Goo Goo dolls & Switchfoot- Pine Knob 7/18

This was one of the shows we were excited to see this year. The Goo Goo's are a band that I feel have been under appreciated for years. When you combine strong song writing, great lyrics, memorable melody's and hooks, with extrodinary musicianship, you'd think they would be selling out arenas with no sweat. Switchfoot was an added bonus!

The weather Sunday was hot and humid with the strong chance of a thundershower. Does this stop the Dogg from going, oh hell no! The lovely BLT and I held forth in the VIP lounge and enjoyed a couple of cocktails and a good sandwich. At 7:45 Switchfoot took the stage to a half full venue.

To be honest, other than the ons song that got a lot of airplay last year (can't remember the name), we knew nothing of this fabulous band. Very energetic and a powerful sound made for a fast paced set. Got to give mad props to the frontman. He hopped off stage and seranded the entire pavilion. He slapped hands, fist bumps, wore hats and posed for pictures with as many fans as he could. This made the Dogg smile from ear to ear. It is good to see a man give it back to the fans. We are sick and tired of posers and want to be's! An excellent set and now onto the main course of Goo.

The Goo Goo Dolls take the stage at 9:10 to a 4/5ths packed house. The rain Gods are smiling on the "hill people" tonight, the skys are clear and the humidity's down. And what a crowd! On their feet from the first chord to the very last. Beautiful staging with billowing towers of a semi transparent cloth with indirect lighting and fans behind them, kept the appearance of fluffy clouds in an ever changing spectrum of light. Jonny Reznick proved to be a virtuoso guitarist and his voice was of studio quality. Opening with Broadway, then Slide, and Black Ballroom Dizzy whipped the crowd into a near frenzy. Moving on they played Slave Girl, Only One, Name, Give a Little Bit, Burnin Up, and Cuz You are Gone in quick succession. A quick trip through Naked and Disconnected left only Iris as a closing number. Throw in 3-4 new songs, of which 3 were quite good, and you had a great concert to see and hear. I strongly recommend the Goo Goo's to any and all rock fans. They can rock with the best of em and then slow it down with awesome ballads. True Masters of their craft.

Weather B
Crowd A-
Atmosphere A-
Sound A
Staging B
Lighting B+
Line Up A-

Overall the Dogg gives the show an A-.

Night Ranger- Quake on the Lake 7/17/10

After 11 years of living 1/2 mile from the Pontiac Lake State Recreation area, we finally have attended the Quake on the Lake festival. All it took was adding some live rock & roll, the capable promotion talents of Joe Nieporte of FunFest Productions, and some decent weather to get the dogg and his friends to attend. for those of you unfamiliar with the Quake on the Lake, it is a 3 day Hydroplane Racing mecca on the fastest one mile track in North America. During the past 2 years, 17 world records have been set on Pontiac Lake, in 5 different boat classes. This year they added a carnival midway and a stage for both local and national acts. This is a wonderful venue for family fun!

Saturday was a hot, humid day, where you might be better off laying in air conditioned splendor, reading a good book. However, when its hot outside, this Dogg wants to play. So after an afternoon of horeshoes, bar-b-que, and about 5 gallons of homemade Sangria, the lovely BLT, your ever loving Dogg, Jamie, Scott, Paul, Jane, Cameron and the Hawg, loaded up the van and went to see an evening of what we hoped was good music.

First of all, MAD PROPS to Joe Nieporte for hooking us up with awesome VIP seating under a canopy and directly accross from the "Hard Luck Vodka" girls. Hot they were and the non-stop free samples of their flavored Vodka just added to the night!

The Love Junkies performed their usual high energy set bfore a crowd numbering in the dozens. Good sound and good fun for all. Then came Send More Cops who were average at best and really not worth seeing in a venue like this. A band we have never heard of came on next, Mid Life Crisis and let me tell you, they had the Dogg howling (or maybe it was the Vodka). A strong set of covers kept the crowd of 2-300 rocking from the first note. As it started getting dark, a fabulous U2 Tribute band, Zooropa took the stage and were worth the price of admission by themselves. Spot on Bono vocals, strong Edge guitar riffs and a steady and powerful rythem section kept everyone dancing from beginning to end. Awesome set gentleman! At 10:00 the original Night Ranger took the stage and the crowd was approx. 1,500-2,000 strong. Jack Blades still has it going on and the entire band was jammin like it was 1988 all over again. High energy, great guitar, pounding drums and a thumping bass makes this Dogg a tail waggin fool (or maybe it was the Vodka). During the late 80's and into the early 90's, Night Ranger could sell out arenas annywhere on the planet. When Jack left for his 5 year stint in Damn Yankees, Night Ranger took a hiatus. Well, tonight was their night to shine again. All the hits, a couple obscure "B" sides, a Damn Yankees tune or two kept us all "Rockin in America". Well done mates!

