So, a little background about myself. I am a Milwaukee native. This is my second publication on a Madison show. And, my first time going to Taste of Madison. With that out of the way, let’s dive into this. Saturday, September 2nd, 2023, was arguably a hot day, by Wisconsin standards with a high in the 90 degrees. Luckily there are buildings creating a nice shadow over the crowd gathered on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Taste of Madison is well organized with food vendors, band merch vendors, and available clean port-apotties. Yes, those are important at a music festival. Especially a festival held at a State’s Capitol. The Capitol building behind the crowd offers a very unique picturesque view for the performing bands.
Breech
Breech is a four piece metal band. The band’s approach is a confident stance that says “we have a job to do”. This band got to work. Breech is very solid and well polished. The band is technical enough to hold the interest of the festival goers, yet not to the extreme to lose people. The set, though around five to six songs, was thoroughly thought through. I personally was impressed by the vocals. The inflections, pitches, and variety of vocal styles were on point. Included in the set list was JJOverdrive recognized, “Let Us Pray” and “Fiend”. You can find both songs on Breech’s Spotify page. I asked the vocalist about the song “Fiend” inquiring if the song was in reference to the now late Bray Wyatt. The vocalist lit up explaining that the song is actually a story from a killer’s perspective. Depicting a killer’s desire for their victim. I know it sounds relatively morbid, however, it is poetically romantic. Be sure to check out Breech on all media platforms.
Cairo Knife Fight
A two piece creative made of Nick Gaffaney (Lead vocals, drums, and keyboard, bass, and loops), and Grammy winning guitarist George Pajon Jr. As a drummer in a two piece punk band from Milwaukee Wisconsin, Hi/Jack, I was very curious about Cairo Knife Fight. Witnessing a mini wall of mini amplifiers with three Shure SM 57s miking the rig, heightened my curiosity even more. Both musicians are extremely talented and skilled. I highly encourage checking out their bios for more. The band blends a type of atmospheric rock and blues that I have never seen, or heard before. The guitar sounds were blended beautifully. The live loops by Nick were amazing. Of course since he is a drummer, everything was well timed and orchestrated. The set list consisted of five songs. “Churn” and “Nothing at All” were included in this masterpiece of a set. Definitely check out Cairo Knife Fight on all of their social media platforms.
Pistols At Dawn
Pistols At Dawn is a four piece band hailing from Atlanta Georgia. The show opens up with this ripping guitar solo by Will James. The drummer put me in the mind of a gladiator with the focus and vision of Neil Peart. I can neither confirm or deny if he said “Are you not entertained?” during the set. Full of surprises, the band broke into a cover of “Bulls on Parade” in the middle of their set. With Pistols at Dawn, you don’t just get one guitar solo, you get two! Side note, Will James’ outfit was complementary to the guitar. Pistols at Dawn closed out their set with “Fly”.
Otherwise
Otherwise is an energetic four piece band. Otherwise started off their set with “Die for You” and did not let off the gas pedal for the whole nine song set. Adrian Patrick (vocalist) is a commander of the stage. Just watch out for water tricks from time to time. I got a chance to catch up with Joe Conner (drummer) about this. “I told him to stand away from me when doing that”, replied Joe. I witnessed Joe taking a small towel and wiping off his laptop mid set, and did not miss a beat. The set list included “Exit Wound” “Crossfire” “Full Disclosure” and almost ended with “Soldiers”. Before “Soldiers” was a surprise cover. Granted, this is my first time seeing Otherwise live, I did not expect a cover of Blind Melon’s “No Rain”. Otherwise executed this perfectly. For good measure, right after “Soldiers”, Otherwise rolled into the ending of a cover, “Killing in the Name”. Otherwise speak for themselves. If you haven’t heard of them, go and check them out!
Taproot
Taproot has had a unique career. Here is to many more unique opportunities with their return, this year. Taproot’s line up consists of Stephen Richards (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Phil Lipscomb (bass), Jarrod Montague (drums), and a new guy, Taylor Roberts (lead guitar). Taproot took the stage dressed primarily in white. I later on got a chance to ask Phil about the white outfits. “We actually did this before. We were thinking since everyone normally dresses in all black, we decided to dress in all white. Something different”. Oddly enough, this is the reason why I dress in white when I perform. The added benefit is that you are a lot cooler in warm weather. Accompanying the band’s stage appearance are white scrims and chrome faced Mesa amplifiers.
I know I keep saying this, but this was the first time I have seen Taproot live. Stephen has that old school energy that I have seen before. During the band’s second song of the set, “Again & Again”, Stephen jumped into the middle of the crowd and stirred up an old fashion moshpit. This made my heart happy. At least who asked a security guard if he was ready, before jumping in. The festival itself was full of pleasant surprises. Taproot demonstrated one of their newer songs, “Favorite Song”. The recording features Elias Soriano of Nonpoint. Luckily, Elias is around, since Nonpoint was due up to close out the stage that night. It’s almost as if this was planned. I counted at least three times that mosh pits were stirred up during the set. Taproot closed out their set with their infamous song “Poem”. That’s when I jumped into the pit.
Taproot has a new album coming out September 29th, 2023, titled: “SC\SSRS”. “VIP (V\CT\M\PLAY)” is a single released off of the new album. Definitely check this out and the many awesome Taproot works on all media platforms!
Nonpoint
Here we are. The final band of the night at this stage. Number six! The five-piece behemoth! Nonpoint! In all honesty, the only band at this festival I have seen before. I am used to seeing Nonpoint in a red and black theme. However, this time, the theme color was green. Nonpoint gave a rollercoaster of a fourteen-song set. For those who have not seen Nonpoint before, their drummer, Robb Rivera, has his drum set rotated to see his high-hat side. I don’t know why this was a thing. I did notice that Robb uses Scorpion Percussion drum sticks. Elias (vocals) is one hell of a front man. I absolutely love his antidotes in introducing the songs.
I believe I entered the pit when Nonpoint played “The Truth”. First and foremost, because “The Truth” is a rocking song. Second, because it was technically their eleventh song on the set list. From there, I remained in the pit until the end of the show. So, through “In the Air Tonight” (yes, the Phil Collins Cover), “Alive and Kicking” and to finish it off with their flagship song “Bullet With a Name”.
Closing
To an outsider, Taste of Madison was a hot, kinda muggy festival. Don’t worry, that perception is only temporary. For when you are at these types of festivals, you become family really quickly. You get so lost in the moment, that weather is no longer a factor. You become connected to the rock collective. Taste of Madison, Breech, Cairo Knife Fight, Pistols At Dawn, Otherwise, Taproot, and Nonpoint, all you guys are like family, and all you guys rock!
Photos by Al Brzostowski
