What an awesome weekend!
I'm just fried! Chelis was over the top! Straight to WM for some new drawers after all that chili! BadAss was awesome. Kid was awesome. Jamie? That was you pole dancing on stage wasn't it? Check this awesome up close video link below of the show...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqACaV8nw7Y
Great article out tonight! So much press everywhere I can't keep up!
And Badass Beer was the longest line everywhere at the place!
P.S. I think they listened to us...all the signage I saw said BADASS AMERICAN LAGER. I guess they took REDNECK off.
Kid Rock does it again
BY STEVE BYRNE • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • July 18, 2009
Read Comments(4) RecommendPrintE-mail this articleLetter to editorShare
FacebookTwitterDiggDel.icio.usRedditNewsvineBuzz up!
The Kid came through again.
On the second of a two-night stand at Comerica Park, Kid Rock wowed a hearty throng of hometown fans with a 2-hour-plus show that was heavy on good-time music and civic pride.
A street party outside the ballpark got the action rolling, and a different set of openers (Cypress Hill and Alice in Chains replacing Robert Randolph and Lynyrd Skynyrd) provided the primary contrast from Friday night's show.
The set list didn't deviate much from the previous evening, dipping into a mix of bombastic Rock favorites like "Rock ’n Roll Jesus," "All Summer Long," "I Am the Bullgod" and "Cowboy," along with a range of covers, including the Michael Jackson tribute "ABC," a riff on "Theme From the Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol Boys)" and show closer "Born in the U.S.A."
In an evening filled with high points and crescendos, the pyrotechnic-laden "Bawitdaba" stood out with its signature melding of hip-hop bluster and rock dynamics.
Attendance figures weren't available, but the altered Comerica Park concert figuration appeared to be full, or just about so -- meaning in the range of 35,000 to 40,000.
The packed house was on the receiving of some serious, and sincere, hometown love from Rock, who frequently referenced the region's economic difficulties, including via a new ballad "In Times Like These," which played as a stick-to-your-guns love letter to working-class Detroit.
http://freep.com/article/20090718/ENT04/90719008
BadAss Beer was outselling Bud by over 3 to 1 at the stadium and at Chelis. BUD is doing BILLIONS in sales. If people don't pick up DKAM on this obvious over the top success, then they missed the opportunity of a lifetime. I think BADASS will probably get a buyout offer from BUD or Miller just on the lost market share. They have to try to buy them!
OK, I gotta go to bed. Adrenaline is gone! Later and enjoy
Here is another great write up!
Fans pack Detroit for Kid Rock's Block Party, Comerica show
Adam Graham / Detroit News Pop Music Writer
Detroit
Kid Rock has always lived large. Now, his concerts have finally caught up with him.
Rock's concert at Comerica Park, the first of a two-night stand that continues tonight at the Detroit Tigers' home, was a massive triumph for the homegrown rocker who has been toiling for 20 years to hit the high water mark he hit Friday. Before a massive crowd of more than 40,000, Rock staked his claim on one of the city's largest venues, and acted like he's been doing it all his life.
Advertisement
Throughout the two-hour show, Rock owned the stage -- and looked completely comfortable doing so.
And everything that surrounded him in the gargantuan production -- the towering flames that erupted from the stage, the lasers that beamed throughout the ballpark, the fireworks high above the stadium, the dozen-plus spotlights positioned around the outfield -- all seemed right.
Rock has earned this, and it's hard to imagine him turning back from here. Suddenly, his shows at DTE Energy Music Theatre, Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills seemed miniscule in comparison.
Rock, typically an egotist on stage, worked to not make the evening all about him and his music. He was liberal with covers, sprinkling in renditions of the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice," Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" and even the Jackson Five's "ABC" during a tribute to Michael Jackson. He was like a human jukebox at your favorite pub, and in one of the evening's most electrifying moments, mashed his own "Wasting Time" with the instrumental to Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City."
Elsewhere, Rock played a mixture of old and new favorites, from "Bawitdaba" to "Amen," "Picture" to "All Summer Long."
He debuted a new song, "In Times Like These," which referenced the current economic crisis and played over a slide show of Michigan imagery, and closed with a rousing, full-bodied take on Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA."
Friday night wasn't perfect, however.
