Friday, July 27th St. Clair Riverfest Concerts
Friday, July 27th St. Clair Riverfest Concerts
Current mood: sleepy
Category: Music
The Question is; Do you like your Rock with a little bit of country or your country with a little bit of rock? If the answer is yes to either of these, then the St. Clair Riverfest was the place to be Friday night. With Mark and his crew at the Warped Tour downtown, Me and mine decided to go see Kracker out at the Riverfest. Unfortunately we got there too late to catch The Unheard, but I am sure Ken and the guys rocked the riverfront. We arrived just as Stealing Allan's Rights started their set. This group brings it the old-fashioned way with strong melodies and a classic rock sound that plays well for a festival audience. Diana Balsama, the lead singer has some incredible pipes and definitely enjoys what she is doing. She and the band, Rik on bass, Tony on Guitar, and the steady beat of Pete Cvetanovski on Drums played a solid set that showcased some of there best originals. You can check out their music at www.sarmusic.com . With my crew in tow, I decided to work our way up to the front during the set and stay there for the night so we would be in front for Kracker's show. We got there and waited for the next band up, REDHILL, without any real idea what we were about to see. I had seen them on some playbills but couldn't remember the style or type of music they played. Boy were we in for a wakeup! This band blends the best that country and rock have to offer!! Julianne, the lead vocalist has all the charisma and energy of Gretchen Wilson and the voice to boot. The Band fills the stage with energy and showmanship from the rythym section of Ramon Landicho(Bass) and Greg Michaels(Guitar, vocals and, also,the man responsible for writing the songs) to the solid rock-inspired mayhem of Jay Fiondella on drums and the lead guitar mastery of Jon Lenardon. Not to quote that brother and sister act of the 70's, but these guys are a little bit country and a lot of rock-and-roll. Ramon, Julianne, and Greg constantly move around the stage, obviously having way more fun than anybody should be allowed. Their originals "Just Another Day" and "All Night Long" were my favorites. They definitely rock their country sound!! If you want to know more about REDHILL, and I encourage you strongly to see this group live, go to www.redhillrocks.com . I went from not knowing who REDHILL was, to not wanting their set to end. ...Uncle who? After the REDHILL set we went to the merch tent and bought their CD. 
As we were talking with Jay and Greg, the Kracker set started and we realized we had no chance to get back to the front of the stage, so we enjoyed the last set of the night from a distance, a long distance as the crowd had swelled to huge proportions! Kracker rocked the crowd for the last set of the night as everyone waited for the rumored arrival of Kid Rock. Same rumor, different night, same result, no Kid. But, overall, a great night of live music. As we headed back to the car for the drive back home I thought that we had seen everything for the night. But, as I opened our car doors, we heard a strange sound next to us. Spinning to investigate, we were surprised to find a goat in the front seat of the car next to us (see Pics). Obviously a watchgoat! Also obviously, we weren't in Detroit anymore!! Time to head home.
until the next show....D: