Summerfest 2007!

woops i wrote this right after summerfest, but forgot to post it. ;)

Where to begin? Well, I guess i'll just go chronological. On July 3, we went to Summerfest only for Weird Al. So we began our Summerfest experience by just wandering around listening to random acts and eating delicious food. I sadly forgot my camera :(, but it didn't ruin the day. We enjoyed the quality rock cover band Johnny Wad thoroughly (quite impressive I must say) and were able to catch a couple songs of a Minnesotan singer/songwriter Ari Herstand.

This year at Summerfest the Marcus Amphitheater shows had all ticketed lawn seats (previously you could come early in the day and get lawn seat tickets free) and Ben Folds was opening, yeah I said opening, for John Mayer. Once you get passed the ridiculousness of Ben Folds opening for John Mayer, you than get angry that you would have to pay extra to see him. Ben Folds has played at Summerfest for the last maybe 5 years and always plays a free stage, so I was saddened and angry when I found out that the lawn seats would be 30 bucks. Granted admission to the park is included in the amphitheater ticket price, but fuck that. I would not risk my money going to John Mayer. So I passed up Ben Folds this year... but Weird Al rocked my world, as always.

The mere length of his set and number of costume changes is amazing, but also caused some problems since it rained for about an hour and half before his set. So we were soaking wet and getting colder by the minute during his performance. It was slightly uncomfortable, but entirely worth it. Especially considering that Ben Folds came on stage and played a song with Weird Al! It was awesome and Weird Al even did part of his Trapped in the Closet, Trapped in the Drive-Thru.

On July 5, the first act we watched , while enjoying some john hawk's pub fish and chips, was Hayward Williams. A local boy that I first heard in the band Exit. He is normally a solo act when he plays in Madison, acoustic guitar and harmonica, but the band Cabin and a friend guitarist joined him for his set at Summerfest. They fit well together and adding a fiddle to any music act is always a plus.

The day was filled with brilliant acts and great sets. Scissors for Lefty proved their worthiness as a live act. The lead singer had great audience banter and also had some extremely entertaining dance moves happening. They sounded fantastic and made the best of the mid-afternoon time slot. The Cat Empire was also fantastic. They played a two hour set, longer than most at Summerfest and had the audience going wild. It may have helped that the audience members were mostly Deadheads waiting for Bob Weir later that night, but it was a great atmosphere and they didn't disappoint my expectations.

This post by no means gives the experience the justice it deserves, but it's never easy to describe happiness. Can't wait for next year!