Summerfest 2025 Review: Competently Proficient

Another Summerfest has come and gone, so once again it’s time for the rundown of everything I saw. 

The phrase I keep coming back to when I think about this year’s edition of Summerfest is “competently proficient.” I think a lot of that has to do with what Summerfest is and kind of has been for some time now, which is to say that side-stage headliners are largely made up of nostalgia-driven acts. These artists can reliably fill theaters and large clubs (think The Riverside or Eagles Ballroom) and they mostly know how to please a festival crowd, particularly when competing with 7 other headliners simultaneously. Nothing was outright bad, but nothing was amazing either. It was fine. 

Weekend 2, Day 1 (I was out of town for Weekend 1)

DEVO - Uline Stage, 9:30 PM

I have never seen Devo live, and am also not a superfan by any stretch, so I genuinely did not know what to expect going into the show. 

Consider me pleasantly surprised. 

Despite being a band for more than 50 years, Mark Mothersbaugh & co. still know how to put on a high-energy show that was engaging both visually and musically. 

There were costume changes — they went from a more traditional all-black get up to their iconic yellow jumpsuit and energy dome hat and back again throughout the 80-minute set. The music was backed by pop-art/trash culture-inspired images and video clips. 

But the real standout was the music. I’ve always thought of Devo as being this wimpy, weirdo synth rock band — and they are that — but it occurred to me that a lot of their music is surprisingly muscular. The songs that featured both keyboards and guitar provided a nice contrast, and the songs that featured guitar prominently — hello, “Uncontrollable Urge” — genuinely rocked. Otherwise I would say the music was dance-punk before such a thing was called that, if that makes sense. 

Devo played their two best-known songs — “Girl U Want” and “Whip It” — back-to-back early in the set. They sounded excellent, just like they do on record. In fact, the entire set sounded pristine, and I would say it was the best-sounding show I heard all ‘Fest as far as sound quality is concerned. 

This show did not make me want to dive into their back catalogue, but it absolutely earned my respect for Devo as artists. That’s a hard thing to do, especially at Summerfest. 

Weekend 2, Day 2

Local H - Miller Lite Oasis Stage, 8:00 PM

Local H feels like a band that should have been bigger than they were (or are now). They normally play 400-ish seat venues, at least when they come around here, so it was surprising to see such a big crowd. And the crowd wasn’t just there to save their seats for Billy Corgan at 10 o’clock.

In short: over the course of 12 songs in one hour, they came, they rocked, and they left. 

Normally a two-piece band, Local H took to the stage with two drummers. Perhaps for the occasion of opening for the not-Smashing Pumpkins (or being at a stage far larger than what they normally play) they wanted some extra oomph for the set. It was the equivalent of asking for a live chicken, and I found it mostly just resulted in a cacophony of cymbal crashes and not much else. 

Despite that, the music was still pretty goddamn good. They mostly ignored the newer material in favor of proven crowd pleasers. “All The Kids Are Right,” “Eddie Vedder,” “Fritz’s Corner” and “California Songs” were all there. “Hands All The Bible” sounded like it had a wall of guitars even though there was only the one guitar player on stage. The slow-burn jamming on the ten-minute “Buffalo Trace” did not disappoint. 

I’m sure a choice cover (Lorde’s “Team,” TV on the Radio’s “Wolf Like Me,” or Britney Spears’ “Toxic” just to name a few) — Local H is an excellent cover band, after all — would have gone over like gangbusters, but, alas, that was not to be. Still, I found no faults with their set. They are usually in the Milwaukee area at least once a year — I will continue to recommend going to see them if you want to see a good hard rock show. 

Billy Corgan and the Machines of God — Miller Lite Oasis Stage, 10:15 PM

It seemed like for a little while that Local H might have the bigger crowd, but it did fill in nicely after maybe half an hour. That had as much to do with it not being the Smashing Pumpkins as it does with Corgan’s (earned) spotty reputation as a live act. 

15 minutes before showtime...

The point of this tour was to celebrate milestone anniversaries for Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (30th) and Machina/Machina II (25th), so the set revolved around those two albums for better and for worse. 

The hits were all there for Mellon Collie, and they sounded like you would expect them to. “Zero” featured a little tease of hometown heroes Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun.” “1979” got the biggest reaction of the night, though Corgan’s voice showed some wear and tear most prominently for this tune. It was occasionally croaky and less snarly at points throughout the night, but nothing to suggest that he should hang it up. 

Billy’s guitar work, however, has not lost a step. The excellent deep cut from Mellon Collie, “Porcelina of the Vast Oceans,” featured an absolutely majestic guitar solo over the course of its ten-minute runtime. Machina II standout “Here’s to the Atom Bomb” also featured some nice guitar work. 

As much as the Mellon Collie material worked out great, the same cannot be said for the Machina tunes. The lone single played was “The Everlasting Gaze,” which was fine. But deep cuts like “Heavy Metal Machine” and “Glass and the Ghost Children” completely lost most of the crowd. Of course, Billy Corgan doesn’t give a shit so he soldiered on playing songs that most folks probably didn’t care about. 

The 90-minute set was a contrast of some excellent highs and some forgettable lows. In the end, Corgan’s insistence on playing some new material and deep cuts from an album no one bought showed how he can’t get out of his own way sometimes. Case in point, near the end of the show he came out to play “Tonight, Tonight” solo acoustic. It was a beautiful moment, and would have been a perfect ending to a fairly good night. But he insisted on two more songs, a couple of deep cuts.

God damn it, Billy!

But honestly, setlist choices aside, whether touring as the Smashing Pumpkins or something else, Corgan can still deliver the goods when he wants to. The Smashing Pumpkins aren’t one of my favorite bands for nothing, and despite my disappointment with some choices, this show didn’t do anything to dissuade me from wanting to see them again. 

Weekend 3, Day 1

MJ Lenderman — Briggs and Stratton Big Backyard Stage, 10 PM

MJ Lenderman was probably the hippest if not biggest act I saw at Summerfest this year. He and his band played either the Vivarium or Turner Hall last summer, so a headlining slot is definitely a step up for him as far as playing Milwaukee is concerned. 

Did he live up to the hype? Yes and no.

My first note for the show was that it was lackadaisical, and I meant that as a compliment. (Full disclosure: I actually wrote down “laconic,” which isn’t the right word. I have a bachelor's degree in English, I swear.) This largely held true through the first third or so of the 90-minute set. I am a sucker for pedal steel, particularly in the context of indie rock, so Xandy Chelmis’s playing had me from the start. “Rudolph,” from last year’s excellent Manning Fireworks, had a good groove and ended with a squalling guitar jam. 

But then the set just kind of dragged for a while. It was perfect music for drinking beers at a campfire, only the beers and the fire and the conversations were more interesting. “Bark At The Moon” broke down into a feedback-fest that seemed mostly performative. It channeled Jimi Hendrix in a way, only there was no “Voodoo Child” to bring it all back.

Certainly some of the issue is with me — I am not familiar with all of Lenderman’s work, and as much as I like the idea of ramshackle noodling and jamming, it isn’t always my thing. But then again the music just isn’t hook-y enough to command a festival crowd’s attention. 

It wasn’t all bad, though. Songs from Manning Fireworks did get some good reactions, with single “She’s Leaving You” a definite highlight. (Bassist Lou Turner filled in nicely for Karly Hartzman’s vocals on the outro to that one) “Knockin’” was particularly rockin’, and “Tastes Just Like It Costs,” the set-ender, managed to channel Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.” (Was it the riffs? The vocals? I don’t know — tell your reviewer to drink less Miller Lite and take better notes.)

(OK, I went back to listen to the song again, and it is definitely the riff. You’re welcome for the basic journalism.)

I think at this point in time, MJ Lenderman’s live work isn’t quite for me, even though I do actually enjoy his live album. Perhaps it’s just a little too laid back — not laconic! — for a Summerfest set, which has been a problem as long as I have been going to Summerfest.

