Summer = Here

With sunscreen slathered and sold-out tickets in hand, my brother and I kept a Birle sibling tradition alive on Saturday as we braved the crowds and heat at KROQ’s annual Weenie Roast. An all-day outdoor rock concert with an awesome lineup of 10+ bands is always a great way to start summer.

This was our fourth Weenie Roast. Over the years, we’ve been fortunate enough to see some great performances by the Strokes, Beastie Boys, Bad Religion, Velvet Revolver, the Hives, Modest Mouse, The Killers, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, Kings of Leon, and Weezer, to name a few. My brother and I don’t have too many overlapping interests (He doesn’t read Jane Austen or watch Disney movies—can you believe that guy?!), so it’s great to be able to spend a day together and enjoy a lot of the bands that provided the soundtrack to our high school and college years.

I must admit that I have to kind of psych myself up into going to the Weenie Roast. It can be a taxing environment at times. Alcohol and profanity flow freely, and my close proximity to illegal substances definitely challenges my comfort! Oh, and someone spilled beer on my TOMS this year, so that was awesome.

On a high note (figuratively—well, for me, anyway…), there was much less Ed Hardy clothing worn this year, the crowd was downright friendly, and the bands were awesome. I was pleasantly surprised by Paramore’s energetic performance and Spoon’s great set. It was so fun to see Devo perform “Whip It” with their Energy Dome hats, and to see Courtney Love—she seemed sober and much more put-together than I anticipated. But Scott Weiland and the Stone Temple Pilots were definitely the stand-out performers. Scott is quite a showman! I had such a fun day, and I can’t wait to go back next year!