When I was first looking through artists that would be playing at Summerfest I was shocked to see Phantom Planet's name listed and then iDKHOW. I'm subscribed to Phantom Planet's Patreon page so we usually hear about things in advance. I read over the names again and noticed that Lovejoy was also a listed artist, and basically dramatically fell to the floor. Not only were 3 of my favorite bands playing at Summerfest, they were also playing the same stage one after the other. A little while later Phantom Planet announced on their Patreon that they would be touring with iDKHOW which cleared up how they would be playing on the same night. Phantom Planet had been Dallon's favorite band, and they had even played a show together last year. Lovejoy also playing the same stage on the same date was just an added bonus. It really felt like someone had looked at my Spotify playlist and then manifested this to occur. The day of was just as magical as I had anticipated for the months since I had found out. (I love how there are so many ways to get into Summerfest free or get free admission tickets. I was given a free admission ticket to be able to go. )
It was in the low 80's and sunny out, and I felt really good the whole day. I made my way to Summerfest around 2:15, and entered the main gate around 3:30ish. I had parked a few blocks away in a parking garage. The middle gate is actually right next to the Miller Lite Oasis stage, which is the stage they'd be playing on. Since the Phantom Planet account follows me on Instagram as well as one of the members, when you send them a message on Instagram it alerts them like a text would. Your message goes to the top, whereas other messages could easily get buried. I messaged Darren's account (the lead guitarist) shortly after I got there. (I had asked Darren about a week prior if it would be okay to meet up and say hi at the show. Most of their shows have meet n greet opportunities but since this was a festival they didn't have that option. Darren agreed that he would make it happen and quickly messaged back when I got there. I didn't want to cross any of their boundaries either.) There was a fenced off area to the side of the stage where the tour buses, and other employees hung out. Darren had said that the band were all off doing their own thing but he would let them know that I was there. (I originally thought this meant they were off exploring the festival, but it meant they were doing their own thing on the tour bus.) Darren and Andrew came out as I was walking over to the area. (Andrew is the new official drummer). (Their old drummer lives in the Midwest and is busy with being a dad. It would be harder for him to get together with the band since he isn't local, he was originally from Madison.) (Jason Schwartzmann was the original drummer of Phantom Planet before he pursued acting.) (When a band originates in Los Angeles crazy things happen. A now famous actor used to drum in my current favorite band?) I talked with Andrew and Darren for a couple minutes when Chris came out. I had thought I saw Chris before heading to the food vendors, but I wasn't 100% sure, but it was. (Chris is the touring bassist for this tour. Their actual bassist is also a dad, and is in Maroon 5, so he's usually busy touring with them.) I talked with them all for a little over 5 minutes before they had to go check their instruments before the show. Darren was wearing a black denim jacket and black jeans which I said was a crazy outfit with the heat. Since they had mainly been hanging out in an air conditioned bus, and it was much cooler in the shade it made sense though. They also hadn't explored the Summerfest grounds much due to the heat. It did feel hotter than I thought it would, but there were a lot of shady areas that were much cooler. Darren said that Alex would probably come out, (the lead singer), but that he was currently working on music in the back of the bus. I didn't wait too long before going to explore Summerfest. I didn't want to bother Alex before the show. For most of the year he has been taking care of his mom who actually passed away a week before tour started. A little over a month ago now. I think he is definitely still in the brunt of the grieving process, understandably so, especially since he didn't really have a father figure. I did get to interact with Alex after the show though. Writing music is one of the main ways he said helps him cope with things.
I walked around the grounds, and looked at the different vendors. I feel like I remember the Summerfest grounds being a lot bigger/spread out, but it definitely feel that way this time. Dunkin Donuts was giving out samples of their new icecream flavored iced coffees which included: Cookie dough, butter pecan, and mint chocolate chip. I tried the cookie dough which was pretty good. The Dunkin Donuts tent also had mirrors where you could apply gems to your face or put glitter in your hair, and a game set up where I think you could win a Dunkin Donuts bucket hat with donuts all over it. I saw a few people walking around with those on throughout the day. :P. There were so many cool artist vendors as well, including one who carves different musicians into records. You can custom order a record for them to carve into. I just looked at the business card and the company is called Astro Vinyl Art (like my dog). You can check them out at https://astrovinylart.com/. There was also a guy selling different guitar picks made out of different stones/gems, that actually play guitar pretty well apparently. Darren from Phantom Planet used to sell guitar picks similar to these years ago. You can look at the different guitar picks they were selling at Summerfest here: naturalcypicks.com . There was also a vendor selling custom made hand bags with different bands on them, like a Beatles handbag etc. There was a cute dog products vendor called "Dog is Good." They had shirts that said "Never Walk Alone" with a leash and a dog pictured. Similarly they had a shirt that said "Never camp alone" with a dog with a bucket hat on and a camping stick with a hot dog. You can also find them at dogisgood.com. I will definitely be buying products from them.
