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JOURNAL ENTRY #162
| Sunday, July 6, 2003 Summerfest Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard Milwaukee, WI With Modern Giants, Dynasty, Exit and The Lovemonkeys |
Sound: db Sound Operated by Brian Ingwell and Chris Johnson of Go Audio Stage Techs: Dan Olsen and O.J. |
| SET LIST: Lay Your Hands on Me - Bon Jovi Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne Once Bitten Twice Shy - Great White Youth Gone Wild - Skid Row Home Sweet Home - Motley Crue Cult of Personality - Living Colour Nothin' But a Good Time - Poison Photograph - Def Leppard Round and Round - Ratt Wanted Dead or Alive - Bon Jovi Wait - White Lion Eye of the Tiger - Survivor Talk Dirty to Me - Poison Separate Ways - Journey Bed of Roses - Bon Jovi Breaking the Chains - Dokken Tom Sawyer - Rush Unskinny Bop - Poison Uncle Tom's Cabin - Warrant I Can't Drive 55 - Sammy Hagar Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin' - Journey Pour Some Sugar on Me - Def Leppard We're Not Gonna Take It - Twisted Sister |
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| A Word from Josh: The forecast called for partly cloudy skies with scattered and isolated thunderstorms. Well, the thunderstorms did not appear particularly scattered nor isolated as they repeatedly pelted the lakefront with rain throughout the afternoon. Needless to say, we were worried that our first time back at the "Big Gig" in two years might me soured by the weather if not completely washed out. To make matters worse, as we dodged raindrops in Parking Lot E waiting for the Summerfest service vehicles to pick up our equipment, John and Shane saw fit to play some long distance catch with a Nerf football amongst the traffic. I thought... How embarrassing it would be to have to cancel our show because our bass player was mowed down in the parking lot by a utility cart while running a fly pattern. Having survived that bit of tempting fate we headed over to the stage amidst a moderate downpour. As we arrived behind the backstage gate we were encouraged by what we heard. Modern Giants had already completed their set and the Kiss tribute band Dynasty was on the stage. Their set was being greeted with a tremendous roar from a throng of at least a couple thousand rock fans, totally undeterred by the wet weather. As we began loading our equipment into the wings of the stage we saw literally dozens of familiar faces in the huge crowd, some having come from as far away as Sheboygan, Madison, Monroe and Chicago. Our dread was quickly changing to excitement. Our set began at 5:00 as the rain lightened up considerably. Of course the stage is completely covered by a large structure, and a large section of the audience area is also covered by an Interstate overpass which prompted John to say "If it's going to rain, this is the best stage to be at." Now, a few weeks ago during an online discussion about festival bookings (or lack thereof) I said that I felt we were the "ultimate outdoor band". Today, we took the stage knowing that this would be our single best opportunity to prove that. Well, I think we did a pretty darn good job. John was absolutely electric as he commanded the large stage with his physical prowess and booming voice. Meanwhile, Shane and I ran back and forth trying to reach out to all the people across the entire venue. The set list included many songs that John got the crowd to sing along with, such as "Once Bitten Twice Shy", "Wanted Dead or Alive" and "I Can't Drive 55". On the biggest sing-along of them all, "Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'", John pitted the men against the women and managed to make their vocalizing sound like a British soccer stadium (this is a good thing). By midway through the set the sun actually began to shine on the immense crowd that had filled out as far as we could see. Once again, John proved that he was willing to do anything to entertain, although this time unintentionally, when a group of women in the first couple of rows pointed out to him that his fly was open (oddly enough, the same thing happened later in the evening to Dennis DeYoung). Another unplanned moment of levity occurred in the closing moments of the show. John was throwing rolled up T-shirts into the audience. He decided to get cute and throw one behind his back, but instead of sailing it into the crowd, John accidentally flipped it straight up. Realizing his error in trajectory, John positioned himself to catch it on its way back down, but it never came down. It lodged itself up in the ceiling rafters. Who knows? Maybe it will stay up there for years, as a time capsule to this memorable day. Overall, the show turned out to be everything we hoped it would be. For two hours, we were rock stars :-) -Josh Click Here for Comments about Summerfest and photos of several bands including The Raid, Spiral Trance, Bellevue Suite, Metal Men, Modern Giants and Dynasty from our friends at Rock Hard Milwaukee. Were you at this show? Would you like to comment on it? Shelly: "You guys play every once in awhile in Sheboygan, but Summerfest was the first time I had seen you. I have to say, you guys rocked. I totally love the 80s and you guys did a great job. Hope to see you again soon." patty: "I thought you guys were definately in high gear. John worked the crowd and had everyone really going. You had a great turnout and I thought the Tshirts during the gig were a nice touch. Even with the rain, you were unstoppable." Jewelz: "What can I say other than if you missed this show, you lost out on one KICK ASS Performance!!! Terrific job guys! Rain or no rain that sure wasn't