KISS 9/11/10 Pine Knob

The summer outdoor concert season is rapidly coming to a close, so the lovely BLT and I decided to make KISS likely our closing show of the season. Joined by friends, Jane & Paul and Debbie & Steve, the night started with dinner and drinks in the VIP. As usual, Rebecca took great care of all of us. This lady is the real deal! Our drinks never are empty and her smiles always present, despite the weather, crowd, or problems. Rebecca, you are the BEST!

Another cloudy, wet and miserable day in Detroit, could not diminish the sold out crowds enthusiasm for KISS. As usual, there were hundreds of youngsters in full KISS make up, and the usual couple of dozen grown ups trying to relive their youth. With the members of KISS approaching retirement age, it might be hard to remember that Kiss invented most rock ‘n’ roll clichés that we all remember so well.

Boasting a larger than life stage show, and pulling out every trick in the book, KISS delivered the musical equivalent of a "the big game" on Saturday at the Knob. Yes, there were more explosions than a Fourth of July finale, there was a top-notch light show, and band members flew across the crowd. The night got off to a promising start, with a frenzied pyrotechnics display giving way to the band, in full makeup, rising on a platform from behind the stage as they played the opening riff to “Modern Day Delilah,” off their newest effort. The rock ‘n’ roll icons then worked through a solid mix of songs from their iconic back catalogue,including “Cold Gin”, “Let Me Go, Rock ‘N Roll,” “Deuce,” and “Firehouse,” which featured guitarist Paul Stanley comically putting on a toy fire helmet and prancing around the stage with it. Unfortunately, singer and rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley had a lackluster vocal performance! Most songs his voice was below sub-par. We've seen over 20 shows, and this was his worst vocal performance we've heard. He did make up for it by interacting with the crowd and appearing genuinely happy to be on stage. The band shuffled back and forth between their older material and songs from their newest, playing newer cuts such as “I’m an Animal” and “Say Yeah.” Despite some questionable choices in regards to their set list, the band still delivered a memorable stage show full of excess.

The band still manages to outperform all of rock’s younger acts on the massive stage, which featured numerous microphones and platforms that the Gene & Paul played on and from.

As he’s done thousands of times, bassist Simmons capped off his signature bass solo by spitting out blood and being hoisted to the ceiling to deliver lead vocals for “I Love It Loud”. For those of you that think KISS stands for "Knights in Satans Service", this part of the show almost gives it credence

The band ended the show with what Stanley described as “The longest encore you’ll ever hear,” poking fun at the band’s tendency to sometimes play multiple encores. If my count was correct, 5-6 songs played as encores.

Weather D-
Atmosphere A
Crowd A
Sound C+
Lighting A+
Staging/effects A
Line up C
Set list C+

Overall, I'll have to give it a C+ or B- due to Paul's bad voice. Still a fun night out and man we do not want summer to end, but oh well.

Rocky Horror Picture Show- Live Meadowbrook 9/10/10

While not a concert or a play, this performance nonetheless intrigued us to relive our past. For those of you familiar with the "right of passage" ritual of midnight screenings of Rocky Horror during our youth, the live performance blows it away!

Friday was a damp, cold and dreary night. What a perfect setting for Rocky Horror. Upon arrival, you could purchase "participation" bags containing a hat, folded newspaper, toast, rice, squirt gun, bottle of water, flashlight and a noise maker. All for only $5.00! This ensured that the crowd of approximately 3,000 would be having the time of their lives.

The Dogg, ever lovely BLT and daughter Lindsay (recently returned from her research mission to Malawi, Africa) settled into our 7th row seats about 20 minutes prior to show time. Great people watching due to 400-600 people decked out in Rocky horror finery. The band was on a scaffold approx. 12' above the stage. They played quite well and kept the show moving at a brisk pace. The casting was spot on. Brad and Janet were the perfect foils to Dr. Franknfurter. The poor narrator (BORING) was squirted in the face by hundreds of guns everytime he tried to speak. F***ing hysterical. The yells of "SLUT" for Janet and "ASSHOLE" for Brad grew louder and more raucsous throughout the night. So much rice was thrown, we could have fed a small third world nation with it.

After the first acts, a 20 minute intermission, then on for the final acts. We have not seen a crowd have more fun at an event, ever! When they return next September, by the best seats you can (only about $20.00 for the Pit) and have a totally awesome time! Best money you'll ever spend! Great job by all!

Weather D+
Atmosphere A
Sound B
Staging B
Lighting/effects B
Casting A

Overall A

Heart 9/3/10 Pine Knob

With all the musical choices in the "D" this weekend, we decided to start off with Heart at Pine Knob, accompanied with friends, Lou and Carla. Friday was an unseasonably chilly evening, with night time lows of around 50 degrees, with a howling wind, gusting to over 30 knots! Not perfect weather to say the least. At least its not raining!

Rather than face the chill and breeze in the VIP, we elected to dine at Mesquite Creek and then head to the show. As usual, Mesquite Creek served up exemplary food and drink, at a price not too much higher than the VIP Starlight. Good decision to start the night.

Upon arrival at Pine Knob, we were greeted by a 2/3 full house of approx 11,000 fans. Pavilion is 2/3 full and hill likely about 3/4 full. Blankets and jackets are the order of the day for the "hill people"!

Heart takes the stage around 8:50 and the crowd is on its feet from the first note on. Ann & Nancy were in fine form tonight and the band was rock steady. All the hits were played, from Dream Boat Annie, Magic Man, Barraccuda, Dog & Butterfly, Dreams, etc. Most surprizing was the new music from a recently released new album. It was classic Heart, with driving beats, hard guitar chops, and as always, Ann's incredible voice. To this Dogg's ears, Ann has had and likely always will have the best female lead voice in the history of Rock-n-Roll!

After the show, a few more drinks and dancing in the VIP. Very good show, great company, and overall a strong start to the last weekend of summer.

Weather C-
Atmosphere B
Sound B+
Lighting B
Staging C+
Set List A
Line up C

Overall, a strong B show and worth the money.

Eminem & JayZ 9/3/10 comerica Park

Due to a scheduling conflict, The Dogg and Lovely BLT, had to miss Thursday's show. Even though we were not there in person, all reveiws have been consistently strong. This was the concert event of the Labor Day Weekend! Between Eminem/JayZ at Comerica for two nights, we have major National acts at Pine Knob, Royal Oak Theater, Arts, Beats & Eats, Detroit Jazz Festival, Hamtramck Music Festival & Meadowbrook!. Detroit is truly the epicenter of music this weekend (as we are most weeks).

You wanted history? They gave you history.

Detroit was the undisputed center of the hip-hop universe Thursday night, at the first of Eminem and Jay-Z's back-to-back concerts at Comerica Park. In addition to the evening's megawatt headliners, a small army of hip-hop superstars -- including Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Drake and Young Jeezy -- graced the stage before a sold-out audience of 42,000-plus.

The majority of the guests came out during Eminem's 100-minute headlining set, which followed Jay-Z's meaty opening performance. Before long, the cameos were piling up like the junker cars that lined Em's set: Drake joined him for "Forever," returning a favor for when Em appeared at the Toronto rapper's hometown performance earlier this summer; 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks came on for mini-set of 50 Cent songs, including "Patiently Waiting" and "In Da Club"; and Dr. Dre appeared -- wearing a Proof shirt, no less -- and did a small set of songs with Em, including "Nuthin' But a G Thang" and "Still D.R.E." Em got the crowd to chant for Dre's long-delayed "Detox" LP as Dre left the stage, and the reclusive star promised, "I'm comin!"

The guests considerably picked up the energy of Em's set, which began to wane during a mini-set of D12 songs. Earlier, the stadium literally shook as fans jumped in unison during Em classics like "The Way I Am" and "Cleanin' Out My Closet."

"Detroit, I'm back. Did you miss me or what?" Em bellowed from the stage as cheers erupted from the audience.

Em took the stage to a dramatic intro video that laid out the backstory that lead into the concerts: The years of inactivity that followed his last Comerica Park concert in 2005, and his subsequent trip to rehab for drug abuse. When he appeared on stage, wearing a ballcap and a hoodie with a large Olde English D, he tore into the "Recovery" track "Won't Back Down" like it was a fresh piece of meat.

He was soon joined on stage by his Detroit pals Trick Trick (for an amped-up "Welcome 2 Detroit") and D12. Opener B.o.B joined Em on stage for a run through of "Airplanes Pt. II." Jay-Z also joined Em for a run-through of their 2001 pairing, "Renegade."

Near the end of his set, an emotional Eminem nearly teared up while introducing "Not Afraid." He dedicated the song to fans who stuck with him through years of career turbulence, and dedicated the song to his hometown. He closed the show with "Lose Yourself," toying with his live band during the extended outro before a flurry of fireworks marked the close of the show.

The stadium's spectacular production was fitting for the two rap icons: A gargantuan football-shaped stage backed by a truly dazzling array of lights and video screens.

Earlier in the evening, Jay-Z was visibly taken aback by the scene laid out before him.

"Before I start, I gotta take this all in," he said, ordering lights to be shined on the stadium's upper deck so he could see fans up top. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is hip-hop music and this is how far we've come... to rockin' stadiums!" he beamed. "Everybody make some noise!"

