My dad has had partial Twins season tickets for a few years. He saved up when the All-Star Game was announced and purchased two seats for all of the events. He also had the chance to order four tickets to the big Imagine Dragons show at TCF Bank Stadium, which I totally forgot about on the day the free tickets went on “sale.” The show sold out right away and local demand went up even more when Minneapolis favorites Atmosphere were added to the bill. Dad planned to take my sister and both SK and MK, so at least they were covered.

Somewhere in the Rhymesayers social media world, I saw a link to a page that said they were giving away pairs of tickets to show. I filled out a weird online Google Docs spreadsheet and promptly forgot about it. About a week before the show, I received an email from them saying we won tickets. Score!

We had to pick up the tickets in person between 11 and 4 on Saturday at Fifth Element on Hennepin. A later email mentioned that a limited number of “VIP” tickets would be available – first come, first serve. So after visiting my dad during his volunteer gig at the All-Star Fan Fest, we headed over to get in line around 10:15. There were maybe 50 people in front of us, but we were able to get two of the big blue VIP tickets that said to enter gate A. Other than that, we had no idea what the VIP part meant.

My dad and sister took the new Green Line and left early, as their tickets said upper level general admission. They ended up getting seats in the second row of the middle section directly across from the stage and saved two extra seats. We drove the girls later and parked in a lot right next to the stadium (for the low, low price of $20).

We took our VIP tickets and were granted access to some standing-room areas on the field, but were told we needed different credentials to get in the big white hospitality tent (that appeared to have free food and drinks – bummer). There were a bunch of folding chairs directly in front of the stage and there was signage that said the front half was the red section and the back half was blue. We asked about our tickets and were told they were for the blue section, so we found two seats directly in front of the sound board.

It was a rather warm, sunny day and the white tiles on the field pretty much acted as heating coils. We were so happy when the sun finally dropped behind the large scoreboard. After a rather weird introduction by one of the Pohlad kids, Atmosphere started their short, mostly PG set. While the Atmosphere and Imagine Dragons fans probably don’t overlap much (hi DGS!), I would’ve liked to see a little more of Slug (especially since ID only has the one album).

Semi-funny side note: the three women behind us at Fifth Element kept talking about how all they cared about was Atmosphere and how they planned to leave before “Magic Dragons” started. They kept laughing about Magic Dragons, then stopped and said “wait, what are they really called?” Now ID will forever be Magic Dragons to me…

As for the actual performances, I thought both acts were entertaining. Chris Riemenschneider had a rather harsh review at the Star Tribune and I agree that the All-Star Game concert probably deserved someone like Pearl Jam. But hey, it was free and I’m sure the sponsors were happy. The fireworks were cool too – the only real negative was the horrendous traffic getting out of there.

Here are the set lists (according to Chris):

Atmosphere:

• January on Lake Street
• Puppets
• Kanye West
• Sunshine
• She’s Enough
• Party for the Fight to Write
• Shhh
• Shoulda Known
• Yesterday
• Trying to Find a Balance

Imagine Dragons:

• Fallen
• Tiptoe
• Hear Me
• It’s Time
• Rocks
• Battle Cry
• Amsterdam
• With or Without You (U2 cover)
• 30 Lives
• Who We Are
• Nothing Left to Say
• Demons
• On Top of the World
• Radioactive

Up next: Rod Stewart & Santana at Xcel on August 10th

Last year we hit Summerfest for Tom Petty at Marcus Amphitheater (and by chance got to see most of Rhymesayers Day as well). This year we planned on two days: one for Arctic Monkeys on Wednesday and one for a repeat of Rhymesayers Day on Friday (this time with Atmosphere, Brother Ali, Grieves, PROF and deM atlaS). With nine different stages, strong lineups and a super cheap general admission price, Summerfest is hard to beat for value. On Arctic Monkey day, we also got to see Communist Daughter and Caroline Smith at no extra charge – bonus!

Last year it was just Colleen and I, while this year we had both kids. That mostly worked fine, but the crowds at the free stages can be a challenge. It’s also tough when everyone just stands on the metal bleachers – the Arctic Monkeys show in particular was really bad (that show should have been at Marcus in my opinion). Construction around downtown also meant extra long waits to get out of the parking lots (on Friday night we backed out of our spot and didn’t move – at all – for a full 45 minutes). I think we’ll probably take a year or two off, but I’m sure they will have someone next year I just can’t miss.

We stopped in Madison on the way down and gave SK and MK a tour of “our” campus. Of course we had lunch at the Nitty Gritty, visited the Memorial Union Terrace and had some Babcock Hall ice cream. Other stops on the tour included a walk up and down State Street, a visit to the University Bookstore, our first time at Strictly Discs and a quick tour of the new Union South. On our way out of town, we hit the always interesting Ella’s Deli. It’s amazing how much new construction has occurred in that city since we graduated. Might get to see it more often if MK really does end up going to school there too (she already has the Badger Swim and Dive shirt).

As far as food in the Milwaukee area, we hit a couple of repeat spots (Uncle Harry’s Frozen Custard and the Calderone Club) and one awesome new one (Traditional Pancake House). I also returned to the Potawatomi Hotel & Casino and ate at their sports bar, The Fire Pit, which was very good. No luck on their (relatively) high-denom machines, unfortunately.

Special thanks to Colleen’s cousin Cheryl and her husband Mike for letting us stay with them again this year – so, so sorry for the garage door. SMH…