He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
I was planning on getting this weekend blog posted a bit earlier than this but I got sucked into the mighty world of pinball at the Michigan Pinball Expo which is running this weekend at Oakland University in the Oakland Center. I showed up to just walk around but ended up playing for 3 hours straight until I forced myself out of the room. They have close to 100 pinball machines which you can play unlimited. So for $15, you can show up at 8AM tomorrow and play to midnight or until your fingers start blistering and bleeding. They have some newer machines like Lord Of the Rings, Creature From The Black Lagoon, Family Guy and the Simpsons but also some classic dating back to 1959. Of the classic games, I really enjoyed Sweet Sioux which is a nice game of skill where you need to use the bumpers to increase the point values of the bonus points though it is a bit sensitive to the “tilt”. Zodiac is also a nice play with a nice use of magnets to hold the ball for bonus points as you try to visit all the planets. I also enjoyed the designs of the classic Star Trek machine, Liberty Belle (which looks like a WWII pin-up) and the nice play of Space Mission. They even had an Elvis machine which I am sure my mom would like. If you miss the thrill of that shiny ball floating around a bunch of ramps and bumpers, this is an amazing place to hang out for the day. It runs until Sunday (hours are 8AM-5PM that day). For more info, go to www.pinball.com.
I also went up to the Sarnia Bayfest to wander around and take in the Cinderella/Scorpions night. I just recently got my passport so I wanted to try it out and what better way than going to a music festival in Canada. I wanted to leave earlier in the day but didn’t get going until 3PM so I hit the border close to 5PM but was able to get across within 20 minutes which I didn’t think was that bad. I stopped by the travel info building right off the first exit and they told me I could park there for free so I did. I took the five minute walk and got my media pass which got me back stage where I got to meet a lot of the other visiting press and sit back and watch an interview with Rudolf Schenker by a radio competitor. Rain prevented the first 2 bands from going on but things started clearing up and Bobnoxious got the evening started which some really crass and funny songs, ending up with a cigarette shaped t-shirt launcher which put some girl panties and other items into the crowd. The lead singer did his best Townsend impersonation and broke up his guitar before throwing it into the audience. Next came on Cinderella which didn’t really impress me except for how much their lead singer reminded me of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. The Scorpions then came out and played for over 2 hours ending the night with wonderful renditions of “Wind Of Change” and “Rock You Like A Hurricane” which might have described the weather a few hours earlier. Overall, the audience was very well behaved and really digging the music. I haven’t seen that much air guitar being played in a long time. The grounds are very well laid and for my first experience with Bayfest, I must say I was pleased with the way things were run. It was very relaxed and low key for a rock show.
Tonight, the band Rush is doing a three hour set to be followed Saturday by the wonderful Sam Roberts Band and Weezer. Next week has two country nights featuring Keith Urban and Alan Jackson which leads to the finale with the Black Eyed Peas. After the show, I got right onto the bridge and felt good to make it across within 20 minutes again. The placement of the festival is great for Americans crossing the border since bridge access is right there. I recommend getting in town early and checking out the wonderful Stones And Bones Museum and maybe getting lunch downtown. This is definitely one of the best run festivals I have attended and look forward to future shows. For full line up info, go to www.sarniabayfest.com.
Getting ready to head to Mt Clemens to catch R&B legend Spyder Turner so have a good weekend and catch you Monday.