A massive scrim that Rock was set to start the show behind was removed at the last minute due to wind issues, and spoiled the opening gag where he was to perform in silhouette. And rain came down during the opening set by Lynyrd Skynyrd, causing some to temporarily seek cover in the Comerica Park concourse.
But nothing was going to spoil this night for Kid Rock.
Just after 8 p.m., the rains let up and a massive rainbow formed above the stadium. It was one of those picture-perfect moments that seemed too perfect to be true, but on this night, it made sense.
"We gonna have a party in here tonight, yeah?" Rock said early on. It was a rhetorical question, as many of the fans had been partying since Rock's Block Party that was staged in the parking lots in front of the stadium prior to the concert.
The party included a car show, Motocross exhibition and plenty of beer-drinking, and was the perfect embodiment of all things Kid Rock.
"There was an awesome Detroit vibe that brought everyone out and together," Jen Stevenson, 32, of Novi, said of the concert. "It was a perfect summer show. Kid Rock is a true Detroiter and always brings it for the Detroit shows."
Rock said he's viewing the Comerica Park concerts as a blueprint of sorts for a run of shows he's hoping to stage in minor league ballparks around the country as early as next summer. If Friday was any indication, he's ready.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090718/ENT04/907180337/1424/ENT04/...
And here is my favorite article!!!! BOOYAH!!!!
Rock on, Detroit!
BY BRIAN McCOLLUM • FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER • July 17, 2009
Read Comments(62) Recommend(3)PrintE-mail this articleLetter to editorShare:
FacebookTwitterDiggDel.icio.usNewsvineRedditBuzz up!
Take a much-loved local star, thousands of charged-up hometown fans, a region's hunger to let its hair down, and this is what you get: a blockbuster party with Kid Rock in Detroit.
Comerica Park was humming Friday as Rock rolled out his two-day rock 'n' roll festival, capped by an evening performance before 40,000-plus.
In front of the stadium, fans gathered for a rambunctious but good-spirited afternoon of beer, bands and motocross bikes, the lead-up to what had been deemed the concert event of the year.
With celebrities ranging from Bob Seger to Cuba Gooding Jr. among those due for the festivities, Friday had all the feel of a big-time event, the culmination of Kid Rock's two-decade hometown career.
It was a day of moments big and small. Here's a glimpse:
2:14 p.m.: Inside quiet Comerica Park, where stage and lights crews finished their major work Thursday night, it's the calm before the storm. But Detroit Tigers head groundskeeper Heather Nabozny is nervous -- and she's not even the one who will be playing for 40,000-plus people. This outfield turf is her baby, and right now it's covered by acres of plastic protector and tons of stage equipment.
"In a little while I'm going to see 10,000 people out here," she says, placing her hands over her face in exasperation.
Previous concerts such as the Rolling Stones left Tigers players griping about the field condition. But today's relatively cool temperature ought to help, and next week Nabozny's crew will dye and fertilize the grass to guide it back into shape.
"I just hope it's OK," she says.
2:46 p.m.: The street party is rolling in front of the stadium, where the drinks and high spirits are flowing for several hundred fans.
Among them is a very familiar-looking character: In his fedora and sunglasses, Kevin Smyth of Ontario is the spitting image of Kid Rock. A continuous stream of partyers comes his way for handshakes and photos. A group of stadium staffers nervously approaches. "It's an honor," says one.
Few stop to wonder why Rock would be hanging around near the portable toilets the day of his show. Smyth shrugs: "When it's somebody's dream, how do you tell them I'm not him?"
3:45 p.m.: The party takes flight for a cheering crowd as two motocross freestylers rev up their bikes and launch themselves up a ramp, spinning and flipping 30 feet over the parking lot.
With a DJ spinning classic rock tunes, hundreds pack into the party zone outside Cheli's Chili Bar. Five hours before Kid Rock takes the stage, you can already feel the momentum building.
"This was a great idea," says Terry Steele, 39, of Milford, scanning the noisy crowd around him. "Kid Rock should do this every year."
"It's almost like Vegas -- the music going over there, the dancing over here, so many different people," says Rick Tibeau, 53, of St. Clair. "It's just a ball."
4:26 p.m.: Mostly positive reviews are flowing in for Kid Rock's Bad Ass Beer, which is making its debut here this weekend. Inside Cheli's, bartenders say they're moving plenty of the American-style lager -- at $3.50 a cup -- to curious connoisseurs.
