Big Bad Concert Rankings: 90-81

The time is here to finally ramp up 2020’s concert year. I’ve got three shows next week, some comedy, and then about five more shows in February.

And yet, it’s not quite as good as it can be. Summerfest, the festival on which much of this list relies upon, is putting out a very weak announcement streak. They upped the main stage — where I used to work — with improved seating, sound equipment, and even a roof raise. The goal was to entice newer acts that have never played Milwaukee.

Well, it’s half working. Those acts are coming to Milwaukee, however, they’re playing at the Fiserv Forum and not Summerfest, so far. The current roster doesn’t really get me going — Halsey, Luke Bryan, Justin Bieber, Ozzy (who canceled last year and may do so this year), and Dave Matthews Band. Let’s hope it gets better. I need some summer planning to do!

UPDATE: The Rona Strikes Again. Summerfest was moved to September so there’s no guarantee these shows are still happening.

As for what I’ve seen at Summerfest, this edition features a couple surprising ‘opener’ sets on Lake Michigan’s good side.

90 - The Cult

Mix in some family, some bought tickets, some free tickets, a handful of free upgrades (with legroom), and a dash of geographic forgetfulness, and you’ll have yourself a pretty fun night. Fire Woman is an all-time killer song, and while I didn’t know much of the early catalog, it was a quality show from another UK band on this list.

What could have been better? Well, lead singer Ian Astbury thought he was in Detroit. He was corrected multiple times.

“Let’s keep this rockin’ alright. Motown … yeah!”

89 - Collective Soul

Two Collective Souls shows are in the Top 100 and both sounded about the same, which is a testament to Ed Roland more than anything. Old stuff, new stuff, and a good crowd. Plus, another feature of this list popping up, about half of these shows were seen with another person. In this case, my mom.

88 - Die Antwoord

Fuck if I know what happened. I don’t know if they’re married, brother and sister, mother-son, or father-daughter, but Die Antwoord is messed up. This is No. 82 based on energy alone. And unlike Prince Royce’s Latinx energy, raver amphetamine overdose South African energy is incredibly more powerful.

87 - Gary Clark Jr.

One of two GCJ positions in the Top 100. This one falls so far because of lyrics. The better show had fewer words. I ranked the 2018 show so high, however, because I firmly believe GCJ is the closest I’ll get to seeing a Stevie Ray Vaughn level of talent up close. Not to knock Buddy Guy (148), but the younger generation took the torch and ran with it.

86. Anamanaguchi [Terror Jr]

This might be the only entry I have on this list attended exclusively with my brother. He’s accompanied the family on several outings, namely Weird Al, The Cult, and the dreaded Motley Crue/Alice Cooper kerfuffle, but never have we gone to something for just the two of us.

If you haven’t Googled Anamanaguchi yet, they’re a trip. It’s like stepping foot into an 8-Bit video game Ready Player One style. We’re both big fans of Scott Pilgrim, so this was a nice little bonding experience for our 14-year age gap. I can’t say there will be many more crossovers in the future, as he tends to wade into emo-pop waters more than I care for. Also, the opener had a giant inflatable dragon.

85. Volbeat

My first sold-out show at 20 Monroe was working the pit and barricade for Volbeat. Now, that’s a headbanging experience. I thoroughly recommend a Volbeat show, especially if you, like me, never heard of them before. Think System of a Down meets Rise Against, but European. I think metal gets a bad rap for hard-to-understand lyrics and scream and muddled instrumentals. While they have a bigger sound than the room seemed to allow, the overall production and execution of their show was flawless.

84. Saint Motel

Speaking of Summerfest, I mentioned with Bishop Briggs that tours don’t really matter. The beauty of this particular festival is that bands have enough leeway to play their full sets as if they were the headliner. Nobody is rushing you off the stage at 45 minutes into your set because of time curfew or age restrictions. Every opener gets a two-hour window to play their set list. True, some only do 45 minutes, because that’s all they know how to play for that stage in their career.

Headliners can use two or three hours at their disposal. Most do the standard 90 minutes you’ll see at any venue across the country. I’ve found 75 to 90 minutes is a fairly solid average for headlining acts. If you’re seeing a band or act for two solid hours, you definitely got your money’s worth.

I got my money’s worth for Saint Motel. Truth be told, my power pass that equated to $8 a day made it worthwhile, but for a band in the ‘premium opener’ slot before The Mowgli’s, they kicked ass.

Soft pop, alt-rock ass. Do yourself a favor and listen to Cold Cold Man and My Type. They aren’t my favorite SM tracks, but they turned a stale crowd into one of true Soul Train dancing believers.

Also of note, The Mowgli’s does not appear on this list. I, like a few hundred others in the crowd, didn’t stay for the ‘headliner.’ Which was a huge mistake as there were three other headliners I could have easily seen worth the trip (The New Pornographers and Martina McBride), one of which will never be seen again (Charles Bradley).

83. Young the Giant

Speaking of Summerfest: Part II, the very same stage I saw Saint Motel was where I saw Young the Giant before they blew up big with My Body. They were also ‘opening’ for a headliner most people, including me, didn’t see — Switchfoot. Simply, they blew the roof off the open-air US Cellular stage. My Body hit like a shock wave, and was so popular they extended the chorus for a few minutes. This is one of those classic, “you had to be there” moments.

82. Heart Bones

I danced. I shook my hips. I swayed. I shuffled my feet. I ‘let loose.’

I bought a shirt that looks like Sonny and Cher. But it was really Har Mar Superstar and Sabrina Ellis, who could sell out the Pyramid Scheme on their own (or in Ellis’ case, with her band) yet only got 65 people to show up on a Tuesday night.

Good. Less people to witness me shaking my groove thang.

81. Dropkick Murphys

The Murphys and their merry band of five openers clearly wanted to send a message that Irish punk was where mosh pits belong. Move aside new rap pits and walls of meh, there’s nothing like a shirtless man in cargo sorts and rain boots stomping the ground floor in a semi-circle for 30 seconds before the viola drops a sick beat and someone throws a drunken elbow that pays homage to their ancestors that could be felt in the Year 3000.