Summerfest 2010.

First off, we must all stand and applaud one, Mr. Mike Barylski. He accomplished what many have set out to do, but none have ever accomplished. From a few short years ago, when a Chad and I took Mike under our wing and introduced him to Summerfest...a Summerfest that would only see Mike attend one night. Over the years, Mike has attended more and more nights of Summerfest. Until finally, after being directly challenged, Mike made the boldest Summerfest prediction ever. He would run the gauntlet and attend all 11 nights! Madness! some said. It can't be done! said others. Well, 11 days, more than 70 hours, and countless beers later; Mike has proven the naysayers wrong. Well played Mike, well played.

Meanwhile, as Mike's attendance has risen, Chad's attendance has dropped off a cliff. Blame marriage. Blame old age. Whatever. Chad was once the master of SF...now Mike is the master.

Anyway, on to the good stuff. I'm ranking 18 bands...which encompasses every band I saw. I am not ranking incomplete sets from Saliva and a few other early shows. All bands ranked were seen 100%. (besides bathroom breaks) I was once again reminded that how good a show is depends on how close you are. So, let's go...

Crappy Group
#18 Johnny Wad: Cover band. Really, really bad.

#17 Barbeez: Cover band. Meh.

#16 London Soul: Fill in band for 12 Stones at the 6:30 slot on the first Saturday. Not a very good band at all. They only played because 12 Stones cancelled, and didn't really belong on the Cool TV stage.

#15 Niki Barr Band: We saw this band a couple years ago when they opened for Paramore. I didn’t remember this until the lead singer told us. This band was less than memorable, except for the fact that their mic was lost for a whole song, and the dumb chic couldn’t figure out to just grab one of the backup vocal mics.

Just slightly better than bad

#14 Some Hear Explosions: 6:30 band opening for Papa Roach. This was an odd band in that they had a drummer, a guitarist and a lead singer. No bass. Their music wasn’t really anything worth noting. If not for the chic lead singer, this band wouldn’t even be worth noting for more than two sentences.

#13 Cinder Road: 6:30 band opening for Chevelle. Just another rock band.

#12 Terrible Things: Opened for The Offspring. This was a mix of Taking Back Sunday, and some other band. They just didn’t do it for me. They played a really short set, which may have been a good thing.

#11 Last Vegas: Mike billed these guys as the “must see” band of 2010. Silly Mike. This band came straight out of the 80’s hair band genre. There’s a reason that style of music faded. Only the bands around in the time should be allowed to play that type of music.

#10 New Medicine: Opener for Hawthorne Heights. Just another rock band.

Okay, but not awesome

#9 Pepper: Never heard of this band. They were the opener for 311, and had a bit of their sound…but I’d classify them as reggae/rock/rap. They came out in just swimsuits and goggles. They had a lot of energy and kept the crowd involved. Played a lot of good songs, some of them with sexual themes. Good band. I’d see them again if they were at SF.

#8 311: Going into this one, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I like their popular songs, but I didn’t know anything else. They did play most of their popular ones, and I liked a few of their other songs too. However, this was just a bad show. They did the typical solos…the drum solo was okay, since they all got out there and banged away. The guitar solo nearly put me to sleep, and who the hell has a bass solo? This was the first show in a long time that I was hoping it would end soon…but they play for almost 2 hours! I wanted to see 311, and now I know I don’t have to see them again.

Now we're starting to rock

#7 Red: Red was ranked high in pre-fest rankings based on their previous performance. They did not disappoint. They once again rocked out. They upped their show a bit with some fog effects shooting out. Their drum solo was different than most, as he drummed out to rap songs by TuPac, Eminem, Snoop & Dr. Dre, and some Black Eyed Pees. They again finished the show with their patented guitar throws. Their one downfall was that they didn’t play very long, and didn’t even play their most recent release, Fight Inside.

