Rage Against the Machine at Alpine

[sgtcluels]

Nice! My buddy got 6 seated, so I'm going to use those and find someone to buy my 2 Lawns. I'm so jazzed, QOTSA and RATM. I think I peed myself.

[PaulRigdon]

Did anyone go to this show? We went and Alpine has gone to hell!

 

First off it took us over two hours to get to alpine from Muskego. It was complete disarray. Once we got to the parking lot it was complete havoc. Mud everywhere, no parking attendants, cars parked where ever they felt like. Cars were triple parked. Complete BS

 

The show itself was pretty good, even though we missed about 45 minutes of Rage due to not being able to get into the parking lot.

 

The way out was the worst thing I've ever been involved with. it was like a scene out of lord of the flies. Cars stuck, people pushing them, making their own lanes. Pandamonium. So after about 2 hours of not moving we finally move and basically have to push our car out because the parking lot was pure mud. Then when we get out of there its like 6 teenage girls directing traffic out of the place. the sherrif is also standing next to some drunk guy she let help direct traffic out.

 

It was unreal. I am assuming that all the rumors are true that Alpine is closing because they really dont give a crap anymore. I feel bad for the people going to Dave this weekend.

[BrewCrewForever]

I wanted to go, but ended up not being able to afford it. But if you say it was that bad. Im glad I didn't go.

[RockCoCougars]

It was unreal. I am assuming that all the rumors are true that Alpine is closing because they really dont give a crap anymore. I feel bad for the people going to Dave this weekend.

Alpine used to be awesome. They usually pulled all of the best summer concerts. It seemed like they had a big concert over there every week or two in the summer, and I've seen some awesome shows there. Two things led to it's downfall.

 

1. Walworth County police/politicians/citizens got fed up (understandably) with the carnage that happened before/during/after each show. There is just not sufficient infastructure for people to get in/out of the venue. Several years ago due to all the arrests/citizen complaints the county enacted several regs for Alpine to follow. Only so many shows a summer (5-6?) and no 'weeknight' concerts.

 

2. The music business has changed big time and Alpine is not aligned well with the big time concert promoters (clear channel, etc.). Alpine used to be considered THE Milwaukee stop for summer concerts. Now, most big summer shows skip Milwaukee all together, or play Summerfest or the Marcus. It seems that most of the big acts play the big outdoor venue on the South side of Chicago.

 

It's really too bad, but I think Alpine will close as soon as they get a good deal for the land. They'll probably build a Dell's type ski resort out there with an indoor waterpark and everything. Sometimes "progress" sucks.

[gypcasino]

because they really dont give a crap anymore.

Did they ever give a crap? The place has been a dump for as long as I can remember.

[Nader Raider Tim]

I went and it was amazing. Getting there was a big hassle, it wasn't any worse than I heard. Rage was, well Rage, great musicians spreading a powerful message.

 

Leaving there was truly chaos though. With all the people they had working there I can't believe that they didn't have more people directing traffic. After about an hour we just did the jerky thing and and cut across field, and the few people directing traffic actually stopped traffic and let us in. So I guess it pays to be jerk. Sorry, for anyone who followed parking lot etiquite.

[homer]

I was at Alpine for Pearl Jam a few years ago and we found this 'secret' little road way near the theater itself that took us right out of there in like 10 minutes. I was home on the east side having a beer within an hour of the last song.

[BrewCrewForever]

Its a great place to see a concert, but its all the other stuff that sucks about the place. The getting/leaving there.

[gypcasino]

I saw Def Leppard there in '88 and I don't think we got out of lot until 3AM.

[brettac1]

First off it took us over two hours to get to alpine from Muskego. It was complete disarray. Once we got to the parking lot it was complete havoc. Mud everywhere, no parking attendants, cars parked where ever they felt like. Cars were triple parked. Complete BS

 

The show itself was pretty good, even though we missed about 45 minutes of Rage due to not being able to get into the parking lot.

 

I think this is pretty much your own fault (not the parking thing). This was pretty much THE concert of the summer in Wisconsin, you have planned it well enough to leave way early to avoid the hassle. I mean, if you're going to buy an $80 ticket how do you not get there early? And you completely missed Queens of the Stone Age? That almost defeats the purpose of going. They were awesome. If you missed 45 minutes of Rage (they only played for about 75), you paid $80 bucks for a half hour of concert?

