Milwaukee celebrated a very special night on Tuesday, as the city’s brand new arena, the Fiserv Forum, kicked off its first ever concert, with The Killers and Milwaukee’s own, the Violent Femmes.
From the moment doors opened fans were in for a treat as The Killers delivered a casual acoustic set well before the show started. The first hundred or so fans enjoyed an intimate set before the Femmes and The Killers tested the foundation of the new arena. After an amazing performance, The Killers capped off the night with a special encore performance of the Milwaukee-set Laverne & Shirley Theme Song, joined by the Violent Femmes.
Check out our photos from last night’ performance below and peep The Killers’ remaining tour dates here.
The Beach Boys may have brought the “good vibrations” to Highland Park’s Ravinia Festival on Friday night, but Jason Mraz brought the good vibes on Saturday, as his headlining Good Vibes Tour with singer Brett Dennen invaded the Chicagoland festival last night.
We hope you made it out to the sold out performance, but if you didn’t, we have our five reasons why you missed out on the good vibes.
1. The Vibes
The vibes are always positive at The Ravinia, as the festival is like none other in the area. The not-for-profit festival brings some of the biggest names in music to Highland Park, all while giving fan a number of ways to enjoy the live entertainment. Whether you were enjoying a close-up view of Jason Mraz’s performance in the pavilion or whether you were staying cool and enjoying a picnic in the lawn, the common denominator was the night’s good vibes.
Instantly the vibes were good as Jason Mraz surprised fans by making a brief appearance on stage to thank fans for coming out, while introducing his opening act, ‘Wild Child’ singer Brett Dennen. Mraz then cracked open a La Croix from his can koozie holster and let Dennen take things from there. A rare move by a headliner, but a very nice gesture from one of music’s most genuine entertainers.
2. He was a Stand Up Comedian in Another Life
Throughout the entire night, Jason Mraz proved that he is one of the funniest singers in music today. With himself and his band dressed in colorful jumpsuits, Mraz showed some humility by taking multiple cracks at his outfit. “Are they in a cult, why are they dressed like that?” “Why are they dressed like astronaut, because we’re going to the space within,” Mraz joked.
Mraz also had the crowd laughing with his special performance of ‘Chocolate’, which jokes about women’s need for chocolate. Don’t expect to hear the track on his next album though, because Mraz told the audience that “the women marched, (so) I’ll just keep it to myself.”
3. You Get Your Money’s Worth
If (like myself) you check the set list in advance, you may think that Jason Mraz puts on a short performance, however he performs for roughly two hours. Some of his performances make Grateful Dead songs look short.
Early in the performance, ‘The Remedy’, ‘Unfold’ and ’93 Million Miles’ alone went on for a total of a half hour, with guitar solos and banter extending the tracks. You’ll definitely leave his shows feeling as you got your money’s worth, and then some.
4. He’s the Best White Freestyler (not named Marshall)
When you think of the best freestylers in music, Jason Mraz probably doesn’t come to mind, but he should. Mraz boasts his entertaining rap skill on ‘Curbside Prophet’ and he freestyles in his live shows, making each show different from the last. He’s no Eminem, but Mraz is quick on his feet and can freestyle with the best of them.
5. The Setlist
Like any great concert, The Good Vibes Tour is worth the price of admission for its setlist. Early on in the set you’ll enjoy songs like ‘The Remedy’ and ’93 Million Miles’ and to end the performance you’ll sing along to tracks like ‘I’m Yours’ and his new single ‘Have It All’.
Finally, last but not least, Mraz goes with a cover song to end the night, and what better track for the tour than The Beach Boys’ ‘Good Vibrations’, a song that was performed by the band itself less than 24 hours before.
Check out our photos from last night’s performance below and get your tickets for the remaining dates of the Good Vibes Tour here. And be sure to peep the Ravinia’s remaining schedule at their official website.
Music fans in Highland Park, IL were in for a special treat last night as The Beach Boys’ already amazing tour with The Righteous Brothers got that much better with the addition of special guest, actor John Stamos, for their Ravinia Festival performance.
Kicking things off for the night were The Righteous Brothers, now led by founding member Bill Medley and singer Bucky Heard. With their hour-long set, Medley showed off his sense of humor throughout the set, while performing some of The Righteous Brothers’ biggest hits.
The highlight of the opening set though came as Medley performed his hit collaboration from “Dirty Dancing”, joined by his lovely daughter for the entertaining duet. Unfortunately though, due to her back issues Medley said, she couldn’t bear her father’s weight to replicate the iconic lift. The jokes and hits did not stop there.
After Heard and Medley stepped off stage and a brief set change, it was time for The Beach Boys to take stage. Instantly John Stamos joined Mike Love and company on stage, strutting from stage left to stage right on the guitar. Soon after Stamos would take more of a backup roll, showing off his skills on the drums.
Already one of the best lineups of the Ravinia’s 2018 season, The Beach Boys added Stamos to their show just weeks ago, with many fans not realizing the addition until the show began.
While the Full House star was certainly the cherry on top, the highlights of the night came as The Beach Boys blew fans away with their deep catalog of his. From “Surfin’ U.S.A.” to “Kokomo”, last night wasn’t beach friend as a misty overcast hovered over the venue, but it was still fun under the sun with The Beach Boys crew. Last night was evidence of the band’s legendary status.
