Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Summerfest and who's seeing what


My 20 year old nephew wants to see Gnarls Barkley on the Briggs stage. My favorite Milwaukee Bike Messenger is going to see Debbie Harry. My coworker Joe is going to see the Love Monkeys. I can't seem to talk him out of that. My best friend is going to see Zappa plays Zappa, but he will stop at the M and I stage to check out a few songs from Pat Benatar first.

Some of you should check out Guido's Racecar at the tent next to the Marcus entrance on the night of Tim McGraw. There is a problem with that tiny tent. They didn't match style for style. The cowboy hat wearing guys might find Guido's singer visually risible, but their music is a far cry from country. That's not to say that there has to be a match, but when you perform at a tent where the only traffic will be the people going into the Marcus Amp, it wouldn't hurt to play a style that closely matches the fan base. That tent show starts at 9:30, so most of the cowboys will already be in their seats. G.R. will have to pull in their own crowd. With the lineup of veteran Milwaukee talent in that band, Guido's Racecar is the best of the lot at the Cascio tent.

Another coworker wants to check out Mountain on July 4th. I think that they had another hit aside from Mississippi Queen. Before that show, he could check out the Summerfest Strongman Contest at the Sentry Sports Zone.

Playing their annual show is Jackyl. The chainsaw solo will be going strong on the Zippo stage yet again. Lastly, a very close friend said that they would like to see Cheap Trick before one of the members goes to the great beyond. She will have her chance on July 5th.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Racine Music venue

One of my favorite road trips is just a 30 minute drive down to Racine. McAuliffe's Irish Pub books an enormous variety of musical styles, and the crowds come out in big numbers to see who J.J. found to grace the tiny stage. Looking back, I must hit that club at least five times a year.
When you have a drink at McAuliffe's, you feel like you are part of a group of people that welcome strangers as much as the regulars.

I caught the Barrettes at McAuliffe's a few weeks ago. The are playing the Cascio tent at Summerfest this year, but a much bigger feather in their cap would be the commercial featuring the band. The Barrettes will be promoting mass transit in Milwaukee.

I can't imagine how this eclectic band will fit in with that task, but I'm sure it will be interesting.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Alice Cooper is back

Alice Cooper, the one and only, comes back to the Riverside Theater on Friday, August 8th. My co-workers went to the last Cooper show and really loved it. It was one of the loudest shows that they had ever been to. I wonder if those Db's did anything to the old Riverside Theater.

Alice is known for the famous song "School's Out" and many others. Cooper loves to golf. He's a republican. And that goes to show you that just because you love to perform the rock, you can still be a conservative dunce.

Catch him before he's too old to impress.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Bradley Center presents "New" Kids on the block


The New Kids On The Block will be performing at the Bradley Center on October 22nd. It all started in 1984, as the casting call went out for talented young men. Maurice Starr acquired Jordan, Jonathan, Joey, Danny, and Donny. Well established boy groups had come along years ahead of New Kids On The Block. This assembly was to tap into the spending power of a new generation of preteen girls.


After a few more casting calls, the group was finally formed. Their first album tanked. Their second album nearly tanked, but leave it to Florida to proclaim their love of bubble gum pop. The fans requested their songs in high numbers, and they had a hit. That was followed up by many more hits. They went on to sell millions upon millions of records.


The "Kids" are in their 40's now. I'll bet the Bradley Center Tickets for this show will mostly sell to their 40's fans. This is a reunion tour.

Monday, June 2, 2008

What to do after Summerfest


The Rave is a perfect venue for shows like the following event. Boys Like Girls, Good Charlotte, Metro Station, and The Maine will all perform on Wednesday, July 09, 2008 at 7pm. It's called The Soundtrack Of Your Summer. Words to describe this show: Pop Punk, Hooks, Melodic, garage band. If you are 12, or if you know someone who is 12, you may find this to be the best show of the year. It starts at the kid-friendly time of 7pm.


Good Charlotte was getting some major airplay back in 2002 with the song Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. This hit song came to life in year four of the band's history. They were everywhere. MTV honored them with video of the year for said hit song. Aaron Escolopio, their original drummer decided to join Wakefild just before this CD was recorded. Various drummers picked up the slack, and contributed to the CD that went triple platinum.


Good Charlotte suffered from the third album blues with the release Chronicles of Life and Death. My guess is the album tanked when they decided to add strings, keyboards, and adult themes to their songs. It still boggles the mind as to how many bands depart from a solid formula on album number three, and go on to offend their fan base.


No worries, Good Morning Revival came on strong in 2007, and with some great Itunes promo, the cd started off in the top ten in many countries.


This event could have sold enough Marcus Amphitheater tickets if it were 2003, but the years have passed, and it's now a rave sized show.