 

We left my house in Elderon around noon, and met my friend at a gas station a few miles from Eagle and parked my car there. We just took 67 to ES and got to Alpine and were parked at 4:00. Then we went up to Gate 2 to get in (behind 40 people, tops) and wound up in about the third row of the lawn to the right of the soundboard and stuff. Me and my friend eventually went down my the concrete area by the concession stand on the right side of the lawn and were just hanging out when some awesome girl that was on Deck 1 discreetly told us to come and watch the show up there, just to keep it a secret that Decks 1 and 2 were open for anyone. So we ended up getting to watch QOTSA and Rage on the deck with about 10 people. That was phenomenal. I only got hit with a little mud when were in the lawn when the opener was playing (Coup - they were absolutely awful), and we had bought some ponchos for $.90 before the show, so outside of my jeans and shoes I stayed dry.

 

We were also able to avoid all the riff-raff, of which there was a lot. We did get to see 7-10 people get hauled out on stretchers and stuff, and some people who were on some pretty bad trips or just generally very messed up. All in all probably one the greatest concert "experiences" I've ever had, even though it took out two hours to get out of the lot and we ended up getting back to my house at 6:00 AM today.

 

Here's the pics I took (I had to take some just because of how awesome our position was):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9001946@N08/sets/72157601655338488/

[PaulRigdon]

First off we ended up getting tickets at the last minute for $25. So no big deal. However it IS the parking people's fault for us being late. It should not take 2 hours to go 2 miles. That is insanity. We also were not the only ones to do that. Plus some people work for a living and can't leave at noon to go to a show at 7pm.

 

you find it acceptable to take over two hours to get out of the parking lot after the show brett?

[brettac1]

I work 40 hours a week for a living, too, and I took vacation, because I planned. I bought my tickets at 10:30 AM the day they went on sale. My drive was four hours. You should have known it was going to take that long when you are going the last minute (and you really shouldn't whine since it only cost you $25). It's not Milwaukee with all kinds of entrances to the place. One way in, one way out. If you're going to go later, you're going to wait. That's how Alpine always has been and always will be. This is how it looked when we got there yesterday:

 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1367/1234131389_cef001d6e3.jpg?v=0http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1367/1234131389_cef001d6e3.jpg?v=0

 

Of course it's not acceptable that it took 2 hours to get out, but you could have also bought VIP parking, which I think is $20 (we didn't either). I didn't really care because I had a good time at the show (except for the $10 pack of Marb Reds that my friend bought that we split, that sucked). You don't even live that far away and you got to see one of the most important bands of the last 20 years, who is only playing a handful of dates this summer, in an atmosphere that was just electric. To me it was a small price to pay to wait, even though I had to make a four hour drive back home. I was in no hurry, it was a Friday night.

[thebruce44]

I was there and it was awesome. Yea, the traffic was pretty ridiculous, but the show was amaizing. Tom Morello is just ridiculous. Did anyone else notice the part where he appeared to pull out the cord on his guitar and use it to play? I am not sure how that works, but whatever.

 

Me and my buddy left Evanston, IL at 2:30 and got there around 6:30, so a 4 hr drive that would normally be 1.5-2 hours...but part of the problem was getting out of northern Chicago which was pretty beat up from the storm the night before.

 

Coming out of the concert I thought was kinda cool. It was surprising we didn't see any crashes or anyone get hit, but everyone was helping everyone else get their cars out. As we were walking to our car, we probably stopped and pushed 3-4 cars, then when we got stuck about 4 people came and helped me out.

 

All in all, it was a great experience and for that reason I am not going to complain.

[brettac1]

Did anyone else notice the part where he appeared to pull out the cord on his guitar and use it to play? I am not sure how that works, but whatever.

 

Yeah, it's the cord from his pickup. That's ridiculous. To see him play live was unreal. It's one thing to make those noises in a studio with production tricks and stuff, but to do it live shows how amazing he is. There is absolutely without question no one who plays like he does. He also had a string break during "Freedom", but then he was able to switch guitars, because I'm pretty sure it was during Zach's speech.

 

It was totally worth it for me once they played "Take the Power Back". We heard them soundcheck it when we were waiting to get in, but they didn't play it at Coachella or any of the Rock the Bells dates, so I totally didn't expect to hear it.

