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 2^nd 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……..

Hog Heaven Hits Freedom Hill

Hog Heaven landed in Sterling Heights this past Saturday as Detroit’s undisputed champions of rock & roll radio, WRIF, held their 10^th Annual 2008 WRIF Harley Fest. Under beautiful blue skies and moderate temp’s, thousands of Harley & Local Music fans descended upon the Freedom Hill Amphitheater to help raise money for the local Rainbow Foundation. Now in its tenth year, The Harley Fest has been a staple on the metro Detroit Music Festival scene since its inception, which saw small national acts hit the big stage inside the amphitheater using a number of local acts to warm up the crowd. Undergoing many different reincarnations over the years, the fest moved into the park’s pavilion stage, dropping the national bands in favor of a full day of the area’s top local bands, finally migrating to this year’s version which brought back a national act to “headline” the Fest while being supported by 9 of Detroit’s top rock & roll bands. The day started off with a huge charity run that set off from Motor City Harley Davidson and arrived at Freedom Hill just in time for the noon time Kick-off by none other than Dr2’s favorite east side party band Soul Circus! These guys are the role models when it comes to flexibility, definitely worth more than a noon time opening slot, Soul Circus took the opportunity to showcase what they do best, getting the party rolling. Fresh off a recent medical scare, Kevin Kanka (vox) showed no signs of slowing down, delivering a blisteringly fun set of beach ball laden rock & roll in the sun! Not to worry though with Soul Circus and their “Crunk” girls on hand, passing out ice cold freebie samples of Crunk Energy Drink straight from a front row cooler! No Justus slid into the 2^nd slot as they continued to build on their loyal following. What they may lack in corporate sponsorship, they make up for with a fantastic vocal from their lead singer, Ron Mowrer. He has that effortlessly controlled, smooth voice that, seemingly, flows from his acoustic guitar. A nice mid-afternoon set from these southern alt-rockers. Looking as if they, themselves, rolled into the park on Harley’s, Dismantle took the stage next, revving everyone’s engine with their full throttle rock & roll. Straight out of the book of good time rock & roll, Dismantle picked up the pace by delivering a tight set to an ever increasingly, Miller-Lite-toting crowd, finishing it off with the first fist-pumping sing-along of the day, More Rock N Roll. Justin Herbert (vox) and the guys always seem to be having way too much fun onstage, and today was no exception as they cranked the energy up and brought the crowd along. Metro Detroit, believe it or not, is still ranked in the top 10 “Metropolitans” in the United States, which nowadays extends clear out to Flint, which is were the next band up, Frequency 54 hails from. Having been big fans of this group since the first time we caught them at the now defunct Club 54 (what shame BTW- place had a lot of promise at one time), Frequency 54 brings their “A” game each & every time we’ve seen them and today’s set was no different. Garnering ever increasing Regional exposure, Frequency 54 has become a band to notice, filling area venues to capacity whenever they play. Frequency 54 has that unique ability to blend crunching guitar riffs over the top of their bombastic rhythm section, ultimately showcasing the melodic vocals of Justin Rose to deliver a sound that seemingly crosses a variety of genres, yet manages to keep their own identity along the way. Another fine set in a growing string of awesome performances today! Radiocraft. Even the name begs to be heard. What else can be said about this group of extremely talented musicians that hasn’t already been said? Recently up for 4 Detroit Music Awards, Radiocraft parlays addicting hooks with mesmerizing vocals to produce an undeniable sound that leaves you wanting more! Hey, in today’s world of iPod friendly emo jump music, it fascinates me when my 15 year old sites Radiocraft amongst his favorite groups. This only fuels our confusion and begs the question “why isn’t this group in regular rotation on this area’s radio stations?” Playing the 3pm slot today, Radiocraft absorbed the blazing sun and