Summerfest 2017 has officially come to an end. The Milwaukee mega-fest, which boasts itself as “the world’s largest music festival” — and with good reason as the event attracts between 800,000 and 900,000 people annually — began back on June 28 and ran until last night, July 9, closing things out with sets from a handful of world-class artists. One such performance came from indie rock legends The Shins, who made their Henry Maier Festival Park debut on the 11th and final day of Summerfest 2017, gracing fans with a joyous set of tunes that spanned the bulk of the group’s discography.
After a whopping 10-year absence from the Milwaukee live music scene, The Shins took the stage promptly at their 9:45 p.m. start time, backed by the Laverne & Shirley theme song “Making Our Dreams Come True” — a presumable nod to the Brew City. The group subsequently jumped right into a rendition of their moody track “Caring is Creepy,” from the 2000 album Oh, Inverted World — one of a few Zach Braff-affiliated fan favs played throughout the band’s Sunday night set. The dreamy track “So Now What” (which appeared in the 2014 film Wish I Was Here) and everybody’s favorite, “New Slang” (from 2004’s Garden State), also made appearances.
The Shins’ Summerfest set was extensive to say the least and likewise, featuring material both old and new, the performance left little to complain about. Fans of Mercer and company’s legacy material certainly got what they paid for, as did those looking to hear live renditions of songs from the band’s spirited new release Heartworms. Of the group’s 18-song setlist, a third of the night’s material was made up of tracks from the album including “Painting a Hole,” “The Fear” and the catchy female empowerment single “Name For You,” which hit the audience — and perceivably, lead singer James Mercer — early on with a welcome shot of pop-infused adrenaline. “It’s great to be back,” stated the frontman. “I’m really stoked to see this many people here.”
The mellow “Mildenhall” was among the many highlights of the night, joined by the soft and slow alt-interpretation of “Gone For Good” which, at one point, saw Mercer taking up harmonica duties. The mid-set rendition of “Kissing The Lipless” also made quite an impact, much thanks to Jon Sortland’s hard-hitting drums and a frenzied closing peak jam accentuated by stark white rapid fire stage lighting.
The Shins’ Summerfest 50 set, which fittingly came to a close with a cover of “American Girl” (a shout out to Wednesday and Thursday night’s headliner Tom Petty), was both meditatively introspective and airy & carefree at times. It may have taken the group a decade to return to Milwaukee but for most fans in attendance at last night’s set under the BMO Harris Pavilion, it’s safe to say it was well worth the wait.
See our Summerfest Day 11 gallery below featuring photos of The Shins, Mondo Cozmo, The Social Animals, Mindi Abair & The Boneshakers and more.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
