It was a blurry night for me, once the sun set. I forgot to bring my glasses to Summerfest. I had my prescription shades on when I entered the gates, completely forgetting that I would be at the fest well after the sun would set.
Decapitado was tight, and the sound was dialed in by song number two. It gave me a feeling of pride knowing that these guys are from my home town. When the show was over, I bought a copy of Lean Into It, a tribute to Die Kreuzen. Bionic's version of All White gave me freaking goose bumps.
I didn't want to head over to the M&I stage until Crumpler finished their set. Their sound was even better. Steve Thode is not only a bass master, but joke teller extraordinaire. The fans found him funny, and tight on the bass. Craig Radke is so smooth on the drums, he makes me feel like a novice behind the kit. He forgave me for the cargo shorts comment on my last post. It was all in fun. If anyone can take a ribbing, it's Craig.
The Pabst was flowing, but I chose water. In fact, that was the only thing I bought during my two nights at Summerfest. The parking lot attendant got the most money. I just didn't have a craving for fried food, or meat.
The who's who at Cascio last night included "Bill The Fan," Binky and Marsh of Binky Tunny, and more. Decapitado brings out the local celebs.
My night turned sour when the sun set. I had to take my shades off. In the dark of night, I had to figure out a way to walk blindly to the M&I stage. Elvis Costello was performing there, this way my chance to "see" the legend. I worked the perimeter of the grounds, and got to the stage just one song into his set. Some people say that when one of your senses goes down, the others become more acute. Perhaps that's why I felt that the sound coming off the M&I stage was so horrid. The Elvis Costello mix was the worst I had ever heard in all my years of seeing shows. That includes the 1983 DEVO show at the Oriental theater, when one half of the sound system had completely broken down.
I was standing in front of the sound board. This wasn't a matter of positioning. I was hearing what the engineers were hearing, and that made me angry. The sound coming off that stage was a mushy mixture of vocals, and one guitar. By the fourth song, I gave up on the chance of the sound changing. I squinted my way out of the festival.
Last Thursday, I headed down to the fest for a couple of hours. While there, I spent ten minutes watching
Cherry Pie. They captured, and held an enormous crowd. I was amazed. This was the largest crowd I have ever seen for a local cover band. They are great guys, and quite talented, don't get me wrong. I met them at the short lived Milwaukee Oktoberfest. When a cover band can attract thousands of people, you have to wonder about the tastes of Milwaukeeans.