Street Team Saw Fever Marlene @ Summerfest

For the past several years, as Summerfest approaches I always say I’m not going, citing my distaste for large drunken crowds and snobbish taste in beer as the reasons. Then i get chided because it is a music festival not a beer tasting party. Then I remember, oh yeah, I like music. Spurred by a dead-end tip that Andrew Bird was going to be opening for some band I’d never heard of, I decided it might be worth braving the herd. I was not terribly disappointed, instead, I was delighted to be introduced to the musical manifestations of Scott Starr and Kevin Dunphy, a handsome duo by the stage name of Fever Marlene.

In searching for proof or denial of the Bird rumor I searched Fever Marlene’s website and got a dose of danceable rock compelling enough to ride my bike to the grounds. Honestly – the sound on stage, playing over concrete and metal bleachers, does not equal the same sound from their recordings. In my own private listening space I’m content to just do the chair rock and go about my business. Sitting in front of them up on stage I was galvanized by the raw attitude the music effused. At a festival of many less than exciting bands, these guys pulled in a very attentive crowd. From what it looked like, half at least knew half the songs, the rest were just drawn in by the half-electro, half-rock, all good beats. The best songs, I noted, were lip-synched by the crowd – Red Fire and We Are All Colors – both of which you can hear on their new album, “Civil War”. If you get the chance, check out one of their upcoming shows, it’s well worth it.