Stars And Stripes In Da Clem (Day 1)
Stars And Stripes In Da Clem
-editors note-OK, it was an extremely busy week last week, and shortened to say the least, which put the damper on things including the following “Delayed” review of last weekends Stars & Stripes Fest, so without further ado, here’s the wrap-up on day 1 of the fest.
Day 1:
The 2nd Annual Stars & Stripes Festival landed in Da Clem this past Friday afternoon and boy did it start with a bang! A Handful of acts got the music going early on, but by the time those maniacal madmen, 60 Second Crush, minus the Bass Goddess herself, were ready to take the stage, good old mother nature opened up and tried to disperse their following to no avail! With Shim Dog frantically holding on from beneath a tarp aimed at protecting his bombastic set, the Crushers had to be wondering “weather” or not they’d get their set in! Alas, by the 4 pm set time the clouds that had cleansed the street finally moved on and allowed our favorite hard hitting rock band to kick things off. Filling in for Dana Forester on bass was none other than madman Frank, currently with Overloaded, and amazingly didn’t miss a beat! Nailing everyone’s favorites, Tommy T again showed why he and his band are a force to reckoned with, pulverizing all who managed to stick it out, pumping out a near 40 minute set as the late arrivers looked over their shoulders wondering what & where that pulsating sound was coming from! A fine start to an early afternoon on the Jaegermeister Stage that would be graced by some of the areas best “Rock” bands throughout the weekend.
With a quick shuffle to the east, Dr2 & Crew set-up camp over in front of the national stage that would ultimately see a continuous barrage of Local Detroit Bands take the stage prior to the so called “National” headliner, Skid Row. First up on the Big Stage were last weekend’s Harley Fest “Visual Display” winners, The Unheard. A major hurdle for most local bands on the circuit is the ability to take that next step from the small confines of a smoke filled club that is overflowing with their fans that undoubtedly plays into their hands and moving it onto a massive stage that can easily swallow many an act, then duplicating that same raw sense of excitement that comes so easily on the small stage. The Unheard not only scored an “A” on their transition to the mammoth PA, they also succeeded in bringing the full onslaught of what a rock & roll band should look and fell like, filling the National Stage with a sound and visual display usually reserved for those high flying “National Acts”. The defining moment came at the end of their set when The Unheard once again closed out with their latest single “Last Night’s Girl”, and what an ending as they not only had “Last Night’s Girl” dancing around on stage, scantily clothed in the latest “Unheard” merch, but they had 3 of “last night’s girls” frolicking all over the guys! Great set again today from The Unheard.
Dropping in at the 6:30 slot was HUSH who has been busy working on a new album that will be out soon. HUSH is no stranger to the ups & downs of the music industry, having signed a major record deal with Geffen a few years back that ultimately seen two of his hit songs land on NBC’s “The Contender”, then seen things go south from there. HUSH appeared to have all that behind him this evening, taking the stage and performing to an ever increasing crowd, HUSH threw down all his past hits, before unleashing his new rally cry, Rise Again, his latest single that’s due out on the new album this summer. If you haven’t the chance to hear this one, by all means get over to the Dr2 Video Gallery and watch & listen!
Critical Bill has always been one on those bands that never has been swallowed by the big stage; in fact they seem to embrace it more than most bands in Detroit. Tonight’s 7:45 show was an exact testament to that fact as they returned to their hometown of Mt Clemens to finish their latest tour that saw them criss crossing the states, narrowly escaping the flood waters during a Cedar Rapids, Iowa show. It was obvious that they had just played a month long of shows together as they brought their Downtown The World to the National Stage tonight, literally shredding the place apart with their usual high energy hip hop rock show that had the entire crowd rocking, fist pumping & jumping all set long. Critical Bill gets Dr2’s vote for best set on the National stage this Friday night.
Who ever put the Dirty Americans in the 8 pm slot over at the Jaegermeister stage certainly must have never seen these bad ass guys perform live before. Definitely worthy of a similar slot over at the National Stage, The Dirty Americans took the opportunity to show the Stars & Stripes booking committee how a rock band should play out in front of a crowd waiting for the night’s headliner by turning it up and blasting them out with an all out rock & roll party marathon! Judging by the response of the crowd, The Dirty Americans won over some new fans tonight, hopefully it includes the booking committee as Dr2 would love to see these guys ripping it up in front of any “National Act” that dare to follow.
Back at the National Stage, Detroit’s very own Sponge took over in the 9 pm slot, igniting there own fireworks on stage before the 10 pm blast off of the “Official” Mt Clemens fireworks. Lead singer and band maestro, Vinnie Dombrowski, began the set from atop the fence dividing the VIP area from in front of the stage. Viine must have been a gymnast in an earlier life since he stood on that fence supported by one lucky fans hand for what seemed the entire set! Never lacking any energy, Sponge took us through their entire musical carreer, parlaying their newest hit Party Till Ya Drop into a rendition of Kid Rock’s infamous chant “Their ain’t no party like a Mt Clemens Party” before delivering their classics 16 Candles, Where’s Mary, and the quintessential Sponge anthem Plowed. Look for a truly unique opportunity for any die hard Sponge fan this fall as they have announced a Caribbean Cruise with Sponge.
Topping the night off over at the Jaegermeister Stage was another “why isn’t he on the National Stage” act, Mitch Ryder. At 63 years old, his music still crescendos across the lot, echoed by the multitude of fans pack on Main St, singing along to every word of every song, Ryder certainly would of packed them in at bigger the stage. But hey, this is Detroit and in Detroit we rock with Detroiters as Ryder may have lost his maneuverability on stage, but proved he hasn’t lost anything in his voice. Performing what appeared to be a “Greatest Hits” collection of all his favorites of the past 40 years of his illustrious career, Ryder had them dancing in the streets (amongst a whole lot of other non-family type of activities) right up to the midnight closing of the day one of the Stars & Stripes fest. A great end to what turned out to be a great first day, err night at the 2008 Stars & Stripes Fest!
to be continued……..