He didn't have to ask twice. The crowd was a sea of waving hands and nodding heads during his set, as fans were shook to their core by the absolutely deafening sound system. This felt like one of the most decibel-shaking concerts this city has ever seen; don't be surprised if nearby neighbors in Windsor were complaining about the noise.

Over the last year, Jay-Z has earned his stadium status. The rapper headlined several massive U.S. rock festivals already this year and has proved his ability to manipulate large crowds with ease. Thursday night he was riveting, coolly commanding the stage in his customary all black attire, his eyes hidden underneath a pair of black wayfarer sunglasses. Unlike Eminem, he didn't seem to be relying on pre-recorded tracks to bolster his vocals.

Jay-Z rose from beneath the stage and opened with his "Dynasty" intro, illuminated on the dark stage only by four spotlights. Then came the visual assault, as the stage came to full blinding life during the revved-up "Run This Town."

Jay-Z brought out Atlanta rapper Young Jeezy early in his set and joined him for a mini-set of songs, and was later joined by his hype man Memphis Bleek. He mixed hits from throughout his career and last year's "The Blueprint 3," rocking the crowd with hard-nosed anthems like "On to the Next One," "U Don't Know" and "99 Problems." Backed by a large band, he proved adept with or without them, and impressively rolled through several verses -- including an a capella portion of "Big Pimpin'" -- all by his lonesome.

Midway through his set, he paused to pay tribute to several fallen hip-hop figures, including the Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Eazy-E and Aaliyah. "And I need you to make the most noise you've made all evening for Proof one time tonight y'all," he said, referring to Eminem's best friend Deshaun "Proof" Holton, who was shot and killed in Detroit in 2006. The crowd responded by chanting "Proooooooooof" in unison.

During "Empire State of Mind," Jay-Z's 2009 love letter to his hometown of New York, overhead shots of the Big Apple filled the huge video screens; it was a stunning visual, and the Detroit crowd sang along as if it was a tribute to Detroit. "I appreciate you singing 'New York' at the top of your lungs here in Tiger Stadium. I know where I'm at," Jay said. (Comerica may think differently about that statement.)

The love from the crowd was not lost on Jay, and he gave it right back at the end of his 82-minute set. "I wanna say I had an incredible time with y'all tonight, this is one of the best experiences of my entire life," he said. He closed with "Encore" and raised his arms in victory as he walked off the stage.

During B.o.B's 30-minute opening set, many fans were still shuffling in while the chart-topping Atlanta rapper was on stage. As they made their way to their seats, fans snatched up specialized merchandise, which included Eminem-branded University of Michigan and Michigan State University T-shirts and shirts commemorating the once-in-a-lifetime concerts.


By Adam Graham, The Detroit News

Aerosmith & Sammy Hagar- Palace 8/31/10

Before heading off to the Palace, a little pre-Sammy partying was completely necessary. Scott, Jamie and the Dogg were soon in fine fettle for the nights festivities. Tonight was a night shared with friends Ed and Maureen, Ralph and Christine, and the ever present Scott & Jamie. Of course the lovely BLT and your trusted Dogg were ready as ever.

Too bad this was being held indoors! We don't get enough summer, so why not do this at Pine Knob? For the first time likely in Detroit history, Aerosmith did not come close to a sell out. At least 8 sections of the upper deck were curtained off. My guess is around 14,000 fans, or just about enough to fill Pine Knob. Sammy or Aerosmith has always been a guaranteed sell out at Pine Knob. You'd think the two together could sell out Comerica.

Sammy Hagar & the Waboritas opened the show at 7:40 to at best a half full arena. Our seats were 3 sections from the stage, 10 rows up, yet nearly devoid of life when the show started. Too bad traffic, work, and other lame excuses made way too many people miss a strong performance by The Red Rocker! We heard the early stuff; Montrose, the early Sammy stuff, the Van Halan stuff, a Chickenfoot song, and finished with Mas Tequila. When Sammy flew into "Bad Motor Scooter", asses finally left their seats and air guitars were flailling around everywhere. A strong 70 minute set was played and was well received by the somewhat flaccid crowd. Onto more JaeggerBombs and then Aerosmith!

Aerosmith learned early in their careers, the need to place a supreme emphasis on dazzling audiences while onstage, and have been doing since their inception in the early 1970s. The band hasn’t lost that enviable skill; Detroit fans who were treated to a two-hour rockshow at the 2/3 sold-out Palace were rocking from the first note until the last.

