Saturday night was to be a different sort of night at Pine Knob for the Dogg and his usual posse of friends and family. In the past, I've never liked to entertain clients at shows like this due to the chance of me acting the fool, saying the wrong thing, or in other words, just being me. With this in mind, the lovely BLT and I entertained 5 accounts (all sitting in different areas) and in our minds, Kid Rock worked his magic on them. The Dogg even was on his best behavior for this night.
The weather was very iffy going into the show, overcast, threatening rain, and hot & humid. Our group arrived at 5:30, not knowing there were two warm up acts. I must throw mad props to our usual server in the VIP, the best employee in the Knob, Rebecca. When we arrived, they had us set up with a reserved table for 14, but not in the correct spot, not with Rebecca, yet as soon as she saw us, they rearranged tables, and put us where we were supposed to be. Rebecca worked tirelessly and efficiently to keep our group (which by now had swelled to about 22) well plied in food and alcohol. To share with you all how good she is, at the shows conclusion, we went back to the VIP and she had tables arranged and reserved for my troops and was standing guard over it until we arrived. Rebecca, we love you and appreciate you! Our $1,500.00 + bill in the VIP alone proves we were there to party. More mad props to Jeff & Jennifer P. The best boss and friends a person could ever ask for! They were tailgating from about 4:00 until our arrival. You and Jen are truly "Rock Dogg's" in our minds.
The crowd was larger than any of us have ever seen at Pine Knob. I heard they sold over 17,000 tickets for a venue that only seats 15,300. This made the VIP Starlight choked and well over its capacity. The concourses were a 30 minute "cattle chute" from the VIP to the pavilion! But who cares, it's Kid "Motherfuckin" Rock!
Certainly Pine Knob and its 15,000 capacity is a significantly smaller proposition than last years 2 Comerica Park gigs,however, Rock and his Twisted Brown Trucker band will play to just as many fans in total there as they did during just one of the Comerica shows. But that didn’t at all limit the group’s intention's for the show, a 2 1/2 hour display of Kid Rock’s genre-blending attack that on Saturday had everyone on their feet and pumping fists from start to finish. 23 songs played at a blisstering pace, strong rapour with the crowd, fireworks above the pavilion all night long, and the band was at its finest!
While he’s kept his forthcoming new album, “Born Free,” due in November, under wraps, Kid rock did debut some of the fresh material for the home town fans. There was “Slow My Roll,” Rolling Stones-flavored rocker. “Rock On” was a kinda laid back and a little lame, while “Feels Good To Me,” which was a spirited if slight country tinged song. The Detroit spun “Times Like These,” premiered as a work-in-progress last year at Comerica, has been finished and, played acoustically by Rock and guitarist Marlon Young, still stirred home town sentiment with its chorus of “I heard them say they’re shutting Detroit down/But I don’t believe it ’cause this is my home town” and accompanying video of iconic Michigan images.
Best of all was “Born Free’s” title track and slated first single, a patriotic, flag waving anthem that was inspired by Rock’s trips abroad to play for U.S. troops. Closing Saturday's show were fireworks exploding above the pavilion roof, it official started the clock on the wait for an album that — at least as far as fans of Kid Rock are concerned — can’t come too soon.
The new songs also affirmed Rock’s continuing move away from his rap-rock past and towards more carefully crafted fare. Crowd pleasers such as “Cocky,” “American Bad Ass,” “Devil Without a Cause,” “Cowboy,” “Three Sheets to the Wind” and, of course, the show-closing “Bawitdaba” were still reliable methods of getting the crowd whipped into a frenzy. Kid Rock’s real creative appetite is clearly on a different path — evidenced by his inclusion Saturday of the soulful “When You Love Someone,” a deep cut from 2007’s triple-platinum “Rock N Roll Jesus.” Even adding Shannon Curfman, a blues-rock solo artist who displayed vocal and guitar chops and even taking the solo during “Picture.”
Saturday was a bona fide, pyrotechnic Detroit throwdown for an exuberant crowd that was standing from start to finish. “Son of Detroit,” “Lowlife (Living the High Life),” “All Summer Long,” “Rock N Roll Pain Train” and a screaming “So Hott” had DTE rocking, while covers of Sly & the Family Stone’s “Everyday People” and Uncle Kracker’s “Good to Be Me” fit comfortably into the mix. And a bit of theatrics, with the entire band changing into white outfits for “Rock N Roll Jesus,” was delivered swiftly enough to avoid being a speed bump.
Weather C+
Crowd A++
Atmosphere A++
Sound A++
Staging A
Sound quality A++
Effects/pyro A++
Line up B
Overall A++, the best show of the year so far.
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