Weekend 3, Day 2

Everclear - Briggs and Stratton Big Backyard Stage 6 PM

Stupid me thought the show started at 6:30, so we ended up missing nearly half of Everclear’s 75-minute set.

No worries, though, as Everclear had plenty of hits left in the tank. Whether or not they sounded like the Everclear of old is up for debate. For the first handful of songs I came down on the side of “no.” It was as if I was watching an Everclear cover band — “AM Radio” didn’t have the “Mr. Big Stuff” sample and therefore wasn’t as good; “El Distorto De Melodica,” a gnarly little instrumental off So Much for the Afterglow, didn’t have the oomph it once did. 

Then Art Alexakis spoke about his MS diagnosis from 2019, and how he’s been sober for 36 years. He then acknowledged a lady in the audience who had a sign that read “64 days sober” and offered some words of encouragement before ending with “it’s not bullshit, not a trope. Take things one day at a time.” And suddenly my negative thoughts about the performance melted away. 

Everclear was the soundtrack of my high school years because Alexakis’ plainspoken lyrics sometimes felt as if they were written just for me in a way that Nirvana or Pearl Jam lyrics were not. These songs definitely got me through some bad times, and some of them definitely hit a little different as an adult (“I Will Buy You A New Life,” for one).

So what if Art doesn’t sound like he used to? He still clearly loves what he does. Sparkle and Fade and So Much for the Afterglow still rule. The crowd didn’t seem to care too much either, as everyone was dancing, swaying, or singing along. “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Santa Monica” got the biggest cheers, which felt right. They ended the set with a cover of The Vaselines’ “Molly’s Lips,” though Alexakis acknowledged it was the Nirvana version he was going for.

It was a nice little treat. And with all things considered, that’s probably a good way to think of Everclear shows from this point forward.

Fountains of Wayne - Briggs and Stratton Big Backyard - 10PM

Fountains of Wayne have been mostly inactive since 2014. Then co-founder Adam Schlesinger died from Covid in the earliest days of the pandemic. It was fair to think they were truly done as a band at that point. 

But then they were randomly announced for Summerfest. What gives?

(I think they might be testing the waters for a future full-fledged tour, but that’s just me speculating)

With the guy from Eve 6 (Max Collins) on bass for Schlesinger, the band hit the stage and got to it with Utopia Parkway highlight “It Must Be Summer.”

I’ve never seen them before but I imagine it was almost like they never left. Chris Collingwood’s vocals sound pretty close to Adam Schlesinger’s, so nothing was too different there. The songs sounded mostly like their album versions, so nothing was off about that either. 

Collingwood didn’t talk a whole lot throughout the set, pausing once before a song to say “I love this fuckin’ city,” and once to tease the audience by saying they were definitely the best he’s heard this week. (The last date they played -- the only other US date planned for this year -- was two weeks before.)

It was a no-bullshit hourlong set full of power-pop jams. If you’re familiar with their first few albums, I don’t think you’d have any reason to complain. 

“No Better Place,” one of my personal favorites, was played early in the set. The couplet that goes “The bourbon sits inside me, right now I’m a puppet in sway / And it might be the whiskey talking, but the whiskey says I miss you every day” hits just as hard as it did 20 years ago. 

“Barbara H,” from their self-titled debut featured some sweet wah-wah guitar. “Hey Julie,” from Welcome Interstate Managers, had the crowd swaying to it’s gentle rhythm. 

The end of the set was reserved for the hit singles. 

“Radiation Vibe” featured a breakdown of Bad Company’s “Feel Like Making Love” in the middle, which was unexpected. “Stacy’s Mom” got all the phones out, because of course it did. It is certainly their most popular song, but it is far from their best. 

“Leave the Biker” is more of a deep cut, but probably still a crowd favorite. It’s a good tune, and I will note here that Chris Collingwood still sung the word “fag,” and that made me irrationally happy. (The titular biker is a bad dude who doesn’t read books, probably has never cried, and uses homophobic slurs. I think it’s okay to say that word in that context.)