"It's a good sipping beer," says Derek Lecki, 21, of Davisburg,. He's on his fifth cup.
"It's got a lot of flavor, and we've already figured out if you put an orange in it, it's awesome."
5:45 p.m.: Here we go: With lines wrapped around the block and a palpable buzz in the air, the gates have opened. Fans with general admission tickets stream onto the Comerica Park field, jostling for prime spots by the outfield stage. Tens of thousands more will be occupying stadium seats.
Detroit and Wayne County police officials say there have been minimal crowd problems to this point, but the afternoon of drinking has led to a few staggering fans who are starting to catch officers' eyes.
6:31 p.m.: The stadium is far from full, but the assembled audience lets out a holler as opener Robert Randolph & the Family Band hits the stage, rolling into a set of gritty rural funk. The night's soundtrack has started.
Some fans have already donned the souvenir T-shirts they purchased today.
There's a little bit of everything here: jeans, short-shorts, hip-hop apparel, Stetsons, polo shirts and an array of Kid Rock tour shirts stretching back many years.
7:50 p.m.: In front of a fast-filling stadium -- and with gawkers enjoying a free concert through the fence on Montcalm Street -- Lynyrd Skynyrd kicks into "Saturday Night Special" and a set of vintage Southern rock.
Ten minutes earlier, Kid Rock protege Ty Stone took the stage alone to serve up an a capella rendition of the national anthem, punctuated with a roaring flyover by a military bomber.
In a handsome stadium lobby, Kid Rock friends and family members assemble en route to their VIP seating. "This is a huge weekend for us," his brother Billy Ritchie said earlier in the day. Kid Rock, viewing the evening as a professional milestone, has invited a diverse cast of characters from throughout his career, including people who lent a hand in the early days.
"It's still a lot of pressure," Rock said earlier in the week. "You can never really explain this to people, as much as I've tried to -- dealing with all your family and friends, trying to have them understand that this is still a job."
9:18 p.m.: Kid Rock is already officially late to the stage, but you won't hear complaints from a crowd that seems to be relishing the magnitude of this moment. The packed stadium audience hums with a steady energy as Motown tunes and Bob Seger tracks play over the PA. It feels like an old-school summer rock show.
Out on the concourse, Kim Bent of Grand Rapids catches a final cigarette before heading back in to rejoin her friends at her seat. She marvels at the hard-partying, friendly crowd.
"It's energetic and extremely chill at the same time," she says. "It just has the feel of a huge event."
Michigan needed this night, she says: "Kid Rock brings a positive energy to a very negative situation. This is the kind of night that makes you forget everything."
9:52 p.m.: A flash of lights. Towers of flame. A spray of fireworks. And Kid Rock, emerging from the shadows to a massive roar. Lasers dance across the baseball stadium as black-clad Rock and his band charge through "Rock n Roll Jesus."
The night will belong to history: From up in the press box, the floor of Comerica Park is a sprawl of little white lights -- thousands of cell phones being held aloft to chronicle the moment.
With Rock strutting and working the full breadth of the stage, the songs come rat-a-tat-tat: "Son of Detroit," the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice," "American Bad Ass," "Lowlife (Living the High Life)." All is precisely synchronized, motifs from other tunes slipping in and out like a carefully arranged suite.
Even when he was playing small venues, Kid Rock was delivering a stadium-sized show. As he commands a sea of punching fists during "All Summer Long," it feels like he's finally where he was always supposed to be.
11:07 p.m.: Gifted vocalist Jessica Wagner trades vocals with Rock on a loose but upbeat rendition of the Jackson 5's "ABC," a tribute to the late Michael Jackson. It's one of several cover tunes Rock is sprinkling into his set, an array that sounds like a spin down the classic-rock dial: Sly & the Family Stone's "Everyday People," Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever," the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself." Rock's own "Wasting Time" gets placed atop "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses.
Having locked in with Rock from the get-go, the crowd remains fully engaged even as the band hits a mellow midshow stretch, swaying and singing along to tunes like "Drift Away," "Picture" and a reworked "Cowboy." Two big video screens bring the action to fans in the cheap seats, but these are fans who don't need many cues -- a hometown audience that's well acquainted with the rituals of Rock's live sets.
