Well another awesome night of musical mayhem went down in The Clem once again this past Thursday Night as NTE & Dr2 Presents Thursday Night Live from The Emerald Theater returned to the historic venue for a one off December show! Tonight's line-up reached across the rock & roll lines with newcomers, The Stone Babies kicking things off with their take on a few classics as well as a few of their own mixed in. Very promising new group as they actually pulled off an amazing, if not unheard of cover of  the Police's Synchronicity, first time we ever heard anyone try that one, we'll be keeping an eye on these guys. Shock Wave filled the floor with their fans as they took to the stage, anchored by drummer extraordinaire, Angelo Coppola, treating all to some fabulous classic rock as well as a few of their own thrown in! these 13 & 14 year olds have been bustling as of late, playing to packed houses  in any venue that will allow them, and their hordes of dedicated fans, by all means, check these guys out! Spiral Crush had us fooled by their name, instantly bringing hardcore metal to our minds, but what we got was a great set of original rock & roll that had us all sitting up to take notice. Finishing out the night was Tension Head, a metal band out of Saginaw Michigan who has been making some waves on the scene as of late, especially when they pull up in their full out Tour Bus! Dropping a set full of all out Beer-In-You-Face-Metal slamming tunes, Tension Head turned everyone's head as they turned up the heat with a barrage off their latest release "Do or Die"! Catch these guys as they load up that bus and hit the state of Michigan from Saginaw to Battle Creek and all points in between! Keep your eyes on the Dr2 Gig Calendar as we continue the Thursday Night Live from The Emerald Theater in January as we continue to bring you the best every Thursday Night! A special heads up for February 11^th as NTE & Dr2 bring you the return of Band With No Name from their Florida Tour! DetroitRockReview.com - The Only Place for Local Music News & Reviews! /div>

We know Thanksgiving is in everyone's rearview mirror by now but having returned from the north lands and finally caught up with our Christmas decorating, we have to fill you in on how the DR2 crew spent their Thanksgiving holiday, where only in Detroit can we turn turkey day into a reason for a rock show!  The DR2 crew started the holiday early on Thanksgiving eve by joining the crowd at the Dawghouse in Clinton Twp. The place was packed to see the always mind-blowing Dismantle and the newly reinvented, partymeisters themselves, Panic Trigger.  These two bands got the long weekend started right with a hellacious set by Dismantle, careening through a planned 13 song set that Justin Herbert(Vox) extended by 2 songs because he wasn't ready to give up the stage!(we also feel it was an obvious effort to push Eric, the drummer, into cardiac arrest!). These guys always give you a great show!  The rest of the night was taken by Panic Trigger, who led the party into the early hours of Thanksgiving throwing down two raucous sets.  Keep an eye out for new discs from both these groups coming soon.

 

Well, our Thanksgiving started out with some great music at 12:01 a.m. but it was far from over.  The DR2 crew spent the day with our family for the traditional Turkey dinner, but instead of falling asleep on the couch, we headed down to Da' Clem for what has become a tradition in only its second year, a night of serious, fist-in-the-air, facemelting, can-you-believe-this, rock & roll.  The night started early with a bang as The Christina Chriss band opened the night at 6:30 with a set that got the energy started!  This band has continued to impress as they have built their reputation as a high-energy, party starter.  Revving up the night a notch was Odayin, who have just released a new disc, grabbed the stage and pumped up the party.  Featuring a set that included Undertow, and The Last Flight Of Chaos, the disc's title track, they held nothing back and brought more fans surging to the front of the stage.  The DR2 crew had made its way to the front of the stage by this point and camped out as the crowd on main floor kept on growing.  We were about to give up the front row real estate, knowing the night was just beginning to build.  Band With No Name, or BWNN, was next up.  It is no secret that we have enjoyed the music Jeff Gutt(vox), Gary Pittel(guitar), and the guys  put so much energy into.  But we have to say tonight was special!  Maybe it was the excitement of their upcoming disc release or that they are best on a big stage, but the guys brought it all.  Raging through a set that included all the crowd favorites!  Gutt's vocals are always incredible but on this night he brought the crowd to a fist-pumping, moshing frenzy as they built to their biggest song, Animal like.  Following closely on the heels of the excitement that BWNN built was Richy Nix.  This Canadian guy has recently made the national scene had a great set and continued to bring the energy up playing new songs from his CD Hell City.  It was evident by this time that most in attendance were here for one thing, a Critical Bill Throwdown.  The crowd in front of the stage was at capacity with fans lined up and on their feet all the way back to the mezzanine and the balcony filling for the main event.  These guys never miss a  trick and used this yearly event to build excitement for their new year release by starting their set with the curtain parting to reveal a huge screen where they shared, for the first time publicly, their new video for the song Beam Me Up. You too, can catch the video now at http://www.detroitrockreview.com/.  The crowd was ready and it was time, the screen went up and out came the band as they launched into a set that would last well into the evening and featured both old and new hits, even had an impromptu addition or two to the set list when Powerdise got the guys to throw in the crowd-inciting, Move Bitch, if you have ever been to the insanity that a Critical Bill show can become, you know the DR2 crew was caught in the eye of the storm standing front and center on main floor and loving every minute of it.  This night featured a great light show, even better music and definitely added to what has become a Thanksgiving tradition for DR2.  If you weren't able to make this show, make sure you keep an eye out for what will surely be an event when Critical Bill has their CD release party slated for early in the new year.  As always you can rely on Detroit Rock Review to keep you updated on any events so check out the gig calendar and you know you can always count on us for local news, music, and reviews! Keep Rockin'!

