We are officially in the thick of it at Summerfest. The weather is hot, the music is loud, the fireworks are booming, the beer is ….well overpriced, and the crowds are filled with annoying people. It’s everything you want and more. But what truly makes Summerfest unique is how incredible some of these shows have been. 

Don’t get me wrong this always comes down to personal preference, but sometimes certain shows stick out in ways you’d never think imaginable. These are my abridged stories from the first two days.

 

Day 1 – Steve Aoki

This year in particular Summerfest really drew in some big name DJs to satiate the younger generation who have made this style of music their go-to genre. In the past Summerfest has always had one or two big names that drew crowds, but this year may have been their biggest snags yet. Steve Aoki is one of the biggest and most paid DJs in existence and after seeing his set I understand completely. 

I feel that the internet has conditioned us to equate a DJ show to hearing some funky reimagining of songs we already know while they get the crowd to fall into a loving trance. While there is some truth to this, what Steve Aoki had done, was completely unreal. He completely entranced the crowd to do everything he said all while spinning incredible music paired with visuals that kept the focused maintained on the front of the stage.

Where Steve Aoki really owned the crowd was his infamous cake toss, which much to my surprise was way more fun than I expected it to be. When you hear about it, you think what a gimmick, but there was something about being a part of it that made it the way an experience you didn’t want to miss. Never would I think, “Oh boy, I hope I take this cake to the face”, but I did.

I will say that I was completely wowed with how mellow the crowd was. For being a hugely packed show backing up all the way to the restaurants, I expected to be shoved and pushed but was pleasantly surprised that everyone was there to dance their face off. 

Now fully a modern-day legend of the EDM scene, Steve Aoki blew me out of the water with an hour and a half setlist that left me wanting to hear more. Or at least get some more cake tossed in my face. 

 

Day 2 – Lizzo

Oh man, it’s the show everyone has been talking about since announcement. The immensely popular Lizzo finally is coming to Milwaukee. How will her show be? How will the crowds be? Will she live up to the expectation for the biggest crowd since Imagine Dragons? Uh, yeah, she did. 

I talk about reviews in many of my reviews when I talk about music in that they can really make or break a show. But for Lizzo, I was in shock of how the crowd was. 90% percent female and it seemed like they had never been to a show where people were taller than them. “I can’t see anything with you standing in front of me!” Well listen, lady, no one can see anything because of the hordes of people. Thankfully, that did not affect how incredible Lizzo was.

She sounded absolutely amazing. Almost surprised at the crowd she drew, which it’s just so midwesterner of her. She hit all the hits, made sure to draw attention to how the world is right now and how we are the ones that are going to change it. It was a delight. 

Being one of the hottest artists out there right now, I hope she never slows down. One of the better parts of her shows are seeing the backup dancers she adds to the show and experience of it all. Seeing as how I’m not a professional dancer, the dancers she uses dance the way that you want to in your head. 

Despite the controversy of the security guard attacking her team, I hope that Summerfest pulls in more of these acts. Lizzo appeals to so many crowds it was great to see the Summerfest team pull her in as a welcome surprise. Next year she could sell out the amphitheater easily, so let’s all hope she wants to come back.

 

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During the first two days I couldn’t miss these shows. I didn’t want to dedicate full reviews when we already had them on the site, but stay tuned because there is going to be even more content catered to specific items.

So grab a Saz’s Sampler Platter, get yourself some VIP access and rock out for the rest of the week as this is just the start of it all. 

 

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