That's obvious when fans immediately latch onto the call-and-response portion of his traditional "3 Sheets to the Wind" schtick, and Comerica Park fills with 40,000 voices hollering "Ki-iid Rock-Rock" before Rock takes to the turntables for his showoff DJ routine.
11:33 p.m.: Searchlights and lasers sweep the park as the opening notes of "Bawitdaba" rumble to life. The supersized rock song has been Rock's signature live number for a decade, and he pulls out all the visual stops for a production bordering on epic. Another few rounds of pyro, strobes and booms, and Rock closes out his regular set with a hearty "God bless you and good night."
A mercifully brief break precedes the encore, where Rock debuts a poignantly targeted ballad, "Times Like These," a stay-strong ode to battered Detroit that includes the line, "I won't leave because this here's my hometown."
"Tough times make for tough people," Rock tells his 40,000 friends before closing it all out with a red-white-and-blue version of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." Night one is in the bag.
Just more than two hours after Kid Rock hit the stage, the stadium lights ease back on and fans chatter loudly as they stream out to the streets. Some will head to the after-party with DJ Paradime at Motor City Casino; some will be back here tomorrow. And somewhere backstage, you figure, Kid Rock is feeling pretty good right now about the spectacle he just waged for his hometown. After this taste of stadium grandiosity, you wonder if he'll ever be able to cram his show back into a local arena.
Detroit may have just landed a new tradition.
http://www.freep.com/article/20090717/ENT04/90717066/Rock-on--Detroit-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqACaV8nw7Y
Great article out tonight! So much press everywhere I can't keep up!
And Badass Beer was the longest line everywhere at the place!
P.S. I think they listened to us...all the signage I saw said BADASS AMERICAN LAGER. I guess they took REDNECK off.
Kid Rock does it again
BY STEVE BYRNE • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • July 18, 2009
Read Comments(4) RecommendPrintE-mail this articleLetter to editorShare
FacebookTwitterDiggDel.icio.usRedditNewsvineBuzz up!
The Kid came through again.
On the second of a two-night stand at Comerica Park, Kid Rock wowed a hearty throng of hometown fans with a 2-hour-plus show that was heavy on good-time music and civic pride.
A street party outside the ballpark got the action rolling, and a different set of openers (Cypress Hill and Alice in Chains replacing Robert Randolph and Lynyrd Skynyrd) provided the primary contrast from Friday night's show.
The set list didn't deviate much from the previous evening, dipping into a mix of bombastic Rock favorites like "Rock ’n Roll Jesus," "All Summer Long," "I Am the Bullgod" and "Cowboy," along with a range of covers, including the Michael Jackson tribute "ABC," a riff on "Theme From the Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol Boys)" and show closer "Born in the U.S.A."
In an evening filled with high points and crescendos, the pyrotechnic-laden "Bawitdaba" stood out with its signature melding of hip-hop bluster and rock dynamics.
Attendance figures weren't available, but the altered Comerica Park concert figuration appeared to be full, or just about so -- meaning in the range of 35,000 to 40,000.
The packed house was on the receiving of some serious, and sincere, hometown love from Rock, who frequently referenced the region's economic difficulties, including via a new ballad "In Times Like These," which played as a stick-to-your-guns love letter to working-class Detroit.
http://freep.com/article/20090718/ENT04/90719008
BadAss Beer was outselling Bud by over 3 to 1 at the stadium and at Chelis. BUD is doing BILLIONS in sales. If people don't pick up DKAM on this obvious over the top success, then they missed the opportunity of a lifetime. I think BADASS will probably get a buyout offer from BUD or Miller just on the lost market share. They have to try to buy them!
OK, I gotta go to bed. Adrenaline is gone! Later and enjoy
Here is another great write up!
Fans pack Detroit for Kid Rock's Block Party, Comerica show
Adam Graham / Detroit News Pop Music Writer
Detroit
Kid Rock has always lived large. Now, his concerts have finally caught up with him.
Rock's concert at Comerica Park, the first of a two-night stand that continues tonight at the Detroit Tigers' home, was a massive triumph for the homegrown rocker who has been toiling for 20 years to hit the high water mark he hit Friday. Before a massive crowd of more than 40,000, Rock staked his claim on one of the city's largest venues, and acted like he's been doing it all his life.
