The Doubler

In week two of the Fest Quest, I have decided to double-down and attend the Milwaukee Air and Water Show and Pridefest. Featuring theme songs of "Highway to the Danger Zone" and "It's Raining Men" both weekend events were a celebration of men in uniforms.

The Air and Water show was scheduled for Friday afternoon, as well as daytime performances on Saturday and Sunday. The show is free, unless you choose the reserve seating, and can be seen and heard all over Milwaukee. The center of the show is the newly refurbished Bradford Beach, which is absolutely spectacular and becoming a big draw in MKE. Many of us remember Bradford Beach as an empty, smelly, litter and glass filled piece of lakefront. It now looks like a stretch of waterfront transported from Florida or California with dozens of volleyball nets, work-out equipment, picnic tables, playground equipment, food stands and Milwaukee's prerequisite beer vendors.



The show was canceled on Saturday, leading to huge crowds Sunday. We did the slow drive down Lincoln Memorial, and settled on sneaking onto a eastside parking garage rooftop to see the Blue Angels. With only about a half dozen other viewers, we managed to avoid the crowd and protect the baby's ears, all while getting an excellent vantage point for the performance.


Pridefest is a staple MKE Fest that is early in the season and located on the Henry Maier Festival Grounds. We attended Pridefest during the afternoon and evening on Saturday, missing the headliners, but there was never a break in the entertainment. In a few short hours we saw a GSX, heavy rock band from NY, a leather fashion show, The Windy City Beauties, and listened to the Shondes, a classic rock/feminist punk band. The clear favorite was The Windy City Beauties, which was a high energy drag review, that opened with a full company performance of "It's Raining Men" as homage to the tornado that rolled through the fest a few years ago.

On to the ratings:

Milwaukee Air and Water Show
Entertainment: Paul, The Blue Angels alone are worth the trek
Drink: Bud Light, $6.50 Miller products and a variety of Pina Colada-type stands
Food: Ham and Swiss on Rye, Bradford Beach stands, plus a host of traveling stands
Cost: Free
Bathrooms: McGillicuddy's
Family Friendly Adult Fun Spectrum: Disney World, great for all ages

Pridefest
Entertainment: Paul, extremely entertaining even without seeing the headliners.
Drink: Miller Lite, $6 Miller products
Food: Jimmy Johns Delivered, ever present Summerfest vendors Pridefest-style featuring hot roasted nuts and other fan favorites
Cost: $15 at the gate
Bathrooms: Trinity
Family Friendly Adult Fun Spectrum: Vegas, with a large and active kids area during the day, and a guess that Stanley Kubrick would be present by closing time.

Ratings

Entertainment is on the Beatles Scale from Ringo to John. Ringo is fun, however not terribly engaging and cannot stand alone as single act. George shows glimpses of brilliance, however is relegated as a supporting feature. Paul is excellent, great for singing along and definitely worth the price of admission. John is the greatest ever.

Drink is based on the Beer Scale from Miller Lite to Guinness. Miller Lite is okay in a pinch, but almost anything else would be better. Bud Light is good, ordinary and passable. Lakefront Local Acre is excellent, intriguing, and an excellent surprise. Guinness is classic greatness that stands the test of time.

Food is based on the Sandwich Scale from Bologna on white bread, boring; Ham and Swiss on rye, ordinary; Jimmy Johns delivered, amazing; to Italian combo with sweet and hot peppers, stuff of legend.

Cost will report the costs of admission, beer, and access to discounts.

Bathrooms will be on the Public Bathroom Comparison Scale from State Street BW3, strangely disgusting; McGillicuddy’s, long lines; Trinity, clean and available; and finally, Das Old German Beer Hall, strangely entertaining.

The Family Friendly vs. Adult Fun Spectrum will go from Fantasea Dolphin Show at the Shedd Aquarium, to Disney World, to Vegas, to Stanley Kubrick Movie.