DR2 – WEEKEND IN THE REAR VIEW
Dr2 would first like to take a moment to send out our condolences once again to the family of Tom Furtaw and the surviving members of the “Spitting Nickels” group. Our thoughts have been with you from the moment we heard the tragic news that occurred during your biggest show to date and hope you find comfort in the fact that T.P. Gunne left our great city doing exactly what he loved to do, May he rest in peace.
Well we here at DR2 have survived another rawkin’ weekend in the D, no thanks to all you Motor City crazies who tried to wear us out! Friday night we took a short drive to downtown Utica to see our friends in the band “Far From OK”, do their thing at Hatchy’s. This band may currently be a “cover” band but they have figured out a way to rearrange a lot of the tunes to make them their own by including the mixes of their own DJ. This was our first time at Hatchy’s and we were impressed with the faux-ice topped tables and hockey memorabilia as well as the potential as a great rock & roll venue that is located upstairs above the sports bar. With a good sized stage, enough room for a large crowd, great music, and cold beer, we were definitely starting the weekend out right!
Saturday started with a Junior DR2 b-day party but quickly became a dash to pack as much musical madness as possible into a single night as we split up, with part of the crew heading down to the new-and-improved Magic Stick to catch the Cute Is What We Aim For show. Yea, yea, yea, we know these guys are NOT from Detroit, But their manager is, another sign of Detroit’s far reaching musical prowess! (Check Out the Video Here) It’s always so cool to see these support bands come through town that may have never played a show in The D, the reaction is always the same, “Wow, Detroit IS the home of Rock N Roll….you guys are amazing!”, as if we hadn’t heard that before. On a side note here, if you have not been to the Stick in a while, you may want to get down there before summer is over. In what was a total surprise to Dr2, they blew out some walls, added stairs, window, doors and, Voila! they created the new “Alley Deck” outdoor patio bar! You can now head outdoors right off the floor where you can regain consciousness while sipping on your favorite alcoholic beverage, even order a burger from the newly installed mega gill! Freaking amazing!!
After the Stick show, we headed back out of the D, reassembling the crew out at TNT’s in Clinton Twp for the Lies Unknown show. They were celebrating frontman Justin Alexander’s B-day themselves, so it fit right into our day! This band has recently come on to the local scene with an electric stage show featuring original material from their recently released self titled 14-track disc. Tonight was no exception as we arrived just in time to see the fuse lit on what was an amazing set that had the crowd a sweatin’, pumping fists, jumping around and, by all appearances, losing their minds!! Justin, Jammie, Joe, and Sarah came out firing on all cylinders with some of their best, opening with “She’s A Slut” and rockin’ through “Lady Alcohol”, “Nowhere Fast”, “Whoa Is Me” and many others until they came to a screeching halt as they ran out of time, before asking the audience if they wanted more? Chants of “one more song, one more song...” drowned out DJ Sparky as he tried to tell the band to keep on going!! What had been a crazy scene, turned to the insane (can’t say we weren’t involved!), as the crowd literally exploded when Lies pulled out all the stops with their fist-pumping, mosh-pit-inducing, Emo-rock masterpiece, “Go-Go You Know”. 
The band let it all hang out on this one that featured Jammie taking a ride on a fans shoulders while continuing to play with Justin getting in a little moshing of his own, jumping smack in the middle of the foray! What a show, if you haven’t caught these guys yet, get out and see a show, it will be well worth it when you realize that live original music isn’t dead, it just changed its clothes. The night was not over as, the three-piece band, Barefoot Girls took the stage and rocked through their own brand of Reggae-flavored, jam-band approach to music that is just off-kilter and different enough to be entertaining. With very Beck-like vocals and unusual lyrics, we are definitely curious as to where these guys are going to take their music. We will be keeping an eye on them, you can to by heading over to their MySpace Page, find them in on our Dr2 MySpace Page in our Top Friends.