Advertisement
Throughout the two-hour show, Rock owned the stage -- and looked completely comfortable doing so.
And everything that surrounded him in the gargantuan production -- the towering flames that erupted from the stage, the lasers that beamed throughout the ballpark, the fireworks high above the stadium, the dozen-plus spotlights positioned around the outfield -- all seemed right.
Rock has earned this, and it's hard to imagine him turning back from here. Suddenly, his shows at DTE Energy Music Theatre, Joe Louis Arena and The Palace of Auburn Hills seemed miniscule in comparison.
Rock, typically an egotist on stage, worked to not make the evening all about him and his music. He was liberal with covers, sprinkling in renditions of the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice," Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" and even the Jackson Five's "ABC" during a tribute to Michael Jackson. He was like a human jukebox at your favorite pub, and in one of the evening's most electrifying moments, mashed his own "Wasting Time" with the instrumental to Guns N' Roses' "Paradise City."
Elsewhere, Rock played a mixture of old and new favorites, from "Bawitdaba" to "Amen," "Picture" to "All Summer Long."
He debuted a new song, "In Times Like These," which referenced the current economic crisis and played over a slide show of Michigan imagery, and closed with a rousing, full-bodied take on Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA."
Friday night wasn't perfect, however.
A massive scrim that Rock was set to start the show behind was removed at the last minute due to wind issues, and spoiled the opening gag where he was to perform in silhouette. And rain came down during the opening set by Lynyrd Skynyrd, causing some to temporarily seek cover in the Comerica Park concourse.
But nothing was going to spoil this night for Kid Rock.
Just after 8 p.m., the rains let up and a massive rainbow formed above the stadium. It was one of those picture-perfect moments that seemed too perfect to be true, but on this night, it made sense.
"We gonna have a party in here tonight, yeah?" Rock said early on. It was a rhetorical question, as many of the fans had been partying since Rock's Block Party that was staged in the parking lots in front of the stadium prior to the concert.
The party included a car show, Motocross exhibition and plenty of beer-drinking, and was the perfect embodiment of all things Kid Rock.
"There was an awesome Detroit vibe that brought everyone out and together," Jen Stevenson, 32, of Novi, said of the concert. "It was a perfect summer show. Kid Rock is a true Detroiter and always brings it for the Detroit shows."
Rock said he's viewing the Comerica Park concerts as a blueprint of sorts for a run of shows he's hoping to stage in minor league ballparks around the country as early as next summer. If Friday was any indication, he's ready.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090718/ENT04/907180337/1424/ENT04/...
And here is my favorite article!!!! BOOYAH!!!!
Rock on, Detroit!
BY BRIAN McCOLLUM • FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER • July 17, 2009
Read Comments(62) Recommend(3)PrintE-mail this articleLetter to editorShare:
FacebookTwitterDiggDel.icio.usNewsvineRedditBuzz up!
Take a much-loved local star, thousands of charged-up hometown fans, a region's hunger to let its hair down, and this is what you get: a blockbuster party with Kid Rock in Detroit.
Comerica Park was humming Friday as Rock rolled out his two-day rock 'n' roll festival, capped by an evening performance before 40,000-plus.
In front of the stadium, fans gathered for a rambunctious but good-spirited afternoon of beer, bands and motocross bikes, the lead-up to what had been deemed the concert event of the year.
With celebrities ranging from Bob Seger to Cuba Gooding Jr. among those due for the festivities, Friday had all the feel of a big-time event, the culmination of Kid Rock's two-decade hometown career.
It was a day of moments big and small. Here's a glimpse:
2:14 p.m.: Inside quiet Comerica Park, where stage and lights crews finished their major work Thursday night, it's the calm before the storm. But Detroit Tigers head groundskeeper Heather Nabozny is nervous -- and she's not even the one who will be playing for 40,000-plus people. This outfield turf is her baby, and right now it's covered by acres of plastic protector and tons of stage equipment.
"In a little while I'm going to see 10,000 people out here," she says, placing her hands over her face in exasperation.
Previous concerts such as the Rolling Stones left Tigers players griping about the field condition. But today's relatively cool temperature ought to help, and next week Nabozny's crew will dye and fertilize the grass to guide it back into shape.
