The Detroit Rock Dogg and his entourage from the burbs of Detroit, are among the biggest fans of J. Geils and The Rockets in all of America. This was the 21st Geils show for the Dogg and likely the 20th Rockets show. My expectations were set high for Geils, but low for the Rockets, due to the replacement of frontman Dave Gilbert and the many years removed from major venue performance.
Last weeks Kid Rock extravaganza's set a nearly impossible standard of concert excellence for J. Geils to try to match or beat. How did they do? Well.... it depends on who you ask.
Saturday looked bleak all afternoon; overcast and light rain. With the Dogg Pound consisting of over 30 friends on this night, I was glued to the weather channel all day. The Dogg told all the sun would shine on the Rockets and Geils, and once again the Dogg was spot on. When we started tailgating at 4:30, the skies were blue, the crowd pumped up, and Geils and Rocket tunes were blaring all around us. This Dogg is ready to howl.
The newly reconstituted Rockets, with singer Jim Edwards joining veterans Jimmy McCarty (guitar) and Johnny Bee Badanjak (drums) from the original outfit, was the perfect opening band, each song a hit, executed perfectly and without an ounce of excess. As an old friend of Dave Gilbert's, and a long time original fan of the Rockets, my boy's exceeded all of my expectations. Jim Edwards and I spoke in the VIP and out on the concourse a couple of times after they completed their set. Jim said "I was channeling Dave all night and hope I did him proud". My new friend, not only did you do Dave and your new band proud, but I'm sure Dave was smiling down on all of us this night. I hope Dave's widow, Dee and the kids were on hand to see this show.
The audience clearly enjoyed seeing McCarty and Badanjak on the big DTE stage, where such iconic players belong, and Edwards sings their Mitch Ryder songs ("Rock and Roll") as well as the Rockets' own catalog with ease. "Oh Well" brought the house down and brought back memories of 1980 at Pine Knob and 2 sold out Rockets shows.
In "Detroit City" we work hard and party even harder. J. Geils is the working man's band of all time. From its first shows at the Eastown, Cinderella Ballroom and Grande Ballroom, to later shows at Cobo, Pine Knob and even the Silverdome, Detroiter's embrace the J. Geils band as one of our own. The band has always felt the same way. All 3 of their live albums, "Full House", Blow Your Face Out and Showtime" were recorded in Detroit!
The Geils band brought its house party to Pine Knob Saturday night. The only other show it did this year was last week at Fenway Park in Boston (opening for Aerosmith, who were blown off the stage, by all accounts, by their crosstown rivals).
All night long middle-aged fans vaulted over seats,politely, without hurting anybody -- to get closer to the front of the stage. Everybody seemed to be either reliving their youth, or drunk enough to think they were.
The Geils band's method of concert excellence has always been in understanding pace and dynamics, setting up a concert like an old-fashioned rythem & blues revue,with everything one could want, audio, visual, visceral planned for maximum entertainment value.
The band hit he stage running with "First I Look at the Purse," with Wolf entering at maximum velocity from stage right, executing his familiar jittery steps.
When Geils is in true form, the visual aspects are the band, not pyro, great lighting, and other special effects are rendered moot when J. Geils Band is on stage; the dance moves of Peter Wolf; Magic Dick moving rhythmically about the stage as he plays; Seth Justman pounding on his keyboards or J. Geils laying down bluesy guitar licks, and male backup singer and two female singers, the latter dubbed the "Geilettes" by Wolf.
The Uptown Horns added a tight and funky roar of horns to the mix, at one point treating the crowd to a rendering of the Blues Brothers classic intro when Wolf asked them to belt out a solo. As always, their musianship added to the mix immeasurably.
Wolf went crowd surfing during "Musta Got Lost," creating near hystweria as he walked his way down Aisle 4 from the stage, then vaulted over laps and legs in Row M, and then trotted down Aisle 3 to the stage. The Dogg, BLT Jeff, Jennifer, Danny D. and Timmy B. had aisle seats in the 8th row. aisle 3. We were able to reach out and slap hands with the Rock Legend!
A J. Geils Band show has to grab the best show tunes from its extensive catalog of party jams. After a quick paced 22 song blast, featuring: First I Look at the Purse, Homework, Hard Drivin Man, Sanctuary, Nightime, Cruisin for Love, So Sharp, Detroit Breakdown, Give it to Me, Musta Got Lost, Love Stinks and many more, the band left for a quick encore break. Let me tell you all now: THIS WAS THE LOUDEST CROWD IN YEARS! There was no way this show was going to end then. At one point as the crowd was howling in appreciation, Jeff turned to me (he was a Geils virgin) and said "one more song and its over". Being the Geils veteran that I am, I retorted "5 more songs, dude"! Well I was wrong. They came back for a 5 song encore of: Centerfold, Where Did our Love Go, Freeze Frame, Just Can't Wait, and Start All over Again. As the band did its final bows and the magic witching hour was fast approaching, Peter Wolf gathered his band mates and talked for a quick minute and then jammed to Peach Tree Street and LoveItis. Pine Knob -- er, DTE -- has a strict 11 p.m. curfew, and it was clear after several encores that Wolf and the band were not anxious to leave. At the end, the singer hung back and kept up his breakneck chatter to the crowd, rattling off the names of his favorite Detroit bands and concert halls.
There even was a brief technical glitch when Magic Dick's microphone crashed just as he was gathering momentum on "Whammer Jammer," but Wolf ran over to offer his mic, and the show went on. It's amazing how tight the band is, with so few gigs played in the last 12 years. From all accounts, this was a show for the ages and no one went home disappointed.
Weather A+
Crowd A+
Atmospher A++
Lineup A++
Staging C
Lighting C
Sound A+
Set List A+
Overall A++. One of the top three shows of the year
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