Real Detroit Weekly Break

Black Irish Rocked The Alley

The D was on fire this past Saturday night when Real Detroit Weekly threw an unprecedented Birthday Break, their 11^th, downtown on Woodward Avenue inside the legendary Majestic Complex with an extraordinary line-up that was capped with Insane Clown Posse hosting a Faygo Root Beer fest inside the Majestic Theater! With 4 stages through out the complex, there was no shortage of live music, even featuring showings from Detroit's finest rock & roll photographers. The Muggs, ripped up the Magic Stick with a late night set after some of the city's legends, Hell Drivers (Jim McCarty) & Sponge, did their own shredding on stage, while bands like Dale Earnhardt Jr.Jr., Black Irish, Gorevette, & The Satin Peaches held court inside the Magic Bowl, or should we say "on" the alleys of the Magic Bowl! Black Irish pushed the limits on the Alley stage, which is actually set-up on the bowling lanes, which makes for a very cool setting, especially when bowling balls keep whizzing by your feet, igniting the night that had Dr2 swirling around this magnificent complex, stopping long enough to chat with the hordes of local rockers milling around while providing us with a perfect warm-up to this weekends Blowout!

 

But without a doubt, the real action of the night was inside the Majestic Theater where Nate Kane (m&m's bro) opened up the night with his own unique blend of hip hop followed by the lyrical rap of Mujahid Carswell (aka MU). A big shout out to Powerdise of Critical Bill for the introduction, as you all know that is what we live for; besides, we somehow managed a nice, not so quiet conversation with MU who is currently working on new material.

 

 

The highlight of the evening for us here at Dr2 was Critical Bill. Beyond a doubt one of the most prolific bands on the local scene, the fact remains we've only been able to catch these guys live around their hometown of Mt Clemens, usually to a packed house of 1,500 plus inside the Emerald Theater. So tonight would be the night we finally get to see just how the D would react to this 5 pc urban rock outfit that are on the verge of dropping their highly anticipated release, Underground

Kingdom on March 16th. Exploding into Downtown the World, Critical Bill sent a shock wave through the Majestic, prompting an immediate reaction from the now moshing crowd, before igniting a frenzy with their anthem, This is Critical! What an amazing sight to see the crowd all fist pumping clear back to the VIP section, cementing our belief that these guys are the real deal. The guys even treated the crowd to a preview of Underground Kingdom, giving us the lead single off the disc, Beam Me Up, as well as playing American Psycho for the first time live! We'll have a first hand look at Underground Kingdom with an exclusive Dr2 View soon, but in the meantime, don't forget to pick up your tickets for their CD Release Party on March 13^th @ The Emerald Theater, it will be off the hook!

 

 

At this point in the night, a lot of shows are on the verge of winding down, but tonight there was an undeniable buzz floating through the Majestic, as one of Detroit's biggest independent successes were set to finish out the night. With an introduction that was straight out of the big top, Insane Clown Posse came and fanned those flames into an inferno! Filled to capacity with the ICP family, the Jugalos took over as an all out melee ensued as Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope frantically tried to extinguish that raging fire with a never ending shower of Faygo Root Beer, dropping a slew of beats that included such ICP classics as Down With The Clown, and Hommies, before closing out the set with the title track from their latest effort, "Bang! Pow! Boom!".  Nothing short of an amazing night in a city that definitely needs it. Be sure to check out all the photos from the night's event over in the Dr2 Photo Gallery! DetroitRockReview.com - The Only Place for Local Music News & Reviews!