Off to a rousing start at around 9 p.m., the band kicked things off by dipping into their early catalog for the opening songs. One great thing about Aerosmith is their strong album sales and radio play. This gave their set an instant air of familiarity and inspired the entire audience to stand and rock out. And rock they did … for the entire night! There were no instances when the rowdy crowd felt the need to take their seats. Hell, the majority of the house was still on foot during drummer Joey Kramer’s solo. Typical Detroit Rock Doggs!!!! And the band gladly obliged the loyal throng. Mixing up their setlist and touching on all stages of their recorded output, it was clear that they intended on pleasing everyone in the house from the old-timers to the teens who discovered the band via their more recent ballads.

Aerosmith bounced through their repertoire and didn’t bat an eye when following up an FM radio rocker like 1976’s “Last Child” with 1993’s pop chart topper “Cryin’.” And no one seemed to notice. The band that came to prominence in the early 1970’s by combining the pomp and rocket fuel of Led Zeppelin and the naughty precociousness of The Rolling Stones has benefited from a long list of hit singles in the latter half of their existence. Old time Aerosmith fans will always bitch about missing the harder, earlier songs such as "Seasons of Wither". But the truth is, in terms of sales and success, Aerosmith’s post -1986 catalog has proved to be much more of a marketable and profitable venture, so it’s natural they’d focus on that era of their career. But not completely … the band never forgets the old faithfuls and always manages to please the diehards. Early gems like “Toys In The Attic,” “One Way Street” and “Walkin’ The Dog” nudged their way through the slew of 1990’s hit singles that were played. A great game plan for keeping both parents and the kids who they attended this show with content and satisfied.

Tyler, donning skintight white, black shirt, and a long tailed sequin jacket that seemed to shimmer in the lights like a Lake Michigan sunset, traditional painted nails and oodles of jewelry looked totally stoked and into his surroundings as he ran, pouted, posed and danced all over the huge stage. Vocally, he sounded strong and spot on. He was able to his reach his trademark yelps and screeches and sounded dynamic doing so. Perry took his well-known quiet but powerful stance as he let his guitar do the talking for the duration of the show. He took lead vocals on a rendition of “Stop Messin’ Around” that found Tyler wailing away at a harmonica while seated on the side of the stage. Perry looked particularly cool dressed in purple and black and donning a cropped hairstyle.

Regardless of the bashing and criticism the band has taken throughout their 40-year tenure, Aerosmith’s impact and influence is undeniable. Their mark has been left on scads of bands through imitation of clothing style, guitar riffs and attitude. Although the singer/guitarist dynamic of Steven Tyler and Joe Perry has often been likened to that of Stones duo Jagger and Richards, the difference is that the camaraderie between Tyler and Perry still seems active and healthy. Sure, they’ve traded barbs in the press lately: reports of Tyler threatening to pursue other avenues and his bouts with rehab and injuries has prompted Perry to voice his opinion. But the fact is, when both are onstage, doing what they do best, they are dynamic together and they seem to be right at home. A little more ragged and road-worn, the pair looked and sounded great.

Overall, this was a most excellent night of entertainment. The crowd was great for Aerosmith, my family and friends truly loved every moment. what more can a Dogg ask for? Sammy played with fire and passion. Aerosmith just did it all! Strong aural and visual grandeur. This makes about 5 great shows in a row.



August 31, 2010 songs in no particular order and shooting from memory:

Train Kept A Rollin’
Love In An Elevator
Falling In Love
Livin’ On The Edge
What It Takes
Pink
Last Child
Cryin’
drum solo
Come Together
guitar solo
Stop Messin’ Around
I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing
Sweet Emotion
Draw The Line
Dream On
Walk This Way


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

Overall an A event.

This show was the show we really wanted to see this year. For over 15 years, BLT & The Dogg have been Green Day fans. However, fate, scheduling, etc. always screwed up our plans to see the. Well tonight is the night. GREEN DAY!!!

The Knob was packed to the brim with kids from 4-20 yrs. mixing well with the elders in the crowd (of which we were two) and overall, extremely festive mood permeated the entire place. Except the VIP area, which was real slow and only 1/2 full. Cool for us to chow and drink prior to showtime.

“Detroit Motherf**kers! F**k California I’m stayin’ here!” – Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong yelled at Pine Knob to open their 3 hour long, exausting set. After about 1 minute, Billie Jow halted the band and ordered the kids from the hill to rush the stage and party like they have never partied before! The overwhellmed ushers let another 1,500 or so to pack the aisle front to back. When the "blue shirts" tried to push them back, Billie Joe yelled "hey you in the blue fuckin shirt, let them alone"! The party was on BIG TIME!!!!

