Flying under the radar, Wisconsin State Fair has music

Tonight, the Wisconsin State Fair tickets will be scanned, and people will be walking through the turnstiles. Aside from the food, the animals, the crazy looking people who only go to state fair, there are bands playing on the race track.

The bands are mostly nostalgia acts or smaller draws, but for the die hard fan it matters not. For example, REO Speedwagon performs tonight. When I was in high school, REO was the biggest band on the freaking planet. I am certain that they have followers who are totally psyched up to see them perform tonight.

When I scanned their web page, I looked over their tour, and I must admit that they set up a sweet tropical leg that includes Aruba, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Puerto Rico. Those dudes are hanging out by the beach for sure.

For the faithful, Jeremy Camp performs at the Wisconsin State Fair later in the week. Camp has many solo albums, and is an ordained minister. You know what that means. If you go see him perform, you get to skip church that week.

From his website, he has stated: “If one person were to accept Jesus through my death, it would all be worth it. I said that in [this] interview and right when I said that, this whole fog of everything that had been going on in my life finally cleared.” Jeremy would like to join the ranks of Male deities like Osiris, Adonis, Tammuz, Zalmoxis, phoenix, Jesus, Baldr, and Odin. He has reached the final stage of letting go of his personal life, and living the spiritual life. Judging by the picture of him with outstretched arms, in crucifixion style, he is leaning towards the deity of Jesus.

But I digress. Check out the cows at State Fair, have a baked potato, avoid the freaks who hope to be the next Jesus.

Second tier bands in all their glory

Cruefest is this weekend. The Marcus Amphitheater will be "Rockin' so hard." Papa Roach with be there. So will be Buckcherry and Trapt. REO Speedwagon will be "Lovin' so hard" at the Wisconsin State Fair on July 31st. Queensryche will be "Rulin' so hard" on August 1st at the fair as well.

Speaking of old, Alice Cooper is creeping back into town on July 25th. He will be performing at the Riverside Theater. Continuing with the aged, The Police and Elvis Costello perform at the Marcus Amp. on July 25th.

Get your fill of oldies, classics, rockers, and more. We have every genre you could ask for.
Seriously, the Wisconsin State Fair is more fun if you grab a cream puff, corn on the cob, ride the sky glider, giant slide, and a ferris wheel. The bands are a side note.

Ready to rock the boat?

I tried to see what I think is a great Milwaukee Rock Band on June 7th. They were to play on the Iroquois for a sunset cruise. The rain started falling about 4:30pm, and by the time it stopped, the cruise had been cancelled. The sheriff's office told people not to drive downtown, and I decided that it was a good idea.

Standing water kept the rock and roll crowd from making it down to the boat, not to mention pride fest.

Now we're looking at the rescheduled date for the Binky Tunny rock and roll show on Lake Michigan. That would be August 1st. What are the odds that the rain will cancel that gig too?

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.

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.