"I just hope it's OK," she says.
2:46 p.m.: The street party is rolling in front of the stadium, where the drinks and high spirits are flowing for several hundred fans.
Among them is a very familiar-looking character: In his fedora and sunglasses, Kevin Smyth of Ontario is the spitting image of Kid Rock. A continuous stream of partyers comes his way for handshakes and photos. A group of stadium staffers nervously approaches. "It's an honor," says one.
Few stop to wonder why Rock would be hanging around near the portable toilets the day of his show. Smyth shrugs: "When it's somebody's dream, how do you tell them I'm not him?"
3:45 p.m.: The party takes flight for a cheering crowd as two motocross freestylers rev up their bikes and launch themselves up a ramp, spinning and flipping 30 feet over the parking lot.
With a DJ spinning classic rock tunes, hundreds pack into the party zone outside Cheli's Chili Bar. Five hours before Kid Rock takes the stage, you can already feel the momentum building.
"This was a great idea," says Terry Steele, 39, of Milford, scanning the noisy crowd around him. "Kid Rock should do this every year."
"It's almost like Vegas -- the music going over there, the dancing over here, so many different people," says Rick Tibeau, 53, of St. Clair. "It's just a ball."
4:26 p.m.: Mostly positive reviews are flowing in for Kid Rock's Bad Ass Beer, which is making its debut here this weekend. Inside Cheli's, bartenders say they're moving plenty of the American-style lager -- at $3.50 a cup -- to curious connoisseurs.
"It's a good sipping beer," says Derek Lecki, 21, of Davisburg,. He's on his fifth cup.
"It's got a lot of flavor, and we've already figured out if you put an orange in it, it's awesome."
5:45 p.m.: Here we go: With lines wrapped around the block and a palpable buzz in the air, the gates have opened. Fans with general admission tickets stream onto the Comerica Park field, jostling for prime spots by the outfield stage. Tens of thousands more will be occupying stadium seats.
Detroit and Wayne County police officials say there have been minimal crowd problems to this point, but the afternoon of drinking has led to a few staggering fans who are starting to catch officers' eyes.
6:31 p.m.: The stadium is far from full, but the assembled audience lets out a holler as opener Robert Randolph & the Family Band hits the stage, rolling into a set of gritty rural funk. The night's soundtrack has started.
Some fans have already donned the souvenir T-shirts they purchased today.
There's a little bit of everything here: jeans, short-shorts, hip-hop apparel, Stetsons, polo shirts and an array of Kid Rock tour shirts stretching back many years.
7:50 p.m.: In front of a fast-filling stadium -- and with gawkers enjoying a free concert through the fence on Montcalm Street -- Lynyrd Skynyrd kicks into "Saturday Night Special" and a set of vintage Southern rock.
Ten minutes earlier, Kid Rock protege Ty Stone took the stage alone to serve up an a capella rendition of the national anthem, punctuated with a roaring flyover by a military bomber.
In a handsome stadium lobby, Kid Rock friends and family members assemble en route to their VIP seating. "This is a huge weekend for us," his brother Billy Ritchie said earlier in the day. Kid Rock, viewing the evening as a professional milestone, has invited a diverse cast of characters from throughout his career, including people who lent a hand in the early days.
"It's still a lot of pressure," Rock said earlier in the week. "You can never really explain this to people, as much as I've tried to -- dealing with all your family and friends, trying to have them understand that this is still a job."
9:18 p.m.: Kid Rock is already officially late to the stage, but you won't hear complaints from a crowd that seems to be relishing the magnitude of this moment. The packed stadium audience hums with a steady energy as Motown tunes and Bob Seger tracks play over the PA. It feels like an old-school summer rock show.
Out on the concourse, Kim Bent of Grand Rapids catches a final cigarette before heading back in to rejoin her friends at her seat. She marvels at the hard-partying, friendly crowd.
"It's energetic and extremely chill at the same time," she says. "It just has the feel of a huge event."
Michigan needed this night, she says: "Kid Rock brings a positive energy to a very negative situation. This is the kind of night that makes you forget everything."
9:52 p.m.: A flash of lights. Towers of flame. A spray of fireworks. And Kid Rock, emerging from the shadows to a massive roar. Lasers dance across the baseball stadium as black-clad Rock and his band charge through "Rock n Roll Jesus."
