Is Summer Really Over
It’s the end of October and the forecast is calling for snow. SNOW!!?? Where did summer go? Seems like just yesterday I was staring at my calendar chock full of glorious festival dates and now they are gone like the leaves falling from the trees. Haha ok, that was a bit cliché but seriously, now that it’s cold and miserable all I want to do is go back to the beginning of summer and have a redo. But since no one has invented a time machine yet (and why not? You sci-fi slackers!) I’ll just go ahead and write some brief reviews of my Summer of Fests.
Kicking it off with Memorial Day weekend of course!
Milwaukee Metal Fest
After almost 20 years Hatebreed’s vocalist Jamey Jasta breathed new life into a festival we all thought was dead and gone. The 3-day lineup (plus preparty) was brutally, insanely, incredible and lucky us it was only an hour away! And even luckier for us, we got photo passes! What a way to introduce apologize4nothing (A4N) to concert photography. I left it up to A4N to map out our days. There were so many bands we wanted to see that we barely had time to eat.
MMF was extremely well planned out and made great use of the many stages at The Rave. There were a few glitches on the first day, that delayed some set times, but after that, it was smooth sailing. Every single band gave it their all, Anthrax, Suicidal Tendencies, Machine Head and Lamb of God were mind-blowing. It was crazy that this much talent was all under one roof. It wasn’t just the headliners that had us racing around The Rave climbing four flights of stairs multiple times a day. We got to see bands like Obituary, The Black Dahlia Murder, The Halo Effect, Vio-lence, Shadow’s Fall and Dark Angel rip the roof off the place. We also discovered some new to us now favs like Rose Funeral, Toxic Ruin, Undeath and Dead to Fall
Milwaukee Metal Fest was THE perfect way to kick off the summer. It had its consequences though. All that running around and 10+ hours a day with a camera strapped around my neck made me realize I’m not 25 anymore. I ended up taking most of the summer off from photography in an attempt to rest up my back. Getting old sucks!
OFFICIAL MILWAUKEE METAL FEST WEBSITE // FACEBOOK
Sweden Rock Fest
Less than a week later, I was not at all recovered but found myself on a plane to Sweden for the usually epic Sweden Rock Festival. This was my second year attending and I was less than enthusiastic about the lineup but couldn’t wait to discover new bands, see a few favorites and have a great time with friends. The last two things happened. I did get to see some excellent shows, Europe’s set on its own made the trip worthwhile. And I had a fantastic time with the friends I saw. Some, like myself, spent less time at the actual fest and more time hanging at the campground and so somehow I completely missed running into Dark Helmet (aka: The Meister). I still have no clue how I managed that one.
Anyway, I didn’t discover any new to me bands because they took away the small acoustic stage. I was and still am so bummed about this. In 2022 this stage was one of my highlights. I was introduced to bands like Velveteen Queen and Captain Blackbeard. Bands that I quickly became a fan of. Not having that tent was a huge loss for me. I hope they bring it back next year.
If you want to read more about the line-up and the bands, we did a collaborative review of Sweden Rock on CGCM you can check that out here.
SWEDEN ROCK 2023 – Complete Coverage
Rock Fest
A full month later I was off to Cadott Wisconsin for Rock Fest. I am ashamed to admit that I have never been to this festival. It’s only a 2-hour drive away. This year the lineup got me thinking I need to see what it’s all about. So, was it the headliners that got me to finally bite the bullet and give Rock Fest a try? No, although having Pantera and Slipknot on the bill certainly didn’t hurt my decision. It was actually seeing that The Lonely Ones would be playing the Wednesday night “Bonus Bash” and that Shotgun Superstars were coming in from Atlanta to introduce Wisconsin to Swedish Sleaze! That was it. I was in!
We were lucky enough to secure VIP tickets which is 100% the way to go. VIP gets you a reserved seat, access to a private VIP area with real bathrooms, food and free drinks (including beer)! VIP sells out every year for the next year on the last day of the fest. It’s that awesome! As for the bands.
The Lonely Ones killed it! They fed off the energy of the huge crowd and the show was the perfect way to kick off Rock Fest. Shotgun Superstars had great sets, full of the European Sleaze Metal that I love. They were energetic, enthusiastic and stood out from the other bands that were playing. I wished they had later set times though, so more people could enjoy the show. Headliner Slipknot was incredible, as always. Pantera was almost rained out, but after only a short delay came out and kicked our asses like we knew they would.
My surprise TWO favourite sets were Ice Nine Kills. Will be seeing them again for sure. And Papa Roach made a new fan out of me. They were nonstop energy. Jacoby Shaddix really got us all going when he came out into the crowd. He was climbing all over the place. Even fell through one of the old wooden bleachers but like a true rockstar didn’t miss a beat!
Then there was Falling in Reverse…I liked their music but their show was ho-hum and the stuff Ronnie Radke said about Wisconsinites made me an anti-fan. Meaning, I will go out of my way NOT to see them. I’m not going to go into it here but if you are curious just google “Ronnie Radke-RockFest” and you will see the story unfold.
I’m not sure why it took me so long to get to Rock Fest but this is one I plan on attending year after year.
OFFICIAL ROCK FEST WEBSITE // FACEBOOK
Indoor Summer Fest
I saved the best for last. Labor Day Weekend had me back in Europe again. This time I headed to Hamburg Germany for Indoor Summer Fest and its incredible lineup. Team for the Show gathers the best bands from all over and gives us an unforgettable three days of Rock n Roll. This year’s lineup had almost all of my favourites. Crash Diet had to back out at the last minute but the lineup was so stacked that it was ok to be one band down.
My Friday favorites were Junkyard Drive and Confess. Both were bands I was very excited to see. Junkyard Drive for the first time and Confess for the second time. I highly recommend giving them both a listen.
I spent 8 hours on the rail on Saturday because the lineup was so good and I didn’t want to miss a minute! The openers 7th Crystal and Stala & Co. made a new fan out of me. I had no idea what to expect from them but they were both excellent and I’m glad we got there early to see them. Next was one of my new favorites The Cruel Intentions. Man can they put on a show! This was my third time seeing them. They bring it every single time. 100% a band I will see over and over again! The Cruel Intentions were followed by Herricane Alice a US band from Minnesota. And the always great Heaven’s Edge another US band. Then Coney Hatch did a fun acoustic set to make up for Crash Diet not being there.
Then the mighty Hardcore Superstar hit the stage. What can I say that I haven’t said in my other reviews about them? This night they were at the top of their game. New setlist, huge energy and a packed crowd singing along to every song. Even their manager agreed it was one of their best shows ever. I will say it again, this is one band you don’t want to miss live!
Sunday brought us great bands like Stop-Stop, Pretty Boy Floyd and Mike Tramp. Unfortunately, the vertigo I had been suffering from all weekend finally got the best of me (damn getting old really sucks) and I didn’t get to see as much as I wanted. It was still an epic weekend. One of the coolest things about these fests is it’s like a family/CGCM reunion. There’s quite a few of us who travel for shows, so it’s always great to see friends and hang out too. Even managed to have a few beers with Dark Helmet this time around.
OFFICIAL TEAM FOR THE SHOW WEBSITE // INDOOR SUMMER 2023 FACEBOOK EVENT
CGCM INDOOR SUMMER – Complete Coverage
And then there were none
There it is. My Glorious Summer of Fests wrapped up in 2000 words or less, but I think I have enough fantastic memories to last me through the winter. Plus I have Monsters of Rock Cruise coming up in March and Sweden Rock has started announcing its lineup…So more epic times are just around the corner!
Catch more of my reviews and blogs for CGCM here: Kryfar
