Tim Schweiger and the Middlemen

Tim Schweiger and the Middlemen at Crunchy Frog in Green Bay, WI

By TJ
July 10, 2009
After the fireworks I hiked from Fetaz Mediterranean Bistro on Washington St to 301 S Broadway to catch a show at one of my favorite spots #4 Crunchy Frog. A little winded from the speed walking and people dodging, I regained my composure with a nice ice cold PBR on draft. Tim and the Middlemen were sound checking and I was getting ready to rock! Tim started off the set with a dark, kind of rolling blues vibe coming off of Tyler's bass and Amos' drums while Tim was working up some mojo between the Fender Jazzmaster guitar and the hot glowing tube amp. It was perfect for working on building up a soulful song to an explosion of guitar and drums. Tim's vocals are just a tad rustic but his lyrics seem to self examine love, feelings, and friendship than can get him caught up in an emotastic blues blast that can only be channeled via guitar or microphone.

On to a few more songs and the were Middlemen into some high energy fast tempo hard rock with Tim delivering the hooks. Amos' drums had incredible power, he is solid and has a spine to keeping this three piece rhythmicly in check. While some bands get trapped in a genre Tim Schweiger and the Middlemen left that one trick pony a long time ago. By exploring early vintage blues and adding a mix sraight of modern rock and the energy of post-punk. You really get the sense of their independent sound and song structure. There are various layers that this band works within and it really fills out the sound of this three piece. It is hard to keep Tim and all his energy on stage, with the middlemen locked into a grove he will jump off stage, wander off into the crowd, maybe even throw a few darts or so, it's real entertaining, I always like seeing musicians get lost in their music and have fun with it, as opposed to playing on stage in an imaginary display case. Playing what seemed to be a fairly fresh set of original tunes mixed in with some older stuff they kept the energy high all night and left a few spots open for the dramatic blues rock and slide guitar. Tim Schweiger and the Middlemen hail from Neenah and play around here at various clubs all the time. At the sets end the patrons demanded more. They played another song but not until after they reminded themselves this was their second for the day. They played a day performance at the Exclusive Company before they got to rocking The #4. Tim Schweiger and the Middlemen have music on I-tunes and CDs at the Exclusive Company. I highly recommend this band if you're looking for some energetic original rock, or heavy blues rock! For more photos and music click here! Tim Schweiger, vocals/guitars; Tyler Ditter, bass/vocals; Amos Pitsch, drums/vocals.

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