“Mexican Wine” and “Sink to the Bottom” closed out the show, and just like that it was over. It was probably the most fun show of the bunch due to the familiarity with the material and the catchiness of the music — every bit as hook-y as Weezer, and lyrics that are a hell of a lot more nuanced, for those unfamiliar with the band.

I’m not sure what the future holds for Fountains of Wayne — it very well could be nothing much. But I’m glad I was able to catch them, even if it was only for an hour. 

Social Distortion - Miller Lite Oasis Stage 10:15 PM

Fountains of Wayne wrapped up early, so we were able to catch the last three songs from Social Distortion. One of those songs was “Story of My Life,” so I will consider that a success. 

That’s a wrap on Summerfest 2025. It was perfectly fine, and sometimes that’s all you can ask for. 

If you’re wondering why there are no bus reports like there were last year, that is because much like the shows I saw, they were competency executed and nothing more. The crowds weren’t liquored up, the music was nothing to write home about, and Fred didn’t nearly kill us (or do any sweet donuts or random U-turns).

As much as it bums me out thinking about how getting older definitely is causing me too enjoy Summerfest less and less every year, I’m still looking forward to it next year. 

Concert review: Paul Simon at Riverside Theater, Milwaukee (5/17/25)

Paul Simon’s new tour is called “A Quiet Celebration,” but, as Milwaukee is wont to do, we wanted a fuckin’ party. 

The sold-out Riverside Theater would have to wait for that party, however, as Paul Simon insisted on performing his latest album in its entirety. 2024’s Seven Psalms is a typical old-guy album that ruminates on death and mortality. To say it was 35 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back is a little mean; it was certainly something to politely sit through before you get to the good stuff. 

At the same time, Simon — like his greatest living songwriter contemporaries Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan — has absolutely earned that right to do whatever he wants to do in his concerts. (Dylan has been doing that arguably since he went electric; if McCartney decided to open a show with only deep cuts from his more experimental self-titled albums, I would be equal parts amused and annoyed.)

Seven Psalms is meant to be heard as one continuous piece of music. Most of that music vacillate between plaintive folk and new-age-y world music; his backing band played xylophones, glass bowls, flutes, and violins to go with the more traditional guitars-bass-drums setup. Impressively, almost no one in the band played just one instrument. 

Only one song from that opening suite, “My Professional Opinion” made any sort of impression on me, and even that was because its gentle folk-blues and wry humor sounded like it could fit on any of Simon’s 70s albums. It was almost as if he was saying “I could still do THIS if I wanted to.”

The opening set was met with raucous applause and a standing ovation, which I thought was a bit much. Then again, maybe it wasn’t so much for the material as it was for the fact that it’s mind-blowing that an 83-year-old man can do this at all. 

After a short intermission, the party commenced. 

Simon hit us with a one-two punch of “Graceland” and “Slip Slidin’ Away,” and the crowd responded with hooting and hollering, whistling (which got annoying as the night wore on), and plenty of applause. At one point a fan shouted “Milwaukee love you Paul!” And he responded “I appreciate that… Can you please explain?”

To address the elephant in the room: Simon’s voice sounds noticeably thinner nowadays. He no longer belts it out and didn’t try to — but to expect him to sound like he did on record in 1972 would be a fool’s errand. In his excellent review in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Piet Levy hit upon an excellent word to describe it all — restraint. 

Indeed both singer and band kept the bombast to a minimum. This had the pleasant side effect of making certain moments of songs that much more powerful because they weren’t as raucous as they could have been from the get-go. Despite there being 9 or 10 people on stage, the multitude of instruments played did not seem to alter the arrangements all that much; they merely added depth to the already-great songs. 

Even though Simon’s voice is quieter now, that void was filled with the gravitas that comes with age and a fully-lived life. Simon & Garfunkel hit “Homeward Bound” was probably the best example of this — I think the sense of longing in the lyrics probably meant something different to everyone depending on where they are in life. Simon is certainly in his winter years, and I could feel that in my guts. To me, it was the most genuinely moving song of the night. 

I mentioned a party before, and now that I think about it that might be an overstatement. If I have a nitpick, it’s that for every hit song or two he did, he followed that up with a deep cut that most everyone but the true heads ignored. It kept from the set building into something truly special.

