Summerfest Day 1: The best and worst

Flume, Lee Fields outplay the rain

Perhaps this is a bit of an understatement, but the first day of Summerfest 50 was a wet one.

Not that rainy weather put a damper on the celebration. Opening day even produced such gems as Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett telling the crowd at the newly-unveiled Miller Lite Oasis to “sin responsibly.”

When it comes to music, here’s the best of what we saw: Flume at the Miller Lite Oasis Wednesday evening’s torrential rain significantly thinned out Summerfest’s crowds, but the fans waiting for Australian producer and electronic music star Flume were a hardy, energetic and sizable bunch.

While the bulk of the precipitation had passed before the musician — real name Harley Streten — emerged onto a fog-filled stage, there were still waves of raindrops in the air that glimmered through a frenetic, pulsing light show. And there were plenty of deep puddles for the dancing throngs to jump and run through with joyous delight as the bass line of the introductory “Helix” swelled across a sea of flailing arms.

For his part, Streten matched the crowd’s energy, playfully directing it to a bouncing pace with the thumping hip-hop-infused “On Top,” slowing the bobbing heads with the swaying “Lose It” and launching everyone into a synchronized frenzy with his drum-machine pounded remix of Major Lazer’s “Get Free.”

As the rain started to pick up, the crowd only grew more intense, dancing and bobbing as Streten smiled from behind his computerized controls. — Erik Ernst, Special to the Journal Sentinel

Lee Fields and the Expressions at the Johnson Controls World Stage

The song was “Special Night.” Lee Fields oozed a gruff sensuality as Expressions drummer Homer Steinweiss casually wiped down his cymbals with a towel. Yes, the Johnson Controls World Stage has a covered pavilion, but the wind and rain were so intense that ponchos were required even in the center of the room.

Fields proceeded to bring the house down with “Don’t Walk,” a vintage R&B nugget that showcased the veteran soul man’s James Brown-meets-Swamp Dogg croon.

Introducing “Never Be Another,” Fields asked bassist Quincy Bright, “What’cha think about this crowd in Milwaukee?”

“I think they’re very good-looking,” Bright deadpanned.

By this point, the crowd had swelled to capacity, at least three times what Lee Fields and the Expressions could’ve expected on a Wednesday night during a typhoon. Fields was electrified; he seized the moment and had the crowd in a frenzy of call-and-response for the rest of the set, once everyone had stopped gawking at the sideways downpour. — Cal Roach, Special to the Journal Sentinel

The Marcus King Band at the Uline Warehouse

Lightning flashed around the Uline Warehouse stage Wednesday night, but thunder growled from the Marcus King Band’s eponymous frontman’s gritty voice. The sound snarled through his fingers as they bounded across the frets of a red electric guitar that roared bluesy riffs.

“It isn’t the size of the crowd; it’s how you use it,” King said as the band quickly sound checked in front of a sparse, but devoted crew of fans huddled on the bleachers, avoiding the impending rain storm.

Just 21 years old, the South Carolina native is an old soul — and a classic soul man in a blues man’s body. His band, a six-piece ensemble of horns, organ, drum and bass, spun its musical colors like a chameleon writhing through a musical menagerie of southern rock, jamming grooves and ferocious roadhouse blues. Unfortunately, it was all cut too short when torrential sheets of rain arrived at the crescendo of “The Man You Didn’t Know,” driving the band off the stage early while the remaining fans sought shelter. — Erik Ernst

And, without further ado, here’s the worst of what our reviewers saw on Wednesday.

MisterWives at the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard

The sheer volume of young people milling and scurrying around the grounds at 10 p.m. belied the pooh-poohing about this 50th edition lineup; most of them had already endured a monsoon, and lightning continued to flash as the rain fell on all but scattered pockets of patrons.

A tight cluster had developed under the Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard awning, but the crowd swelled far beyond shelter as MisterWives took the stage at 10:10 p.m. Singer Mandy Lee had evidently packed an electric blue raincoat for just such an occasion and it didn’t hinder her dancing one bit. Enthusiasm like hers is rare and hard to question.

However, her banter — not unlike her lyrics — was rife with painfully cliché, simplistic positivity on par with Barney the dinosaur (notwithstanding the occasional fbomb). I

f she hadn’t delivered it all in such powerful, precise fashion, there would’ve been almost nothing captivating about it.

Sadly, the band was forced offstage shortly after 11, due, according to Lee, to lightning. — Cal Roach