Calling out through the tumbleweeds...
The nostalgia was thick at the Marcus Amphitheatre Friday, from the
setlist to the stage setup to the vintage BoDeans T-****rts on the
chests of many of the 30- and 40-somethings in the crowd.
Seeing the BoDeans at Summerfest was a beloved summertime ritual for
many of those fans--the band's played the fest's major shows (headliner
or opening band on the main/side stages) more than any other.
But in an era where success of the headlining act is measured not by
whether the show is sold out, but how fast it sells out, that ritual
has become endangered. I believe what we saw Friday night was a wake --
an energetic, well-received show, yes, but definitely a farewell.
The Marcus wasn't even close to sold-out. Free lawn seats went early in
the day (and the fans there, like those in the more costly covered
seats, were sing-along, dance-along enthusiastic; this was no Ravinia
picnic-in-the-park lawn crowd), only two-thirds to three-fourths of the
seats in the shed were full. At least 2 entire sections were empty.
People who'd obtained crappy seats earlier were able to buy better ones
the day of the show, and some of them did (no word on whether they were
able to resell their first tickets!)
Kurt acknowledged it early on when said "some people" had said this
would be the band's last Summerfest show and continued by saying he
didn't know whether that would prove true, but that they'd very much
enjoyed their lengthy run.
With that awareness, his raising his arm to the crowd in salute on the
lyric, "ain't this what dreams are made of?" on the opening number took
on deeper significance. The band played very little from last year's
Resolution, instead relying on fan favorites that kept the crowd on its
feet throughout, and, underscoring the point, stills from the band's
videos flashed on screen throughout the night above their heads. (side
note: this would've been charming for a couple of songs, but it
ultimately distracted from the live performance happening ON stage.)
Even the traditional Summerfest cover weighed heavily on the nostalgia
factor for fans with long memories (or those with extensive bootleg
collections). Elvis Presley's "Tryin' To Get To You" hearkened back to
their earliest gigs at W.T. Lyle's in Waukesha; it's been retired since
a brief resurrection in the "He & He" shows at Milwaukee's former
Sherman's Celebrity Club in the early 90s. It was also played during
the set rather than as encore, traditionally the spot for the single
Summerfest cover.
I was amused to read the Journal-Sentinel's critique that Sam's voice
was once considered a weak link before maturing
http://www.jsonline.com/onwisconsin/music/jul05/339883.asp
because most
early reviews mentioned Kurt's as the more conventional rock voice, but
Sam's as an unforgettable asset that added standout sound to the young
band. I even recall an interview with Kurt in which he acknowledged his
own vocals weren't as strong as Sam's. But then, Jon Gilbertson, whom I
believe is a freelancer, lacks both the encyclopedic rock n roll
knowledge and understanding brought to the table by the paper's senior
rock critic, Dave Tianen. I'd have been interested in Tianen's take on
the show, since he usually praises what deserves praise while being
unafraid to challenge what needs challenging, but it looks like he had
the night off.
Gilbertson did get the call right on the Wallflowers, though. What was
with these guys? Darned if I could tell; the two guys in front of us
were among the very few on their feet the entire time, so my view was
restricted to the Jumbotron screen for most of the set. But Jakob
Dylan, who appeared playful and engaging when I caught the 3 final
songs of their side stage show here a few years back, barely
acknowledged that he was on a stage; it seemed there was no emotional
connection at all. Perhaps he wasn't feeling well; perhaps they
disliked becoming an opening act, maybe the fact that everyone was
seated made the empty seats all the more apparent, maybe they're ticked
that their fortune seems to have reversed in recent years. I honestly
think his daddy has been evidencing more stage presence in the last few
years than the son did Friday, and that was way weird.
Summerfest timed the show rather oddly, too. While the Wallflowers have
been touring with Anna Nalick as their opener, so I understand having
multiple openers on the bill. But why did the overall start time not
get moved up (as happened with, I think, the Allman Brothers earlier in
the week -- they had an AFTERNOON start time to accommodate that
festival of openers)? Not doing so meant that the BoDeans only ended
with 1 encore -- I seem to remember multiple encores most years? -- and
had to leave it at that, because the grounds were closing, as opposed
to previous years when the Marcus show would end early enough to catch
a few closing songs from the nearby side stage. Strange, but then,
there've been changes all through Summerfest this year, some of them
good, some of them not so much.
Lori
(back with a new keyboard and mouse)
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