He has a radio program on WXOU out of Oakland University
Wild At Heart
Spent some time this weekend at the first annual Midwest Motorcycle Fest and while I don’t have any pictures (feel free to email me some @ doramu13@yahoo.com), I do have some impressions about the event. The event was ambitious in its attempt to be all things biker. While I might have stood out like a sore thumb, not being dressed in biker gear of any sort, the crowds on Saturday were nothing to be impressed by. One would think Saturday would be your big day and I would be surprised if 2,000 people showed up. This is a shame since the event was decent by most standards. When I got their at 4PM, it was starting to rain) which lasted about 15-30 minutes, but not before I was able to take in some local band Voodoo Honey and some stunt bikes which wasn’t anything to write home about. The event had opened at noon and while not many people were there, I thought things would pick up.
When putting on this type of event, the worse thing is delaying events and not informing anyone. Hitting the main stage at 5:30PM to take in a band, I was greeted by a blank stage. Then the Midwest Babe Contest failed to materialize and then the Flaunt Girls and finally Amanda Overmyer. Talking to people, I heard third handed that some people didn’t get paid which was why some artists, like Amanda, weren’t there. Of course the silence over the speakers except the occasional Tom Petty or Kid Rock songs left people wondering what was going on. Some people left the grounds for dinner when some sort of entertainment might have kept them spending money on the grounds. At least this festival allowed people to go to their cars or leave the property and come back on which was nice. I also checked out the American Hell-drivers and their Wall Of Death which was the first must-see thing I did at the event. These drivers raced motorcycles and go-carts up a circular wall with the audience just inches away. The last stunt has the audience hold out dollar bills which the motorcycle stunt guy drive up and grabs the bills from your hand. A lot of people found the exhilarating and one of the highlights of the festival.
Finally at 7:30, the Flaunt Girls showed up (you can check them out at www.kissesandspanks.com) for a brief 5 minute routine and the disappeared until 8:30PM when they hit the stage again. So basically you had 3 hours of nothing on your main stage and almost no announcements of what was going on. At least by this time you had some hot babes on stage warming up the crowd for Mini Kiss who came on amid laughs and cheers. The mighty midgets put on a fun show though their lead singer wasn’t that great and half on their set was covers of other bands, like Guns N Roses and Black Sabbath. With all the great KISS songs, I don’t know why they do so many covers and they seem their best when doing songs like “Strutter” and “Detroit Rock City”. Mini Gene is the highlight as he keep the audience going with his shout outs, tongue action and flames. Too bad the lead singer, from Detroit, didn’t seem that good. Looking at some footage, it looks like he is pretty new to the band which might explain.
Anyway, after a brief intermission and more girls, Jackyl hit the stage and put on a decent performance for aging rockers, highlighted by the finale of “The Lumberjack” with chainsaw and wood stool in tow. Afterwards, they had some MMA fighting which after the first fight produced some entertaining minutes (better than some Palace cards) and finally some female cole slaw wrestling (wish I had pictures). The babes were hot though I hate it when they pick a guy to wrestle with them and they pick the most overweight, ugly guy in the audience. Makes it hard to watch!! Just let the girls go at it. Anyway, things wound down at this point and left me to think if it was worth it. I think the vendors they had brought some great merchandise and it was a shame they didn’t have more people. Some of the vendors planned on leaving before Sunday started which is a shame.
Overall, I thought the event had promise and a lot of people seemed to have a good time once the night hit. Being held outdoors at the Silverdome worked for the event though having something indoors might have been nice, esp when the rain hit. Lack of ticket sales probably hurt which might have been due to lack of proper advertising or maybe the ticket prices w/parking. The events planned would seem to appeal to that crowd (those that actually happened) and the bands they lined up held promise. If there was financial trouble, that is too be expected in a first year and I wonder if it will affect future plans. I wish the group that put on this event good luck in the future and hope that a second Midwest Motorcycle Fest can learn from the problems on the first.
