Photo credit: Summerfest
Alternative radio has a small memory. Modern rock stations still lean heavily on hits from the '90s, yet their playlists only reflect a fraction of the music they had in rotation at the time, so while bands like Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails still enjoy ceaseless airplay, others have been all but erased from history.
Count The Posies among those unfairly forgotten bands. The Seattle scored a big hit with 1993's “Dream All Day,” a song that was once in regular alt-radio rotation between standards like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Interstate Love Song,” but that never got passed down the way some of its peers did. A middle ground of sorts between The Replacements and Big Star (whom The Posies' dual leads Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow would later back on reunion tours), The Posies were one of the savvier groups of the era, toughening up their power-pop in the wake of the grunge explosion without sacrificing the sweet melodies that made their songs so delectable.
As part of a tour commemorating the group's 30th anniversary, they made their first appearance at Summerfest Thursday, though it was a considerably more humbling affair than it might have been at the band been booked there during their '90s heyday. As part of the festival's Throwback Thursday promotion, they played an unceremonious 4 p.m. slot at the sprawling BMO Harris Pavilion for a relaxed, mostly seated crowd that filled at best maybe 15% of the venue.
It was hardly the most glamorous gig the band has ever played, but they didn't seem to mind much, and at least they had the benefit of playing for an audience of devoted music fans that seemed to seek them out (longtime Milwaukeeans probably recognized quite a few faces in the crowd as regulars at Atomic Records back in the day). The music hit its mark: The harmonies were breezy; the guitars were huge, and Auer and Stringfellow were game, leaping around stage during songs and amusing themselves with playful banter between them. “Ah, Miller Genuine Draft: the beer that makes The Posies hung over after 25 shows in a row,” Stringfellow quipped. “They call it Draft because it’s like going to boot camp the next morning.”
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Even if it wasn't the kind of show that rock-star dreams are made of, there are worse ways to spend a hot Thursday afternoon than at a shaded outdoor venue, enjoying a pleasant lake breeze and some catchy old songs that no longer get the appreciation they deserve.
Read more of our Summerfest coverage, including editor picks, concert previews, daily promotions and opinions here.