increased the energy of the crowd tenfold with superb renditions of their hit songs including Red (which by now we all were), Hurricanes (actually would have been welcomed at this point), and the eye popping hook filled Bribe The Guards (thankfully we didn’t need too!). Radiocraft will be hitting the National Stage next weekend at the Stars & Stripes Festival in Mt. Clemens were they’ll be opening for The Romantics, Everclear & Uncle Kracker on Saturday night! The Unheard has played the Harley Fest a number of times in previous years which is exactly why they’re here again this year. Never one to disappoint, The Unheard picked up right where Radiocraft left off and proceeded to annihilate the packed pavilion as that damn sun started to blister foreheads! Playing a number of their hard hitting tunes this afternoon, it was their newest, yet unreleased, single that threw the crowd into a frenzy. Nearing the end of their set The Unheard “Unleashed” their all out rock & roll party song “Last Night’s Girl”, complete with scantily clothed dancers on stage that were one step away from an assault on various members of the band, culminating with the release of dozens of brightly colored balloons and confetti filling the sky in a carnival like fashion! Being quite a few beers into the set, Dr2 cannot wait to get a chance to spin this newest single that certainly points to an upcoming CD Release sometime in the near future. If you’re like us and can’t wait for your chance to hear the new one, then make sure to head on over to the Stars & Stripes next weekend where The Unheard will also be on that National Stage opening up for Sponge & Skid Row Friday night. Whenever you want a party to reach fever pitch, just call on Ugly. A virtual traveling party machine, Geo Teubl (vox) takes having fun to the extreme. Known for his all out antics onstage, Teubl is like that Energizer bunny, a never ending blur of movement, jostling from one end of the stage to the other, only to come back up front and indulge himself (and us) with an onstage costume change! Still flying high off their latest release, Sex, Drugs, And Rock N Roll, it took a Wrif time mismanagement (who would of thought) to bring these guys to a halt, stopping them mid-set so Big Daddy Authur P could conduct a renewing of the vows on the second stage, clearly annoying the huge crowd of fans that had poured into the pavilion. After the short interruption, Ugly was again allowed to “disturb the peace” as they rollicked through there latest smash up hit Pusher before belting out their sing along anthem Sex, Drugs, & Rock N Roll. If you’re a fan of Geo’s, then make sure you check out the upcoming “reunion” show, dubbed “F#ck The Snow” with his old band Bridge this Saturday night over at the Token Lounge. After an extended hiatus due to personnel changes and an unexpected injury, Mindcandy returned to the stage to rock the Harley Fest. Up for a couple DMA’s themselves, it was great to finally get to see Mindcandy take the stage, and apparently a lot of other folks felt the same way, packing the pavilion shoulder to shoulder to catch their favorite MIA Rock Band deliver all their classics including Recognize as well as their hugely popular cover of the Gap Band’s You Dropped A Bomb. Look forward to some new material from these guys as rumor has it they’ve been penning some new stuff to record in the near future. With the local bands nearing an end for the day, The Howling Diablos hit the stage as the last “Local” band of the night before those boys from across the river, Ashes of Soma (Windsor) and the supposed headliner of the night Days Of The New invaded the Pavilion, signaling a departure siren for us here at Dr2! Packing up the troops is no easy task, especially when your planning a quick BBQ back home before heading out again to hit up the Harley Fest After Party where those bad boys from Clarkston Ballz Deluxe were playing. Phew, a burger never tasted so good before Dr2 rolled on down the street and continued this marathon of a day that lasted a full 15 hrs before we finally decided to call it quits after seeing a full set from Ballz, who by the way released their Self Titled debut CD just over a week ago, check it out here. Enough already, and remember to support Local Music before it’s gone! Detroit Rock Review, The Only Place for Local Music News & Reviews!