For those looking for some upcoming concerts, I can recommend:
Tuesday (8/03) = Carjack @ Majestic Café
Wednesday (8/04) = Hippifest featuring War and Jack Bruce @ Pine Knob, Cypress Hill @ Fillmore, Avi Buffalo and Blitzen Trapper @ Majestic Theatre
Thursday (8/05) = Maroon 5 and Owl City @ Pine Knob, Sun Messengers @ Mt Clemens Riverfront (free show), reggae influenced Trevor Hall @ the Ark, rocker Juliette Lewis @ Magic Stick, blues guitarist Jonny Lang w/ Moreland & Arbuckle @ Lexington Music Theatre Company
Friday (8/06) = day 1 of Aestival Festival featuring Avi Buffalo (also Emily Rose, St Thomas Boys Academy and more) @ Aestival Festival Grounds (Armada) (free show), "Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival" featuring Rob Zombie and Five Finger Death Punch @ Pine Knob, blues artist Watermelon Slim @ Callahan's Music Hall, "Rockin' On The Riverfront" w/ Gregg Rolie (of Journey and Santana fame) @ Ren Center (free show)
Saturday (8/07) = day 2 of Aestival Festival featuring Avi Buffalo @ Aestival Festival Grounds (Armada) (free show), "Carnival Of Madness" w/ Shinedown and Puddle Of Mudd @ Pine Knob, Empty Orchestra opens for Frank Turner @ Magic Stick
Sunday (8/08) = Michael W Smith and Amy Grant @ Pine Knob, Lil' Ed & The Blues Imperials @ Callahan's Music Hall, Ryan Star opens for Thriving Ivory @ Pike Room, Tony Bennett @ Caesars Windsor
Monday (8/09) = Ingrid Michaelson @ the Ark
Last week I had the pleasure of seeing Natalie Merchant at the Michigan Theatre. I always regretted never seeing the 10,000 Maniacs in concert but have seen Natalie years ago when she played the Fox with the Innocence Mission. After the show I waited around afterwards and met some other fans. We were still talking when some guys got off the bus and asked us where a nice place to hang out in Detroit was. I was in Toledo at the time so I had no idea but the girls suggested the Magic Stick. The guys turned out to be the drummer of the Wallflowers (who had previously worked for Natalie), their guitarist and a roadie. So we went bowling and played some pool and at the end of the night they told us to come to the show tomorrow as their guest as they opened for Chris Issak. That was the only time I called off work at my job of three years and it was a great show and one of my memorable concert experiences. They even came into the audience before their set to see how we were. Awesome guys!
Well this time, there was no hanging out with stars but Natalie put on a wonderful 2 ½ hour show. The first part was dedicated to her new album, “Leave Your Sleep”, which is a concept album which she calls a "a project about childhood". She had a child, Lucia, about six years ago who is at that stage where she is asking those complicated questions. What started out as a simple album of children’s songs, evolved into a collection of music adapted from 19th and 20th century British and American poetry about childhood. While this sounds weird, done by Natalie who used a slideshow with pictures of the authors and some of their works, as well as danced in gypsy-like fashion, this turns into a musical event that should please true music fans. In a year that has seen Cyndi Lauper do a blues album (5 weeks at #1 on the blues chart), Sting tackling classical music and David Bryne doing a tribute to Imelda Marcos, this seems to blend in nicely as the artists of my youth continue to push boundaries. I wonder what Peter Gabriel is doing now? Check out her new album! It is amazing!
For my band of the week, I am looking at Lights from Toronto, Canada who is an electropop singer and songwriter that also does her videos and a comic bio of her life. When I met her 2 years ago, I was impressed by her love of old comics including the original Magnus Robot Fighter and she has a cool 70’s women’s lib era Wonder Woman tattoo on her back that is gorgeous. She has done a number of solo shows here as well as appearing at Warped Tour and Lilith Fair. If you get the chance to catch her live, you won’t be sorry. Here are two of her songs:
Have a good week and catch you later.
