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Summerfest 2013 Review

Tom Petty takes it easy, his way, at Marcus Amphitheater

Tom Petty takes in the moment onstage at Summerfest’s Marcus Amphitheater on Friday night.

Rick Wood


Tom Petty’s show Friday night at Summerfest was a revisitation of past glories. And both Petty and the audience were OK with that. »Read Full Article

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  1. So how did The Smithereens sound? How did the crowd react to their performance? You literally recommend that, because The Smithereens are fat, it is better for readers listen to their records than to - what? See them live? As a music review, yours of The Smithereens' appearance last night makes no sense. I was there and can tell you that The Smithereens played with power and passion and pretty much blew the roof off the place. The band connected with the audience and people danced and sang and cheered loudly in appreciation. Rather than cheap-shotting the lead singer for his weight, why not spend 30 seconds with a web browser and learn about the health issue which almost killed him? Also, if you think "New Jersey tough" is a persona, I invite you to say it to their faces. Hopefully, other readers who saw The Smithereens show will post comments about it. Were you even there?
  2. The review was pretty much spot on until The Smithereens comments. They are really the ultimate bar band. They played hard,they played loud, they played great. Got a much better response from the crowd than most openers. Pat DiNinzio may be somewhat overweight but he's still rock and roll cool.
  3. Petty was excellent as always. Major F up by the summerfest/marcus staff though on handling the crowd. I've been going to concerts for 35 years including several at the Marcus and have never seen such a disorganized plan for getting people in and out of the venue. It literally took 30 minutes to get to my seat from the time I came through the gate. Seriously.

    I'm sure the rain made it worse but that's no excuse. They appeared to let people from uncovered sections cram into and stand around in the aisles and stairways. It was a huge mess.

    Shame on the facility management for not having a better plan. Not sure I want to pay $100 bucks to see a show there again. I'm typically very tolerant of crowds and waiting my turn but this went far beyond reasonable.

    I can't comment on the Smithereens because I only HEARD a bit of their last song from the crammed stairway as I was trying to get to my seat.
  4. Gotta agree with all comments so far. I also had reserve seats, but getting to them was a nightmare - have never seen a crowd allowed to stand around. If anything would have set off that crammed, wet crowd, it would have gotten ugly. Luckily, Petty fans are mostly easy going.

    Still made it in for the last 4-5 Smithereens songs, and they were playing a very energetic and entertaining set. And calling out a singer's weight is ridiculous. I'll assume you're not a fan of the opera.

    Also couldn't believe that a Friday night show at the Marcus ran out of beer at all of the kiosks, leading to ridiculously long lines at the standard taps. Definitely led a an easier morning, but come on.
  5. Did Petty have his walker and portable oxygen tank nearby?
  6. A different review here...
  7. And yes, the security at this venue is terrible. They do not have a clue what is going on.
  8. You might have mentioned that, for everyone that wasn't able to get seats in the yellow or red section, it was a horrible, miserable experience due to the cold, driven rain. There is no reason the roof could not be extended further back.
  9. For the most part, I thought it was a very good concert. But I was disappointed he didn't sing "Breakdown", which is my favorite by him. He also didn't sing,"don't do me like that" and "good love is hard to find". These are big hits, and instead he played some that weren't as popular. I never understand why they do that! Also, so much pot smoking going on around us it was ridiculous. And loved it when a drunk guy dumped his beer all over my husband and I. Horrible getting out of there afterwards. Took forever.
    I think I've had it with concerts.
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  10. In addition to this unhelpful and unprofessional non-review of the Smithereens, the interpretation of the song "Behind the Wall of Sleep" is just plain wrong. Clueless.
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