gonna stop us from dancing away like crazy and having fun!!! Although I was fortunate to have one pretty good seat in the front row and never even knew it was raining!! It is true, they saved the best for last this year!!! :)" Shannon Panka: "My husband and our two daughters attended the show on July 6th. You guys were great! My sister's boyfriend owns a bar in Monroe (Sir Buck's) that you boys have played quite a few times! So my husband and I not originally planning to go to summerfest this year had to come and see what all the fuss was about. We are glad we came! You guys were GREAT! We look forward to hearing you play again soon. Thanks for a great time!" christine: "I had the time of my life! As a mom, I quit listening to the radio about seven years ago. First of all, if the radio is on then I can't hear what my kids are doing and second of all, after the 80's rocked me I have never found any other music that I actually like listening to. What a trip back in time last night was! It was great to hear all of the big hits and you guys are a scream to watch. I must say that I am also an avid Bon Jovi fan - the only band that can get my hips to move seductively - and I was extremely impressed by your talent to pull off their stuff. If I hadn't been standing on a slippery bench and only drinking iced tea I know you guys would have had control of my hips! Thanks for bringing us all back together again. It was neat to talk to other people and ask, "So, how long was your hair?" We were like one big family again and we didn't care how old we were. I don't do the bar scenes anymore so I am looking forward to seeing you again at the Waukesha County Fair - but I don't think I'm going to bring my husband!:) I am going to email Summerfest and request that you are invited back." Michelle: "I really enjoyed your show at Summerfest. I hope to catch it again sometime." Scott Wilterdink: "You guys rocked the roof off at the Briggs Stage! It had been a few years since I had the chance to see you perform, but you definitely did not disappoint. I can honestly say that your set was the most enjoyable performance I've seen at Summerfest in years. The crowd was rockin, you were playing hard, and I'm sure we made people walking by, stop and want to join the party. That's what summerfest is all about." Dave: "You made my day at the Big Gig. Loved the music. Loved watching the crowd. You don't need the Fest, it needs you." Bonnie: "First you get a crowd half-filled with MEN to sing along to "Wait" (or any other White Lion song), then the guitarist is seen side stage kissing (presumably) his kids!! How kick ass is that??!!? I think I love you all! Loved the show~ best time I have had at Summerfest in a decade." festfiend: "Hey loved the show loved the show and the sights all over the place. you guys rocked and i was happy to see the show. i also saw when i looked around some nice play firehouse signage that i would be interested in seeing closer up. also some other gals were having some fun and enjoying dancing with all of the guys around them. I for one enjoyed the dance with them. hope to see you guys soon again at the fest." Tricia: "Summerfest was the first chance I had to see you guys in action, although my girlfriends had been telling me I had to go for a long time. It was well worth the wait! Cherry Pie rocks. I loved being able to stand on the bleachers with a beer in my hand, singing along to all my 80s faves. I even caught a Tshirt, which I was kind enough to give to the birthday girl who was with me. Can't wait to catch you guys at the bars to get up close!" Derek Gunderson: "This is Cherry Pie's number 1 fan Derek. I just want to say that the guys sounded great and it was very exciting. See all the reactions that the fans gave them and it was the best show I have seen in a long time. They rocked. Keep up the good work guys. Hope to see you guys soon." shelly k: "Hi guys! Great show, I rubbed it in to everyone who wimped out on going with me cause I had a ball. Karen wasn't feeling we so I forgave her. She says hi and we will see everyone at Port Washington. Take care and see you soon!!" ~jEN: "I just wanted to say you guys kicked ass at Summerfest, it's really awesome to see 80's stuff out there." Dwight Snake: "Good Times." Becky: "You guys were really awesome at Summerfest! You sounded better than ever with your new drummer. It is great to see a band enjoy themselves while they are entertaining the crowd. Keep it up!" Sarah: "My two best friends and I went to the Summerfest show, you guys put on the best show we'd seen there all week. I used to hide my Bon Jovi CD's because I considered that sort of music a guilty pleasure, but when I was in the crowd I realized how these songs are the absolute MOST fun to sing along to when you're at a show. Of course, it helps when there's a kick-ass band playing them and rocking the crowd, I know we've all seen hacked versions of "Dead or Alive" done by some crappy-ass bar band, and it's not the same. I was at Summerfest 4 times this year and I had the most fun dancing on (and falling off) the bleachers in front of the Cherry Pie show. We're going to come see you again for sure. By the way, keep working all that cheesy pointing and eye contact you guys do, cause I totally fall for it every time." Julie G: "Once again you totally ROCKED the crowd at the summerfest stage. The new drummer is awesome, my only disappointment was not being able to BUY t-shirts at the show. You guys could have made a MINT selling stuff! I would have bought for sure! Now I just have to order one anyway! Thanks for a great concert!!!" |
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