Harley-Davidson Festival, Day Two: Foo Fighters and ZZ Top on the Banks of Lake Michigan

Photograph by Kyle Bursaw

Right now there’s a giant parade of bikers passing by my hotel; their revving motors are easily audible through my ninth-floor window. That sound has been at least as big a part of the soundtrack to Milwaukee’s Harley-Davidson Festival as the music of bands like the Foo Fighters, ZZ Top, Gary Allan, Los Lonely Boys, Foghat, Blind Melon and Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, all of whom played Friday near Lake Michigan. Yesterday, I found the random biker stuff (expect a post on that to follow shortly) more interesting than the music. But the tunes generally seemed to sate the bikers, which is a good thing: You don’t want these guys angry.

The Foo Fighters headlining gig proceeded roughly as expected – lots of intense, supercharged bashing, lots Dave Grohl chewing gum and delivering throat-shredding screams – except for one thing: Solos. Roughly the half the songs had extended guitar breaks. The violinist got a long solo, as did drummer Taylor Hawkins and the auxiliary percussionist – on triangle, no less.

Much of the set focused on darkly rocking material from the Foo’s newest album (last year’s Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace) and elsewhere. It seemed the crowd would have preferred some of the better-known sing-alongs earlier in the set – they had to wait an hour for “My Hero” and “Everlong.” Grohl, who admitted he was nursing a giant hangover, committed a venial sin:
He was drinking Coors, a no-no in Miller Town. (A few people booed him for it.) But he delivered the best stage banter of any performer so far at Harley Fest: To wit, “The is the first time I’ve seen a fat white dude show me his tits.” He also told the crowd, “You guys are pretty fuckin’…nice,” a totally apt compliment for a crowd of Midwesterners.

Though the Foos were the bigger draw, ZZ Top got a larger share of Harley riders -- fitting, since their music is generally more biker-appropriate. Billy F. Gibbons told me he had chatted up several bikers the night before. He also took song requests from them – including “Planet of Women,” an oldie the band had to re-learn before Friday’s gig.

ZZ’s crowd-pleasing, highly likeable blues-rock set indeed included “Planet of Women,” plus some more familiar oldies: “Jesus Just Left Chicago,” “Legs,” “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide,” and a set-closing “Jailhouse Rock” jam. It also included some familiar visuals: Black outfits, white guitars, sunglasses, guitar-dipping choreography, and beards whose length was rivaled by only a few bikers I’ve seen here.