I’m With The Band V2.0 Finals

Hot Time, Summer In The City was exactly the scene at TNT’s last Thursday night where the 89X I’m With The Band Version 2.0 finally crowned the $10,000 winner after nearly 6 months of competition. Over 90 local bands rocked the house during the 16 weeks of preliminary rounds covering every genre imaginable along the way. As predicted, the finals were a huge success that saw TNT’s bulging from the throngs of fans packed into the transformed “sauna” for the deciding night featuring Band With No Name, Lithium, Lies Unknown, Herd, & Ghosts of August. Tonight’s crowd busting show was all about rock & roll which not only blew off the roof but also featured crowd surfing, straight jackets, a naughty nurse, an 89X live broadcast, even a bus! TNT’s didn’t hold back for this event either, bringing in a stage full of “real” lights that gave it an actual concert feel while bringing in a fresh “power pack” for the evening to top it all off with a mega dosage of pure crisp sound! We can only hope that TNT’s will see this as a major improvement overall for the quality of shows played out inside their rock room and move towards securing these features as a permanent addition! From the onset, it was apparent that tonight was a special night, arriving just in time for the closing of TNT’s parking lot which sent us scurrying down Harper Ave looking for that elusive parking spot, and it was still an hour before the start of the show! We did predict standing room only out to the parking lot, and no doubt that is what we got tonight, as the line to get in reached well into the closed lot. Upon entering TNT’s our predictions of an “oversold” capacity crowd were instantly confirmed, having to slither sideways to move anywhere inside the bar. Dr2 has been to quite a number of “sold-out” events at this eastside venue, but never have we seen this many rabid fans on the loose inside TNT’s at one time! Won’t make any estimates here (OK we have it on good word now that it indeed was close to 1,000)  but it’s safe to say that each band brought along a couple hundred of their closest friends to the party!

Luckily for us though we arrived just as the opening band, who hails from Houghton Lake, MI, Herd was taking the stage. Winners of week 7, Herd was named a “wild card” entry by finishing 2^nd in the super close semi-final #2 right behind winners Lithium. These guys not only travel great distances to play out shows, but they load up what they refer to as “The Herd Bus” with as many of their fans they can fit! Looking as if they brought along a few busloads, Herd hit the stage running and never looked back, bringing the house down with an all out assault on the D! Amazing, as these guys may have finished 3^rd in the online voting, but believe me every single one of their 200+ votes were in the house tonight, damn near looked like a mini “warped” tour! Blazing riffs and huge bass lines are what this 5 pc, which happens to tout 4 brothers in the group, is all about, preferring the hard back beats over any slow grooves which was apparent during the set ending unveiling of their recently recorded “Full”, sending lead vocalist Jeremiah Cooley into the crowd for the first surf of the night! No official release of the final results were available for these finals, but it’s safe to say that they finished in a close tie for 2^nd! Dr2 thinks these guys rock with the best of them so go on and check them out over on our MySpace “Top Friends”, you won’t regret it!

This next band up has got to be proud as hell with what transpired during the day of the finals that saw them land unexpectedly in the championship at the last moment. With news of the third semi-final winner Facture having to dropout due to the emergency hospitalization of one of their members, it was Lies Unknown who received a phone call around noon time that indeed it would be them replacing Facture for the night’s finale. With 8 hours to go before the doors opened, it was this young eastside group who, being named as 1^st alternate, stood up to the challenge, even proclaiming early on they didn’t expect to win, and actually brought in quite a large crowd for themselves! In fact in this crazy turn of events, not even having the opportunity in the “On-Line” vote, they pulled it together and it actually looked like they beat out one of the semi final “winners” at the door, truly a sign of a band with a following! A power pop outfit, these guys are definitely the epitome of what is played on 89X these days, and have the live show & stage presence to back it up! Again, Dr2 “unofficially” puts them in a close tie for 2^nd! Check them out in our “Top Friends”, as they’ve recently caught fire and are playing all over town!

