Enjoyed one, impressed by the other

Why is it the boss always calls just as you are heading out for a nice 4 day weekend? A 10 minute delay to start a beer soaked weekend isn't what I was looking for. But thankfully she is cool and it was only 10 minutes. Our last topic was about drinking. How did that happen?

I was soon driving down the road, top down, sun shining down on me. Though my buddy had backed out on Summerfest, I had lined up another friend to go hand with. I was to meet him at Big Mamas at 6ish. At 5:30 I was in need of a beer so I took off early. I was glad I did. I ran into some people I work with who play volleyball at Big Mamas. They must have noticed the look of thirst on my face as they quickly bought me a beer. Sweet! I then was in charge of "guarding" the pitcher while they played. Well, the only protection I know of for a pitcher is my stomach so that one didn't last long. I saw Gambino but didn't talk to her. Didn't mean to be rude but I was in a hurry. At least I got you a beer. :) Have a safe trip too!

By the time they were done, and a pitcher later, my friend finally showed up just before the shuttle bus did. Taking a shuttle to Summerfest has some key advantages as well as disadvantages. The drunken factor is always the most important. But you have to put up with shit on the bus. When we first got on the bus, it smelled like a urinal. Like someone had peed all over the bus. It smelled that way until someone lit a bowl in the back. The weed quickly overtook the wizz smell which was good. I wonder if the bus driver just doesn't care or if he was busy looking at the breasts in his big mirror. I know I was!

Upon arrival at Summerfest, we debussed and headed in. There some dude directing traffic started blowing a whistle like crazy at someone. We thought he was blowing it at us. We gave him a dumb look, wondering what the hell he was blowing at. I didn't take "whistle" in college so I had no clue. He was trying to get someone to move back inside a barrier. Like talking is such a hassle.

I felt at home when I got inside the gates. Day 1 of the best music festival was in full swing. We immediately hit the closest beer stand. Beer is now at 4 bucks. I can't recall if that is a hike or not. We got our brew and started to walk around checking out the sights. We had about 40 minutes until Deep Purple came on so we headed up to the Rock Stage. The Rock Stage is a freak's paradise. If it is tattooed, pierced, shaved, long, or ripped up, it will be seen there. Great people watching. The music is only ok though. They need more bands to play cover tunes instead of stuff no one has heard or cares about. Play some Maiden or Anthrax and then your little garage tune. People will listen then.

We headed back to the Miller Oasis just in time to catch the beginning of Deep Purple. The Miller Oasis is thankfully going to be moved next year. The sightlines pretty much suck if you are not standing on a table. I moved around the stage to catch a glimpse of the band before hanging out by a beer tent. Deep Purple sounded very good. Played the tunes everyone wanted to hear- Perfect Strangers, Highway Star, Space Truckin, Smoke on the Water. They played Smoke as the last tune of the set. On cue, everyone cleared out before the encore, Hush (my favorite Deep Purple song). Overall, the band was damn good. I enjoyed the show.

We then moved back to the Rock Stage to see Chevelle. The age range drops dramatically when you move to the Rock Stage. We went from a group of 30-50 years old to 20-30. And a lot dumber. The opening night of Summerfest always has fireworks. They start around 10:20 and end around 11. Then the headliners go on. Some of the stupid kids thought it was funny to chant "Fuck the fireworks". What is the purpose of that?

After the 'works were done, Chevelle hit the stage. I like what I have heard on the radio and was interested in seeing what they were about. Chevelle was fantastic. I was very impressed. They came out and hit you with both fists. Hard. The crowd loved them as they should.

When Chevelle was done, it was time to walk back across the grounds to catch the bus back. Thankfully we were able to get on the bus as he packed us on nuts to butts. Bus capacity is 72 and he was determined to hit that number. Standing on a bus for a roughly 6 mile ride sucks. Especially after a night of drinking. But the chick sitting down next to me had a nice rack I could look at. I chatted with her for a bit. I should have had her sit on my lap. Of course we we get to the first stop, a fight begins to break out in the back of the bus. It appeared some dude was about to get into it with a chick. Way to go tough guy!

I stopped back into Big Mamas to see if anyone else was there. No one that I saw. Guess it was time to call it a night. Get some rest and do it all over again today. Well maybe not today as there isn't anyone of interest out there but who knows, I may go down there and check out someone new. Saturday is David Lee Roth so that should be good.