View Blog Entry
Summerfest 2009
Jul 08
Well, my 4th of July weekend is over so I thought I'd write a blog about it. Sunday (the 5th) I went to Summerfest with my friend Mike. Looking back through my records, I haven't been to a single Summerfest since 2004, which is quite sad. Now that I'm single again, I've found myself able to go to more things than I had in the past, and I think Summerfest was a causality for the past three years.
I primarily went to Summerfest to see Reel Big Fish, a Ska band that I've liked since 9th grade. The only other band I was semi-interested in wasRelient K. I originally saw Reel Big Fish in Oshkosh way back in the day at Waterfest (June 29th, 2004 to be exact). I don't think Waterfest has had a single Punk/Ska band since then so it was exciting to go to a show again.
Relient K
I have seen Relient K once before at Lifest in Oshkosh (July 9th, 2006) which was a pretty good show back then. The Relient K show this time around was sort of sucky. Probably the worst thing about it was we were stuck up against the bleachers and people were walking in and out past us the entire time. There was barely any standing room available so it was sort of annoying with people nudging by us. The other thing that probably made the Relient K show less fun for me was they played a lot of their new songs that I didn't recognize.
Reel Big Fish
After that show we headed over to the Reel Big Fish stage. By the time we got there all the bleachers were filled so we got as close as we could in the standing room only area. Little did I know, the area Mike and I were standing at would be the main mosh pit area.
Once RBF started playing, our area immediately went crazy and people were jumping and moshing like crazy. I was a bit startled at first because I wasn't expecting it so I got pushed up against the fence that was the edge of the summerfest grounds. I stayed in that spot for a song or two and then got into the pit with everyone else when RBF played a couple old songs that I really liked. Some other moments from the show was Mike losing his cell phone twice. The first time someone picked it up and 10 minutes later he got it back, and the other time, he dropped it, I noticed a kid picking a phone up and grabbed it myself.
It was probably my first full-blown mosh pit I've been in with people crowd surfing, skanking and thrashing around. People fell down several times, but it never got too out of hand because almost immediately after falling, somebody else would throw down their hand and help them up, and others around them would try to slow down if possible although it usually wasn't.
The RBF show was awesome, and the best show I've been to by far. Below is a set list of songs they played at Summerfest if you're interested. Also I found a guy on YouTube who recorded much of the show so I created a YouTube playlist for Reel Big Fish @ Summerfest 2009.
Turn the Radio Off
- Sell Out - [LIVE]
- Trendy - [LIVE]
- Join the Club - [LIVE]
- She Has a Girlfriend Now - [LIVE]
- Beer - [LIVE]
- Everything Sucks - [LIVE]
- S. R. - [LIVE]
Why Do They Rock So Hard?
- You Don't Know - [LIVE]
- Thank You for Not Moshing - [LIVE]
- I Want Your Girlfriend to Be My Girlfriend Too - [LIVE]
Cheer Up!
We're Not Happy 'Til You're Not Happy
Monkeys For Nothin' And The Chimps For Free
Fame, Fortune, And Fornication
Other
Overall it was a great time and hopefully I'll get the chance to go again next year. Below is a picture I found on Wikipedia of RBF, and ironically Aaron is wearing the same white suit and the stage looks pretty much the same as the show I was at in Summerfest so I thought I'd include that on here:
Tags: concert, music, summerfest ( Add Tag )
Posted By: Neal Grosskopf @ 7/8/2009 11:52:06 AM