Weather B
Crowd B
Atmosphere A
Sound B
Line up B
Lighting C
Staging C

Overall the Dogg gives it a strong B. A fun time on the cheap.

Santana & Steve Winwood 7/10/10 Pine Knob

Now this is a double bill worthy of the Dogg and BLT. 3 time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith and Traffic) and the always great and fellow Hall of Famer, Santana! A sold out Pine Knob and perfect weather greeted us on this special night. after dinner and drinks in the VIP lounge, it was onto our seats with old friends, Mary & Steve.

My trusty Panasonic Lumix camera on my side and a passion for this show was all i needed for what would prove to be the best show so far this season at the Knob. Stevie Winwood came on at 7:35 to the opening Gimme Some Lovin, followed by 2 new songs that proved to be quite good. Low Spark of High Heeled Boys, Higher Ground, Arc of a Diver, Valerie, Many a Mile to Freedom, with the set closing I'm a Man and encore of Dear Mr. Fantasy were all played perfectly, with Stevie bouncing between organ, piano, and lead guitar. the mix was spot on and as always the musicianship above reproach. This is one of the most talented men in rock history! The crowd was mostly sitting and listening intently. This was one show, the Dogg did not mind sitting for. About 2/3 of the way through, the crowd was up and rocking. Many good memeories for that were here. I'd say the average age of the crowd was 40+.

After more drinks and a round of crowd interviews in the VIP, it was back to our choice seats for Santana.

At 9:10, Santana took the stage to Gypsy Queen, followed by Black Magic Woman, Spirits Dancing in the Flesh, Soul Sacrifice and Maria Maria. About an hour into the show, Carlos announced his pending nuptuials with his long time drummer. The crowd roared its approval! Then its onto Smooth, Love ofMy Life, Oye Coma Va, Sunshine of Your Love by Cream, and Wings of Grace. By the time the encors came around, i had stopped shooting and making notes. Suffice to say this was one hell of a show and no one left unhappy. FYI, Santana is coming out with a new album where he re-makes the 12 best guitar songs in history. From early pre-production reviews, it promises to be awesome. He'll cover the Beatles, Hendrix, Cream, The Who, and many others. We can't wait!

Weather A+
Crowd A
Sound A++
Line up A++
Atmosphere A
Staging C for Winwood and B+ for Santana
Lighting B
Set lists A+

Overall, A+ the concert of the outdoor season so far

Steve Miller Band & Peter Frampton

A perfect Friday night greeted the Dogg, BLT, and friends Danny "Rocket" & Chrissy for the nights show. I've never been a big fan of Steve Miller, but with a new album of classic blues, we thought we'd check him out. We've seen him 3 times, once real good and twice pretty sucky.

Peter Frampton opened the show right at 7:00 PM. Sad to say, Peter was not in real good form on this night. The first 5 songs were not mixed right and his vocal range was limited and quite flat. The crowd in the pavillion were nearly as flat as his show on this night. If one more person tells me to sit down i may go postal on them. If you want to sit at a rock concert, you're in the wrong place! Buy the phucking DVD and sit home by yourself. This year seems to be the worst ever for sitters. We may have to resume our perch on the hill to have the fun we want. A mixed set of classic Frampton songs and some new instrumentals mixed in, mixed poorly, with limited lighting or stage show made for a boring opening act. Poor Peter, he was looking frail and quite aged up on stage. Almost like Jack Kevorkian to tell you the truth. The crowd was in need of Kevorkian as well!