 

 

We at DR2 made another jaunt into the "D" Monday night for a night of music and craziness!  That's right we said Monday night!!  We have been noticing, and writing about, the fact that live music is alive and well if you know where, and when, to look for it.  This night was another example of what you can find.  4 bands, two local, a third making the claim, in the city, tearing it up for a crowd of at least 400 "fan"atics.   What a night!  Lies Unknown, the Pop-Punk powerhouse from "Da' Clem" kicked off the mayhem with a temporary, new look as a trio!  Missing their usual bass player, the guys went it alone with Guitarist Jaime Allen picking up a left-handed bass for the night and rocking it out.  Without missing a beat, Lies tore it up, delivering a power-packed set featuring their Detroit anthem, Woodward Avenue, and starting the first mosh pit action of the night when they broke into, another lies gem, She's a Slut.  Keeping the Michigan vibe going for the night was Flint natives, The Swellers, whose disc we are currently spinning for a Dr2 View.  These guys have been touring endlessly, recently having swept across the country with their label mates Paramore, in support of the new disc, Ups and Downsizing. We had caught them on another pass through town during the summer and we can tell you the touring has only amped up their energy and showmanship!  They romped through their set of "jump" music, getting the crowed primed with their new single Fire Away!  It was obvious that the night's next act had their share of fans in the D as The Casualties were greeted with a roar from the crowd and the spontaneous combustion of a huge mosh pit!  These NYC traditional punk hooligans raged through a set that had the crowd moving and crashing throughout, even forming the "wall of death" mosh pit at one point!   The headliner, Less Than Jake, completed the night with an over-the-top set of what we would have to call funk-punk.  Their sound, featuring guitar, sax and trombone is unique and catchy.  These veterans of The Warped Tour got the crowd going when frontman, Chris, told the crowd he was born in Hamtramck and raised in Novi.  They gave everything they had to finish the night and the crowd gave the same energy back with a mass of screaming humanity moving in front of the stage.  All in all, it was another great night of music in the "D".  DR2 has got to tell you, if you haven't tuned into the "new" music the younger members of the DR2 Crew is listening to, you are missing something special.  When you can pack a house with 400 "+" people, paying 20 dollars a head, on a Monday night, something is going right. As usual, you can find pics of the night in DR2's Photo Gallery and, if you want to check out their music and merch, you can always find all the bands in our Top Friends on Myspace! Remember for Local Music, News, & Reviews you can always count on Detroit Rock Review!!

 

