Two years ago, while waiting for Fitz and the Tantrums, I made my best music discovery of the 45th Summerfest. They were a percussion-heavy group from Lafayette, Louisiana called Royal Teeth and they blew me away. This year, they opened for Timeflies at the Miller Lite Oasis and, once again, they did not disappoint. When you watch and listen to Royal Teeth, you can really tell that they really love what they do. Their music is positive and uplifting and they have a great stage presence. They really make me want to see them at a smaller, more intimate venue where the fans are there to see them and not whomever is playing after (Unfortunately, I missed a show of theirs at Mad Planet in February).
Both times I have seen them, their set has been highlighted by an exuberant cover of The Knife’s “Heartbeats” (a sing made more popular through Jose Gonzalez’s cover). It is a cover that is full of energy, fun, and beautifully sung by lead vocalist, Nora Patterson. I saw the show with three friends who I sort of dragged there, they not knowing Royal Teeth and (ironically enough) waiting for Fitz and the Tantrums at the Briggs and Stratton Big Backyard a little later). After Royal Teeth’s upbeat 45-minute set, all my friends agreed that they were a band they definitely wanted to see again and a hidden gem among the early evening acts.
Honestly, there were only two downsides to the show. First, their set was only 45 minutes long. Personally, I wish they would have been able to play for at least an hour. They would have had plenty of time be Timeflies’ headlining spot at 10. The second downside was the fact that they were opening for Timeflies. Royal Teeth would have been much better suited opening for Fitz again. This was partially because of their differences in genre and partially because of the differences in crowds. The Timeflies crowd seemed to be made of teeny-boppers in backwards snapbacks, bro-tanks, and midriffs while the (much smaller) Royal Teeth crowd was a little more hipster-esque. It just seemed like a weird, poorly thought out combination. Downsides considered, it was really a diamond in the rough and I’m really hoping that Royal Teeth loves Milwaukee and much as Milwaukee is starting to love them. Maybe that way we can see them a little more often.