Lithium. Go ahead, say it again, Lithium. If there was ever a need for this “mood controlling” drug…errr Band, than tonight was the night as the intense heat inside TNT’s had everyone a little “stir-crazy” including their drummer, Patrick Vadnais, who arrived donning a “Straight Jacket” presumably via ambulance from the local asylum! No doubt about these guys being everyone’s favorite heavy metal rock & roll band, all ya had to do was look around, it was Lithium everywhere! Lithium not only won tonight’s “door vote”, filling TNT’s from the stage pit to the mid point of the Herdlings, but from what we saw, damn near pulled off a sweep of the night’s voting rounds! One of the hardest working frontmen around, Pauly had the crowd eating from his hands as they say, leaving his face dripping with blood! Winning week 5 & that ultra close semi-final #2, Lithium new what they needed to do to win, pounding TNT’s with several of their bone crushing anthems, even deciding to throw a couple covers in including an awesome rendition of Idol’s White Wedding done Lithium style! Lithium’s best performance again, seemingly every time I catch this crew, they just appear to take another step forward! Close here, but at this point of the night, Lithium was the one to beat! Check’em out, again you’ll find them in our “Top Friends”, or check in the Dr2 Links right here!

Band With No Name has had the absolute longest run in this contest than any other left standing, winning week 1 then moving to the finals by rampaging through the 1st semi-final, over a full 22 weeks! Finishing 2^nd in the “online voting” BWNN always looks comfortable doing the “big show”, rising to the occasion time & time again. Jeff Gutt (vox), himself no stranger to large crowds, having spent his time in front of tens of thousands of fans at one point, always delivers an “A” game and tonight just blew us away! Having honed their set to perfection comes as no surprise to us here at Dr2, torching TNT’s with their hits It’s Alright, It’s Over, Criminal and the shock and awe of the mammoth mosh pit instigator Animalike! Quite possibly the “Performance Highlight” of the night came during Animalike as the stage pit transformed into a major sea of bodies swaying, then moshing along enticing Gutt to “Dive” onto the crowd, surfing across the front pit and back onto the stage! After all Dr2 has witnessed over these past 21 weeks, this to us was THE performance of the night if not the entire competition, and by all accounts became the one’s to beat. If you haven’t seen BWNN yet, then go check these guys out yourself, you can find them in our “Top Friends”, or at the Dr2 Links.

Self proclaimed “headliners” tonight, Ghost Of August, winners of week 16 & the fourth semi-final, took the stage last tonight, earning the top spot by winning the “on-line” vote segment during the finals, receiving 10% of the total points needed to win the event tonight, so in essence were the front runners heading into the finale. With nearly 1,400 votes cast in their name over 7 days, Dr2 was expecting a large crowd for these Metal Heads, but instead were amazed at the lack of fans who were apparently unwilling to shell out $10 each to show their support, failing to even fill the pit in front of the stage. And this was the finals, where there is no tomorrow! Not sure why it has been this way, but it would seem that the bands who win the online vote with extraordinary numbers, fail to bring in the crowd each and every time! Door numbers didn’t matter much here though, with 10% of the total points needed in their back pocket, all GOA had to do was annihilate the competition on stage to win the performance vote and the $10,000 & 5 Song EP was all theirs. Not a bad set from the Ghosts, but it was apparent that tonight wouldn’t be their night, failing to light any fires under the crowd that was had gathered to watch the final act of the night. You can check them out by locating them in our “Top Friends” over at the Dr2 MySpace page.

So it was now the moment of truth, whose performance would the judges pick? Who would get to their name on the check? With the point total breakdown being 10% online vote, 40% door vote, & 50% performance vote, there was nothing certain about who would be the victors tonight! After a quick huddle, 89X’s Jay Hudson & Cal Cagno appeared on stage, joined by the owners of TNT’s & Metro Recordings Studio who possessed a larger than life check, to announce the winner of I’m With The Band V2.0. After a few brief acknowledgments & thank yous to all the participates, the drums rolled and Band With No Name was declared the winner, their fans and themselves all erupting as the celebration began. A well deserved victory for these guys who not only had the best performance of the night, but have done so each time they took the stage throughout the competition. Dr2 doesn’t believe there were any losers here tonight, all having drawn some big crowds, and were given the chance to perform in front of a rather huge crowd, showcasing themselves in front of people who they may never of had a chance to before. Hopefully all the bands, not just the finalist, but each and every band who got on stage have at the very least picked up a few extra fans, acquired a bit more confidence, and gained a lifetime of stories to share from their moments on stage during the I’m With The Band V2.0 contest. For all the photos from tonight's finale, jump on over to the Dr2 Gallery, you'll find it in the left hand column! And don’t forget, only 6 more months before I’m With The Band V3.0 comes roaring back to TNT’s to do it all again! Remember Detroit Rock Review, The Only Place For Local Music News & Reviews. Support Local Music by buying your favorite local artist’s music while you still can!