Then again, the last five songs were all stone-cold classics. And the audience participation picked up, responding to the moment. “Mother and Child Reunion” got people singing; “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” got at least one older couple in the balcony dancing. “The Boxer” had the entire crowd singing the “la-la-lie” chorus as one. (Perhaps one of his best lyrics “In the clearing stands a boxer / And a fighter by his trade / and he carries the reminders / of every glove that laid him down / Or cut him til he cried out / “I am leaving, I am leaving” / but the fighter still remains” was greeted with a burst of cheering and applause — it was not lost on anyone what those lines mean to man who has been at this for nearly 70 years)

After the band took their final bows, Paul Simon stood alone at center stage where he signaled that he was going to do one more song. It was “The Sound of Silence,” which he performed beautifully and alone on his acoustic guitar. It was a powerful moment — both bringing focus to the ravages of time and defying them for at least another night. The showering of applause — for what seemed like the millionth time — felt right here. I always grade on a curve when it comes to seeing living legends like this, but I think Paul Simon actually passed with flying colors with or without it.

We might goof on modern bands or artists with their boomer-ish takes on “no phones, no video or photos” at their shows (Tool, Jack White to name a couple). Paul Simon had the same request, and from what I could see from the balcony, the crowd complied. I’m not sure why, but this in this instance it was truly beautiful seeing people just enjoying the moment with their own eyes. Perhaps that’s because Simon’s best songs are ultimately about — the moments we live and the stories we tell about them. 2500 or so people got to see him for possibly the last time — all the better that those moments live in their minds instead of on their phones. 

Notes from the road: Outdoor concert season wrap-up

 Outdoor concert season has pretty much wrapped up, so I thought it would be nice to document the last few that I went to this season. Why the delay? Because at the time I didn’t think I had anything to say about them that I hadn’t already said before. (This is still kind of true, but bear with me here.) Thinking about it a bit more, I discovered that there are some threads that ran through all of them, both good and bad. 

This piece is longer, but the reviews themselves are shorter than what I usually write. I suspect that won’t be an issue, though, so let’s just get on with it. 

The Avett Brothers w/ Trampled by Turtles, Alpine Valley Amphitheater (East Troy, WI) - 8/18/24

I had never been to Alpine Valley, which is somehow both surprising and not. The acts that tend to appear there aren’t really in my wheelhouse (Phish, Dave Matthews, etc.) so I’m not sure that I’ll ever actually go again. However, if another good bill like this shows up, count me in. 

Our seats were in the very back of the reserved area, but did not feel far away. I suspect if we were on the edges of the massive stage I would feel differently, but otherwise there doesn’t seem to be an actual bad seat in the house. (The hill, where the majority of “seats” are, is probably a different story. Particularly if it’s a full house, which this was definitely not.) The hike back to the bathrooms sucked. 24 oz. beers at $14 a pop is fucking ludicrous. Other than that, the venue was absolutely perfect for this kind of show.

Trampled by Turtles’ brand of bluegrass vacillates from pretty and pastoral to virtuosity and velocity, and this was on display from the get-go. Unfortunately their PA system crapped out midway through the hour-long set and suddenly they were playing to the GA pit without even realizing it.

At first they had precisely one mic working, so they gathered around it and did some choice covers from The Band (“The Weight”) and Bob Dylan (“Don’t Think Twice, it’s All Right”) while the sound team tried to solve the issue. Eventually they hooked into The Avett Brothers’ PA and all was well.

They closed with their most popular song, “Wait So Long.” Cellist Eamonn McLain in particular put a little extra into this one, as he looked to be beating his instrument with his bow. 

***

I’d like to think that every couple who enjoys live music has a band that they absolutely must see every time they come to town. The Avett Brothers is that band for my wife and I.

I’ve never seen a bad performance by these guys, and this 25-song, 2 hour set was no different. Yet at the end of it I felt kind of empty. I thought maybe the multiple $14 beers played a part in this but after looking at the setlist I realized that I truly didn’t recognize most of the songs. The height of my Avett Brothers fandom runs from 2007’s Emotionalism through 2012’s The Carpenter; those albums got 6 of the 25 songs played. Their latest album also got 6 of those 25 songs, so you can see where this is going. 

