 Previously
on Leftcoastlove.com - I guess we need to start
with a brief recap of the what we are calling the Atlanta scrap.
Stacey and I were not able to get tickets to his show in Atlanta (yeah the
one before the infamous Waffle House fight). Instead we enjoyed the
concert from the parking lot next to open stage door. No visuals but
we did sing along and hold our lighters up amid the parked cars and gawking
roadies. The next day we happened to find ourselves back in the
parking lot where the buses and semis had been parked the previous
night. The picture to the left is what we found. A pile of
steaming debauchery. We can't even say exactly what some of the stuff
might have been. Anyways this refuse was deposited as the band headed
to the Waffle House. We all know what followed. More info
here:
Oh Atlanta
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then...
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Next
on Leftcoastlove.com - The next chapter had
Stacey and Sean annoying the neighbors with the bootleg downloaded new
release and a journey into the weird and wonderful world of San Francisco
institution Craigslist. Bootlegged music and scalped tickets in hands
we build our fan webpage. More info here:
Kid Rock
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Everybody with
us know? Good! The MUNI bus dropped us off right across the
street and I quickly tried to finish my cigarette so that Stacey didn't have
to stand on the street looking all super hot in her prison striped wife
beater. We were relieved to find that our tickets actually scanned and
we made our way to the floor to catch the end of the opening act. I
think their name was Atmosphere or something like that. They were very
loud and they were very angry. Thankfully that didn't rub off on the
crowd, oh the crowd was loud but they were far from angry. They were
very happy and that happiness peaked when Kid jumped out onstage and rocked
all our faces off. My jaw still hurts today :)
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Photo from recent NY club
appearance used without permission. He wore this suit in SF.
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Photo from Fillmore appearance
taken without permission.
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Photo from recent NY club
appearance used without permission. He wore this suit in SF.
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I guess I have
to explain the odd collection of 2 photos taken at a different show and a
blurry picture of the show. The entrance sign at the Fillmore and
tickets did say no cameras so I technically I was warned. The audience
was full of security and as soon as you tried to raise your arm with a camera
phone they were on you. I managed to snap one before I was grabbed and
warned about trying to take pictures. Of course the picture is nothing
more than a blur. But it is from the show, ha ha ha ha ha (twisting
moustache). As we expected the show was great. The band
played loud and fast and the crowd ate up every bit of this rare opportunity
to see a stadium show inside a small club. Stacey and I stayed for the
entire show including the encores and we were rewarded with a limited edition
poster from the show. This is a bit of a San Francisco Fillmore
tradition, they commission local artists to create a poster then they hand
them out free while they last at the end of the show. If you leave
early or linger too long after the show; NO POSTER FOR YOU!
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With our posters in
hand Stacey and headed to the bus stop, it was located directly behind the
tour bus we stood next to in that tainted Atlanta parking lot. The
same bus that left the pile of trash before taking the long road to the
Waffle House. Now this magical mystery bus was at our feet
again. This time we took a picture and jumped onto our bus.
Stacey waved goodbye to Kid's bus as our city bus pulled slowly away.
We checked the local news today and they was no problem with Kid and his
entourage leaving San Francisco. Later this week our friend the dirty
tour bus will be in Oregon and then on to Washington.
Poster from the show, one free per guest while they last as you
exit the Fillmore. Sweet!
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The infamous Kid Rock tour bus parked for a quick get away,
they bring their own cones don't cha know.
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Stacey poses behind the bus with her poster from the show, that
grin won't come off for days.
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Our tour bus arrives for the ride back to the apartment. The
wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and...
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Here are our
final thoughts and memories some that will tickle and some that will
haunt. You guess which is which?
The couple dressed as Rock N Roll Jesus and Female Tramp
Satan. FTS had a tiny bra and an enormous circus sized chest. Her
version of dancing was jumping up and down and yelling at the guys passing
nearby. "Take a good look and keep moving please!", she asked
over and over again.