So the weekend was officially in full swing but, nowhere near over as Sunday was our most ambitious schedule of the weekend!! We were just getting started, and from what we saw on Sunday, with all the folks who were at the same shows as us, so were all you maniacs!! Very cool! Our day began with dinner and a show at Dooley’s Bar & Grill on M-59 where the Jim Beam Summer Concert Series was hosting an acoustic jam with Paper Street Saints. It was great to see these guys once again as we have seemed to always miss their recent appearances. Kathy Vargo and 
Dana Forrester of the promotional group “Detroit, On The Rocks” had given us a heads up about this performance and it was an awesome start to our Sunday, especially since we were able to get a great meal at Dooley’s and then hear some incredible music from Cheyenne, Charlie and the guys. PSS is absolutely electric on any size stage, and we were not disappointed Sunday as they rocked through two sets that featured songs from all 3 of their discs. After talking to the band at the end of the show, we were also excited to learn that they are working on getting some new material out in the next year. We will keep you posted on anything we hear on this front. If you missed this show but want to catch the Paper Street Saints you are in luck, as they are playing on Sept 1st in downtown Pontiac at the Arts, Beats, & Eats Festival. Check ‘em out there, or as always you can find them in our Top Friends! Jim Beam will be hosting another “Lazy Dayz Of Summer Party” over at Jack’s Waterfront on September 7th featuring The Orbitsun’s & Brandon Calhoon of RockStar INXS fame, check it out over at Detroit, On The Rocks, also in out Top Friends!
Next, we were off to The Emerald Theater for Rockfest ’08. This was MAJ Entertainment’s last event as Mark Jones, head of MAJ, is moving into a new job with Windup Records as a talent scout. The lineup was definitely rockin’ as So Much For Simple opened the show with their hard edged rock and roll sound and kicked off what was promising to be a great night. Krank Nine followed and kept the party rolling in the Clem, and kicked it up a notch with their thundering set. No Justus took the stage next and, as usual, Front man Ronnie Mowrer did not disappoint. Delivering his soulful mix of songs (including our favorite “Blinded” ) with those incredible pipes of his. You can see No Justus at NYNY this weekend, August 23rd, when DR2 
presents Dismantle wsg No Justus and Sour Mash. Dangerous Pursuit grabbed the stage next with their glam-rock-inspired sound and over-the-top delivery. These young guys always show up to play hard and we still love their version of Deep Purple’s “Highway Star”. Following on their heels was Frequency 54. We first caught these guys at the now-defunct Club 54 and immediately were impressed with their full sound, polished delivery and, almost orchestral, approach to rock & roll. In some ways they remind us of “Queen” in that way. Sunday was no exception as Justin and the guys were able to get the Emerald crowd on their feet and bobbin along with the jams. We at DR2 recently got a hold of their new Live Acoustic 2008 disc and it is a must-have for local music fans as it features a great mix of Frequency 54’s original material from their 3 previous discs which was recorded using the “let the tape run and let’s see what we get” approach at a recent show. What they got was a great disc that perfectly captures their sound and energy, not unlike tonight’s show where they delivered an awesome set to finish off MAJ Mark’s final show.
We could not stay around long after the final set as we were committed to making one more show for the night. It was the “Revolver” show over at Mugshots featuring Ty Stone, Don “Doop” Duprie and the “Inside Outlaws”, a loose confederation of singer-songwriters that includes some of the best Detroit has to offer including, but not limited to, Brandon Calhoon, Matt Dmits, Pat V and many others where you just don’t know who will show up at these events. The format was something Manager Sam Wood and the crew brought back from Nashville and if you haven’t made it out to one of these, you have got to go, we guarantee you’ll be hooked. The show features an ever-changing lineup on stage of 3 or 4 performers doing their thing in an acoustic format. Incredibly entertaining and at the same time, awe-inspiring. The most common comment from first time fans coming out to a show is “these guys are incredible” and “so much talent”. Quality will always rise to the top as the crowds at these shows, which move to different venues around town, continues to grow. I know we at DR2 have not missed one yet. Sunday was no surprise, as the crowd was again a virtual who’s who of Detroit music where we counted members of no less than a dozen bands before we stopped counting. Just a side note here. We are always impressed with the support that members of the Detroit music scene give each other and with their
approachable, easygoing nature with fans. If you love local music, go to a “Revolver” show and you will probably find yourself standing next to one of your favorites where you too could have a chance to chat em up a bit. The night was incredible for us, personally, as well, because Sam and the guys graciously invited a friend we brought to the show, Justin Alexander of Lies Unknown, to get up and take a turn. With borrowed guitar, Justin delivered an original as well as a couple of covers, even bringing his friend, Ryan of the band Maceri, up to do an original they wrote together. Very cool of the Inside Outlaws, and very representative of their approach to music. These guys are all about the music. We at DR2 think it is only a matter of time before their name is synonymous with Detroit music, they are really special. The hardest part of this night was getting in the car to go home. We were all wooped, and at least a few of us had to work the next morning! Another crazy marathon music day for the DR2 crew! Be sure to stop by the Dr2 Photo Gallery for more pic's from all of the events you heard about here! Detroit Rock Review- The Only Place For Local Music News & Reviews!