After browsing around a little bit I got a fresh squeezed lemonade, and eventually a big pizza slice. I sat in the shade by the lake for awhile too. I was going to get icecream too before heading back to the stage, but the line at Cedar Crest was long. I got to the front of the stage at around 6:10 with Phantom Planet starting at 6:30. I hadn't been to Summerfest since before pre-Covid, but for that particular stage it looks like they removed some of the risers in order to make a "pit" area that you can buy special access wristbands for. For the bands earlier in the day you can go up without needing a wristband. I'm glad I noticed this while visiting the guys when I had first gotten there. I was able to get a front row view for Phantom Planet. At 6:15 Phantom Planet came out on the stage and started setting up their equipment and testing the microphones. Usually they have tech people set up the instruments before the band comes on stage, but maybe you just do it yourself if you play earlier in the day. Phantom Planet played at 6:30, iDKHOW played at 8:30, and Lovejoy played at 10:15. For this particular show Phantom Planet was opening for iDKHOW, and iDKHOW was opening for Lovejoy. This meant that the crowd was a mix of each of the fans, as well as people just wandering in while exploring Summerfest. I think most of the fans there at the time weren't there specifically for Phantom Planet.
During the set Alex talked about the meaning behind some of the songs. He usually likes to leave the meaning of the songs he writes hidden and up to the listener's interpretation, but I love knowing the actual meaning. "Do the Panic" is about panic attacks. "Drive On" is about driving on the Pacific Coast Highway to clear your head. "Knowitall" is about a blind date gone wrong. Before playing "Balisong" Alex asked about the local laws for butterfly knives. For some reason when he asked that I thought he was going to bust one out and start doing tricks live on stage, but there's probably no way they would have let him have a knife on stage. :P During the set their was a kid in the crowd that was dancing and putting his all into the songs. Alex shouted him out, and said that he would give him a free T-shirt, and signed poster. He was wearing a Captain America shirt and had a pool noodle type of thing. I assumed they had just wandered in from Summerfest, but it turned out that his parents were fans. The look the kid gave Alex after the show was so awestruck. While Alex was on stage I noticed he had a giant A etched into his guitar. (I think they may have told this story before, but had forgot about it. He borrowed the guitar to one of his friends in 2005 before it went missing. In 2019 he came across it randomly in a thrift shop and had the employee check for the etching, and discovered it was his lost guitar.) Alex pointed out that he was wearing a "Back to the Future" themed shirt in honor of the 40th anniversary of "Back to the Future." (iDKHOW was named in reference to Back to the Future, the full band name being "I Don't Know How But They Found Me). Alex wore his jacket throughout the whole set so he was pouring sweat by the end of the set, and at one point shook his hair while leaning in next to Darren. Darren didn't seem to mind, but he was also covered in sweat at that point too. Phantom Planet played for an hour, and announced that they would hang around at the merch tent for anyone who wanted to talk with them. Phantom Planet also debuted their new song "Friction" which Alex had demo'd for us awhile back on Patreon.
While waiting near the tent Mary from Patreon noticed me, and came over with her nephew. I had met Mary at the show last Fall at the House of Blues in Chicago. While we were discussing the Patreon another Patreon member named Marissa came over and talked with us. She said that she was more of a lurker on the Patreon. We ended up getting a group picture with the Patreon crew, and then individual pics with each of us and the band. We also talked with the band for 5ish minutes before other people were waved in. Marissa hadn't gotten a solo picture with the band yet, but had taken pictures for other people talking to them. We tried to get back over to do a quick picture, but there was a lady who was kind of mean about it. But to be fair she had been waiting in line for over a half hour at this point and thought we were cutting in line. We felt bad so we just ended up going to the end of the line. We didn't even have to wait very long until we were able to take the picture. By then iDKHOW had just started their set. I talked for a few minutes with Marissa before heading over to watch them. It turned out that Mary lives in a suburb near Milwaukee, and Marissa lives in Northern Illinois. I will be able to actually go with fans of Phantom Planet to the local shows in the future, instead of dragging my friends along who have never heard of them or just know their song "California." California is Phantom Planet's most famous song, and they wrote it as the theme song for the OC. They were the most popular during the early 2000's, but I'm hoping they become well-known again. Although going to small venues to see them has been more intimate and fun, and being able to interact with them. For my solo picture with Phantom Planet I had them do a kick line. One fan the other day had, had them take a picture doing the "Blue Steel" look from "Zoolander." (This was my 4th Phantom Planet concert. They had been on hiatus 2008 until 2020 due to some of the members getting married and having kids. I first saw Alex in person when I traveled to LA to see Ryan Ross in concert, and became a bigger fan of their music in 2020 before they released "Devastator." I was sold after hearing a demo of "Through the Trees" on Alex's Instagram story, which is one of the songs on Devastator. They didn't do any shows that I know in 2021, but had a virtual meet n greet which I bought myself for my birthday that year.) Phantom Planet said that while they were at the merch tent, people on the Sky Glider started shouting "Phantom Planet!" and waved.
