The concept of Big Data performing live is nothing but intriguing. The band is the brainchild of producer Alan Wilkis, and the project received a large part of its success, including a number one spot on the Billboard Alternative Song chart, without ever really playing a show. Add to the fact that almost all of Big Data’s songs feature singers
Read moreFor many bands, the opportunity to see your fanbase grow does not carry many benchmarks; In the instance of AWOLNATION, they were able to see just how far their following had grown by playing the same stage that they had graced in years prior on Friday night. The band played the US Cellular Connections stage previously at an 8:00 slot,
Read moreOK Go has become known for much more than their music. As a band, they’ve put out four albums and seven EPs within the last 15 years, but most people probably know them for their ultra-creative music videos (you know, that treadmill video?) that have become viral YouTube hits. When you’re known for having that much fun and putting out
Read moreSomeone needs to give Jesse Lacey a hug. Last year, I attended Brand New’s set at the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse, and I was slightly underwhelmed by the performance. I distinctly recall a lot of material from the group’s “Daisy” album, which was slower, and sadder, and the band looked genuinely disinterested in performing for a festival of kids that have grown
Read moreSo guys, I have a confession to make; Growing up, I was a huge Linkin Park fan. Around age 12, I remember telling myself that I needed a “favorite band”, so that when people asked what I listened to, I could answer them with more than “I listen to a little bit of everything”. For whatever reason, Linkin Park became
Read moreMany times, bands with one of the breakout songs of the summer don’t necessarily amount to a great live show. After the success of a single, the EPs and albums that follow tend to be rush jobs, revolving around that radio-friendly hit, and subsequently that less than stellar material becomes the filler building up to the band playing their hit
Read moreThe US Cellular Connections Stage at Summerfest saw one of its most solid lineups of the festival’s duration on Friday night, with local standouts GGOOLLDD, followed by indie up and comers Atlas Genius, and culminating in England’s The Kooks. For all three sets, at least the front portion of the bleachers at the stage were filled, and all three got
Read moreThe stage was set on Thursday night for one of the more sentimental performances of this year’s Summerfest, as Vinyl Theatre played the festival for the first time as Fueled By Ramen artists. This was a homecoming for the Milwaukee band, and that was apparent from the number of Vinyl Theatre shirts in the crowd, likely from friends and family.
Read moreAs a veteran Summerfester I’ve been extremely disappointed with the “World’s Largest Music Festival” these last few years. Bands that played 45-minute sets, little to no encores, and some stages having the volume turned down, I’m looking at you Miller Lite Oasis, left a very unkind taste in my mouth. This year made me forget all of that in the
Read moreComing off of an extraordinary run throughout the past two years, Bastille took their set to the Miller Lite Oasis for the opening night of Summerfest, where they unfortunately became victims of circumstance. For whatever reason, the festival’s opening night doesn’t always seem to be the ideal slot for headliners, as I fondly remember from last year’s energy-depraved Arctic Monkeys
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