Post by Sugarmama on Apr 4, 2009 20:39:00 GMT -5
At one point during Kid Rock's raucous performance at Friday night's Tempe Music Festival, he paused to read a letter he received from a fan. The note told of a life transformed at one of Rock's shows, because of the powerful love Rock displayed for his country and his fellow man. It's unclear if anyone had a similar epiphany at last night's show, but Rock was in prime from, effortlessly spitting out a mix of his raunchy heavy metal and sleazy, Southern rock ballads like he had the power to change lives.
Rock was headlining the Friday night edition of the Tempe Music Festival, a show that included Pop Evil, Cowboy Mouth, Outlaws and Tempe legends Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. Rock and Roger Clyne shared the top of the bill, both displaying their own brand of country rock, with different results but the same high-energy intensity.
Roger Clyne and his Peacemakers swaggered onto the stage around nine o'clock and immediately the crowd adopted the breezy, Corona-sipping, Mexican-beach attitude Clyne has worked much of his later career to establish. Dressed in a flowing black and white shirt and intense cowboy boots, Clyne rested his foot on the monitor, pushed back his long hair and rocketed into his set.
This was the band's first live gig with new lead guitarist Jim Dalton, who replaced long-time member Steve Larson, but it was business as usual as they carried fans through Clyne's long career. From the punkish county of the Peacemakers' 1999 debut album "Honky Tonk Union" through the Southwestern twinge of 2004's "¡Americano!" and the breezy beach rock of "No More Beautiful World" from 2007, they sounded pitch perfect and the fans did their best to always sing along.
"We're so glad to back in our home state and back in our hometown," said Clyne, whose first group, The Refreshments, helped shape the Tempe music scene in the early '90s. "Together we are all the Peacemakers and I'm glad to be here celebrating life with all of you."
Clyne fully embraced his obsession with the Mexican coast line on songs like "Mexican Moonshine," which featured a brass section, while his high energy and light-hearted stage presence had the crowd singing along and tossing beach balls into the air.
After slamming back a tiny bottle of tequila someone tossed on stage, Clyne powered through his most recognizable hits, the country rave-up tune that opens every "King of the Hill" episode and 1996's "Banditos," both from when Clyne was with The Refreshments.
Though they might not make it into the mainstream as much anymore, The Peacemakers seemed happy to revel in their devoted fan base, many of whom wore straw hats barring the band's starfish logo. Clyne invited everyone to his "Circus Mexicus" festival in Rocky Point this June and thanked everyone repeatedly for coming to see him.
"It's been truly wonderful to play for everyone tonight," said Clyne as he left the stage. "Peace be with all of you and I'll see you in Mexico."
It was clear that the laid-back vibe was about change as the lights went down for Kid Rock's set, blaring out the nonsensical but undeniably catchy chorus of "Bawitdaba." Finally, Rock emerged from the shadows, shouting his own name as giant American flags draped the back of the stage. Rock flew around stage wearing a power blue tuxedo shirt, a black cowboy hat and Buddy Holly glasses, spitting raunchy rhymes about sleazy drunk nights doing sleazy drunk things.
The lights dropped again and Rock was bathed in red light as he launched into "Devil Without a Cause" backed by his impressive The Twisted Brown Trucker Band. The song included a homage to Rock's rapping partner Joe C., who died in 2000.
Rock kept the energy going with "Low Life" and "Cocky," inserting Arizona and Tempe into his lyrics whenever he could. The crowd cheered and sang along as Rock continued his high-energy stage show, losing the glasses and looking more like his gaunt, smirking self. As Rock launched into one of this biggest hits "Cowboy," the crowd sang along with every smarmy line, even when the song broke down into a cover of Waylon Jennings' "Theme From The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)."
The evening turned a little quieter as Rock picked up the guitar and slowed things down with his hit ballad "God Only Knows." The lights of cell phones filled the night air as Rock passionately belted out the somber "Ahem" and sat down for a quiet duet on "Picture."
It was during this lull that Rock read the note from his fan, who also gave him the gift of an Arizona license plate embossed with the letters "KID RCK."
After that, Rock was back to his old self, hopping on the DJ booth and scratching records, and hijacking his guitarist's guitar to play some standard metal riffs. He tried a few times to play the opening lines from Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever," but it kept coming out like Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water." So he got behind the drum set and banged out the tune's beat will singing along.
"I know that times is tough right now," said Rock in one of his few direct addresses to the crowd. "But I want to thank you all for spending your hard-earned money to come and see me tonight and I hope we made it worth your while."
Rock closed the night with his big hit off of 2008's "Rock N Roll Jesus," the light, poppy track "All Summer Long," and the crowd cheered along nearly the whole time. No one seemed mind that the tune lifts the guitar riffs from both Warren Zevon's "Werewolves in London" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," but rather, the crowd swayed along and sang out every word.