My feet hurt. My mouth was desperately in need of some beer. My body was ready for a five hour deep tissue massage. But the Detroit Rock Dogg sucked it up for this show.

These were three complaints I had coming out of a Green Day concert that we got to witness at Pine Knob on Monday. But other than those three, you would be hard pressed to find any more for us, at least relating back to the concert that we had just witnessed. When Billie Joe, Mike Dirnt, Tre Cool and co. took the stage, I knew we were in for a great time. What I didn’t know was that I would be watching one of the best concerts we've ever been to. It definitely had the potential going in we thought, but we didn’t know it would happen.

I will note that this has been my first time seeing Green Day. An amazing band, who continue to thrill and wow audiences with their live performances. You can ask anyone who has seen Green Day; they give a show that is out of this world.

Following AFI, the traditional Green Day bunny hit the stage, drinking beers, goofing off, and having fun. At 8:00 p.m., the lights dimmed, the crowd erupted, and “Song of the Century” played, leading into “21st Century Breakdown.” The band then continued with tracks from their current album, “Know Your Enemy” and one of my personal favorites, “East Jesus Nowhere.”

At this point in time Billie Joe asks for a child from the audience to be “saved.” He pulled up one that made absolute sense; the child’s shirt read “Save Me.”

The band then blasted out “Holiday, ¡Viva la Gloria!, Give me Novocaine, Letterbomb (so glad they played this, another one of my personal favorites), Are we the Waiting, St. Jimmy, and Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”


Then Mr. Armstrong began the “old school” Green Day part of the set list. You could tell because not only did he announce it, but Billie Joe pulled out “Blue,” his signature guitar. Starting with “Burnout (the first track off “Dookie”) made my jaw drop; it was unexpected to say the least. They then broke out with “Nice Guys Finish Last” and “Who Wrote Holden Caulfield (at this point AFI lead singer Davey Havok came out to sing)?”

Hearing Billie Joe yell Michigan or Detroit whenever he could, singing “Living on a Prayer” by Bon Jovi, and “I’m On Fire” by Bruce Springsteen all added to the overall fun, and also the band did a medley of songs featuring “Iron Man, Highway to Hell, You’ve Really Got Me, Ain’t Talking About Love, Sweet Child of Mine,” sending the crowd into an uproar. In addition during the course of the evening the frontman invited a mass amount of people up on the stage with him, which was just awesome.

The boys then continued to blow the roof off Pine Knob with “2000 Light Years Away, Paper Lanterns, When I Come Around, and Brain Stew/Jaded (Tre Cool and Billie Joe squirted the audience with water gun while the two songs were transitioning).” When the band played “Longview” following that, they normally call people up to sing a verse of the song. What happened during “Longview” on this night, however, was something extraordinary. For this song, Billie asked a young chick in the 4th row if she really knew all the lyrics to the song. Once confirmed, she took the stage and did all proud with her stage antics, however her voice was beyond horrible. At the end of the song, Billie Joe proudly handed her his guitar saying she wanted her to have it, after telling the her that she was amazing.

Then the band proceeded on with “Basket Case, She,” the show stopping “King for a Day/Shout cover,” then a brief part from “Extraordinary Girl,” leading into “21 Guns,” and ending with their “hold that note” political anthem (Billie Joe belts out a musical note of a hard-to-estimate time, and asks the audience to do the same during this song) “Minority.”

The set list that Green Day just provided for us would’ve been enough; at that point we already realized we had just witnessed something amazing. But no, as Billie Joe said, he would play all night long, and while he didn’t really follow his own words, the band did continue for a two piece encore (to start), blasting “American Idiot” and the 9 minute epic “Jesus of Suburbia” out into the center. Then it was solo Billie Joe, armed only with an acoustic guitar, singing “When It’s Time,” a number from the American Idiot musical. He followed that up with “When September Ends,” getting joined again by his band mates as the crowd erupted for their re entry. When the song ended, the all of the band except for one promptly left, leaving Mr. Billie Joe Armstrong to end it all with the classic conclusion piece, “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).”

At this point I checked my cell phone for the time and just couldn’t believe it; it was 11:04, which means Green Day was THREE MINUTES over playing a THREE HOUR CONCERT. When Billie Joe said during the night’s events that the band was going to give the audience the best show they’ve ever been to, he meant it in sincerity. For the money we paid for this concert, we honestly would state that we got a bargain.

Weather A+
Atmosphere A+
Lighting A++
Staging A++
Crowd A+++
Sound A
Set List A+

Overall, shit I must give an A+! A new concert of the year! This has truly been an amazing summer season for the Dogg & The ever lovely, BLT

J. Geils/The Rockets 8/21/10 Pine Knob

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