Check out our photos from last night’s performance below and peep the remaining events at the Ravinia Festival’s official website.
Ben Folds and Cake brought fans to Milwaukee’s lakeside this evening, as their co-headlining tour paid a visit to the city’s BMO Harris Pavilion.
Kicking off the night’s first headlining performance was none other than triple-threat, Ben Folds. The singer-songwriter-pianist performed an hour-long set comprised of his solo tracks, songs by his alt-rock band “Ben Folds Five” and even a special track written just for the city of Milwaukee.
Folds’ fans sang along throughout the night, as the North Carolina native performed tracks like ‘Landed’, ‘Do It Anyway’, ‘Brick’ and many more. Hi sense of humor was also on full display throughout the performance, “we don’t have a bass guitar… we have a bass harmonica,” Folds told the audience while introducing his band.
One highlight of the night came as Folds’ switched up his setlist to perform his 2001 track, ‘The Luckiest’, which he dedicated to a couple in the audience who got married to the record. One beautiful couple (presumably the same couple) danced to the song in the aisle as Folds and his band performed.
From start to finish, Ben Folds kept the crowd singing, laughing and entertained throughout the entire set.
Last but not least, Cake took the stage after a brief intermission. Joined on stage by a tree (you read that correctly), which the band gives out to one lucky fan each show, the band’s frontman John McCrea is a character to say the least.
The Sacramento natives gave their Milwaukee fans some Cake by the Ocean lake, with a blast from the past through performances of tracks like ‘Long Time’, ‘Mexico’ and even a cover of Willie Nelson’s ‘Sad Song and Waltzes’ to kick off the set.
Although their big hit ‘Short Skirt/Long Jacket’ was noticeably left off the setlist, Cake ended the night strong with their classic single ‘Never There’, before an encore performance of ‘The Distance’.
Whether you came down for Ben Folds, Cake or all of the above, you left the show having had a great time.
Check out our photos from tonight’s performance below and get your tickets for the remaining dates of Ben Folds and Cake’s co-headlining tour here.
Drake and the Migos invaded Chicago last night, for night one of two in the Windy City for their huge “Aubrey & The Three Migos Tour”, which kicked off earlier this week.
Complete with a huge hockey rink sized stage, a floating Lambo, an appearance from Bloc Boy JB and more, Drake’s new tour is definitely something that you won’t want to miss.
Check out our photos from last night’s performance below.
On his quest for world WRLD domination, nineteen-year-old Juice WRLD brought his headlining tour to Milwaukee’s historic Riverside Theater tonight. The Chicago rapper/singer was joined by openers YBN Cordae, Lil Mosey and BLAKE, to perform a number of tracks from his new album, Goodbye & Good Riddance and his 9 9 9 mixtape.
With millions of Soundcloud streams on his resume and his Billboard charting single ‘Lucid Dreams’, Juice WRLD is a super emerging artist in rap and is already reaching unexpected levels of success. So it’s no surprise that the young artist is already headlining a concert at one of Milwaukee’s biggest music venues.
Although his set was relatively short, as he continues to add to his catalog of tracks, Juice WRLD made the most out of his time on stage and gave his Wisconsin fans everything they wanted and more, with stand out performances of ‘Lean Wit Me’, ‘Lucid Dreams’, ‘Legends’ and more.
Check out our photos from tonight’s performance below and get your tickets for the remaining dates of Juice WRLD’s tour here.
Lollapalooza came to a close on Sunday, as rocker Jack White closed out the Chicago festival, beating out an incoming storm coming westward.
Like all days before it, fans on Sunday enjoyed some great performances throughout the entire day. Whether you were catching a set from Nav, Gucci Mane, Lil Uzi Vert, Bazzi, Kali Uchis or more, you were likely having the time of your life. There was no better place in the world to be than Grant Park yesterday.
Check out our photos from Lollapalooza Day 4 below.
With two days down and two to go, Lollapalooza kept the ball rolling on Saturday at Chicago’s Grant Park with perhaps its best daily lineup of the year.
Day 3 brought the talent throughout the day as The Weeknd headlined the night, after artists like Logic, Dua Lipa, St. Vincent, Carly Rae Jepsen and more put on great performances of their own.
Check out our photos from Lollapalooza Day 3 below.
After an amazing day one of Lollapalooza, where fans saw performances from Travis Scott, Camila Cabello and more, it was hard to imagine how things could get even better on Friday.
However, Lollapalooza again delivered on day two, as Post Malone, Tyler The Creator, Greta Van Fleet, Bebe Rexha and more helped make for an epic and diverse day of music at Chicago’s Grant Park.
Check out our photos from Lollapalooza Day 2 below.
Chicago’s Lollapalooza delivers year after year, and continuing it’s new tradition of kicking off on Thursday, day one of Lolla 2018 went off with a bang, with performances from Travis Scott, Camila Cabello, Jaden Smith, Khalid and many more.
Ahead of the release of his brand new LP, Astroworld, GOOD Music’s Travis Scott put on a wild and energetic headlining set, just a couple years after La Flame was arrested at the festival. Delivering some pop spice to Grant Park, Camila Cabello also put on one of the days best sets. From top to bottom, day one of Lollapalooza had a lotta something for everyone.
Check out our photos from Lollapalooza Day 1 below.
