Cheese Curds and Levon Helm

This weekend I had one of the my best ever music experiences ... and a lot of fun. I took Amtrak up to Milwaukee, checked myself into a hotel on Wisconsin Avenue, and walked to Summerfest where I people watched (lots of Rush t-shirts), drank beer, ate several kinds of food that was dipped in, brushed or fried in butter/oil. And I saw Levon Helm.

In addition to the expected old geezer crowd there were two kids in front of me (maybe they were 17?) who were so excited to be there. They kept jumping, yelling "Oh My God" and hugging each other at the beginning of each song. I'm not great at memorizing set lists (unlike my Grateful Dead and Phish following friends) so I can't remember exactly what songs and in what order things were played, It was a real treat for anyone who loves The Band though.

They opened with Ophelia and then did The Shape I'm In. I know Long Black Veil was in there before they went off into Deep Elum Blues and Tennessee Jed. In the middle somewhere they definitely played It Makes No Difference and toward the end we heard The Weight. There was an incredible encore of I Shall Be Released.

You can't go back in time. It's not 1976 and far from being Winterland it was Summerfest. So many Band songs could have made the show a lame and cheesy substitute for a time past. Instead, it was a different but incredibly talented group of musicians playing music I love. Larry Campbell and Brian Mitchell were great.

Rick Danko is always going to be my favorite-favorite but Levon Helm is my other favorite-favorite.