There was also a couple that was comprised of a guy in wheel
chair on oxygen and Large Marge. She picked him up and tossed him like
a rag doll as they danced, when they kissed Marge had to hold the oxygen
tubes to the side so they didn't get in the way.
Oh and who could forget the Hell's Angels and their dates?
I guess I did because I was afraid to get caught looking at them. No
not caught by the bikers but caught by Stacey. In the end it was the
bikers who got caught by their dates trying to get a look at Stacey, I win
again ;)
There you have
it all in a neat little package complete with a happy ending. Give the
Kid a second chance and don't forget that sometimes it's okay to have fun for
funs sake. Kid Rock isn't trying to save the world but he'll help you
put a dent in it.
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The reviews are coming in
We aren't alone in thinking the time has come for
Kid Rock to get the respect he deserves
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Concert review: Kid Rock proves self as worthy entertainer
By Shay Quillen
Mercury News
Long before Bob
Ritchie was making national news with his Waffle House fisticuffs, the
kid knew how to rock a crowd. That's why they call him Kid Rock.
Playing a
rare club show Sunday at a jam-packed Fillmore, Rock proved himself a
worthy bandleader and showman. He and his road-tested band scattered
crowd-pleasing hits throughout the set, covered musical bases from
honky-tonk to hip-hop and smothered the whole mess with the unbridled
confidence that prompted him to name his new album "Rock 'n' Roll
Jesus."
Rock's
10-piece Twisted Brown Trucker band took the stage promptly at 9 p.m.
and established a hard-rocking groove, with the man himself emerging a
few minutes later wearing a white-on-black suit and his trademark
fedora and singing the self-aggrandizing title track of the new record,
which debuted last week at No. 1.
The next
five songs were familiar exercises in braggadocio, from the straight-up
hip-hop of "Welcome 2 the Party" to the pile-driving rock-rap
of "American Bad Ass," in which he sums up his musical scope
by announcing "I like Johnny Cash and Grandmaster Flash."
But Rock
eventually left the tried-and-true behind and slowed things down to
perform new tracks such as "Amen," a gospel-infused look at
society's ills from the vantage point of the Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp,
as he is also known.
Rock has
been trying to broaden his musical horizons since the get-go, a process
accelerated by the crossover country success of his 2001 duet with Sheryl Crow,
"Picture." To his credit, he kept the audience with him on
"Amen" and the other more thoughtful (a relative term, to be
sure, at a Kid Rock concert) and melodic numbers. But he couldn't hide
a barely passable singing voice, one that will never rival that of his
hometown idol Bob Seger, or even his "rebel father" in Nashville,
Hank Williams Jr.
Other new
tunes included "All Summer Long," a nostalgia anthem that
cops from both "Werewolves of London" and "Sweet Home
Alabama"; and 'Roll On," a pleasant, soulful number that is,
like nearly all of his songs, about Kid Rock.
Rock donned
a cowboy hat for old hit "Cowboy," which he ended with a bit
of David Allan Coe's "perfect country and western song":
"You Never Even Called Me by My Name." He returned to the
twang later for a spiteful but amusing original honky-tonk composition
addressed to ex-wife Pamela Anderson called "Half Your Age."
Rock showed his versatility late in the show by
jumping behind the turntables (flashy and impressive), grabbing one of
his guitarist's axes to crank out some classic rock riffs (just OK) and
taking over the drum kit (don't give up your day job). Fortunately for
him, he's got an air-tight band, grounded by longtime drummer Stefanie
Eulinberg, that kept up with every musical twist and turn.
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and another..
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Kid
Rock preaches to the party faithful
By Jim Harrington
STAFF WRITER
Forget Bruce Springsteen and the
Bridge School Benefit the weekend's hottest ticket was Kid Rock at the
Fillmore in San Francisco on Sunday night.
That, of
course, begs one significant question: How the heck did that happen?