[Roscoe Chill]

I don't know, I kind of find it funny that people are talking about how Alpine Valley doesn't care and doesn't get any more good shows after an outstanding (and rare) show like Rage Against The Machine last night, and with Dave Matthews Band playing tonight and tomorrow at the same venue.

 

Of course it was muddy, it poured for about an hour...again. It has rained 19 out of 24 days in August. To think that the parking lot wouldn't be muddy is like my buddy making fun of me for bringing a rain suit because it wasn't raining when we left. As Brett shows in his picture, it was fine when we arrived about the same time. Then it started to rain, as expected.

 

Yes, getting out of there is ridiculous, as it always is, and always has been. Next time you're better off setting out your lawn chairs and having a night cap just as you would before a show. Or if that's not your thing, leave the show early if it bothers you so bad. And again, cars getting stuck in the mud is the fault of Mother Nature, not anything else.

 

I loved the show. And we got out pretty damn quick after watching cars move quickly from what I assume was preferred parking, we went over a small hill to get there in my buddy's jeep, after finaggling some cars to give enough room to let us through and we were gone.

[gypcasino]

...Zach's speech...

Whoa. He gave a speech? Who'd a thunk it?http://static.yuku.com//domainskins/bypass/img/smileys/tongue.gif

[brettac1]

Yeah, and I misspoke, it wasn't during "Freedom", it was during "Wake Up".

 

EDIT -

Mudslide action:

[BrewCrewForever]

Yeah Brett, Morello is pretty much God on guitar. Dude is the best when it comes to crazy effects and such. Im rather jealous I did not go, those pictures you took were great.

[thebruce44]

It's one thing to make those noises in a studio with production tricks and stuff, but to do it live shows how amazing he is. There is absolutely without question no one who plays like he does.

 

Yea, I wasn't really expecting it to sound like their albums, or at least for it to not sound spot on with just one man and his guitar, but it was absolutely perfect. It also looked like he was using a pencil or comb during "People of the Sun" and during another song he was playing with one hand while tunning his guitar in and out to make the proper sound. Completely out of this world.

 

And as for Zach's speech, I am not a political person but they are pretty hardcore and passionate and its hard not to get amped up when someone is screaming at you:

 

"They're not scared of us, they're scared of you......WAKE UP...WAKE UP...!"

[RockCoCougars]

After watching the video, I have to ask. Were there ANY chicks at this concert?

[sgtcluels]

After watching the video, I have to ask. Were there ANY chicks at this concert?

 

Yeah a fair amount actually. More then your normal rock show. The show was great. I didn't care for Queens set, as they played their more aggressive music and I dig their laid back stuff more. I thought the Coo was ok, they started off strong and then took a huge down fall quickly. And where are they from again? Oakland what?

 

We got to the venue really early to avoid the traffic, got into the lot around 4:30 or so. No traffic at all. Getting out was pretty rough for a little bit, probably go out about 45 mintues after the show (After 30 minutes of letting traffic settle into a flow). The crowd getting out was pretty good, until we got to the concession stand. Where some jerks decided to show their head. Pushing the crowd as if it'll make the line go any faster, I elbowed and went off on them nicely. Punk kids, and then some jerk threw a muddy towel into the Crowd from a deck, and guess who it hit? Yup me.. I managed to avoid the mud (I forgot my change of clothes) till then. I hope they go on tour and cut a new album.

 

And Tom is god... he was impressive during Audioslave and even more wicked with Rage.

[brettac1]

The girls that were there that I saw were way more messed up than the guys. I saw a lot of them almost fall down. Like I was on the far left edge of the first deck and I don't know how many of them almost bowled right into me. I saw a lot of crazy stuff go down where I was, since that's where the medical area was. And a lot of public urination into the tigerlilys planted around the deck. The good thing was, once QOTSA came on, people pretty much just dug the music for the most part. It was on the edge of out of control when I was down near the front of the lawn during The Coup.

 

And then that railing collapsed, that was kind of crazy.

 

I thought The Coup was awful, and I was slightly familiar with them before.

[bigredrobbo]

I had my fill of Rage fans at Coachella in April, so Rage fans + mud + Alpine Valley 12 year olds directing traffic?

 

Nein danke...

[cweber39]

The place was still a mud pit for the Dave concert on Sunday night. It smelled like a farm because the whole hill was covered in hay, still funny watching people take a tumble or lose a shoe in the mud.