None of that is the Avett Brothers’ fault, of course. It was a career-spanning set that was supposed to have something for everyone; it just didn’t have enough for me. It doesn’t help that it was literally half a lifetime ago when I was curious/obsessed enough to explore a band’s entire catalog. I don’t have time for that shit now. 

This isn’t to say that there weren’t highlights, because there were. “Murder In The City,” one of their best songs, is an emotional experience every time I hear it. Scott Avett sang it from the corner of the stage, just him and his guitar, and it seemed like he was singing only to me. With my wife by my side, holding hands, the lines “Always remember there was nothing worth sharing / Like the love that let us share our name” carried extra weight. Jesus goddamn Christ, was it overwhelming.

“I and Love and You,” from the album of the same name, had the biggest singalong of the night, and rightfully so. "Love of a Girl," from the new album, is a winner and should make future shows.

The biggest applause may have been for the line “Your life doesn’t change by the man who’s elected,” from “Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise,” which for a straight white man such as myself is demonstrably true. My kindest reading of that line is that it’s defiant, that we must persevere, which is also true. However, and I will get political here so buckle up, if you look outside yourself for a minute you can see how harmful that view can be. So please: hold your nose, swallow the pill, set your well-reasoned convictions aside and vote against the orange shitheel. The country won’t improve immediately – progress in electoral politics is always slow. But it is better than having a demented old man (or his deeply weird, spineless protege) in charge.

For the encore, The Avetts opened with a cover of Toby Keith’s “As Good As I Once Was,” which I found to be a low-key good choice. You can think what you’d like about Keith and his music, I feel it’s mostly harmless. In a venue filled with good vibes, on a perfect summer evening, this particular song was a hit. 

Despite the fact that the set didn’t live up to my personal expectations, it was still an excellent performance. Like the Bob Seger song, they left every ounce of energy on stage. The Avett Brothers remain one of my absolute favorite live acts, and this show did nothing to change that. 

The National w/ The War on Drugs, Breese Stevens Field (Madison, WI) - 9/26/24

Unlike the last time I was in Madison to see a show, the weather cooperated for this one. Breese Stevens is a pretty good venue; even in the GA section everything sounds good.

There are major “dudes rock” vibes surrounding The War on Drugs, and their brand of music (think Dire Straits x Tom Petty with a touch of modern indie rock) matched perfectly with the crowd.

The entire hour-long set went down smoothly like a 6-pack of light beer. I do not mean that as a put-down. I mean that it was fucking awesome. When the “WOOO!” from “Red Eyes” hit at the midway point of the set, it turned all the fist-pumping and air guitar playing into overdrive. 

It is true, at least to me, that the songs all sort of blurred together into one samey-sounding piece. But I didn’t think about it all that much. I had more fun goofing on the wind chimes on the drumkit (It reminded me of Yanni; my concert compatriot and college buddy thought early Genesis, which was probably more apt) and ultimately losing myself in the blissed-out guitar solos. 

***

Kings of dad rock The National are certainly leaning into that moniker these days, as they have an entire line of “Sad Dads” merchandise that they would like to sell you. (Full disclosure: I am the proud owner of a Sad Dads koozie. I hate how on the nose that is.)

The thing with The National is, even though their music is oftentimes grey and depressed, that seeing them live is a different story. The aforementioned concert compatriot made an astute point here, noting that though he wasn’t quite sold on their records – they’re fine and nothing more – seeing them live made him appreciate the band more. I wholeheartedly agree. When they hit the stage it was like a switch was flipped – Dorothy getting to the Emerald City in the Wizard of Oz movie comes to mind. 

Of course, it helps that they played all of my favorite songs. My far-and-away favorite album of theirs, Boxer, was well represented with “Fake Empire” and “Mistaken by Strangers” being highlights. The absolute cacophony in the outro of “Squalor Victoria” was also quite stunning. 

