Photo by Caroline Tan
Trapper Schoepp & the Shades opened their 2012 Summerfest set with an intimate sing-along gathered around one central microphone. The sing-along quickly broke into a raucous rock ‘n’ roll set with a folksy twang that the group is known for.
Despite the heat, the humidity and the sound bleeding from the Cascio stage, the five-member band kept up the energy throughout their 45-minute set. The band traveled through rock ‘n’ roll, country and even pop as they channeled the likes of Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry, Gin Blossoms and even Edwin McCain.
The setlist included “So Long,” “Wednesday” and “Between the Lines.” The group also covered The Band’s “The Weight” toward the end of the set. (That was a popular song yesterday. Grace Weber covered the same song earlier in the day during her BMO Harris set.)
The strongest part of the set was a two-song pairing of songs with a central theme: a red 1964 Mercedes Benz left to the Schoepp brothers by their grandpa. In the vast musical atmosphere of Summerfest, it’s often hard to make a connection with an audience who’s more worried about where to go next, where the closest bathroom is or who just spilled beer on them. These two songs did that.
The other standout part of the set was the violin accompaniment by Gina Romantini. During “So Long” and a few other songs during the set, Romantini appeared out of seemingly nowhere to help the boys along. The violin and harmonica during “Run, Engine, Run” created a perfect blend of sound.
In fact, throughout the entire set, the sound was balanced: The vocals were clear and audible even in the back of the bleacher section – not an easy accomplishment on any Summerfest stage. Every part of the layered songs was given room to breathe.
The group presented a polished cohesion, with between-song banter and musical backstories peppered in with the hard-hitting songs. But the group’s youth still bled through with the appearance of a friend offering the bandmates buffalo wings during the set. For a group that’s a mixture of so many things – youth and experience, rock and folk, polish and angst – the eclectic set made sense.