This was my 7th time seeing iDKHOW. (Although I had seen 4/7 shows in 2019 alone). During iDKHOWs set you could no longer be in the "pit" section without a wristband so I found a riser more towards the back. What is also new about Summerfest that I noticed is that they also have a center aisle for the security guards to walk through that they never had in the past. I could still see the band on the stage without them appearing like ants thankfully, but the megascreen was also helpful. I think this was my 6th time seeing iDKHOW? During iDKHOW's set Dallon (the lead singer) splits the crowd in half before having each side sing what he's singing. The crowd was already in half this time due to the center aisle being a thing. The center aisle had metal barriers on each side so fans could not enter. The metal barriers had little ledges on the inside which Dallon stepped on before taking a megaphone and shouting into the crowd. The megaphone was a new addition for this tour. What fascinates me is how Dallon's stage persona is vastly different from how he acts in person. Phantom Planet is sharing a tour bus with them and said that Dallon would never even think of using the megaphone on the bus. He is a very polite person that is a big gentleman. On stage he is cryptic, and mysterious which carries through onto his social media pages. His stage persona makes him so intriguing to watch persona, and I think it would lose it's charm if he wasn't the way he was on stage. Darren described how David Bowie was to Dallon. In person David Bowie was soft spoken, but on stage he was able to command the crowd, and had a different stage persona. In the past while Dallon did a cover of "Debra" at his 2019 shows he would ask you to cover your ears if you were under the age of 27 while he sang the song as a joke that you wouldn't be able to handle the adult content within the lyrics. For this set you had to cover your ears and close your eyes if you were below the age of 25 before they played their song "What Love". I am finally above the age of both 25 and 27 and can freely listen to Dallon sing now without covering my ears. iDKHOW used to be a 2 piece band until 2023 when Ryan Seaman was kicked out of the band for stealing $10,000 from Dallon. iDKHOW is now Dallon's solo act, but currently has three touring members. Anthony the touring guitarist has been touring with iDKHOW since 2021. Usually Dallon performs his song "No One Likes the Opening Band" and then has the opener sing lines of the song in retaliation, but they didn't do it with Summerfest. Probably because iDKHOW was technically opening for Lovejoy that night. The real meaning behind "No One Likes the Opening Band" is the fact that most people don't want to listen to the opening band and are just there for the headliner. The song challenges the listener to listen to the opening band because they just might like what they hear if they give them a chance. It's been fun to see the opener for iDKHOW sing a verse of the song at the shows.
When iDKHOW went off stage a surprising amount of people left the area as well. In 2023 Lovejoy was selling out shows, especially in Milwaukee even though they are originally from England. It was very strange to see. At Summerfest people like to get to the stages earlier in the day as well in order to get a closer spot. Lovejoy had also not played a concert all year, and had not been to the United States in over a year I believe. Lovejoy took a break from touring after abuse allegations were made (2024) about the lead singer Wilbur Soot, without any proof backing her claims. Her narrative made it seem like it had been a toxic relationship, and that Wilbur had been struggling with his mental health at the time. He was canceled with no proof after the allegations and lost a ton of followers, and was dropped by some of his influencer friends because they didn't want to lose their fans for "supporting an abuser." (Wilbur was a well known YouTuber before he started his band, which is how I discovered him in the first place.) It made me think about how before the internet we never knew much about a musician's or other famous person's lives. Things they would be canceled for now they never were due to people not knowing. Probably some of the past well-loved musicians have done questionable things but you never hear about it. I was able to get a closer spot to the stage due to this though. Lovejoy started playing about 45 minutes after iDKHOW got off the stage. I was a little closer then I had been with iDKHOW even, and could make out each band member without having any trouble. Wilbur looked really happy on the stage. In recent clips he's done he looked like he had been noticeably struggling, so it was great seeing him looking like himself again. (the allegations really took a big toll on his mental health.) They had arrived in Milwaukee the day before and Wilbur talked about going to a cheese bar, and eating warm cheese curds, and loving it. He said that they would be releasing their debut album later this year after releasing multiple EPs over the years.
Lovejoy played until around 11:35, which was a good time to start heading back to my car, due to a lot of people walking out of Summerfest at the time. I was able to walk within the crowd to the parking garage, and I never felt unsafe the whole day despite having gone alone. I got home at around 12:35am. I would have gotten home sooner but missed my exit onto the freeway the first time around. This day was definitely a highlight and probably my top favorite Summerfest memory.
