and try to find some parking close to the Summerfest grounds. I tried to assure them Park N' Ride was the way to go if they wanted a stress-free trip. And that must’ve been good enough for them, because they stayed.

When the bus did arrive, the line started pouring onto the bus; the passengers packed on shoulder to shoulder, toe to toe. Then, a group of three guys in front of me stepped on and it appeared the bus was filled to capacity. Fortunately coming to Summerfest alone tonight paid off for me -- the attendant allowed me to be the last person on the crowded bus. I inserted my fare, and then there I stood at the front of the bus, just behind the driver, and the yellow line, of course, with a front, center and standing view through the giant windshield as we headed to the grounds ...

And as we pulled away, I wondered if I should wave good-bye to the Trio, wondering if I’d see them again. I didn’t wave good-bye, but they did get to the grounds because I saw them at the O.A.R. show later in the night.

During the ride our bus driver said nothing and did nothing but look straight ahead as he drove ... until we exited the interstate and he began navigating downtown Milwaukee, and a large, middle-aged man bellowed to the driver, “Hey, we almost there yet? I ate some chilli before this and it’s not sitting with me too well.” The bus driver laughs and tells the man “Five more minutes, man.” Says the man, “Any chance we can make it three?” The bus driver chuckles and responds, “C’mon just two more minutes, man.”

We all made it just fine.

* * *

Like a rite of passage, a smile covered my face as I got off that bus approached the Summerfest entrance ... And then, once inside, I accepted a program from one of greeters and paused for a few moments, sighed a happy sigh and thought, Here we are again old friend ... Summerfest's motto is Smile On, and I definitely was wearing mine as I started to take in all the happy people flowing all around ...

The plan for this night was to catch Headlights and Shiny Toy Guns at the U.S. Cellular stage and then wrap it up with O.A.R at the Miller Lite Oasis...

First, I settled in for awhile at the Miller Lite Oasis stage to gauge the crowd ... At 5:44 I had my first insanely drunk girl sighting for this year’s Summerfest. The girl, in her early 20s, was attempting to dance, but instead bounced off the benches and people around her like a pinball. She couldn’t stand straight and she hardly noticed her T-shirt was coming off. The sight drew a good laugh from a pair of 50-something men sitting behind me and prompted one of them to shout at the girl, “Hey, it’s only 5:30!”

…For supper, I figured I was going to try honoring my friend Brian who every year raves about Saz’s Sampler Platter. Then I got to the counter and saw that it consisted of mozzarella sticks, cheese curds and French fries. Hello heart attack city! … I decided Joey Buona’s pizza sounded a little more appetizing, so I grabbed a big slice of greasy cheese and pepperoni and my ritual Summerfest giant cup of Mountain Dew. Which probably wasn’t any healthier than that sampler platter ...

Back at the Miller Lite stage, the hardcore O.A.R fans -- and O.A.R. definitely has some of those -- were already staking out their seats, and a Los Angeles band, Nikhil Korula Band was just getting started ...

I doubt any other band could’ve offered such a perfect warm-up to O.A.R.

“We’re going to win you over one song at a time,” Nikhil Korula old the crowd as the band finished their first song and started in on “Love Will Make Your Day.”

The six-man band, which consisted of Korula on acoustic guitar and vocals, an electric guitarist, bass, percussion, bongos and a saxophone, had the crowd on its feet and dancing in a way that few of the early bands do. The band jammed for about 45 minutes, serving up a feel-good sound that blended calypso, reggae and rock.

Sort of like if O.A.R. performed Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” but without Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It was the kind of music fit for a big backyard barbecue, complete with straw-huts and tiki torches ... I’d suggest checking them out.

* * *

After Nikhil Korula's set, I went with a local columnist's advice and ventured over to the U.S. Cellular stage to check out Headlights. And I got even more interested when a local radio DJ who introduced the band went so far as to tell the crowd they could expect to see Headlights being inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in about 25 years ...

