Recap Summerfest's closing day

The last day of Summerfest always gives me a vague feeling of melancholy, because the major summer event in Milwaukee has passed. True, Milwaukee has a full roster of ethnic festivals ahead, but it still feels a little like summer is on the wane. So when I headed out Sunday to Milwaukee’s lakefront for The Big Gig’s final day, my goal was to have the Summerfest-iest experience possible to hold me over until next year.

My first order of business was to get some beer and deep-fried eggplant. Everyone has his or her favorite Summerfest foods, and deep-fried eggplant—which I generously top with parmesan cheese and lemon juice—is mine. Sitting at a picnic table near the under-promoted, sponsorless Refugee Stage along the lake, I indulged in dichotomous Summerfest fare. (It’s eggplant, so it’s good for you, but it’s fried, so it’s bad for you.) It also struck me that for all my complaints about the lineup, year after year, I really do love this festival. I love that as I stood in line to order fried goodness, live music surrounded me—even if the music wasn't something I’d ever plan on seeing, like the smooth jazz stylings of some group called Black Earth Plus, which wafted past me from the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse like a mist of lukewarm water.

After finishing the eggplant, I headed over to the Miller Lite Oasis to catch The English Beat, which is currently on a 30th-anniversary tour. I couldn’t get anywhere near the stage, but I briefly enjoyed a moment of nostalgia when the group played “Hands Off She’s Mine,” a memorable highlight from 1980’s I Just Can’t Stop It. They sounded great, and I wondered why no one danced, until I noticed all the graying hair in the crowd. I became suddenly thankful that the girl at the lakefront stand carded me for my beer. As fun as The English Beat started out, however, it quickly turned into a snoozer.

I decided to leave the aging skankers behind and find a good spot for the Elvis Costello And The Imposters show over at the M&I Classic Rock Stage, which I quickly discovered was nowhere near large enough for all of Costello's fans. A half-hour before the show started, the stage stood in the distance as if it were on the East Side of Detroit. Eventually I smooshed my way to a spot with a better view of the stage, where I realized that Costello really does look like a dude in his 50s. From a distance, he resembled the nerdy punk on the cover of My Aim Is True; from a different vantage point, he looked like that guy’s craggy uncle. But you’d never guess from hearing him play. Costello’s two-hour set—which included a seven-song, hits-laden encore beginning with “Alison” and ending with "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding"—was flawless. Sometimes it almost sounded too much like the recordings, but the extended jams on “Watching The Detectives” shook things up nicely. (Though, since “Watching The Detectives” isn’t my favorite Costello song, I wasn’t totally in love with it being 27 times longer.)

Still, it was a perfect wrap-up to Summerfest. I’m going to miss all the friends I made here, like the guy who moved seamlessly from air drumming to air guitar to full-on head-bobbing during Costello’s show. Or the girls walking back and forth throughout the grounds while wielding cans of hairspray. Or all the people I saw hauled out by security. I have to admit it—I can’t wait for next year.