#6 Chevelle: I’m not sure what it is, but Chevelle always sounds to me like they are slowing their songs down when they’re live. Don’t get me wrong, they put on a good show, but they just seem slower on some songs. With that said, they played a great set. Comfortable Liar and Forfeit made the list…love it when they play the non-released songs from Wonder What’s Next…even though the kids all around me had no idea what was going on. Every year, we wait for the bass to boom through us…and every year we are disappointed. Great band. Good show. (side note: a fight broke out next to us during the show. After the 3rd go-round, Mom, aka, Pam Rhode, jumped off the bench and ran the other way. I thought she was scared, but upon her return, she said, "I went to get security." Thanks mom!) ;-P

Top Rockers of 2010

#5 Hawthorne Heights: I went into this one thinking they could be this year’s flop, based on the fact that they didn’t have a screamer, and their new album was a bit wussy. Well, they came out and rocked the first song, screamer and all. NOT COMING BACK! Screamer performed well, even though they did cut some screaming out in Dissolve and Decay, and Ohio is for Lovers. They played some of their new stuff, which sounded good live. They didn’t have anything spectacular as part of the show, and the lead singer told us about 10 times to go and buy their new cd. (we get it dude.) Still, I loved the show, and they really rocked it out.

#4 Scorpions: After the debacle that was Judas Priest last year, I was a little concerned about the Scorps suckin’ it up. They came out with guitars blaring at an awefull pitch almost making my ears bleed. I got really nervous. Either my ears adjusted quickly, or they fixed the sound on the guitar, because the song got better about half way through. It was a new song, which nobody knew, but was pretty good. They continued their set, playing some known songs, and then went into the drum solo. I’m not even sure what to say here…perhaps, no, for sure, the strangest drum solo ever. Drums sky high in the air, with a video background going, it was supposed to be leading you through the drummer’s head, and various albums from the Scorpions history. Cool…but too long. They did finish the set strong with No One Like You, Winds of Change, and Rock You Like a Hurricane. Overall, I thought it was a good show.

#3 The Offspring: Last year they rocked SF. Best concert I’ve ever seen. After last year, I was expecting another awesome show. This year they were on a different stage (Harley). I don’t know if I had my sights set too high, or what, but this just wasn’t the same show. Actually, it was a completely different set order, with some different songs, but it just didn’t do it for me this year. It was still a good show. Good enough for #3, but not an awesome show. They didn’t have the background screen, and no Intermission. It was cool that they changed up the set list so that it wasn’t the exact same show as a year ago. I would have liked them to play more off their new album...only 2 songs?!?!

#2 Papa Roach: I have yet to listen to any cd of theirs. Yet, they put on one helluva show. They really get the crowd into it, and they have enough songs to go on based on radio play. Ask me specifics on the show, and why they rank so high, and I couldn’t tell you. I just know that they really rocked, and I was into the show. Could be that we were pretty close to the stage…doesn’t really matter why…I just thought they rocked it out.

A league of their own. I mean, let's face it, nobody came close this year, last year or any other year to this show. In fact, it will be hard to ever top this show, unless it's the same band, and I actually know some of their music.

#1 Skillet: How did we miss on this one? (oh, people will argue that they knew this would be a "good" show, but there is no way anybody knew they would put on this awesome of a show. Nobody.) A Christian rock band? I tried listening to them once, but didn’t hear anything I liked. Mike and I had even discussed just walking around SF, and not staying for them. The crowd gathered here was huge. Mike and I looked at each other and said, “we must be missing something.” Then they came out and they frickin’ rocked! I didn’t know any of their songs (except Monster), and I still loved them. They have a chick drummer (chick drummers are hot), a chick bassist/keyboard, a violinist and a cellist. The violin and cello actually make a huge difference in the sound, and they were great ways to lead into songs. Skillet was also the best stage show I’ve seen since...ever They had two platforms that raised up to the roof, where people stood and played, they had pyrotechnics going off, and even brought out extra pyros for their encore. Throw in an acoustic version of Enter Sandman and they put on quite the show. I definitely have to listen to their music again, and go see their show again. (I have to give them props for taking the usual political rants that bands do, and turning it into a "Jesus saved us all" message. You're a christian rock band, and you weren't afraid to let everyone know.)

Other notables:

1. Frolf was elevated to a new level with Joan of Arre keeping stats. I'm just not sure it was a good level.
2. I believe Mike and Joe tied for the course record of -4.
3. Mike's streak of serving underagers came to an end.
4. Rock band only appeared for 2 nights.
5. Only one campfire...at night. Plenty of burning going on during the days. Thanks to a brother for burning everything.
6. Over/Under on days Chad attends next year is at 2.5.
7. Over/Under on beers brother has next year is at 132.

That's all for this year's Summerfest. Thanks to all for making it a success.