"Milwaukee is way cooler than France." -Joel Madden

Summerfest is an annual event that takes place on the shores of Lake Michigan, in the industrial city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This eleven day event has been a staple of the downtown Milwaukee scene since its inception in 1968. It's since found a permanant home on the grounds of an abandoned missile site, and also made the Guinness Book of Records as the "Biggest Music Festival." Open each day from 11:30am till midnight, the thirteen stages are filled with musicians, comedians, and family performers. Not to mention the sports demonstrations, a plethora of food vendors, shopping, and an endless supply of people watching. When my friend offered up a free ticket, I agreed instantly. The last time we'd gone to Summerfest together was in the heydays of Warrant, and we actually saw Brass Kitten play. And, uh...I still have their autograph. Narrowing it down to the last day, July 6th, we decided to take in Evanescence.

Once we entered, my friend then informed us that if we got to the Marcus Ampitheatre gates early enough, they give out free general admission tickets. And playing on this particular day happened to be two bands I particularly enjoy; Hoobastank and Good Charlotte. After getting our tickets, and a splattered purple stamp on my hand (the guy stamping me did such a shoddy job I blurted out "Who gave you this job??") we wandered over to the skate park area. Briefly enchanted by a raised stage hosting two breakdancers (they looked extremely hot and out of breath), we then moved on to the skating area. With a backdrop of downtown Milwaukee cowering beneath the impending lightening-streaked storm clouds, we were witness to a handful of guys (I didn't spot any gals) doing various ramp and rail tricks. There were even a couple of really little kids. After failing to score any free swag (and claiming that the guy tossing it out threw like a girl, and if fought, would probably hit like one too) we wandered off again. We'd scored some free Butterfinger swag anyway. It's all about the freebies.

Stopping to take pictures of a giant guitar (which was located in a plaza also housing a giant paino and a giant drumset) it finally started raining. Scoring some more swag from a radio station (CD sleeves) we found ourselves in the midst of a full-fledged downpour. Finding shelter was useless. There was no room anywhere, so we gave up and walked in the rain. "A Harley and an umbrella, that's all you need to get the ladies," was the boast of a man who attempted to shelter us with his own. Umbrella that is, not motorcycle. This attempt was proved moot when I subsequently jumped in a puddle and soaked myself some more (though I resisted the urge to do cartwheels). "Best T-Shirt" award this time over was self-appointed. While shopping at the official Summerfest store, I picked one up that said, "Ask me how I got backstage." Gotta give props to the Summerfest marketing team.

After we ate, and I realized that I'd been walking around with a Butterfinger sticker on my bumper thanks to my companions, we went over to the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard stage to watch Cherry Pie. Cherry Pie is a WI-based band that do covers of, you guessed it, 80s-era metal. They played a collection of everything you'd expect; Bon Jovi, Warrant, Poison, White Lion, Motley Crue, Dokken, Great White. But they also threw in a couple I wouldn't have expected. Rush, Living Colour, and Survivor to name a few. The band put on a really great show, and had tons of energy. Each musician seemed to be an amalgamation of 80s rockers: the singer, "Johnny Spandex," was Ted Nugent and Jack Russell; guitarist "Luscious Rod" was Rick Savage; guitarist "Chet Manhood," from afar, brought to mind Rudy Sarzo; while the ever-smiling bassist, "Monstro Libido" was clearly the bastard child of Jerry Dixon and Erik Turner. Spooky. What was interesting was the mix of younger and older fans here. While the younger crowd seemed to be enjoying most of the set, there was an obvious lack of knowledge of the songs. Made up for by the beer-spilling sing-a-longs of the 'older' crowd.

I promised Suite 13 I'd come see them play, so we cut out early from Cherry Pie. Suite 13, who are based out of Chicago, are a rock band that used to call Milwaukee home. Our party arrived at their party on the Harley Roadhouse stage just as they launched into the song "Beautiful" off their latest demo, All She Wants. They performed most, if not all, of the songs from that demo, plus a handful of new ones, as well. They sounded great, up-beat pop-rock, but unfortunately a large portion of the audience remained seated for their set. But not all, there was definitely a representative of Suite 13 fans in front of that stage. I was hoping to hear some of the tunes off their Contagious EP, but, alas, did not.

Time was ticking away, and the storm clouds were rolling in again, so immediately following their performance we started making our way toward the ampitheatre, to see Hoobastank. By the time we got there, making a few more stops, it had once again poured out. And that damned purple stamp had leaked all over my hand. Unfortunately, after saying goodbye to half of our party, searching in vain for a vendor of rain ponchos, and climbing the three flights of stairs to the grassy knoll at the back of the ampitheatre... Hoobastank was nearly finished. The view of the fairgrounds from the top of the stadium was breathtaking; the clouds were blowing away, back-lit by the sunset, and the lights on the ferris wheel shone proudly above everything else. At least the rain was finished, and we stood at the railing and watched an energetic ending to Hoobastank, their single "Remember Me."