JoCaine Pummels Emerald!

What a whirlwind of a show Local Country Rocker JoCaine unleashed on Da Clem this past Thursday night at The Emerald Theater for the Detroit Country Jam. As rare as a hurricane in Mt Clemens, Jocaine rolled into town with his 7 pc ensemble and a massive country show that proved country music is alive and well in southeast Michigan. After a solid opening performance by another local country act, David Shelby, the lights went dim, the curtain opened and all were treated to a 10 minute video highlighting JoCaine’s short but storied career. After all the hype over the past few months on this particular show, Dr2 had been looking forward to this one for a while now. Any questions about country music quickly vanished though as the video ended and JoCaine emerged amongst a smoke and light filled stage, revealing the mass of people crowded into the front of the stage. Quite impressive as nearly the entire audience got out of their seats, leaving only the dead at heart remaining at the tables. Now this is what we expected! JoCaine proceeded to deliver one of the most high energy shows that we’ve had the pleasure of seeing no matter what genre we’re talking about! JoCaine might be labeled a “Country” Artist, but believe us, what we got was a show wrought full of High Octane Rock & Roll with a bit of southern country bbq sauce spread over top a sizzling stage show! JoCaine not only delivered the heat musically, he delivered a visual odyssey that would be as at home inside the Palace as it was in the Emerald! Set as what appeared to be a “Truck Stop”, the stage featured a huge semi-truck that served as a back drop to the band, complete with a “gas” sign that housed his keyboardist, while the drummer appeared to be inside the “ice” sign! What an amazing light show that literally set the place on fire, even bringing out the humongous beach balls to bounce off the crowd, giving it that “Pine Knob” out door show feel! Being the first time Dr2 had a chance to catch JoCaine in concert, we were actually taken back at the shear magnitude of his performance. You’re going to want to catch this guy before it’s too late, and we’re here to tell you that you’ll enjoy this show no matter what kind of music fan you consider yourself to be, rock or country, JoCaine has something for you! Be sure to check out his site on MySpace, we made it easy for you as we have him listed in our “Top Friends” on the Dr2 MySpace page, and while your there, be sure to check out the photos from the night, or just click the Dr2 Gallery Link right here on the left. Detroit Rock Review.com is The Only Place for Local Music News & Reviews. Support Local Music Before It’s Gone!

The Muggs Fill The Bag!