The verdict? Um, yeah. They’re good …

For fans of poppy indie rock, the Champaign, Ill., band has got it. Simple keyboard melodies, dreamy vocals, bursts of energy and a charming stage presence. They were clearly having fun, they were exciting to watch and that exuberance brought smiles to the crowd, whose applause seemed to grow thicker and louder with each song.

The band -- consisting of Tristan Wraight on vocals and guitar, Erin Fein on vocals and keyboards in addition to drums, another guitar and a bass -- barely acknowledged the crowd, and that wasn’t such a bad thing, as they moved effortlessly from song to song to song.

But it wasn't until about halfway through their set that it hit me like a brick -- I'd heard these guys before. Fein started playing the piano intro of “Everybody Needs a Fence To Lean On.” My jaw dropped and let out an "Ah!" so loud that the band probably heard it on stage. “Everybody Needs a Fence” happened to be one of my favorites from the Grey's Anatomy playlist and I had recognized it instantly. Of course!! Headlights!!

When it was all said and done, they’d crammed 11 songs into a 45-minute set that charmed the crowd of a couple hundred lucky audience members.

* * *

During the intermission, I took a stroll along the lakefront, made a quick call back home to Kates and watched a group of hippie kids playing with a haki sack -- and they were really good at it!!

I also decided to head back over to the Miller Stage to check the crowd again and make a final decision on whether I would be safe catching Shiny Toy Guns at the Cellular stage and still get a decent seat for O.A.R. at the Miller Lite stage ... On the way however, I happened to stop at the Journal-Sentinel booth and noticed a posting that the Shiny Toy Guns show had been canceled. Aw man!

On to the Miller Lite stage for a permanent seat ... By 7:30 p.m., the crowd was bulging, as expected, with teens and twenty-somethings dressed like Summerfest was a pit stop between Greekfest and their club runs. Guys were dressed in Adidas T-shirts and polos, backward baseball caps, colored beads, bandannas and headbands while they puffed on thick cigars and more potent things that they wouldn't do if their parents were watching. Giggly, skinny girls held cell phones in one hand and plastic cups of beer in the other. Many of them sported the oversized sunglasses, even after the sun had ducked behind the trees. They flashed gang signs and stuck out tongues as the posed for pictures. And a beach ball was being swatted above the crowd.

... A couple guys behind me yelled at their friend Chris, who was standing several rows in front of me. Once they got his attention, they told him to come back and join them for a few minutes. “I’m not moving,” he yelled back, waving his hands …

Forget all the talk of the U.S. Cellular Stage being the center for up-and-coming rock acts aimed at young adults. Clearly, the Miller Lite Oasis was where the cool kids were last night.

* * *

A little before 8:30 p.m., the Dublin-band, Mr. North, strapped on their guitars for the last performance before O.A.R. took the stage ...

The band produced some deft guitar riffs here and there -- which actually, if you can believe this, had me thinking of Van Halen or maybe Santana at times -- and they turned their second song into a sweet jam that made me forget for a few minutes how badly I needed to use the bathroom …

But in my mind, Mr. North didn’t sound any different than the alternative rock that filled radio during the ‘90s -- as a whole here, I’ll liken them to Collective Soul -- and by the fourth or the fifth song, the mostly young adult crowd clearly appeared bored.

There was one brief, amusing moment toward the end of Mr. North's set, however, when the band's bassist apparently broke his guitar over his knee and began limping around the stage in pain as the rest of the band continued jamming. Next thing the crowd knew, a couple stagehands were hauling off the guitar, strings dangling from it and front man Colin Smith was telling the crowd, “Tell him how much you love him right now!” The band continued to improvise, while the bassist was set back up with a spare, supposedly from O.A.R. Then as he quickly tuned it up and jumped back in line, the crowd briefly came alive and applauded.