Being that I am a Good Charlotte fan (despite having that "Hardcore Jaim" persona) I was able to take more from this particular show, as compared to the others that we saw this day. It was just that pubescent screaming that brought the enjoyment factor down. They opened the set with the second single off their sophomore release, The Young and the Hopeless, "The Anthem." I'd actually been on my way to the concession stand to get my friend a soda when the show started. The concession worker proved to be a GC fan, however, as when he handed me my drink, asked if I'd "shake it three times." I got a good laugh out of that. In spite of, or perhaps because of, the screaming, Good Charlotte put on a fun show. There weren't any dancers or pyro, just five guys rockin' out on stage. I'd committed to leaving early, in order to catch Evanescence, but I'm not sure how much of their show I actually missed! Off their first, self-titled album, they played "Little Things" (though I was disappointed that guitarist/vocalist Benji Madden didn't sing the commentary parts to that one). They also played personal favorite "Motivation Proclimation," "East Coast Anthem," and "Waldorf Worldwide" with a Milwaukee twist. The songs I caught off the second album included singles "The Anthem" and "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous," as well as "Wondering," which I believe Benji or Joel said was written for their dog. "The Story of My Old Man" was somewhat of a surprise, and I was much delighted to hear "Girls & Boys." That song is just too fun. If any one is familiar with GC, they know that twins Benji and Joel host a video show on MTV, and are familiar with their banter, typically telling each other to "Shut up, you're embarrassing yourself." Joel also talked about how this show was their first in the States after being in Europe, and claimed that "Milwaukee is way cooler than France." Don't worry, all you French fans, he was just referring to the language barrier.

Mostly upbeat pop/punk, they do get a little darker, as during the E.A. Poe-inspired "My Bloody Valentine." I also noted something about the people around me; there were three or four guys on the bench before me rocking out just as much as any female fan, and there was a girl to my left who would just scream every time guitarist Billy Martin was shown on the jumbo screen. The screen was the savior of all of us out in the boondocks, who could barely see the stage as is. I had to laugh to myself during "Hold On." Joel managed to mess up the words to the song, and as Benji's face was displayed on the screen, we were all witness to the giant smirk that surfaced there. The rest of the set I witnessed included the song "Riot Girl." Benji gave a speech about a punk girl being the only type of girl for him, because when they were old and had wrinkled tattoos, they'd both be so ugly nobody else would want them. [I'll pause for those of you to insert a joke here.] And that they'd still be "Have[ing] sex to NOFX." Benji sang the lead on "The Day That I Die" I believe, and they also played the uplifting "Movin' On." (As an aside, that was not the order they played the songs.)

We left early, during "Waldorf Worldwide." To our surprise, when we arrived at the other side of the fairgrounds, to the Harley stage where Suite 13 had played earlier, it was so packed we could barely even see where the stage was. There were people standing on the ground benches, masses piled upon the tiered bleachers... any available picnic table, flowerpot, garbage can... people standing all the way back to the main walkway. Great for the band, bad for anybody like myself, once again stuck way back in the boondocks. Unfortunate for my reporting ability as well, because not only could I not see the stage, but I don't believe the ground stages were set up with this kind of crowd in mind. So anything I heard from the stage had to compete with the noise of conversation around me.

Evanescence started the show with their latest single, "Going Under," and immediately it was evident that these guys (and gal) were here to rock unapologetically. I was surprised. I wasn't sure what to expect from these up-and-comers. I've heard them called "Linkin Park with a chick" - and not in a good way - to "Overwhelming to the auditory nerves." They're the biggest thing to come out of Arkansas since the Clintons, anyway. The energy on stage was palpable and the audience was not disappointed. Evanescence put on a good show. They even did a surprising (to me anyway) cover of Smashing Pumpkins' "Zero." When it came time to play their smash introduction to the mainstream masses, "Bring Me To Life," I was curious to know how it would be handled. As you should know by now, the male vocals in that song are provided by 12 Stones vocalist Paul McCoy, whom they previously toured with. In this instance that part was deftly handled by one of the guitarist (John LeCompt I believe). The most notable thing about Evanescence is the obvious center-stage image of a strong female vocalist. The 'Rock 'N Roll Playground' can be a rough place to play for many female musicians, and Amy Lee made a point of thanking the fans for "having a chick come out and rock!" And rock she did. I was impressed with the amount of energy put forth for somebody who sings as powerfully as she does.

Considering the fact that Los Lobos, The Wallflowers, Dennis DeYoung (of Styx fame) and Saliva were all playing at the same time, they managed to keep us all rooted in our spots. Their music is dark and moody, heart-broken lyrics with gothic imagery. With a set approximately an hour long, Amy came out solo for the encore, just herself and a keyboard. Launching into "My Immortal," she was joined partway through by the rest of the band. They stayed for a second encore as well, this time rocking through "Whisper." I could hear some kind of background chant/loop during this song, which makes me wonder if perhaps there wasn't also some help during "Bring Me To Life." Truth be told, I spotted a member of the Saliva crew catching part of the show. And knowing of GC's Benji Madden's public crush of Evanescence's lead singer, I can't help but wonder if he was, perhaps, watching from the wings as well.

So that was the end of the show, and the end of Summerfest 2003. I strongly urge you to check into Summerfest's lineup when summer rolls around next year. It's definitely worthy of a rock 'n roll roadtrip. You just might want to pack sunblock and an umbrella.

For more photos from this show, check here.

www.summerfest.com
www.cherrypie.org
www.suite13.com
www.goodcharlotte.com
www.evanescence.com