There was no Summerfest day 3 for me with it being my anniversary and all, but my daughter was there and she said FUN. was fun. And crowded. I will take her word for it. I would have liked to have seen the band before them though. Daughter says the drummer and lead guitarist missed the flight. Would have been interesting to see how they got around that.
The Misses and I hit the Fest on Saturday at about 4. We wondered around a bit collecting free samples and what not, then decided to check out the new BMO Harris stage. We watched Animation, which is a Rush tribute band. I think some of the music must have been prerecorded, because it was a lot of noise coming from three guys. They were very good, but you gotta' like Rush. We were done after three songs, but the stage is great and it is loud.
Next we went over to the Big Backyard for a band named Alter Ego. This is a 70's / 80's cover group. They were playing Journey, Foreigner, this type of stuff. They were okay, had a good sax player. Plenty of places to sit and listen, so we did until they finished their set. We then walked around the grounds some, and although there were more people than on my previous visits, I didn't think it was crowded by any means.
By now it was time for the Marcus Amphitheater. It has been a number of years since I've been in the place, and I was surprised at the condition. I think they need to upgrade the chair seats, especially with the nice seats at the BMO. However, we weren't there to sit, but to enjoy the music. We were joined at the concert by our neighbors Jim and Laura. I think the place has great sound, and they sure had it turned up. The first act of the evening was Thompson Square. They started promptly at 7, and most of the crowd was still filing in. They sang their few hit songs, a couple of covers and were done. Very enjoyable. Next up was Darius Rucker. The place was about as full as it was going to get by now, and they went wild for him. Very good set, sang all his hit songs, even threw in a couple of Hootie songs. It was a fun show, but I wish these guys didn't think they have to invoke the Packers all the time. We know who we are...
Finally the headliner, Lady Antebellum. The crowd was very fired up when they hit the stage, and they did not disappoint. They may have sung every song they've ever had airplay on. Great harmonies, good interaction with the crowd, I thought it was a great show. At one point they brought a 7 year old up on stage to "help" with a song (American Honey). She seemed good to go until they asked her where she was from. She said Minneapolis and the crowd really booed. Felt sorry for her, and she looked scared--but once the music started she really belted it out-- band seemed impressed, and so was I. Turns out this was the final show of the tour for this threesome of acts. There were some shenanigans amongst the groups, but I think it added to the show. It was an excellent time, and I'm happy we went.
Got a chance to catch a few tunes on the way out by a couple of groups. Watched a little bit of Three Dog Night while eating a gyro (gyro still tastes the same). These guys are like 70 now, but they're in pretty good shape and they sounded good. Good size audience as well. We had to get to the north end to leave the grounds, and it was slow going, but that let us hear some ZZ Top at the Harley stage. The place was packed, couldn't get close if you had to. They sounded great, and I imagine they still look the same, but have no way of knowing.
Great day at the Summerfest. I would definitely recommend the turkey at the Water Street Brewing pavilion--go around back on the lake side, good service and real good food. And the Coors Light at the Potawatomi is the coldest beer on the grounds.
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