Harley Fest 2007 Kick-Off Party
HarlyFest Kickoff Party @ Club54
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Thursday night brought another in what's becoming a long list of excellent shows to "da Club", a relatively new eastside Rock Club in Clinton Twp. Last night's gathering was the "Official" WRIF HarleyFest Kickoff party featuring 3 of the bands that are scheduled to perform at this weekend's HarleyFest at Freedom Hill. As the night began, with rif's Doug Podell at the helm, there was a buzz develpoing through out da club in anticipation to the night's performances. Opening the night was no other than local "cover" band PHX, who pleasantly surprised us with 2 "original" songs added to their set. Perhaps one of the coolest moments of the night occured during the soundcheck. After overcoming some minor techical difficulties, a nearly empty club, and no drummer in sight, we where treated to a rendition of Dio's Holy Diver with a plugged in Bass, Guitar, and Matt Mathews vocals "un-miced". Actually sounded quite awesome. Although the trudged through all those covers, the real treat was the live performance of their song Undone. I'll need to give this one a spin or two soon, but judging from last night, it sounded good.
Next up, fronted by one of Detroit's very own Queens of Rock-n-Roll, Suzie Ferro, Radiocraft rocked the house. With members of one of Detroit's other bombastic bands, Soul Circus, in attendance, the band ripped through their set like the seasoned veterans they are. Mainly pulling from their Red album, Radiocraft delighted all of us with their mainstays of Hurricanes, Bakersfield, and one of my fav's Red. Things again got interesting as the headliners for the night, The Dirty Americans, where zipping along I-94 somewhere between Ann Arbor and the C-Town and running a bit late as they had just opened up for the Taproot show at the Blind Pig. As Radiocraft launched into their final song, a frantic KG was asking Suzie for 2 more songs. We again were treated to another one of those "special" moments when they gave us their version of Led Zepplin's -Babe I'm Gonna Leave You. All I can say is wow! Totally awesome vocal that rang true through out the crowd. Job well done as they had to shoot from the cuff. I love it when that shit happens.
It seemed to be a night full of surprises as Radiocraft was ending the aforementioned song.....low and behold the Big White Trailer backs up to the front door of da club, delivering us The Dirty Americans. One thing I can say about our Detroit rock bands, the bigger they are, the faster they seem to load out and load in. I think that within 15 minutes of their arrival, Radiocraft was tore down, the Dirty Americans where up their with Myron ready to rock out for all of us. Truly amazing. For all of you who have had the pleasure of seeing the Dirty Americans, it was another stellar performance from one of the tightest rock outfits in the area. If you haven't seen this band, let me tell you right now, that you do not know what you are missing. From the opening chords of the lead song Jet Black Holy Water to the final high fives of the night, they just do it right, never leaving a minute for you to catch your breath before firing off another hellfire missle into the crowd. If you do indeed get a chance to see these guys, make sure you take a 4-pak of beer with you to the front of the stage......Myron and the rest of the boys will appreciate every drop!
PS- The HarleyFest takes place this Saturday June 16th at Freedom Hill in Sterling Heights. PHX takes the stage at 2:15 pm, with Radiocraft following at 3:00. Dirty Americans close the show at 9:00 pm. See ya there!