The Dead Milkmen popped into my head after I talked with my best friend about seeing a free show at Freedom Hill.
About twelve years ago my best friend and I use to love going to Freedom Hill and we attended this free show that will always stick out in our minds over the confusion it caused.
A flyer for the show listed a line up of a couple local bands and the main act as The Milkmen!
I somehow thought the flyer was referring to 80s punk band The Dead Milkmen and apparently I wasn’t alone in thinking that!
At the show I remember my best friend and I hung around to listen to the first couple bands as we waited for the main act.
There wasn’t a huge draw and I remember seeing one guy leaning against a post in a Dead Kennedy’s shirt. Another guy wearing a NOFX shirt was still moshing even though the music had stopped.
I also recall seeing this old hippie guy who was at least in his 70s. He wore a faded army jacket with patches on it along with a red bandana over his gray hair. The old guy kept slowly walking through trying to check out woman.
I then saw three high school age teens start setting up on stage.
When I first glanced at the band members I thought, wow they still look very young! Of course then it became clear, they were not The Dead Milkmen at all!
Even the band had to address this fact by specifying their band name was The Milkmen and not to confuse them with The Dead Milkmen!
The confusion got some eye rolls and whatever expressions from locals but I ended up staying for the show just to see if they were any good. I don’t really remember if The Milkmen were good but the mix up was funny and is filed in my mind!
I’m not sure if those teens chose a similar band name to draw people to their shows; If they did then it sure as hell worked!
Alas, I never got to see the real band! The memory made me nostalgic to listen to The Dead Milkmen’s music again.
After searching You Tube I stumbled across an HD upload of the music video for Punk Rock Girl!
Please enjoy the link from TimothyTim30 You Tube channel. For a full 80s experience you may want to whip up a glass of Tang and wear your old high tops.
Cake is one of my favorite bands that I have been listening to since the 90s and one that I never had the chance to see perform live.
When I heard they would be playing a free show in Detroit on June 29th, I was ecstatic.
The show was to celebrate the Stars and Stripes Festival at Freedom Hill.(Sterling Heights, MI)
Of course to prep for the upcoming show I dug out my favorite albums to listen to which are: Fashion Nugget (1996) and Comfort Eagle. (2001)
I forgot what gems songs like Race Car Ya Ya’s and The Distance are from Fashion Nugget. My favorite song from Comfort Eagle is still Short Skirt/Long Jacket.
In my quest to check out newer music from the band, I found out from their official website that they recorded their sixth album using 100% solar energy! I guess they also started their own label called Upbeat Records so kudos to them!
I listened to some of their recent stuff from the album Showroom of Compassion (2011) and I really liked the track Long Time. The song kinda had an old school breakdance/freestyle beat but still kept classic Cake lyrics and style.
Another song called Got to Move was ok too but for some reason it reminded me of The Pretenders 1994 hit song I’ll Stand By You.
All in all my ears got pumped up with old and new ballads and I was ready for some Cake!
The evening show kicked off with lead singer John McCrea being interactive with the crowd and trying to give someone a tree.
I love when a frontman jokes with the audience but I think the whole tree bit dragged on way too long!
I’m big on efficiency and 10 minutes wasted could have fit in two more songs to the set! I would rather hear more music and less quirky jokes.
All is forgiven though since they sounded awesome.
I was happy to see that they are not a studio band and sounded as great live if not better than they do on their albums. They zipped through their classics like Short Skirt/Long Jacket.
They performed an awesome cover of War Pigs by Black Sabbath and they closed out strong with The Distance.
My latest album hunt has been at Record Time in Roseville. The store will be closing during the first week of March and everything is for sale including glass cases, record players, magazine racks…you name it. The records are $1.00 each and used cds are mostly 75% off. I hate to see that they are closing since it’s one of the few music stores left standing. I know everybody downloads and buys music online but I still support the good old fashion experience of walking into a store and buying music.
If you collect records like I do then it’s worth checking it out since the back of the store is still full of boxes. I also saw small amounts of t-shirts, posters, old issues of rock magazines and pins spread throughout the store. I even spotted some VHS tapes and 8tracks for any of you pop culture collectors.
The only setback is that most of the selection has been picked over. The records are spilling out of bins and boxes so you literally have to hunt through each box one by one if you’re looking for something specific. I would estimate a good half hour if you want to dig through it. I walked out of there with six cds and three records for $11.87! As I was searching through used cds I had fun flash backs of names I had forgotten like Haddaway, Tonic, Young MC, 2Pac and Tag Team…just to name a few. The store is also hosting local bands each weekend until they officially close the doors. Check out their website for more information http://recordtime.com
Cake is one of my favorite bands that I have been listening to since the 90s and one that I never had the chance to see perform live.
Music Reportage 