Other jams included “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” “The System Dreams in Total Darkness,” and the cathartic “Mr. November.” Admittedly I didn’t know half the songs they played – a couple of albums aside I am only a casual fan – but unlike the Avett Brothers the other half were all stone cold bangers. What a difference set list choices can make. 

To go back to the switch-flipping metaphor, The National had one more of those up their sleeve for their last encore song, “About Today.” On record it is a quiet, contemplative ballad about longing – and live it was no different… until the full band came crashing in at the end, creating a righteous noise to close out the show. It was one last hit of euphoria in a set filled with them. 

Sturgill Simpson, The Salt Shed (Chicago, IL) - 10/1/24

Sturgill Simpson doesn’t really give a fuck what you think. He does what he wants on his records, and he does what he wants to on stage. Inspired by the guitar playing of Jerry Garcia, he decided he wanted to tour again – and that his shows would resemble something out of the jam band scene. This includes shows that routinely go past the three-hour mark, choice covers sprinkled throughout, and jams on top of jams. 

I’ll get this out of the way right away – three hours is too god damned long for one artist. I can’t think of a single band I’d like to hear perform for that long, nor would I listen to one at home for that length. I am that bummer of a person (killjoy?) that believes there can be too much of a good thing. 

That being said, I was most excited to see Sturgill. I’ve been following his career since 2014, when I saw him perform for maybe 150 people at Turner Hall Ballroom. Before Covid hit, he was in the midst of a tour that saw him performing in basketball arenas, which I thought would not serve him well. The outdoor stage at The Salt Shed holds approximately 5,000 people, and that felt right. 

The show started out with a 10-minute jam on “Brace for Impact (Live A Little)” which seemed a bit dirge-like to me, but I dug it. After that it was as if the band was like a football team stubbornly sticking with the running game, body blow after body blow until hitting one big. The first big one came on their cover of the Allman Brothers’ “Midnight Rider,” wherein the hooting and hollering got into full swing. 

It was kind of off to the races from there. “Best Clockmaker on Mars” was face-melting. “A Whiter Shade of Pale” was one of several good covers. 

The jammier elements really got going with Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit In the Sky” (which I thought was ZZ Top’s "La Grange"…oops) leading into “A Good Look” which faded seamlessly into the Doors’ “L.A. Woman.” Exhilarating doesn’t begin to describe that run. 

The show was only half over at this point. 

The old man (and old woman) maladies that I wrote about in my Summerfest ‘24 review popped up once again. We had both been up since 4:30-ish that morning; we were hungry and tired so we sat down and ate. Unfortunately we never made our way back into the actual crowd. I’m no rail rider and I won’t push through the audience for a closer view. But being back where people were mostly milling about and not paying much attention to the performance took me out of the show. I was hearing it just fine, but not really feeling it. 

That being said, Sturgill and his band absolutely killed it. Simpson is no slouch on the guitar, but lead player Laur Joamets takes it to another level. He makes everything seem effortless. The keyboard player was a welcome addition to the band as well, and the remainder of the group was locked in all night. 

As much as I wanted to lay down at this point, the band still had gas in the tank. “It Ain’t All Flowers” maybe wasn’t as gnarly as on record, but still awesome; “One For The Road” was sublime; Prince’s “Purple Rain” was heartfelt; the set-closing, nearly 15-minute “Call To Arms” sent us home exhausted. It seemed like it did not want to end, ebbing and flowing and surging until it just couldn’t any more. (Once again my ears deceived me as I thought I heard a Pink Floyd vibe in the middle; setlist.fm says it was “Band On The Run”) It was over in a flash. Sturgill, who spoke only sparingly throughout the night, got on the mic and said “Thank you, we’ll see you tomorrow!” and that was it.

As much as I didn’t care for the marathon set it was still an excellent show. I highly recommend seeing him if you can. If you’re not familiar with his music, a good place to start might be his set from Outside Lands, free on YouTube. For the full experience, try out Nugs.net – sign up for the free trial, and pick out any show from this tour. Crank up those headphones and drift away. You will not regret it.