The Chicago Blog

The normal flow of Clark street in Andersonville was interrupted this weekend for the neighborhood’s 45th annual Midsommarfest. Bars and restaurants that operate on Clark street between Foster and Catalpa celebrated an injection of new traffic as Chicagoans came to see live bands, sample local food, and drink copious amounts of alcohol at some of the most distinctive bars in the city. Being a resident of this neighborhood I could not pass up this event, and I spent most of my weekend enjoying this two day party along one of my favorite stretches in the city.

The first thing that people will notice after entering this festival (and hopefully paying the $5 suggested donation so the chamber can continue to host these events) is that there is no ticketing system to purchase food and drinks from vendors. The ticket system is something that is annoying to both customers and vendors, and even last week during the Taste of Chicago preview many restaurants voiced criticism of this system.

The food was reasonably priced to the extent that it seemed like some of the vendors were underselling themselves. People could purchase an extravagant hot dog for just $4! There were a wide variety of food vendors there, so there was something for everyone. However, I cannot extend the same compliments to the drink vendors. There was only a limited selection of domestic draft beer (read: bad beer) and it was all overpriced. Cups started at $5. This was initially upsetting to me, so I walked down to Hopleaf to grab some craft beer (read: good beer) for the same price. Most of the bars located within the boundaries of the festival did not allow their alcohol outside, which was another setback to the fun factor of this festival. But then I found that Farragut’s, a quaint neighborhood bar that I frequent on the weekends, allowed its customers to bring drinks outside. And better yet, their tap selection starts at $4. I hope that next year the festival organizers will realize that we don’t want overpriced Bud Lite. We want reasonably priced craft beer, preferably from a local brewery such as Half Acre or Goose Island.

The highlight of Midsommarfest is the bands. I was surprised to see that I recognized many of the bands playing this year, including Spazmatics, Maggie Speaks, Wedding Banned, and Too White Crew. There were over 50 different performances throughout the weekend, so it was difficult to catch all of them. However, one band stood out among the rest of the crowd: Wedding Banned.

Wedding Banned is an appropriate name for a band playing in a predominately gay neighborhood. I first saw them play last December at Daddios, a nightclub in Bloomington, Illinois, and I instantly became a fan of their outrageous act. Their look is reminiscent of hair metal bands from the 1970s, with the four guys sporting oversized and backcombed hair. At Midsommarfest they covered everything from Prince’s “Purple Rain” to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Their extensive set list undoubtedly has at least a handful of songs that everybody will like.

The female vocalist, Linda Ballzenstein, wore a run-of-the-mill green dress with glasses and her (real) hair tied up. Then during a rendition of “Hey Mickey,” which was aptly titled “Hey Vinnie” while proclaiming her love for lead guitarist Vinnie Van Action, she ripped off the dress, got rid of the glasses, and took her hair out of the tie. She spent the rest of the concert in a revealing black dress that left little to the imagination. When it began to rain towards the end of their set, Ballzenstein jumped off the stage and continued her performance among the crowd. This move convinced many people who began running for cover from the rain to stay for the rest of the concert. Wedding Banned definitely knows what the residents of Andersonville like.

Even though Ballzenstein’s performance was unexpected and well-received by the audience, the highlight of the concert was front man and lead singer Mayor Manaconda, who regularly takes swigs from a bottle of Jack Daniels between songs and never passes up an opportunity to remind the crowd how drunk he is. He knows how to make the audience laugh, and his antics ensure that everyone in the crowd is having fun watching the band. Manaconda’s monologues between each song give the band a memorable personality. I hope to see more of these guys at next year’s Midsommarfest!

Andersonville’s Midsommarfest is an amazing experience. It caters to the diverse demographics of the community by offering booths for everything including a sex shop, several artisans, and of course the famous puppet bike. Although the weekend was cursed with on again off again rain, this did not stop the friendly crowd from having fun. I’ll be back at Midsommarfest next year because I know that it will not disappoint.

Tags: Andersonville, farragut's, Festivals, Goose Island, half acre, hop leaf, maggie speaks, midsommarfest, spazmatics, too white crew, wedding banned