The night will belong to history: From up in the press box, the floor of Comerica Park is a sprawl of little white lights -- thousands of cell phones being held aloft to chronicle the moment.
With Rock strutting and working the full breadth of the stage, the songs come rat-a-tat-tat: "Son of Detroit," the Rolling Stones' "Tumbling Dice," "American Bad Ass," "Lowlife (Living the High Life)." All is precisely synchronized, motifs from other tunes slipping in and out like a carefully arranged suite.
Even when he was playing small venues, Kid Rock was delivering a stadium-sized show. As he commands a sea of punching fists during "All Summer Long," it feels like he's finally where he was always supposed to be.
11:07 p.m.: Gifted vocalist Jessica Wagner trades vocals with Rock on a loose but upbeat rendition of the Jackson 5's "ABC," a tribute to the late Michael Jackson. It's one of several cover tunes Rock is sprinkling into his set, an array that sounds like a spin down the classic-rock dial: Sly & the Family Stone's "Everyday People," Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever," the Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands to Yourself." Rock's own "Wasting Time" gets placed atop "Paradise City" by Guns N' Roses.
Having locked in with Rock from the get-go, the crowd remains fully engaged even as the band hits a mellow midshow stretch, swaying and singing along to tunes like "Drift Away," "Picture" and a reworked "Cowboy." Two big video screens bring the action to fans in the cheap seats, but these are fans who don't need many cues -- a hometown audience that's well acquainted with the rituals of Rock's live sets.
That's obvious when fans immediately latch onto the call-and-response portion of his traditional "3 Sheets to the Wind" schtick, and Comerica Park fills with 40,000 voices hollering "Ki-iid Rock-Rock" before Rock takes to the turntables for his showoff DJ routine.
11:33 p.m.: Searchlights and lasers sweep the park as the opening notes of "Bawitdaba" rumble to life. The supersized rock song has been Rock's signature live number for a decade, and he pulls out all the visual stops for a production bordering on epic. Another few rounds of pyro, strobes and booms, and Rock closes out his regular set with a hearty "God bless you and good night."
A mercifully brief break precedes the encore, where Rock debuts a poignantly targeted ballad, "Times Like These," a stay-strong ode to battered Detroit that includes the line, "I won't leave because this here's my hometown."
"Tough times make for tough people," Rock tells his 40,000 friends before closing it all out with a red-white-and-blue version of Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA." Night one is in the bag.
Just more than two hours after Kid Rock hit the stage, the stadium lights ease back on and fans chatter loudly as they stream out to the streets. Some will head to the after-party with DJ Paradime at Motor City Casino; some will be back here tomorrow. And somewhere backstage, you figure, Kid Rock is feeling pretty good right now about the spectacle he just waged for his hometown. After this taste of stadium grandiosity, you wonder if he'll ever be able to cram his show back into a local arena.
Detroit may have just landed a new tradition.
http://www.freep.com/article/20090717/ENT04/90717066/Rock-on--Detroit-
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by KidzSista on -
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! Having all the links right here is right on!! HaPpY that you got to go... you enJOYed... you came back to talk about it! Peace!
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Permalink Reply by Eva n chey saw kid rock on 7/14 on -
awsome scooter ty for the links n articles glad you had a great time
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Permalink Reply by RedwingT on -
YEAH BABY, A NEW TRADITION....I LOVE IT....... I THINK THE SEED HAS BEEN PLANTED!!!
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Permalink Reply by bluesuedeshoe on -
Thanks Scooter, great shares. Glad you had such a good time!
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Permalink Reply by KidzSista on
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can't get enuff of reading about KIIDDDDDD ROCKKKKK ROCKKKKK! have front page of Detroit Free Press Saturday paper spread out on kitchen table to SEE >>> EVERYDAY>>> ALL DAY!!! times like a KID ROCK CONCERT don't come along enuff in a year... might hafta start traveling to see KID like others do!! let's see -- brother lives in NHampshire... ahhh... Champlain Valley Fair in Vermont... hmmmm??? !!!
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Download 'January Sessions' By The Infatuations feat.Aaron Julison on bass and guest appearances by Stefanie Eulinberg and Ty Stone!
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