LIVE REVIEW: Burn Bright MKE

WORDS BY CAMILA TRIMBERGER-RUIZ AND PAIGE KEARNeY

Late February marked Burn Bright, Milwaukee’s latest festival showcasing DIY’s most up-and-coming. The 14-band lineup curated by local promoter, JJ Kaiser, featured emo and alternative artists from the Midwest and beyond. Multiple EMMIE staff members made the trek out to Cudahy to two-step and eat one-too-many pizza bagels at the very famous X-Ray Arcade. Check out some of our favorite sets below.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

Arcadia Grey

Arcadia Grey, the highlight of Burn Bright Day One (in my humble opinion), DID NOT COME TO PLAY. The so-called Chicago “sparklepunk” band’s infectious energy was incredibly apparent, especially for their set starting before the sun went down (who knew a band could get a circle pit going at 5:30-). The crowd screaming “Skrrt Cobain” took the cake for me, that was until they played a punk cover of Phoebe Bridger’s “Kyoto”. As someone who has both of the aforementioned songs on every single playlist I’ve made in the past year, it’s safe to say I was in heaven. Aside from the electrifying music, the band’s quips (“This song is about being gay… or is it?”) kept everyone hanging onto their every word. Definitely my favorite part of Day One. Well… besides seeing my high school religion teacher at the shows (shout out to Mr Dineen). — PK

Equipment

It should be a common fact by now that Equipment is Wisconsin's DIY sweetheart. Though festival-goers were slowly filling the X-Ray Arcade throughout the afternoon, in the minutes leading up to Equipment’s set the venue got full. At least five audience members were donning their “#1 QUIPPY FAN” shirts sold for the band's recent tour. While EMMIE staffers managed to secure spots front and center they were lost the second “Hot Young Doctors” began and we were sucked into the mosh. Despite lead singer Nick Zander apologizing profusely during voice breaks for audio issues, you couldn’t hear them over the sound of the crowd screaming along. Despite their sophomore album, Alt. Account, dropping only six months ago, Milwaukee made sure to let Equipment know they knew every word. – CT

Saturdays at Your Place

You would think that the most impressive part of Saturdays at Your Place is their ability to produce nothing but bangers, but it’s actually the fact that their drummer, Gabe Wood, is also the lead vocalist. Though I wouldn’t consider myself a die-hard fan of the group, I slowly realized over the course of their thirty-minute set that I knew all of the words to all of their songs. I suppose this might be due to the band’s small discography but it's a feat nonetheless that like an emo-sleeper agent, I had all of their lyrics subconsciously memorized. After a nonstop singalong, venue employees had to prop the doors open and let the 20º air in to cool everyone off before Charmer and Ben Quad took to the stage. – CT

SUNDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

TRSH

Let me start out by saying “Zoo Wee Mama fr”, just like TRSH did during their first voice break. These dudes not only put an intoxicating buzz in the air with their performance, but they also introduced this incredibly playful energy. They are absolutely hilarious. Between their witty, relatable lyrics (“My research paper is due at 11:59 on Tuesday”), and their incredible segues into songs (“This song is about fruit snacks and how they are scientifically proven to taste better when they’re bought at Sam’s”), the band’s set was astonishingly fun. Full of songs about fruit snacks and taco Tuesdays, they had a little something for everyone, and it showed. TRSH was electric, and the crowd wasn’t afraid to match their energy and get into the music (and the pit). — PK

Hey, ily!

I’ve been following Hey, ily! since their first Wisconsin show, which was coincidentally the reason for the first article I wrote for EMMIE. The Montana-based power-pop group opened with a cover of Jimmy Eat World’s, “Bleed American,” which had everyone and their mom fighting for the mic before the sun even had a chance to set. I was hit in the face twice by the falling stands, but it was a welcome pain as I sang along to tracks such as “DigitalLung.EXE” and “Don't Talk About It (Your Weird Complex).” At one point, frontman Caleb Haynes made his way off the stage and into the pit to mosh while playing guitar, which was as stressful as it was awesome. – CT

Stars Hollow

DISCLAIMER: I got a little preoccupied with stage diving and crowd surfing at the end of their set (who can blame me? I couldn’t resist), so in turn, I was a bit distracted when they rocked the crowd with their grand finale. Before that though? Oh my god, YEAH. Heads did NOT stop banging. Hair was flying all over. People were catapulting themselves off the stage. Everyone was soaked in sweat that wasn’t theirs… Okay, that doesn’t sound nearly as appealing as it was fun… This was my first time seeing Stars Hollow and wow, what an introduction, honestly. Joined by guitarist Louie Barlaw of Wisconsin’s own Tiny Voices, Stars Hollow came in screaming about wanting to be a tadpole, backed by incredibly charged and heavy instrumentals, and I was HOOKED. Now I’m counting down the days until they release their sophomore album at the beginning of April. They are NOT a band to be missed. — PK

Carly Cosgrove

I spent an embarrassingly large chunk of winter break watching Quinton Review’s Nickelodeon show recaps to prepare for Carly Cosgrove’s set. To say that the Philadelphia trio closed out the festival weekend with a bang would be an understatement. Their blend of math rock and emo-pop sounds paired with the agonized voice of frontman Lucas Naylor had crowd members losing their minds on a Sunday night. Despite avoiding the pit to hold my ground at the front, I still managed to get battered and bruised just by being on the fringes. By the end of the set, most of the crowd looked like they had taken a dip in Lake Michigan. It might have smelled crazy in there but the crowd made sure to let Carly Cosgrove know their Wisconsin debut did not go unappreciated. –CT