Summerfest

Summerfest - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Summerfest turned into a punk paradise on Friday June 27, 2003.

The above picture says it all. These kids could care less about Tom Petty, who was performing a few hundred yards away in the Marcus Amphitheater. Alkaline Trio and Sum 41 graced the Harley Davidson with MGD Stage starting at 8:00 p.m. on Friday June 27.

Alkaline Trio roared through one of the greatest sets I've ever seen them play. They opened with "This Could Be Love," the first track off their new album Good Mourning and quickly got their latest single "We've Had Enough" out of the way. From there they played "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" then finally took a breather and addressed the massive screaming crowd.

As always, vocalist / guitarist Matt Skiba, bassist / vocalist Dan Andriano and drummer Derek Grant wore all black clothing. Skiba topped off his outfit with green Converse All-Stars that seemed extremely fitting for him. Andriano nursed a beer throughout the entire set, while Grant hammered away at his drums and provided backup vocals.

Andriano belted out "One Hundred Stories" and "Emma" with his signature lisp, which only adds to his emotion. Skiba, whose voice has seemed to improve since the last time I saw the Trio live, sang "Armageddon" and "All On Black" with enough emotion to bring the fans to tears.

If there's one thing about Alkaline Trio's live performance that makes them one of the most powerful live bands to see, it's their emotion. They don't move around a lot and they don't pogo up and down, like Sum 41 later would, they just rip through their songs while their screams tear their vocal chords. Skiba sings with so much force his face is candy apple red and his veins protrude from his neck like long welts.

Overall, Alkaline Trio played a great mix of old and new songs. They even dug down a bit and played "Queen of Pain" off the Hot Water Music / Alkaline Trio split CD.

It was obvious the crowd knew more of the new material than the older stuff, but that didn't stop these Chicago punks from playing older songs like "I Lied My Face Off," "My Friend Peter" and "Goodbye Forever."

Surprisingly, Alkaline Trio didn't close with "97" as usual. The closed their set with the wishful screams of "I wish you, would take my radio to bathe with you, plugged in and ready to fall," on "Radio."

Only at a huge venue like Warped Tour, or in this case, Summerfest would the snotty, pogo pop-punk band Sum 41 follow Alkaline Trio. These crazy Canucks took the stage with ferocity and energy and the crowd ate it up.

Sum 41 has an impressive number of radio hits like "Fat Lip," Modivation," "Still Waiting" and the "Hell Song" and they played every single one of them. The crowd thrusted its metal signs in the air along with every beat of Sum's music.

The most interesting part of the set had nothing to do with the set at all. It was watching this old man gasp for air. (Pictured to the left). He was in third row - center huffing and puffing like he was having a heart attack. Some of the people in the crowd tried having security get medics to take him out, but by the time a first aid team had reached him, a "punk" kid was nice enough to escort the old guy out of the chaos and sweaty bodies. Throughout the commotion, Sum 41 didn't miss a beat.

They run around stage, dangle over the crowd and swear into the microphone. They bounce up and down and sing "love" songs about Anna Nicole Smith in "A.N.I.C." Which in reality the song is comprised of singer Deryck Whibley screaming "You're an asshole, you're an asshole, you're an asshole, you make me sick."

Sum 41's saving grace lies within their usage of metal riffs. Feeding off a band like Iron Maiden give Sum an unique style that goes beyond bubblegum-punk. "Over My Head," "No Brains" and "Mr. Amsterdam" are perfect examples of their influences. And if that wasn't enough they did their ritualistic metal ending where Whibley takes the drums and the set becomes a balls out metal fest.

People like to badmouth Sum 41 and they have the right. One thing's for sure, however, these Canadian punks put on one helluva show!

By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III - Senior Editor

July 3, 2003