1st Annual MCMF Blows Up The Clem!

Last weekend the 1^st Annual Mt Clemens Music Festival invaded downtown Mt Clemens and from all reports and experiences, was an absolute huge success! Dr2 not only hosted a stage during the MCMF, but we had a horde of Dr2 Crew Members out on the prowl moving from venue to venue checking out all the action, not to mention the quick cell calls to bands as they were loading out, or the one on one chats with the venue owners themselves, and the overwhelming response was ".....awesome, we love it!". We thought you would, as Dr2 had been stirring that pot for some time now, our hats off to MCMF Organizer, Mike Mitchell for a fabulous job of pulling off such an event for all of us local music fans!

 

Things got off to a thunderous start last Thursday at The Emerald Theater where the 1^st Annual Mt Clemens Music Festival got under way with a Music Discussion Panel that allowed attendees to randomly ask questions to a dozen of so "industry" types that included artists like Vinne Dombrowski & Hush, entertainment attorneys, managers, record label exec's, promotional wizards Dana Forrester & Kathy Vargo of On The Rocks-Detroit, and radio personality Cal Cagno from 89X! The hour and a half discussion was so successful and insightful, that we can see this portion greatly expanded upon in coming years as topics included everything from what you should expect from good management & pr firms, to what denotes the ultimate in an EPK, to how to get your music licensed to TV & film! It appeared that the full house was as enthralled by the responses to their questions as was Dr2, especially the portion on planning your shows so that they become an "event" as opposed to "another show this weekend", and that is exactly what we got tonight (as well as all weekend long) as Cody Stagefright, StellarDrive, Band With No Name rocked the room before giving way to the night's dual headliners Hush & Crud!

 

On both Friday & Saturday nights, the party moved to the streets of Mt Clemens, filling 10 venues through out the downtown area with bands, many of whom normally do not host live music, making for some unique settings for live music. What a great site to see as hundreds of people were out walking from venue to venue, slipping inside to catch a band before moving onto the next in what was certainly an ideal layout for such a fest! Having been veterans of many of the "blowout" fests in Hamtramck that required you to actually get in your car, drive through piles of snow, attempt to find a parking space, all within a 15 minute time constraint in an attempt to catch the next band, before doing it all over again! At the MCMF, the greatest amenity was the ability to park ONCE, then proceed to walk from venue to venue, in mild weather, never more than a five minute walk from the furthest of venues, and that was exactly what our Dr2 Crew was able to do, stopping in to check out the likes of Michael Seger & Everybody's Favorite Band @ Orleans, to an awesome solo acoustic set from Don "Doop" Duprie at Little Lorraine's, or the fantastic crowd at Barleycorn's to see Jiva, or the surprising line we had out the door to get in to the Dr2 Stage @ Madison's, all of this and it was only Friday Night! We had a great line-up ourselves at Madison's, which may just of been the most unique venue of the week! With an outdoor stage, garden type setting, all with a clear view of the Mt Clemens skyline that when coupled with a packed patio translated into awesome sets by Black Irish and their blues driven rock & roll, pushed over the top with a genuine Hammond V3 organ calling out to everyone, along with the southern rock of Dismantle, who were amazing just for agreeing to play our stage, even though they had their own fest going down that weekend! One of our favorite Michigan Made Music peeps, Bad Side, actually traveled all the way from Sault Ste Marie to play our stage, then had to travel back home that same night so they could participate in an early morning Lung Cancer Fundraiser back at the Sault, so it was an "extra" special night of straight up rock & roll from these guys. A heartfelt thanks to you two for making the trip and helping to make the MCMF the success that it was! Rounding out the first night on The Dr2 Stage was Detroit Pony Express who not only put on a great set, but had everyone inside Madison's flowing outside to see what all the fuss was about; cementing the fact the live music lives, as Dr2 drew the tickets for the night's prize of FREE tickets to the Down concert the following night at The Emerald.

 

Saturday's version was just as fun, damn we love multi night events, bringing in an entirely stoked up crowd that had the streets of The Clem beaming with excitement. Of course having a multitude of tour buses, motor homes, and vans parked all around, there was no escaping that "festival mood" as the municipal parking lot was deemed full to capacity by 7:30 pm! Whoa, what beginning to an awesome night! Again we had a slew of Dr2 Crew members Out ‘N About checking out the scene as it went down all over town, heard some great reviews on some packed sets, especially over at Orleans with Bury Your Burden, Electric Playground, and Robots In The Garden that had our crew, and the bands themselves, ogling over the turnout! Caught a first hand glimpse of Ray Street Park rocking out at Johnny G's, while all reports from Barleycorn's & Fritts' were extremely upbeat on their turnout, and the report out of The Detroit Pub was that not only was it their best night since opening, it was their best weekend period! Back at The Dr2 Stage @ Madison's, things couldn't have been any better for us with another night of lines to get into the place and a host of bands that were ready to rock the night away! Mound Road Engine brought their feme fronted metal to the Stage to get things rolling, dropping a fine set and acquiring some new fans from the Dr2 Crew camp! Almost Free continued the raucous night, dropping a "key board-less" set on the MCMF crowd that was at this point just warming up for our headliners of the night, 60 Second Crush, who not only are one of Dr2's favorites, but judging by the crowd gathered in front of the stage, they're a favorite of a hell of a lot of you! The highlight of the night, other than their drummer "Schim Dawg" performing with his kilt on, was when singer Tommy T invited all on stage (of course we did!) to join in on "Street Corner of Fear", literally bringing down the house in a flurry of balls out shouts of.....Get Ready, Get Ready.......from the now on stage crowd, awesome! We couldn't have asked for a better end of the night, so as we promised, we gave away a FREE set of Tickets to the October 10^th Best Of Detroit concert at the Emerald Theater feat Ty Stone, Paradime, Dirty Americans, & Lies Unknown before we drew the winning ticket for that{mosiamge} Authentic Brandon Inge jersey, sending home some lucky winners before we shuffled off to catch the Festival ending sets at The Hayloft. With all the activity, the streets of the Clem were bustling with people everywhere, especially in and around the Hayloft where it seemed everyone was heading to finish out their night where JTX, Bat On Fire, and Pillar of Autumn had just played before Dr2 dropped in on a fantastic set from the newly re-named MaB (formerly the Matt Austin Band). With a fresh new name & a fresh new drummer, Chris Castro, MaB not only rocked a huge Hayloft crowd, but Matt Austin himself surprised the hell out of Dr2 by actually setting down his guitar, proceeding to become a true frontman like we've not seen from these guys ever! Amazingly fresh, amazingly good, but beyond all else, MaB proved beyond a doubt that they are for real! Turning a crowd into a rabid mob just in time for the Festival Ending Headliner Richy Nix, a relative newcomer on the scene who has taken his own career from the basement of his home in Windsor, to the stages across the river with nothing short of a spectacular set that turned the Hayloft into a sea of waving, fist pumping arms, as Nix blew away what was left of the 1^st Annual Mt Clemens Music Fest, setting the stage, if not the bar, for a return of what will surely be the 2^nd Annual Mt Clemens Music Festival 2010! Be sure to keep an eye on the Dr2 Photo Gallery where we will be adding photos from the event daily! DetroitRockReview.com - The Only Place For Local Music News & Reviews!