Tuesday, June 28, 2011

I Won't See These Bands at Summerfest, but You Should...

Years ago I was a Summerfest regular, spending several days there each time the festival ran, usually as a reviewer for local publications, sometimes as a musician. Now I live in Minneapolis and we have a comparable festival experience called…
 
Well, no, we don’t. Nothing anything really close to it, actually. That’s OK, there are few festivals in the same league as SF. And there are many nice things about the Twin Cities that more than make up for our lack of a huge, multi-day music festival.
 
But I have been looking at the SF schedule and a few thoughts came to mind, so since I haven’t fired up the blog lately, I thought I’d plop them down here.
 
This won’t take long. The number of band names I don’t recognize at SF this year includes, well, most of them. And there are many good acts that I won’t mention simply because I assume you’ve heard of them and can make up your own mind about seeing them.
 
But there may be a few, including a few from the Twin Cities, that may slip under the radar, so here’s an attempt to illuminate them a bit.
 
Weds June 29,
6pm, Cascio Interstate Music Groove Stage with Onion/A.V. Milwaukee and 91.7 WMSE (why such a short name??)
Pictures of Then

This edgy guitar band from Minneapolis (with some nice synth and keyboard touches) is a bit of a buzz band around here.
 
5 pm, Rock Stage
The Friendly Lens

(See, is that so hard? “Rock Stage.” Simple, timely, classic. All that a music stage name should be, and more.)
I had the pleasure of seeing TFL at the Scott Weinberger benefit and they were quite rocking—and fun. Actually not too different from that first act but a little more compelling in my book.
 
Sunday July 3
4:30 pm
Cascio Interstate Music blah blah stage
Me and My Arrow

Besides getting points for the cool name (all hail Harry Nilsson), MaMA boasts one of those fascinating, complex lineups with string players and multiple singers and a big, big wall of sound. They’re bursting with energy live, capable of dramatic dynamic shifts, and they rock pretty convincingly. I like ‘em!
 
Thursday July 7
Cascio Inter-aaaaaaaaagh!
7:30 and 9 pm
The Melismatics and Mark Mallman

Melismatics are another classic Minneapolis band that started out on Ed Ackerson’s Susstones Records and have been bubbling under, as they say, ever since. Have to confess I’ve never seen them but they have a rep for great live shows.
Mallman is a piano-playing maniac who I’ve always thought is more a great showman than a great songwriter but honestly, his songwriting is nothing to sneeze at. I’d bet good money that this will be a memorable show. (Although I’m surprised he’s headlining—does Mallman have a big Mke following I don’t know about?)
 
Saturday July 9
Harley Davidson Roadhouse with Miller Genuine Draft
(Because if there are two things that go together, it’s drinking bad beer and going for a joyride on a motorcycle)
4 pm
Purgatory Hill

Neither a Mpls band nor a Milwaukee band, but features former Milwaukeean MelanieJane and cigarbox bluesman Pat MacDonald. Their take on the blues is fun and fascinating as they do more with two strings and tamborine than most full bands can do. Highly recommended. (also on the same stage that night: Fever Marllene and The Flaming Lips. Good lineup!)
 
 
Other bands to check out Testa Rosa, The Danglers, Paul Cebar (duh!), Ike Reilly Assassination, 5 Card Studs (at the Martini Lounge—perfect!), Juniper Tar, Kings Go Forth (duh!), Semi-Twang--if I forgot your band or your favorite band sorry, it’s all a blur after a while...Say hi to Lake Michigan for me!

Best Band Name: Screamin’ Cucumbers
Worst Band Name: Doctor Woo

Get the whole lineup:
www.summerfest.com