It would probably take me hours to go into detail about the amount of punk rock shows I have been to. I often chuckle when people make fun of the way someone dresses in public, because if you are ‘punk’ the whole purpose is to make a spectacle. Clothing is a facade that serves no purpose but to impress others.
I started going to shows at Nordic before I even moved to Sioux Falls in 1991, and was fortunate to have a roommate who was older than me and a private security guard at the shows, so he would occasionally sneak me in.
I got to know all the players, musicians, promoters and regulars. To this day my 2 favorite bands at the shows were Eight Bark (from Chicago) and God’s Favorite Band (from Mpls).
I still listen to punk rock on a daily basis, I still love the humor and stupidity of it all. Whenever I am having a bad day, it always makes me smile.
I first want to say that Nancy Halverson and crew knocked it out of the park. I think only 2 concerts had to be completely cancelled, and a couple, including Friday night’s show had to end early due to weather. We expected that.
While they planned on 30 concerts this year, they plan to have 50 next year, I’m excited about it.
Here are some changes I would like to see made next year to make Levitt even better;
• Allowing people to bring their own beer or wine. I think it should be limited to that and NOT liquor. I also think that if people bring their own, they should have to get an ID badge. While JJ’s did a fine job, I think the city council could change the very simple ordinance that says Falls Park West (where the Levitt resides) to allow this. It really is as simple as an ordinance change.
• Put in permanent bike racks. I think they could be easily be put in along the sidewalk on the West side of the restroom. I do know that FAB is working with the city to do something better and I appreciate it.
• Plant more shade trees around the grounds. I also think that they should get a sponsor to put an awning coming off the restroom to the East.
• Take down bag search signs. You can’t search people’s bags without a warrant of probable cause. Maybe a sign that says “Suspicious bags subject to search.”
• No pets allowed. This of course would require a city ordinance that basically says pets are not allowed to the Levitt grounds area. JazzFest has NOT allowed pets for years. It’s not good for their health and they don’t want to be there anyway.
• Have Friday and Saturday night concerts from 8-10 PM. It was disappointing to see a concert end at 9 PM right when the sun was going down. As I understand it noise ordinance is 11 PM.
• Move the restroom drinking fountains to the Eastside of the building. Those fountains sit in the sun ALL day long, I have never gotten a cold drink of water from them, at best tepid.
• Don’t bring a lawn chair if you don’t need to. This of course will be something people who are attending will have to do on their own. I never sat in a chair all season long and only sat on the ground a few times. Dance and enjoy yourself.
I think with some minor tweaks (I think Levitt will propose some of their own) the 2020 season will be fantastic.
Kory & the Fireflies played the last show of the season last night.
It was a great season, only 2 concerts got fully cancelled (?) and tonight’s concert ended after about 4 songs due to lightning and rain. One more tomorrow night to wrap it up with local rockers Kory & the Fireflies.
I took this picture last night of the accordion player from the High Kings.
And I saved all my drink tickets from the concerts. Ironically, the guy who complained about not being able to bring his own beer bought quite a few drinks.
It’s too bad, because it looks like the rain may be way later or go around us. They also stopped the show last night at 8 PM. But hey, better safe than sorry.
I was looking forward to tonight’s band.
I also have been making some rough estimates of the crowd count. The first show was probably around 1,500 to 2,000 people, since then it has hovered at around 500 people during the week and last night around that 1,000 mark. There has also been plenty of parking and people have told me they haven’t had any trouble finding something close. I have also noticed people are car pooling, which is good.
Here’s some pictures from last week’s shows and some fun last night.