After a brief interlude in the VIP lounge, shots of Tequila and a couple of the overpriced Jaegger Bombs, it was back to our seats for Steve Miller. Never been a big fan of The Steve Miller Band, but BLT and I love the blues and were looking forward to his set. Unfortunately, the crowd was there to hear the classics. Heaven forbid an artist stretches his or her wings and does something different! The first 6 siongs were all classic blues, artfully crafted, magically arranged, and performed flawlessly. I have to mention what may have been the greatest stage backdrop in years. A swirling galaxy of guitars of every shape and size imaginable. Down the center were six , glowing neon strings that ended at the front of the stage. Well done by the stage crafters! Unfortunately for me, i am sitting next to 4 "chatty Cathy's that kept a running dialog all night on how "ripped off" they are feeling due to the set list and ticket prices. Finally told her to shut the phuck up, she was ruining it for all around us. Her biker dude then asked me if I wanted to step up onto the hill and "cha cha"! I looked him up and down and said "dude, I bet you can't even Tango"! After a moment of confusion, he burst out in laughter and said "that was a great come back, I like you man". He then told the mouthy chick to can it or he'd take her drunk ass back to the hill where she belongs! The Dogg likes this guy now. We need to give a quick "shout out" to the new lead singer on all the blues tracks. Whoever this guy is, he can sing like mad and has all the stage presence of a young Tom Jones. Great job man!

Peter Frampton joined the band for a 4 song set of more blues that were appreciated by the crowd for their artistry, but not received as well as the hits they wanted. No worries, songs 9-21 were all the Steve Miller staples. An remixed bluesy version of the Joker started it off and Space Cowboy finished it off. About half way through the Joker, the crowd started to rise and party. Where have you been all night???? Another hour of rocking and singing brought the show to a close at 11:00 PM. Off to the VIP for some dancing and relaxing to let the parking lot empty out. All in all, a fun night, some disappointments, a lot of surprizes, and overall a nice show.

Weather A
Crowd size A
Crowd participation D+
Atmosphere C
Staging A for Miller, C for Frampton
Lighting B
Sound A for Miller, D for Frampton

Overall B-

Foreigner, Styx & Kansas 6/26/10

Another day in paradise for the Detroit Rock Dogg & the lovely BLT. A iffy Saturday night weather wise, dinner and drinks in the VIP Starlight lounge with dear friends Jimmy & Peggy, followed by 3 1/2 hours of classic rock. Can it get any better than this?

The Dogg has been taking some heat from followers of my blog because they say I always write positive reviews. My opinion is that the classic rock bands touring today are better now musically, lighting, and staging than in their heydays. A lot of this has to do with the improved sound systems and better mixing. Even more to do with the familiar songs that we all want to hear. Todays review will give my detractors even more fodder for critisism. THIS SHOW WAS NEAR PERFECT!!!

Kansas takes the stage at 6:45 (15 minutes early) and proceeds to play Popint of no Return, Carry on my Wayward Son, Fight Fire with Fire, Song for America, Hold On, The Wall, Play the Game and closed with Dust in the Wind. Steve Walsh was spot on his vocals and keyboards were awesome. As usual for a Kansas show, the guitar, violin, and bass kept a steady and strong companion for Walsh's vocals. The 45 minute set flew by and left us wanting more.

One of the questions we all had going in was "who is playing second" was answered when Styx hit the stage at 7:50. Tommy Shaw, James Young, Tommy Panozzo, Todd Sucherman, Lawrence Gowan and Ricky Phillips kicked it out strong, loud and proud! From the opening medley of 6 Styx songs rolled into one, followed by Blue Collar Man, Miss America, Too Much Time on my Hands, Fooling Yourself, Crystal Ball, Loreilie, Renegade, I am the Walrus, I Don't Need no Doctor, and the encore of Come Sail Away were all played flawlessly, with an appreciative crowd standing and singing all the way through. We would have loved another 45 minutes, but the 1 hour 20 minute show was good enough. "Great job men"!

At 20 till 10:00 Foreigner took the stage and the crowd was in great form!The opening of Dirty White Boy followed by Hot Blooded, Juke Box Hero, Urgent, Cold as Ice, (two new songs, one good and one weak), followed by Starrider, Head Games, with a closing Feels like the First Time. A cover of Aqualung was the encore. Strong performance by Mick jones Kelly Hanson, and the rest of the band. BLT and her favorite Dogg saw the Lou Gramm Band at Andiamos this winter and as I told Lou at that show, "Kelly is you, minus 25 years and 50 pounds"! He agreed that Kelly Hanson is a very strong vocalist and in my opinion a better showman than Lou.

Overall, this was an awesome night and worth every penny.

Crowd A
Weather C
Sound A
Lighting B
Staging B+
Line up A
Atmosphere A+

Overall we all ranked this show a strong A