Let the musical adventures begin.
Still fighting through the dog of a week I was having, I never did make it up to Summerfest Thursday night for Elvis Costello or Keane ...
So my first Summerfest '06 visit had to wait for last night ... With my iPod carrying me all the way, I made the trek to the Ryan Road parking lot to catch the shuttle bus. But fat chance finding a spot there. The lot was as full as I'd ever seen it -- cars were packed into every available nook and cranny, in addition to the grassy areas surrounding the lot. I had no choice but to go to the overflow lot at McDonald's, which I figured would be free -- just like the regular lot. Nope. $5 bucks ... Grrrrrrrr. Though they tried to ease the pain with a fat sign that said 'Get a Ticket = $10, Park Here Legally = $5' ...
Whatever.
Then -- after I had given my only $5-bill to the parking attendant -- I boarded the shuttle and learned the powers-that-be raised the rates this year from $5 to $6. My smallest bill was a $10, and the driver wasn't giving change.
"You really wanna put that in there?" he tells me as I'm starting to put my $10 in the slot.
"Well I gotta get on."
"Wait." ... Mr. Bus Driver then takes the $10 out of my hands and, proceeds to hand me four $1 bills from the next four people who board the bus with the exact $6 fare. Whatta guy ...
An uneventful shuttle ride later, we were pulling up to the grounds, and I realized parking at the grounds is $15 -- so even as much as it hurt to pay $11 for parking and a bus ride to the grounds, I still saved ... yes!
... Minutes later, I was off the bus and walking under that pearly white Summerfest gate -- One of my favorite moments of the summer -- at about 7:30. Then, the carnival of people watching began ... Greasy guys with leather skin who have no business walking around shirtless. A large party of women wearing identical black tops. Piercings galore. Droves of Harley groupies. Middle-aged men getting as drunk as frat boys. Leather pants. Cowboys. Enough cleavage to hold the ocean. And I probably breathed in enough second-hand smoke to give me cancer tomorrow ...
But hey, I'm not complainin ...
In the middle of the grounds, of course, was the same Ecuadorian band playing their recorders, guitars, percussive intstruments -- and the same sound they seem to play over and over each year ... And then, of course, Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline' was playing every time I walked through the Miller Lite Oasis ...
... I reacquainted myself with the grounds, perusing some of the exhibit tents and entering a few contests along the way. Then I grabbed one of those mongo bacon cheeseburgers from Major Goolsby's and found a picnic table in front of the Briggs & Stratton stage where KB & the Kim Hayes Band was taking the stage, and I planned to see Steppenwolf later in the night ...
But when I finished my burger and the Kim Hayes Band had failed to grab me, I decided to take a walk. ... Eventually I landed as at the Classic Rock Stage where an R&B-type band was playing a nice cover of Michael Jackson's 'Shake Your Body' And I was even more pleased when I realized the woman doing the lead vocals was none other than Erin Albrecht, who we saw last year as a member of The Heroes. Not only did I looooooove watching her and The Heroes last year, I'd say she has the chops to rival just about any female pop star around. And she and her band showed it again last night with a couple more covers and a spot-on performance of No Doubt's 'Hella Good.'
... I soon found my way back to the Briggs & Stratton stage where the Kim Hayes Band (above)was still playing ... The band was a quintet (a female bassist, two male guitarists, Kim on an electric and a drummer), but with Kim doing most of the lead vocals, they had a decent sound similar to a Melissa Etheridge. Although their set order was a little odd -- they'd play a harder rock tune, and then play some dull ballad and squelch any energy they were getting from the crowd ...
Ah, but I will give them the award for cover of the night: a grrrrrrrreat rendition of 'Honky Tonk Woman.' ... I once saw Etheridge and Sammy Hagar do a version of it together on a VH1 special, and I've never forgotten it. The version Hayes and her band did last night was just as good. That and the song is on my list of all-time favorite rock n' roll tunes ...Finally, John Kay and Steppenwolf took the stage at exactly 10 p.m. ... Having little knowledge about Steppenwolf, I had no idea what to expect. It was only on a recommendation this week from one of my cohorts that I decided to go see them. That, and I relished the idea of hearing 'Magic Carpet Ride' (another one of my all-time favorite rock tunes) and 'Born To Be Wild' sung by the man who made them famous.
... But it was given those were going to be the last songs they'd perform. Soooooo I waited. Patiently.
...While I expected the performance to have at least a little edge to it, as a whole it was a bit of a letdown. The band did little to stave off an 'aging rockers' image. They lacked animation on the stage and did little to energize the crowd. And it didn't help that Kay, between almost every song, gave short political sermons against the war and the lack of leadership by the current administration. Not that I disagreed with him -- it's just not what I came for. In fact, the Steppenwolf show was the first Summerfest headliner I've seen where the majority of the crowd stayed seated for most of the show.
... For most of the show, my mind was with Steppenwolf, but my heart was with Everclear, which was playing at the same time on the opposite side of the grounds.
Finally. Finally! Kay enticed the crowd, saying 'I want us all to do these next couple songs together and remember the good times we had with them.' ... You knew exactly what was coming. And then, there it was, that droning organ and screaming guitar riff that make the opening of 'Magic Carpet Ride.' And Kay burst into the lyrics: 'I like to dream yes, yes, right between my sound machine ...'
Suddenly, the entire crowd had exploded to their feet. Hands were in the air. People were dancing and whaling. It was exactly the way I had pictured it ...
Then the group moved effortlessly into 'Born To Be Wild.' And it was just as amazing ...
As soon as it was over, I was leaving my seat, leaving no time to see whether Steppenwolf was doing an encore (I had gotten what I came for ... Although Steppenwolf was returning to the stage by the time I was back at the concourse area, but I wasn't staying around'). The only thing on my mind was trying to catch the end of the Everclear show ...
I begin my hike to the other side of the grounds, and as I'm passing the next stage over, there's Lynyrd Skynyrd delving into 'Free Bird.' ... With a grin coming over my face, I let out a soft 'wow' and mused that my timing couldn't have been better. I had forgotten Lynyrd Skynyrd was playing last night, not to mention the performance was one of a few CMT is filming at Summerfest this weekend. So crane-operated cameras were swirling all over the stage area, and the place was jam-packed with people ... It took me almost the duration of the song to get through the crowd, but I didn't mind ...
And then, when I though my luck couldn't get any better, I came on to the next stage as Los Lonely Boys were playing 'Heaven.'
Ah, but my luck eventually did run out ... I finally got to the other side of the grounds to find empty bleachers and a bunch of stage crews packing up the area where Everclear had just finished playing ... darn.
Back to the shuttle bus. And I was home at 12:30 a.m. ... but even then, the music shuffling on my iPod was so good, I spent another five minutes sitting in my car, in the garage soaking up the music ...
Not bad for Summerfest, Day No. 1
a My Summerfest preparation: 'It's here baby!!'
a My Summerfest Day #2
a My Summerfest Day #3
a My Summerfest Day #4
a My Summerfest Day #5
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