Summerfest with Timmy + The Gang

At 5:30 pm on the North Shore Bank Landing, Barry's Truckers came on stage. The name sounded familiar, and I later found out that way back in the day (like early 90's) they played at St. Catherine's (my church's) festival. If they were quality enough to play there, they were good enough to play Summerfest...I guess. They were pretty good, being one of Milwaukee's prominent cover bands, and the show was quite enjoyable. I certainly can think of worse things to have to sit and listen to. Tim and Sarah wandered around trying to find the members of Styx, believing them to be roaming around the vast area of Summerfest unattended and unnoticed by the fans. Tim and Sarah didn't find them.

A lot of the band's likeability came from the lead singer, a Mr. Paul Barry, who leads his truckers into a ruckus of music and comedy. By infusing just the right amount of hilarity in between songs (without seeming to be pushing it) made the performance more enjoying. I liked how he was drinking during the performance. If Timmy didn't regulate me, I'd be drinking before, during, and after every June's Blanket performance. But I guess it's better that he does because June's Blanket is a family show, and to bring alcohol into the mix does nothing but disappoint our paying customers.

At some point during the concert, Barry and the saxophone player Jerry the K went into the audience to have a little singing contest. Barry would sing a line from "Going Back to Miami" (substituting in Milwaukee of course) and then would have a person in the audience sing it back. The results were decent, but check the next page for the best one.  

Barry taught me how to make sure that the audience never boos at the end of a show, despite how bad you actually performed - bring out an American flag. Who in their right mind is going to boo the American Flag and everything that it stands for? That would be unpatriotic. Pull out the flag and people will cheer. Then they will forget your bad show.

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