9/10/2004 - Blossom Music Center
I was surprised again by how good a show the Kid puts on. When I saw him in '02 I was blown away. Going into this concert I was thinking that maybe part of that was the low expectations going into the show and that this time it would be pretty good, but that was about it. Well, I was very impressed again.
First let me mention
the opening act. White Starr. Probably never heard of them. Some
group that doesn't even have an album yet. They were ok, I guess.
We (my daughter and I) were bored with them about half way
through their first song. Stayed and listened to most of their
second song hoping things would get better. They didn't. After
that we wandered around.
Now I am not saying they are bad, it's just we didn't care for
them. The style of music just isn't what I was looking for. They
are kinda Southern Rock. Just not so much rock most of the time.
While walking, I could still hear most of their performance. They
played pretty well, just nothing I was interested in.
Now on to the good
stuff! Kid Rock. From the start, things were a little different.
Before Kid comes out, they go around and introduce the rest of
the band right in the begining. Which is unusual because most
bands do that right before or after the encore break.
When Kid finally came out, he got the place a rockin'. After
several hard rocking, move around and get sweaty tunes, they
slowed things down a bit for a couple songs. Then things got
fired back up again.
I paid a lot closer
attention this time to some of the things that I really like
about the way Kid performs.
First of all, this time he didn't do a whole lot of talking to
the crowd. When I saw him in '02 he spent a lot of time doing
that, drawing the crowd in. This time, he drew the crowd in with
the music. I actually liked both approaches, but it is nice to
see a variety.
Second of all, there is the pacing to the show. It was right
around 2 hours long, and felt perfect. With the couple slower
spots, you had a chance to catch your breath so you weren't worn
out before the concert ended. I was still pretty spent, but there
have been times where I have started to drag a little before the
end and was thinking, "how much longer is this going to go
on". Didn't have that problem at all at this show. He had a
very nice mix of rockers and slower items. Ones that are fun to
sing to, but don't give you the urge to pump your fist in the air
and thrash around.
And finally, one of the coolest things. You never know what he is
going to sing. He changes up songs all over the place. Starts
with an intro to one song and leads it right into something else
entirely. Changes up the pacing of the song. "Only God Knows
Why" really shows that. The begining is a lot slower paced,
and the middle is faster and harder. He changes or adds lyrics.
He even throws in curve balls in the middle. At one point, in the
middle of a song (can't remember which one) it transitions to the
"Dukes of Hazard" theme song, then goes back to the
original again.
Almost forgot to
mention a couple really cool things.
First, Kid's drummer Steph did a great job on the vocals for
"Picture".
Again, Kid did a solo on almost every instument on stage!
Started with the DJ desk, then he went and played the lead
guitarists guitar (while the guitarist was still wearing it).
Then he did an awesome solo on the slide guitar. Then the
keyboards. Then the drums. Which was cool, because first he
hopped up on the drum kit and started playing on Steph's right
side while she was still playing. Then he moved to her left side.
Then slid in beside her. Then she slid out. All this while
neither of them ever missed a beat!
The stage set was pretty basic, but cool. Had a few different backdrops, but the main one was a huge eagle with it's wings spread. A good smattering of pyro, and flames to keep things lively and punctuate a few lines. Flashed the lights on the crowd a lot, and really got them loud and interactive. The back-up singers were nice to look at. Actually better than the 4 dancers (2 on either side of the stage). While they weren't hard on the eyes by any means, I just thought the back-up singers were more pleasing to the eye, and not nearly as 'cheap' looking.
I still wonder about
some of these people that go to concerts.
We had decent seat. (Section 24 2 rows up from the soundboard,
dead center)
For the begining of the show, we had most of the row to
ourselves. (good thing, because there were some really tall guys
a few rows up that were blocking the view a little).
Most filled up shortly. There were a couple of girls beside me
that showed up like the 4th song in. Left before the encore. Came
back for like 2 songs in the middle of the encore, and left
again????? While they were at their seats, they were busy playing
with their cell-phones. ?????
Why spend the money? Why even bother?
Then there were like 2 couples to the left of us that kept going
back and forth to somewhere. I don't know where, they never
brought anything back with them. The thing that annoyed me was if
we are in the middle, and they are to our left, why the hell are
they going to the right to get out!?! The one couple I can almost
understand, they were like 2 or 3 seats down from us, so it
really wasn't a much longer trip. The other couple, I don't even
know how far down they were. I couldn't even see them. They had
to be only a few seats from the aisle on the left. I
probably wouldn't have noticed really, except they made like 7
trips each! Back and forth. Walking right in front of us.
Annoying the hell out of me. No respect for others. If you have
to run around that much, go stand on the frelling lawn, and quit
bothering those of us actually trying to enjoy the show!
Call me old-fashoned. But I thought the reason to go to a concert
was to watch the show, and enjoy the music.
The only thing that
sucked about the day was the traffic. Got stuck in some nasty
'rush hour' traffic in Cleveland (the 480 & 271 junction for
anyone familiar with the area) on the way in. Kind of expected
it, so didn't bother me too much. Still got there with plenty of
time.
Of course getting out of Blossom is always tons of fun, but this
time it was even better. Got out, going down the road. Get on the
nice straight-away when things come grinding to a halt yet again!
????????????
WTF. Turns out there was an accident. Looked like a 3 car chain
reaction type thing. Took almost an hour from when we started
trying to leave the parking lot, to route 8. Usually this is like
30-40 minutes tops.
I really didn't need the delay either. I had already been up long
enough, and was looking at a 2 hour drive home. That extra 20-30
minutes in traffic took it's toll on the way home. I had to use
every trick I knew to get back without falling asleep.
The setlist (pretty sure about most of it)
Intro / Son of
Detroit
Cocky
You Never Met a Motherfucker Like Me
Midnight Train to Memphis
Balls in Your Mouth
Devil Without a Cause
Feel Like Makin' Love
Picture
American Bad Ass
Jackson, Mississippi
Cold and Empty
Cadillac Pussy
Forever
(I think there was another cover as well as another song here)
Encore:
Detroit Breakdown
Only God Knows Why
Three Sheets to the Wind
Cowboy
Bawitdaba
Also thrown in during, before, or after songs were bits of "Freebird”, “Back In Black,” “La Grange,” “Smoke On The Water,” and the theme from "Dukes of Hazard"