Saturday night The Emerald Theater was the place to be where the Detroit's Best 2009 Tour landed with a line-up that featured Paradime, Lies Unknown, Ty Stone & The Truth, Dirty Americans with Cody Stagefright as well as Levi Moore & The Difference supplying the early music. There was a lot of buzz around town leading up to this event, including that of Top Dog/Atlantic Recording Artist Ty Stone's "Search for the Truth", a local reality show airing on CW50, chronicling Stone's quest of his search for his backing band, The Truth. The event, presented by Embarco & DarkGreene Entertainment, brought out a fair crowd and featured Zodiac Vodka specials as well as The Trump Girls. Getting things rolling were Michigan's own bad boys, The Dirty Americans, who've not only played just about every venue big & small through out Michigan, but have played for crowds of 50,000 + overseas with the likes of Metallica & Slipknot, have toured with Alice Cooper & Ted Nugent and have opened for Kid Rock, Uncle Kracker & Brett Michaels! Not a bad resume to say the least! These guys are not only the quintessential rock & roll band, but may be one of the best unsigned acts out there as they play every show as if it were inside an arena! Kicking off their set with what we at Dr2 consider one of their best, Detroit S.O.B, would pop the cork off of most bands, but with these Dirty Americans, it's only the beginning as they hit up the Emerald crowd with hit after hit from the aforementioned to Jet Black Holy Water, to their hook laced rocker Up All Night, they played them all, finishing out the set with Cooper's Eighteen. Look for a new one from these guys sometime this winter, and of course we'll have it here for you first!

Recently resigned to Atlantic Records, Top Dog Recording Artist Ty Stone took the opportunity tonight to stage round 3 of his "Search For The Truth" reality series, assembling 2 bands from the group of round 2 winners to perform during tonight's performance. The goal was to audition the 2 groups and have us, the audience, text in their votes for our choice of which band we thought suited him best. Kind of cool seeing all those CW50 cameras rolling every where, chasing after Ty as he made his way through the crowd, before appearing up on stage with Band #1. A true performer, Stone himself is no stranger to big shows, having performed the National Anthem both nights of this summer's Kid Rock Weekend shows down at Comerica Park. Hell, he's even toured with Kid Rock on the 40+ date "Live Trucker Tour", and just got off a 2 week stint with label mate Uncle Kracker, who by the way, was sitting in the box seats during tonight's performances! Dropping half sets between both bands, Stone set the crowd on fire playing off his latest release, Four on the Floor, even sampling some Doop along the way, before bringing the crowd to its feet with a soaring version of Downriver! Be sure to check the CW50 site where you will soon find out the results of Ty Stone's "Search for the Truth"!

 

Tonight marked the return of Sidney to the Lies Unknown line-up, completing that all too familiar look we've grown to love! This young & upcoming band, who has recently stirred some interest from some major labels, have taken the scene by storm over the past year, opening up at the small clubs, then headlining those clubs, to igniting a huge raucous during The Blowout, and have even opened up for the Flobots @ The Fillmore-Detroit. Hell earlier this year we had Ty Stone join them up on stage at one of our Dr2 Showcases and they literally tore the place apart! So it was with great anticipation that we awaited tonight's set from these pop punk masters as Justin Alexander cordially welcomed back their awol bass player, prompting a major upheaval of approval from the younger crowd that had now flooded the front of the stage, before jumping right into Man In Control. Tearing through their 40 minute set, Lies kept the heat turned up, dropping all their classics from Woodward Avenue to Let It Take A Hold, even engaging the crowd to sing along to Whoa It's Me, before dropping their newest song Love & Money. Look for a new one from these guys as Alexander has informed us they are currently writing & recording all new material for an upcoming release.

 

Tonight's headliner, Paradime, has spent much of his time in front of rather large crowds inside the world's largest arenas & stadiums as Kid Rock's DJ, so tonight's show was his first with a full band in a number of years. No stranger to headlining his own shows, Paradime has not only released some Detroit's classic hip-hop albums, he's co-wrote some of KR most successful songs including the mega hits Cowboy, Forever, and Cocky. But tonight it was all Paradime as he appeared from backstage to thunderous applause, unleashing some of his past hits from Spill at Will and of course was hawking his latest Stale Brew 4 collection of his best unpublished shit. Look for a new album the from the Detroit artist sometime this winter, aptly titled "The Slow but Inevitable Maturation of Freddie".

As with all events in Mt Clemens, there is always an after party somewhere and tonight's show featured not one but two crazy ass parties. First up was a quick jaunt down the street in the Dr2 Bus to The Hayloft where they were celebrating the first anniversary of their re-opening with free entry for any one at the Detroit's Best Concert and featured the heavy hitting rock & roll of Dismantle opening for Ann Arbor's very own maniacs TapRoot! From there, the Dr2 Bus loaded back up with a bunch of Lies and proceeded down the street to meet up with the Truth at The Kracker Barrel, we mean Mug Shots for some late night debauchery at it's finest......damn after parties......Be sure to hit up the Dr2 Photo Gallery for all the shots from this night's event and as always, remember DetroitRockReview.com - The Only Place for Local Music News & Reviews!