I grew up in Champaign, IL. One of the bands I followed and considered a favorite in the mid to late 90s was Hum. In fact, when the internet was first getting its widespread legs, I carried on a good couple weeks on conversation with one of their members via e-mail. Wish I still had that correspondence to go along with this post.

I recently dusted off and rediscovered my copy of You’d Prefer An Astronaut, thanks, in part, to Cadillac for including their song “Stars” in a 2007 commercial. I also uncovered an old copy of Hum’s performance at Milwaukee’s Summerfest from 1998. Hopefully more than just myself will remember these guys. They did a few shows around the 1st of the year, so I’m hoping they’ll swing through Wisconsin for a date or two this year.

Update: Download is over, TWO weeks only.

Hum :: Summerfest, Milwaukee (July 5, 1998)

Download/Listen:
1. I’d Like Your Hair Long
2. Green to Me
3. Suicide Machine
4. Comin’ Home
5. I Hate It Too
6. Stars
7. Iron Clad Lou

Buy: Hum – You’d Prefer an Astronaut
++
Myspace: Hum

Ah Nostalgia. Seeing the Stone Temple Pilots at Summerfest wasn’t necessarily a planned affair. After watching the Brewers pound the Pirates in the scorching head of the left field bleachers and the previous night’s good times, it didn’t take much convincing to get me back along the shores of Lake Michigan.

I readily admit that I wore out my copies of STP’s debut Core and subsequent follow up Purple. The latter was probably one of my most listened to records for a period of a couple of years. My interest by that point had certainly peaked, but I remember finding pieces of Tiny Music… that I really enjoyed as well. I remember seeing them at the MECCA and also can remember seeing Cheap Trick holding down opening duties for them on more than one occasion. So, last night was definitely a revisiting of my former self, it didn’t hurt that Black Francis (aka Frank Black) of Pixies fame was holding down opening duties.

Of course, part of the allure was seeing which version of Scott Wieland would show up. For the most part, he seemed to have everything together, though his between song banter was mumbled and nearly indecipherable. Seeing it was the fourth of July, Wieland took it as an opportunity to come out draped in an American flag for the first four songs. Musically, he nailed most of the material, which ended up being a evening’s worth of greatest hits. There were selections (“Big Bang Baby) that came off with a little less luster than it probably used to have. It was certainly fun to watch as the band launched into each selection and waiting for the crowd’s collective memory to be jolted and recognize exactly what song they were hearing, no doubt transporting them right back to the early 90′s as well.

The first two sections of the Marcus were filled, the bleacher seats were virtually empty and there was a considerable amount of fans relaxing on the lawn, taking advantage of the free admission. Over the course of the night it was nice to hear “Plush,” “Creep,” and “Silvergun Superman” and the crowd went a little bit more crazy each time Wieland reached for his megaphone. Most of the material as I mentioned earlier was their most familiar material, but there were also plenty of songs which I assume came for their later era catalog that I have no familiarity with at all.

We didn’t stick around for the encore, as we wanted to make sure we took advantage of the opportunity to catch The Roots while we had the chance. Overall, it was fun to be with a bunch of friends and family who grew up with this music and now, as adults could at least spend one more night with those songs together.

Discuss: Did you see the show? Did the band sound as good as they used to? What did you think of the Black Francis material? What were the highs and lows? Who else did you see at Summerfest? I think we can all agree their light show was very much a holdout from the 90′s, right?

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Happy July 4th y’all. This one goes out to all the break dancers, be-boppers, freestylers and DJ’s. Last night Theivery Corporation took off at Milwaukee’s Summerfest, leaving a noticeable trail of Cheshire Cat grins, chemicals, and sore limbs from bodies that had most definitely busted a move or two.

The parade of singers and MC’s kept the night in a perpetual groove behind the driving force of DJ’s Rob Garza and Eric Hilton. One minute you’d watch in awe as a gorgeous belly dancer moved fluently to the sound of the sitar and only a few minutes later you’d see a sea of hands in the air as call and response hip-hop filled up the Milwaukee night.

My foundation and background rested heavily with The Richest Man In Babylon material, you know the one with red and white bullseye. It was that material, over the course of the night, when injected into the set, that brought the biggest smile to my face. That album and as demonstrated last night, represents a group determined to not be defined by any genres or language, touching broad foundations and appealing to the masses.

There were plenty of first timers around us last night who had never heard the band before but were drawn in by the eclectic live material. Everyone went home satisfied, so much so that the marathon parking ext process didn’t seem to phase. It’s good to be back in Milwaukee, good to be back at Summerfest, and it was great to be amongst the masses who enjoyed a couple of hours with Thievery Corporation + Fireworks last night.

Discuss: What did you think of Theivery Corporation’s set? What is your favorite Thievery Corporation release? Who else have you caught at Summerfest that you can recommend to the MoB readers? I tried to catch the Wailers for a bit last night, but that shit was packed with a capital P. Only three more days of Summerfest, who are you going to see?

Myspace: Thievery Corporation

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Milwaukee’s Summerfest got off to hot beginning last night with notable performances by the legendary Stevie Wonder at the Marcus Amphitheater, and the always reliable/fun Gnarls Barkley warming up the well-partied crowd.

MoB photographer Ed Oliver captured some shots from Gnarls set, which you can check out below. How did The Odd Couple material come off live? We want to know who you’re going to see at Summerfest this year? Did you catch Gnarls or Stevie last night? What is your all-time favorite Summerfest concert/memory? That honor goes to Pearl Jam/The Frogs/Bad Religion back in 1995 for me. Drop your reviews/comments/beer intake in the comments section.

Myspace: Gnarls Barkley

Find more MP3′s at The Hype Machine or buy stuff from Strictly Discs | eMusic