Detroit’s own greasy rock & roll outfit The Muggs, released their sophomore effort, aptly named “On With The Show” Friday night at The Magic Bag over in Ferndale in what was nothing short of spectacular style! In a year that seen the guys tour the US and Europe, including a stint on Fox’s “The Next Great American Band” The Muggs returned home to record their new record over at Tempermill Studios, laying down the tracks this past winter, all in preparation for this big night. And oh, what a big night it was. Dr2 has been to a good many shows over the years at the Magic Bag, but never have we seen this many people gather for a show here at this spectacular club. Then again, this was The Muggs, and this was their night to celebrate all their success and hard work over the past few years, so if they exceeded the 1,000 person capacity by a few hundred, so what, this is Detroit baby, and we love The Muggs! Standing room only was an understatement as it took some work just to find a spot to stand without one of those “Staff” guys plowing you over screaming “I need an aisle way here!” Rock & Roll at it’s finest! The Muggs are no strangers to playing the big show, evident by the line-up that they put together for tonight’s main event that included local indie folk rockers The Sisters Lucas and their party hardy buddies from their recent stint on TNGAB, Tres Bien! The Sisters Lucas started things off, supplying an excellent background for the hundreds of conversations between party goers catching up with each other. Featuring sisters Julie & Loretta Lucas, this 2 girl band takes turns on vocals while trading off duties on a myriad of off the wall instruments ranging from the guitar, keys, xylophone to the autoharp! An amazingly talented group, The Sisters Lucas will be playing up at the Crofoot May 15^th before heading to the Lincoln House for a show on the 30^th. Check em out over on the Sisters Lucas MySpace page. Sometimes you got to be lucky, and tonight it was Dr2’s turn, finding that hard sought after “Standing Room” that just so happened to be next to a rather large group seated at a few of those rare Magic Bag tables. Turns out to be the parents, friends, and extended family of Tres Bien! Turns out that this Clearwater Florida band has some Detroit connections, speaking with Cody Wilson’s (bass) parents, we found that his father is a Michigander himself, moving to Clearwater 20 some years ago, yet has his entire family located throughout the Metro Detroit Area! Tres Bien was also on that Fox TV show, being voted off during week 7, where they befriended our hometown heroes, The Muggs. The Muggs actually coordinated tonight’s CD Release Party around Tres Bien’s touring schedule when during the conversation to inquire about the possibility; it was revealed that they had planned on a stop in Detroit and would love to support the Muggs. Dr2 was glad they did, being a fan of theirs since the TV show last fall, and from the reaction of tonight’s crowd we’d say they just found a new home, hell just take a look at their MySpace page that says “Detroit Rock City” right above Clearwater! What a great set these guys put on, a definite Detroit Garage sound laced with mammoth back beats and screaming hooks that had the entire Bag mesmerized! Can’t wait to catch them up here again, and talking with the guys after the show, we don’t believe it will be a long wait! With anticipation nearing a fever pitch, the lights went down and The Muggs came on stage to a thunderous ovation in one of those “Had to be there” moments. What a sight to see, and these guys deserved every minute in their triumphant return to the Bag! Drawing mostly from their new disc, “On With The Show”, The Muggs treated all in attendance to one of the best “pure” rock & roll shows yet, mixing in some of our favorite Muggs anthems along the way! Donning a matching scarf hanging from his guitar, Danny Methric (guitar) held class on how to make a stringed instrument sing! Blazing speed and non-stop action is the norm for Methric, relying on his bombastic rhythm section of Tony “Muggs” Denardo (Rhodes bass) and Matt “rat-a-tat” Rost (drums) to keep him from exploding on stage with their heavy but steady bass driven lines. In true no bull shit Detroit style, nearing the end of their set, Methric announced that “ok…..this is where we are supposed to run off stage…..then run back on for the encore, but tonight, we’ll just pretend!” preferring to give their fans that extra song or two! The Muggs are scheduled to play 2 big free festival shows this summer with the first going down in the The Clem for the Stars & Stripes Festival on Sunday June 29^th, opening for Johnny Lang, Candle Box & Gary Hoey. Also, Downtown Detroit in the New Center area, The Muggs will be hitting the Pure Detroit Stage during the Comerica City Fest at 7:30 pm on Saturday July 5^th, always a great time there! Check them out in our “Top Friends” over on our MySpace page or right here on the links page. Hit up the Dr2 Gallery for more photos of the night & keep an eye out for the upcoming Dr2 View of The Muggs latest CD, “On With The Show” very soon! Support Local Music Before It’s Gone!