Even if his manic stage show might not have been the stuff of epiphanies, Kid Rock clearly loves what he does and puts on the kind of show that wouldn't leave anyone asking for their hard-earned money back.
Rock was headlining the Friday night edition of the Tempe Music Festival, a show that included Pop Evil, Cowboy Mouth, Outlaws and Tempe legends Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers. Rock and Roger Clyne shared the top of the bill, both displaying their own brand of country rock, with different results but the same high-energy intensity.
Roger Clyne and his Peacemakers swaggered onto the stage around nine o'clock and immediately the crowd adopted the breezy, Corona-sipping, Mexican-beach attitude Clyne has worked much of his later career to establish. Dressed in a flowing black and white shirt and intense cowboy boots, Clyne rested his foot on the monitor, pushed back his long hair and rocketed into his set.
This was the band's first live gig with new lead guitarist Jim Dalton, who replaced long-time member Steve Larson, but it was business as usual as they carried fans through Clyne's long career. From the punkish county of the Peacemakers' 1999 debut album "Honky Tonk Union" through the Southwestern twinge of 2004's "¡Americano!" and the breezy beach rock of "No More Beautiful World" from 2007, they sounded pitch perfect and the fans did their best to always sing along.
"We're so glad to back in our home state and back in our hometown," said Clyne, whose first group, The Refreshments, helped shape the Tempe music scene in the early '90s. "Together we are all the Peacemakers and I'm glad to be here celebrating life with all of you."
Clyne fully embraced his obsession with the Mexican coast line on songs like "Mexican Moonshine," which featured a brass section, while his high energy and light-hearted stage presence had the crowd singing along and tossing beach balls into the air.
After slamming back a tiny bottle of tequila someone tossed on stage, Clyne powered through his most recognizable hits, the country rave-up tune that opens every "King of the Hill" episode and 1996's "Banditos," both from when Clyne was with The Refreshments.
Though they might not make it into the mainstream as much anymore, The Peacemakers seemed happy to revel in their devoted fan base, many of whom wore straw hats barring the band's starfish logo. Clyne invited everyone to his "Circus Mexicus" festival in Rocky Point this June and thanked everyone repeatedly for coming to see him.
"It's been truly wonderful to play for everyone tonight," said Clyne as he left the stage. "Peace be with all of you and I'll see you in Mexico."
It was clear that the laid-back vibe was about change as the lights went down for Kid Rock's set, blaring out the nonsensical but undeniably catchy chorus of "Bawitdaba." Finally, Rock emerged from the shadows, shouting his own name as giant American flags draped the back of the stage. Rock flew around stage wearing a power blue tuxedo shirt, a black cowboy hat and Buddy Holly glasses, spitting raunchy rhymes about sleazy drunk nights doing sleazy drunk things.
The lights dropped again and Rock was bathed in red light as he launched into "Devil Without a Cause" backed by his impressive The Twisted Brown Trucker Band. The song included a homage to Rock's rapping partner Joe C., who died in 2000.
Rock kept the energy going with "Low Life" and "Cocky," inserting Arizona and Tempe into his lyrics whenever he could. The crowd cheered and sang along as Rock continued his high-energy stage show, losing the glasses and looking more like his gaunt, smirking self. As Rock launched into one of this biggest hits "Cowboy," the crowd sang along with every smarmy line, even when the song broke down into a cover of Waylon Jennings' "Theme From The Dukes of Hazzard (Good Ol' Boys)."
The evening turned a little quieter as Rock picked up the guitar and slowed things down with his hit ballad "God Only Knows." The lights of cell phones filled the night air as Rock passionately belted out the somber "Ahem" and sat down for a quiet duet on "Picture."
It was during this lull that Rock read the note from his fan, who also gave him the gift of an Arizona license plate embossed with the letters "KID RCK."
After that, Rock was back to his old self, hopping on the DJ booth and scratching records, and hijacking his guitarist's guitar to play some standard metal riffs. He tried a few times to play the opening lines from Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever," but it kept coming out like Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water." So he got behind the drum set and banged out the tune's beat will singing along.
"I know that times is tough right now," said Rock in one of his few direct addresses to the crowd. "But I want to thank you all for spending your hard-earned money to come and see me tonight and I hope we made it worth your while."
Rock closed the night with his big hit off of 2008's "Rock N Roll Jesus," the light, poppy track "All Summer Long," and the crowd cheered along nearly the whole time. No one seemed mind that the tune lifts the guitar riffs from both Warren Zevon's "Werewolves in London" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama," but rather, the crowd swayed along and sang out every word.
Even if his manic stage show might not have been the stuff of epiphanies, Kid Rock clearly loves what he does and puts on the kind of show that wouldn't leave anyone asking for their hard-earned money back.
