Wild Bill Ketelhut provides the "blog" to this anti-blog
Wild At Heart
Just saw two great shows that are coming to Detroit this week with AWOLNATION/Imagine Dragons and the Wombats. Both were excellent shows with a lot of energy and you cannot go wrong giving either show a chance. I also appeared in a play reading (meaning I had my script in hand) entitled “American Enigma” which is about the personal stories of people reflecting on what the 10th anniversary of 9/11 meant to them. It was kind of neat being on the stage after all those years of covering great theatre in Detroit to get an idea what it is like in front of the lights. I’ll stick to the audience.
Catching up with my summer shows list, I did happen to catch a couple of cool up and coming bands. Apache Relay is from Nashville and plays a mix of indie rock and roots music with their debut album “American Nomads” just out which includes a decent cover of Springsteen’s “State Trooper”. They can a nice energetic lead singer and the band does a great job mixing it up.
You can check them out at http://www.theapacherelay.com/website/ They had opened for another new opener who played to big crowds in both Rochester and Buffalo and goes by the name of Young The Giant. Lead singer Sameer has a great voice and is also energetic and he dances around the stage. The songs are catchy and the band is tight. They have come a long way in the last few years and they seemed to be poised to take the next step.
Check them out at http://www.youngthegiant.com/ This is a great week of music with a lot of bands that put out energetic performances including the Murphy, Powerman, Shazam and Girl In A Coma. There is also some great rock included here:
Tuesday (9/18) – AWOLNATION w/Imagine Dragons & Zeale @ St Andrews Hall, Powerman 5000 @ Blondie’s, Dropkick Murphys w/Creepshow @ Fillmore Theatre, Rush @ Palace Of Auburn Hills
Wednesday (9/19) – Alkaline Trio & Girl In A Coma @ St Andrews Hall, Missy Higgins @ Crofoot, Bloc Party @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
Friday (9/21) – Wombats & Morning Parade @ Crofoot, Lynyrd Skynyrd & Los Lonely Boys @ Pine Knob, Steve Vai @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
Saturday (9/22) – Slash & Foxy Shazam @ Fillmore Theatre, Street Dogs and Koffin Kats @ Magic Stick
Sunday (9/23) – Gordon Lightfoot @ Brighton Center for the Performing Arts
Monday (9/24) – Melvins @ Smalls (they are trying to set world record of 51 shows in a row in 50 states – including DC)
I am still working through my pics of Toronto Fan Fest but I think I hit the halfway point. Included here are some pics dedicated to TV and the movies that stood out esp the Clockwork Orange chick (though I bet she wasn’t even born when the movie originally came out). See if you can figure out the rest.
Of course, some people make there own costumes (or have someone who makes them) like the futuristic cop, the mystical lady (her friend is trying to break into costume design) and the young girl who put together the metal creature (she was in character so I didn’t get the chance to talk with her but her mom said she worked on it for over a month).
Once again, a lot of stars are about and here are film director John Carpenter (Halloween, They Live, The Thing), Alan Hallworth (composer who scored most of Carpenter’s best work at an after party Rue Morgue), wrestler Booker T signing his new book and John Barrowman from the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. The quality and diversity of guests make it a lot of fun to walk around though if you want anything signed or a picture, make sure you are bringing cash because the prices range between $20-$50 per. I remember going to I-Con in 1990 and not paying for any autographs (Stan Lee 1990 = free, Stan Lee 2012 = $50).
Part of the fun also is just the sheer amatuer talent. Despite the fans making their own costumes, there are a lot of people selling costumes, hand made soap shaped as you favorite characters, artwork and this year they had some make-up people. Rue Morgue had people doing zombie make-up on guests, a young lady was selling alien contact lenses and the Canadian sci-fi channel ‘Space’ had people from the series “Face Off” doing work out on the floor and that multi-alien look is the bomb.
I still got more pics plus some Toronto interviews that I am still putting together. I just need more time in my day. See you next week.