The Best of Summerfest 2011: Heavy On the Funk… And Mummies

By: Brady Lavin

Photos by Faraz Chaudry

Milwaukee’s Summerfest is huge. So big it has 11 stages. So gigantic it runs for 11 days. So gargantuan that it is (and Guinness World Records confirms) the world’s largest music festival. Not America’s largest, the entire world.

To cover such an event is a challenge, especially considering GI photographer Faraz Chaudry and I could only make two of the eleven festival days, but in those two days we caught a hell of a lot of kick-ass music. While some acts, like the Wildbirds, Me Talk Pretty and Michael Franti, disappointed, plenty of others picked up their slack and gave great performances.

Morris Day and the Time

The Time’s guitarist, Jesse Johnson

These funk/pop/rock veterans sure know how to put on a show. Although they are former proteges of Prince, long-gone are the days when they had no input on their own music; Prince is no longer their musical babysitter. Frontman Morris Day, who once had to follow Prince’s guide vocals note for note when recording, hammed it up for the crowd at the Harley Davidson Roadhouse stage. After getting a last look at his perfectly styled hair in a mirror held by hype-man Jerome Benton, Day dove into a set of shouted funk choruses, periodic synchronized dances, and plenty of crowd participation.

Of course, when playing funk and soul, it will be hard not to take some things from James Brown and/or Parliament. There was one very James Brown-ish moment when Benton draped Morris Day with a large, classy overcoat before the last song of the set, which is definitely reminiscent of when James Brown would collapse on stage, get covered in a cape, limps off stage only to bound back on to the adoring cries of his fans.

Guitarist Jesse Johnson ripped some great rock/metal inspired solos over hard funk grooves throughout the show, otherwise playing minimalist riffs and staccato chords while the bass and keys popped and buzzed grooves punctuated by some entertaining on-stage banter from Day and Benton. “Everybody get naked!” shouted by Day to the audience after their third song, got the most cheers from the ever-exuberant crowd, but unfortunately nobody followed his advice. I guess they weren’t THAT exuberant. It might also have to do with the average age at that show was over 30. It always seems like the older people get, the less likely they are to disrobe in public. I, for one, would like to buck that trend as I advance into my later years.

Jonathan Tyler and the Northern Lights

Jonathan Tyler

I always like to see bands live first, before ever hearing any studio recordings, because to me, nothing is worse then liking a band’s album and being disappointed by their stage show, as it proves that they are all studio magic. There’s no studio magic with Jonathon Tyler and the Northern Lights. The Dallas band are described by many as blues-rock, but their music really seems like classic hard rock informed by a modern melodic angle and more complex arrangements. You could say that Jonathon Tyler and the Northern Lights do Jet way better than Jet does Jet, but that would just be a ridiculous and convoluted way to describe a band’s music.

It is well-documented that Tyler is a great singer, as he’s won plenty of accolades, including the Dallas Observer’s Best Male Vocalist for the last two years straight, and he is definitely the centerpiece of the band’s live show. Back-up singer Emotion Brown also brings a bucket of charisma to the stage, having years of experience being a lead singer in her band Emotion and the Cosmos. Tyler and Brown wouldn’t be able to shine as they do if the bass, drums, and guitar work weren’t incredibly tight.

All of those ingredients, an electric stage show, passionate vocals, and heavy riffage, come together to serve one thing, the songs. Quality songwriting is what sets the Northern Lights apart from similar bands (….Jet? Jet.), and that’s what really brings the band and the audience together as one.

Sick Puppies

Sick Puppies’ Emma Anzai

This Australian nu-metal, modern rock, whatever category you want to pin them to, trio has had some good success in the last couple of years with a few good radio hits. That’s all I knew them from, and I liked those few songs, but it was never enough to make me go buy a record. Their explosive live set at the Summerfest Rock Stage may have just changed that, however.

Singer/guitarist Shimon Moore has a huge voice and isn’t one of those vocalists needs a rested voice to hit the notes on the edge of his range. Again, no studio magic here, which always seems to lead to the best live shows. Moore is great, but the real star of the band is bassist/back-up singer Emma Anzai, although my judgment may be clouded by her sex appeal (but then again, so is every other dude’s judgment who sees them play. I mean, look at her). She has a fat tone, while not losing the clarity of the notes she plays, which sometimes happens with the bass in hard rock and metal bands.