TnT’s 89X I’m With The Band Semi-Final 2

Last night had to be the largest crowd yet at for any of the 18 weeks of the 89X I’m With The Band contest held each Thursday night over @ TNT’s in Clinton Twp. were $10,ooo is up for grabs. What was Semifinal #2 turned out to be more like what we would expect for the finals! We at Dr2 haven’t seen this placed so packed since Critical Bill last played here a couple months ago, and it was nothing short of standing room only. This weeks Semifinal #2 was the closet yet, where all three phases were won by a different band, prompting TNT’s & 89X to announce the addition of a “wildcard” pick to be added for the finals where there’ll now be 5 bands competing instead of the planned 4. It was definitely a hot night inside TNT’s as Lithium (week 5 winner), Souldub (week 6 winner), Herd (week 7 winner), & No Resolve (week 8 winner) were on hand to battle it out up on stage. Walking in the door, Dr2 took a quick scan through the crowd and immediately noticed some distinguishable faces hanging out, you had half the Dirty Americans there, Jeff Gutt from BWNN, & Curbstone Beauty all in the house showing that Motor City Rock & Roll love! No Resolve opened the night with as much raw power & energy than most “Headliners” have on a normal night! Finishing last in the On-Line Voting meant nothing to these guys who just so happened to have quite the crowd filling the front of the stage during their set that included an appearance from Jeff Gutt, lead singer of Semi-Final #1 Winners Band With No Name that damn near brought the house down! Going first didn’t bother No Resolve; It actually proved beneficial as they ultimately win the Performance Vote for the night! The On Line Vote winners Souldub were up next. Again, an amazingly large crowd for these guys who took in one solid rocking performance that had lead singer Richard Ensley starting the show off from within the crowd! Check em out, we are! If you have been following along with Dr2 and this 89X contest, then you know that we’ve been to just about every week of these battles, and we are here to tell you that the most dedicated, hardest working promoter of their own band was none other than the Pauly V of Lithium, the next band up. Not only did we see him every week hanging flyers, talking it up with fans, he was by far promoting his band more than anyone else in the semi-finals. Kudos go out to this phenomenal front man for all his hard work paid off tonight as Lithium was announced the “Door Vote” winners of the night. He amassed the single largest crowd that Dr2 has seen yet for a band in the contest. Not only that, but damn, Lithium put on one blazing hot set of pure rock & roll madness that had their drummer in a straight jacket! Best Lithium set Dr2 has seen out of these guys yet, and by the reaction of the crowd during their balls out display of mayhem, they agreed too! Believe us when we tell ya you need to go see these guys live, you will not be disappointed! When you travel 200 miles one way to partake in some contest, you have to be serious about your music. Take the last band up tonight, Herd, who drove over 4 hours from Houghton Lake just to try & win this contest. That’s the thing with these guys, being a rock & roll outfit from Houghton Lake, you know you’re going to travel to get shows. Well these guys not only have their own bus to get them to their shows, they fill it to over capacity with their fans, aka Herdlings! An unbelievable site inside TNT’s as this group of Herdlings took roost in the rock room, nesting at damn near every table in the place! Non-stop action within this group from the moment Dr2 steeped inside, they were even “egged” on in between sets with a certain member of Herd leading the “toast” and accepting all the cheers! Truly a “road trip” for these fans, they gave us an equally exciting moment came as Herd stood on stage still waiting to be intro’d, when the Herdlings broke into their all too familiar chant of “Herd…..Herd….Herd” before they even plugged in! If Herd can draw this many fans way down state, I can only imagine what they’re shows are like “Up North”! That being said, we certainly know what their shows are like having seen them win their week early on in this competition. Dr2 can proudly answer that proverbial question, that, Yes, Indeed we have “Herd”! An Amazing set from this high energy quintet, earning them a chance as the recently added “wildcard” selection for the finals by actually placing 2^nd overall tonight, as Lithium was declared the winner of the TNT’s 89X I’m With The Band Semi-Final #2. Lithium now joins Band With No Name as the first two bands in the Finals to be held June 5^th here at TNT’s! Detroit Rock Review, The Only Place For Local Music News & Reviews! Support Local Music Before It’s gone. Keep On Rockin! M;