From Zach Bryan to Wiz Khalifa, the best and worst of Summerfest 2022 in Milwaukee, Weekend 1
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Summerfest finally returned to the heart of Milwaukee's summer for the first time in three years Thursday. And while the Big Gig was without its biggest act due to Justin Bieber’s health issues, and there were signs that the pandemic persists with two COVID-related headliner cancellations last week, Summerfest was blessed with generally great weather and plenty of great music for the first of its trio of three-day weekends for 2022.
Here’s the best, and the worst, of Weekend 1.
RELATED: Here's the Summerfest 2022 lineup by date, time and stage for the Milwaukee music festival
Best performances
Milwaukee's own Steve Miller greatly impressed reviewer Catherine Jozwik at his first Summerfest 2022 show at the BMO Harris Pavilion with his band Friday (he also filled in Saturday after Ann Wilson canceled for COVID-related reasons). But beyond impeccable performances — including an extended "Fly Like An Eagle" accompanied by a wicked keyboard solo — Miller's warm comments about his godfather and Waukesha native Les Paul were also memorable.
After a couple of bleak years, reviewer Lauren Keene recognized that Steve Aoki's mindless dance party in front of a packed Miller Lite Oasis crowd Thursday was a welcome respite, while reviewer Cal Roach loved a rare Milwaukee performance by The Breeders, with their '90s lineup intact, at the Generac Power Stage Friday.
The sunny stylings of Senri Oe, a onetime stadium-filling Japanese pop star turned Brooklyn-based jazz pianist, was a "luminous" delight for reviewer Jon M. Gilbertson at the BMO Harris Pavilion Saturday. That same day, as Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and Wu-Tang Clan played the American Family Insurance Amphitheater, writer Damon Joy suggested The Far Side (formerly of the Pharcyde) on the Generac Power Stage offered a reminder that "they are still one of the best hip-hop groups of all time."
Those latter two shows, along with winning performances from Femi Kuti, Lita Ford and others, all happened before 6 p.m. While Summerfest is two days short of its traditional 11-day run in 2022, consider this a reminder that, with the schedule change, there are more afternoon highlights at the festival than ever before.
Worst performances
Our reviewers didn't see any disasters during Weekend 1, but a few shows fell short.
Gilbertson had plenty of praise for Lil Wayne in the amphitheater, but not so much for Wiz Khalifa, who lacked Wayne's creativity and was largely carried by his band.
On the contrary, OutKast rapper Big Boi was engaged and generous with full performances of "Ms. Jackson," "So Fresh, So Clean" and other hits, Roach wrote in his review — except the headlining set was less than an hour. (From a performance perspective, Roach suggested Quiet Riot at Uline Warehouse, which he saw but didn't review, was the weekend's worst set, running on fumes and powered by zero original members.)
Joy was a little underwhelmed with Barenaked Ladies at the UScellular Connection Stage. And while Jozwik offered plenty of praise for Jason Aldean in the amphitheater Thursday, she found the hard-partying crowd pretty distracting, and Aldean didn't help matters with his drink-up attitude.
RELATED: Jason Aldean gives the fans, country and otherwise, what they want in near-capacity Summerfest show
Biggest 'were you there' moment
Zach Bryan will probably go down as Summerfest's biggest get for 2022, a fast-rising country superstar with one of the most popular releases of the year in the genre, his debut, triple-album "American Heartbreak." So the Miller Lite Oasis was overflowing with people for his Milwaukee debut at Summerfest — and, based on Bryan's "endearing embarrassment," as Roach wrote, it was a show he probably won't forget either.
"Bryan has a Garth Brooks-type ability to turn a simple relatable rhyme and singable melody into gold, down to earth and poetic," Roach wrote. "And fans sang along passionately even from where they couldn’t see the stage."
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Biggest missed opportunity
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit gave a blistering set on Summerfest's opening night, Keene wrote in her review — but, shockingly, the reserved seating section of the BMO Harris Pavilion wasn't even half full, and the first-come, first-served bleacher seats in the back of the venue were largely empty. What a shame so many people missed out on one of the first weekend's best performances.
Most encouraging comeback
Isbell aside, there were signs that Summerfest could have larger crowds than last year, when the September dates and the delta variant cut into attendance (although some shows were still packed in 2021). While Justin Bieber having to postpone due to partial facial paralysis from Ramsay Hunt syndrome is a major attendance blow, venues were at capacity or near capacity for Wayne, Aldean, Aoki, Miller, Bryan, Modest Mouse and others. Multiple Summerfest vendors are optimistic, too.
RELATED: Here are 16 ways to get into Summerfest 2022 in Milwaukee for free
Most topical
Unlike at England's Glastonbury last weekend — where Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, Megan Thee Stallion, Phoebe Bridgers, Lorde, Kacey Musgraves and Kendrick Lamar made international headlines criticizing the Supreme Court for overturning Roe v. Wade, reviewers didn't hear much commentary from Summerfest artists during Weekend 1. An exception was the Breeders' topical performance of "Hellbound," about an abortion, at the Big Gig. With hundreds of performances still to come — and Summerfest headliner Halsey already speaking up about it at a recent performance — expect it to come up again.
Coolest cover
The day after the "Elvis" biopic hit theaters, Los Angeles-based blues rock trio the Record Company, led by Wisconsin native Chris Vos, performed their brand-new take of "Hound Dog" — except, in an inspired move, Vos used the introduction to the song at Summerfest's Johnson Controls World Sound Stage to sing the praises of the song's original singer, blues legend Big Mama Thornton, Keene wrote in her review.
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Best rock-star fan moment
Roach liked that Summerfest finally booked Anthrax, kings of the once-feared thrash metal genre, suggesting that frontman Joey Belladonna was "more glam than Satan." And completing the family-friendly fun was a guest vocal performance from a pint-size fan named Brady during their cover of AC/DC’s “T.N.T." Thursday at the Generac Power Stage.
Wildest pyro
After Summerfest wrapped up its first weekend, the pyro wasn't over yet. Several people gathered around Fazio's popcorn cart heading toward the exits, which had briefly caught fire. A fast-moving employee put out the flames with a fire extinguisher to hearty cheers and applause, capping his hero moment with a cheeky quip: "Anybody want popcorn?"
Catherine Jozwik, Damon Joy, Cal Roach, Lauren Keene, Jon M. Gilbertson and Enrique Rodriguez contributed to this report.
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: From Zach Bryan to Wiz Khalifa, best, worst of Summerfest, Weekend 1