Anzai also constantly cycled between playing with a pick, using normal bass finger, slapping and popping, which gives her different bass tones without even using a pedal yet. When she slaps and pops, it gives her that bright, treble-y crispness, but without the annoying Korn rattle. Moore’s guitar work is solid but nothing special, but like with Jonathon Tyler, it is all to serve the song, not any single member’s ego. Plus, similar to how most males in the crowd were instantly smitten with Emma Anzai, I’m going to venture out and say that a hefty percentage of the female audience members would do anything Shimon says (ha). He’s an good-looking dude. Stop looking at me like that, I can recognize male attractiveness without being gay. And so what if I were? Why am I arguing with no one? Anyway, songs like “You’re Going Down” and “Maybe” really got the crowd throwing down and chanting with the anthemic choruses, one of the most important pieces to a sick live show.

Sam Roberts Band

Sam Roberts Band lead guitarist Dave Nugent

These guys are HUGE in Canada, and for good reason. Sam Roberts looks like a bearded Christian Bale with a piercing stare, he writes loads of great rock songs, and he’s got a voice to make women swoon, which is why it is so baffling that he doesn’t have more of a following in the U.S. Plenty of bands popular in Canada have made the transition to success in America and Europe, including Rush, Alanis Morissette, and more recently, Arcade Fire, but Sam Roberts and company are still in the limbo of playing sparsely-attended afternoon sets at Summerfest after rocking rowdy packed houses up north.

Going along with what seems to be the theme, here, it is quality songwriting that makes for a great live show from Sam Roberts. With such a variety of styles that all fit in the catch-all of rock ‘n’ roll, they keep it interesting while maintaining a commonality throughout. That common thread is the heavy heartbeat of the band that comes from bassist James Hall and drummer Josh Trager, who keep a tireless driving bottom end as well as Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine.

Taking a page from Dave Matthews, Roberts is the leader, songwriter, singer and namesake of the band, but he himself never takes any guitar solos, letting lead guitarist Dave Nugent shine instead of taking all the spotlight for himself. This may be part of the reason why they recently changed the band’s name from Sam Roberts to Sam Roberts Band. Roberts’ lyrics are also right on, especially when his is singing “the kids don’t know how to dance to rock ‘n’ roll” to an audience that proves his point better than I could explain.

 Here Come the Mummies

Mummy Cass

Just from the name, it is obvious that this band is not going to fit any stereotype of a rock band playing at Summerfest. After starting the set with a drumline entrance, which found the 10+ members, of course all dressed as mummies, circling the crowd before heading up on stage, the preposterous gaggle of decaying flesh monsters kicked right into some of the tightest Latin funk around.

While it’s tough to imagine a bunch of people dressed as mummies and acting foolishly to lay down some sick grooves, that’s what Here Come the Mummies do best. With tunes ranging from straight funk to more soulful R&B to driving rock, they also keep their tongue planted firmly in cheek, singing about subjects such as intrapantular ejaculation, sinister hot dog vendors, taking “the skin boat to tuna town” and grooving all night long (grooving=sexing in this case, although there’s probably a double meaning).

While a bunch of the mummies were providing vocals, a trumpet-playing Oozie Mummy and guitar-playing Mummy Cass were the two main guys, and there is good reason for that. Both have great range, tone, and control over their voices, and are two of the most rambunctious of the undead bunch. Java Mummy also electrified the stage, albeit from the less-prominent post of auxiliary percussion and back-up vocals.

All the members are incredible musicians, and some are obviously much older, maybe even over 60. Keeping their identities hidden behind their mummy suits serves multiple purposes besides the whole gimmicky mummy thing. First, since the band is made up of a bunch of professional musicians from Nashville, some are likely under contract with other record labels, and performing in disguise is a way around that. Also, it removes the age factor. No one wants to see 60 year-old guys singing raunchy songs about mackerel mittens, but if they’re mummies, hell yeah! Although Here Come the Mummies want you to “let your ‘freak flag’ fly,” I’m sure they want you to do it responsibly and wrap it up. Pun intended. And I’m sorry.