(For a gallery of photos from the show, click HERE!)
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| Photo by Andrea Bartley. |
When Summerfest started making band announcements way back when, several Mil Maggers jumped in excitement when Florence and the Machine and The Black Keys were scheduled. We quickly rushed to get tickets and waited patiently, as they burned holes in our desk drawers. As last night drew closer, I can definitely say that the excitement level in this Mil Magger climbed exponentially despite the busy day that would precede the event.
Before 7:30 hit, I ran around with the Mindpool crew snagging all kinds of interviews. Post sound check, we chatted with Tonic (video), who discussed their rough previous evening at Mo’s and how thrilled they were to be back at the Big Gig after quite a few years away.
Later in the day, we checked in with indie rockers Republic of Letters and stepped in Danny Gokey’s tour bus to chat Nashville, country music and good ol’ MKE. (See the video here.)
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| Photo by Andrea Bartley. |
Post-Gokey, we booked it to the Marcus for a sit down with Cage the Elephant (video), who were surprisingly low key. Their performance later in the evening was so fantastically rambunctious that we sat in frank amazement that those could possibly be the same guys we talked to a few hours earlier.
After Cage, the last interview of the day was with our very own hometown Temptations tribute band, The Tempters. They even sang us a quick ditty before ducking backstage to don some coordinated outfits and practice their dance moves. (Videos to come.)
And then it was time for the Main Event. Drumroll, please. We started it out with a Jessica Szohr sighting (xoxo, Jessica) and found our seats for Cage the Elephant.
Cage brought their pure rock style to the Marcus to a quickly filling Amphitheater. Lead singer Matt Shultz took the opportunity to half body surf, half walk into the crowd, finally making it back to the stage to scream a few words and finish off the set. A very nice way to start the evening if you ask me. Why ease in, when you can start with rowdy?
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| Photo by Andrea Bartley. |
Then came the ever-wonderful Florence & The Machine. Gosh, Florence. The dress, the spinning, the rose, that voice. It’s going to take a lot to not get my approval. Her hippie tapestry backdrop was simple and elegant as was that flowing maroon gown of sorts. As she made her way through various tracks off Lungs, I started to wonder if anyone in the crowd was enjoying the show. Motion was limited, and it didn’t seem like many were singing along. To be fair, how in the world can you sing along to Florence without making a complete ass of yourself? But come “You’ve Got The Love” and “Dog Days are Over,” in which Florence encouraged the audience to jump (and they did!), it became clear that yes, everyone was definitely digging this show. And they better because this was the last night of her U.S. tour. Other personal highlight: “Cosmic Love.” Fan-tastic.
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| Photo by Andrea Bartley. |
Florence exited post “Dog Days,” and The Black Keys took the stage with just the gruesome twosome. OK, they’re not gruesome at all, but that just seemed to work right there. Drummer Patrick Carney and singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach rocked through some earlier material before bringing out musical assistance and diving into Brothers. Launching from “Howlin’ For You” to “Tighten Up” was a definite crowd pleaser, and the amazing setup of lights (strands, lasers, big globes of sorts) and video backdrops aided in the making of one damn good rock show.
Ending with their name in lights (seriously), they left the stage to raucous cheers and a musically satiated crowd. It was a stellar end to yet another jam-packed day at the Fest.