The man born
Robert James Ritchie, but known to the world as Kid Rock, is in the midst of
one of the most unlikely and convincing comeback stories in recent pop
history. Just a few months ago, the rap-rock star seemed pretty much washed
up. It had been four years since his last offering, 2003's mostly mediocre
eponymous affair that will remembered for an awful cover of Bad Company's
``Feel Like Makin' Love.''
In the interim,
Rock had become the worst kind of celebrity one that is famous for being
famous. He remained in the public eye by marrying, and then quickly splitting
up with, top-heavy rock groupie Pamela Anderson. More recently, he's made
news by getting into fights with Pamela's other ex-husband, Tommy Lee, and
some customer at how white trash is this? a Waffle House in Atlanta.
Yet, a funny
thing happened on the way to the land of has-been town. Kid Rock releases a
new album, ``Rock N Roll Jesus,'' and it debuts at the top of the charts,
marking the vocalist's first-ever No. 1 record. All of sudden, the Kid is
everywhere, including on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine's ``2007 Hot
Issue.'' That's an appropriate place for him because, right now, the Kid is
scorching. More to the point, he
showed no signs
of cooling off during his sold-out show at the Fillmore.
Who were all
these people? The crowd bared absolutely no resemblance to the regular
Fillmore brigade of hipster San Franciscans. I didn't see a single soul
dressed in all black, nor one pair of fake eyeglasses, and I'd bet that these
people don't even own any Guided By Voices CDs. Instead, it was a
hard-drinking, hard-partying group, complete with several Hell's Angels in
attendance. Many of these people acted like the last concert they saw was Van
Halen in 1984.
Rock provided
the perfect soundtrack for this edition of ``Fans Gone Wild'' as he appeared
onstage, in front of his nine-piece Twisted Brown Trucker band, and started
belting out the party anthems. Beginning with the new album's rowdy title
track, the 36-year-old Michigan native carried out his mission which apparently
is to create a new breed of classic rock in big pimpin' fashion.
Say what you
want about Rock, but the guy is an entertainer and he'll do whatever it takes
to make sure the crowd has a good time. Of course, the busy Fillmore
bartenders were greatly aiding his cause.
The
best-received numbers all hailed from ``Devil Without a Cause,'' the 1998
offering that made Rock a star. An early double-shot of ``Welcome 2 the
Party'' and that album's title track had the devil-fist-waving crowd members
eating out of the singer's palm.
From there,
Rock tightened his grip on his fans as he jammed through ``You Never Met a
Mother----- Quite Like Me'' and ``American Bad Ass.'' He slowed it down a bit
for the new album's ``Amen,'' which, despite what he told Rolling Stone, is
not the best song Rock has ever written. Indeed, that song came across as
such a John Cougar Mellencamp rip-off that one almost expected to hear him
sing about ``Pink Houses.''
One of the
evening's best moments came when Rock put on a 10-gallon hat and launched
into the ``Devil'' track ``Cowboy.'' In the middle of the tune, he even
included a bit of country star David Allen Coe's ``You Never Even Called Me
By My Name,'' which, as those familiar with the song will tell you, is ``the
perfect country and western song.''
He also
performed his own new honky-tonker ``Half Your Age,'' a hilarious rebuttal to
his ex-wife's less-than-flattering comments about him to the media, and then
took a turn on the turntables for some impressive slicing and dicing. Before
closing the show with the great ``Devil'' anthem ``Bawitdaba,'' Rock had
touched upon Bob Seger-style classic rock, b-boy hip-hop, authentic country
and adrenaline-fueled metal.
That truly impressive range is one of the reasons why Rock's
show was the weekend's most sought-after ticket. He shouldn't get too cocky,
however, since even this Kid can't move tickets like the other kid Hannah
Montana.
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Peace,
Sean
© 2008 Leftcoastlove.com San Francisco, CA |
Leftcoastlove.com