... At 9:20 p.m., Mr. North had finished their set and I continued to survey the crowd some more. For a few moments I started thinking, this may be a crowd, but among the notorious young Summerfest crowds I've been around, this one might be the more respectful and patient crowds. Usually there's always a few nitwits that are shoving their way into tiny bench spots, or spilling beer on their neighbors or whatever else they do ...

Satisfied, I put my arm around a nice kid beside me and asked him if he could hold my seat while I took a bathroom break. He said he would and I headed out. It was then that I realized just how big the crowd at the Miller Lite stage had grown -- it was so gigantic that I contemplated forgetting the bathroom and just going back to my seat, but I pressed on. I did my thing and then dove back into the crowd in search of my bench ...

When I finally found my bench mate again, I noticed some frat boy and his sorority sisters had invaded the spot that when I left was big enough to hold me. This is the point where my earlier thoughts about the crowd were dismissed. Seeing me behind him, the kid charged with saving my seat apologized and said he couldn't fend off the invaders. I believed him ... After a couple minutes, I did manage to squeak back into my seat, and then endured several minutes of standing next to this rooster-calling, tobacco-spitting, inebriated doofus. Thankfully, they took off just a couple songs into O.A.R.'s set, and never returned ...

* * *

O.A.R. appeared on stage about five minutes ahead of their 10 p.m. scheduled start time to a roar from the crowd. And they wasted little time getting into a mellowed “City On Down,” as the crowd sang with them on every word. Then lead singer Marc Roberge divulged that their show would be a special one and dedicated the performance to a close friend named Jordan, whom the band lost a couple days ago.

From there, the band rolled into “Lay Down,” “52-50,” “Risen,” and “Anyway.” They pulled out all the fan favorites, and the crowd was thankful, drowning out Roberge on most of the songs.

But the quintet that’s made a name for itself on high-energy shows seemed to lack some of its punch during the hour and 45-minute set Friday night. As usual saxophone player Jerry Depizzo drove the majority of the songs, but for the better part of O.A.R.‘s set the boys stood straight-faced, subdued and detached and going through the motions. At times, it seemed as though they were deaf to the crowd’s claps and cheers.

Their set continued with “Untitled,” “Heard the Word,” and a new song, “Living In The End,” from their “Live From Madison Square Garden” disc. Then, “Here's To You,” which produced a funny moment of the show: Just for a second, the picture screens on both sides of the stage flashed in large white letters “CHANGE THE BATTERY PACK.” The moment drew a quick burst of laughter from those in the crowd who caught it.

Next up, “The Stranger,” a mellow, heartfelt song that ranks as one of my favorites from O.A.R. It was a song that might have seemed out of place at what I expected to be an energizing O.A.R. show, but last night it worked during what was turning into a toned-down set. And it was one of my personal highlights.

They played “Patiently,” and then, finally, pulled out “Love And Memories,” their biggest mainstream hit to date. The song drew the loudest cheers of the night to that point, and the group followed that one with “Hey Girl,” which drew cheers and singing that might have been loud enough to drown out the Def Leppard show all the way over at the Marcus. Finally, a smile leaked out of Roberge's face, Depizzo turned in a riveting sax solo and, finally, O.A.R. was the band I'd anticipated seeing.

After a brief break from the stage, the band came back on for a two-song encore and Roberge mentioned their friend’s passing once more; clearly he was on their minds last night. O.A.R. mellowed again for “I Feel Home,” before capping the night with the eight-minute crowd-pleaser “That Was a Crazy Game of Poker,” which came close but fell just short to “Hey Girl” in terms of crowd energy ...

At 11:46 p.m., I was on my way back to catch the shuttle. I pulled in our driveway around 1 a.m. Was in bed around 2. And was back up at 6:30 this morning to do some writing. By 9, I was at baseball practice. And by 4 this afternoon, I will be back on my way back to Summerfest, this time with Kates ...

I'll let you know how it goes.