Last week (Aug 8-13) was the "Rock The Rapids" week of concerts in downtown Grand Rapids. My wife and I attended 5 of the 6 shows. Rather than review each evening separately, I'm opting to just provide this single post covering the week.
Day 1 was to have featured Lynyrd Skynyrd and Jonny Lang. However, the day before the concert, Lynyrd Skynyrd had to cancel due to their lead singer being hospitalized with complications from a previous surgery. The "Rock The Rapids" organizers accomplished the "practically impossible" and managed to secure another performer to take the opening slot. With Michigan having a long musical heritage, they were able to get the legendary Mitch Ryder to perform. Mitch is best known for the hit "Devil with a Blue Dress on". Jonny Lang was given the headliner slot. When we arrived, Mitch Ryder was just starting his set. Considering the Skynyrd cancellation, the crowd did appear a little smaller than expected. But, Mitch and his backing band delivered a solid set of early 60s era rock and roll, and it sounded good. Opening night glitches were few, with the most notable being a blown generator shortly into Mitch's set - they got this repaired in very short order and had not further issues. I had no complaints, but also am not a huge fan of the style Ryder brought. After a stage change over, Jonny Lang and band strolled out on stage with little fanfare. Jonny proceeded to play the next 90 minutes with passion and skill beyond his young age (he is 30). Jonny and his band had to deal with some rain during their set, but kept up the pace of energetic blues. I have long known about Jonny and his skills, but had never seen him before. I will say the guy plays and sings every song as if it is the last thing he will ever do. Most of the small crowd was impressed, but the evening was not without opening night struggles.
Day 2 was headlined by Stone Temple Pilots. Not having a huge interest in opening act "Red Hill Drive", we took our time getting down to the site. Upon arrival, we first noticed the crowd was significantly larger. Having not heard Red Hill Drive before, I would say their style was definitely classic rock influenced. Trouble we had was that the songs were not that memorable, and their presentation lacked in connecting with the crowd. They also looked as if they just got off the bus and walked on stage, which isn't always bad, but didn't help them on this day. Next time, the band may want to be a bit more entertaining, and appear like they care a bit more. STP was next on stage, and we were impressed that lead singer Scott Weiland was still along (Scott has a long drug history and has frequently compromised his performances). Using a lighted backdrop which appeared to be the same thing used in 2010, the band came out energetic and sounding good. Scott looked particularly in good shape, and sounded fantastic. As the band worked its way through both hits and newer material, the "shoe gazer" tempos became frequent. I have known the band for years, and don't hate them, but the pacing of the evening seemed to really slow down about midway through. They tried to kick up the energy with some more uptempo songs, but the tempo seemed to slow back to the middle ground each time. Considering how often this happened, I began to suspect it was intentional. But, that brought up the question of why? Was it because the drummer was having trouble? Was it done so the singer would be able to keep up? Why keep noticeably slowing down each song? That bothered us. But, overall, STP delivered a decent set, and was a good second night for the week.
Day 3 was Willie Nelson and Robert Randolph. Being the best weather so far, the crowd was even larger and the event was starting to see some changes. The "Port O Potty" lines were getting long (the event organizers need to probably double these for next year), and they had volunteers working to put the seated crowd into actual rows (previous nights it was sort of a "sit where you want" and a bit chaotic). Coordinating the seating proved helpful, and got more people into the area. Having seen Robert Randolph & The Family Band before, I know he would be great. Trouble is, it seemed most of the crowd wasn't familiar with Robert, and he had an uphill battle. He did what he could with his funk infused gospel jam style, and managed to get the crowd dancing. The set was tight and fun, but it was obvious much of the crowd was there just for Willie. After a stage change, a small group came to the stage followed by the legend that is Willie Nelson. Willie is 78 years old, and has nothing to prove. Supported by piano (played by his sister), electric bass guitar, harmonica, and just a snare drum (and maybe a kick drum-couldn't tell), Willie was the only guitar player and lead singer. Having been around for over 50 years, Willie has written at least one song everyone knows. With a style best described as "cowboy songs", Willie managed to amble through his various hits, while including some cover songs he obviously enjoys. His voice isn't great, but it never was. His guitar playing is surprisingly melodic and unique - improvisation and jazz licks were speckled throughout. Willie and band played for about 90 minutes, and he covered just about everything I would have recognized. For me, I'm not a Willie fan but do have a respect for his legacy of music. He gave a classic country show with no frills and kept you entertained.
Day 4 was Bachman-Turner and Alice Cooper. For this day, the crowd was slightly smaller than Willie Nelson, but still good sized. Weather was great. Everything with the event coordination went almost identical to the night before. Bachman-Turner came out with their hits from the BTO catalog. Fred Turner on bass/vocals still has a great raspy voice, and sounded perfect on songs like "Let It Roll Down The Highway". Randy Bachman on guitar/vocals still has his clean higher voice, and does great on songs "Takin Care of Business" and "You Ain't Seen Nothin Yet". Overall, they gave us just over an hour of classic 70s era rock. After a stage change and promise of the most stage props of the week, a front stage curtain dropped to the opening of the song "The Black Widow". Alice Cooper was at the top of a large platform, dressed in an outfit that featured 6 extra arms, making him an 8-legged representation of the song. For the next 90 minutes, we were treated to hit after hit, with various costume changes and set pieces. "Feed My Frankenstein" featured Alice in a lab coat, as he brought a 10ft monster to life. The campy nature of the monster roaming the stage was textbook Alice. A nice treat for me was hearing Alice perform the song "Clones" from his "Flush The Fashion" release - I long thought he was trying to forget this 1980 release and the "new wave" synth vibe of the record. But, "Clones" fit well with the rest. Alice shared a couple new songs, along with all the hits. Alice did not break "character" until encore time, when he commented on Detroit and sports. For me, this was the best evening of the week, and Alice gave a lesson to the rest on how to entertain a crowd.
Day 5 was headlined by Blake Shelton. This is one of the "new country" stars, and my wife was interested in seeing some of hist set. So, we wandered down a little later in the evening, and got there about halfway through opener Bomshel. This was the largest crowd of the week, and was said to be "sold out" (the attendance number I read was 10,000). Getting there later, we were not able to get anywhere near the main seating, and we ended up near the back. Bomshel may be good, but I didn't hear much that caught my attention. They appeared to be 2 ladies supported by 2 additional musicians. It was all acoustic, and was even a tad hard to hear from the back. After a stage change, Blake Shelton and band took the stage with energy and a country rock sound. Not being familiar with any of his material, all I can say is that he did sound good. After a couple songs, Blake took time to talk about his new wife Miranda Lambert (another country star), and seemed to ramble on about related topics. He got back to songs, but many were ballads. We got more talking, and then a brief medley of songs his sister used to play for him ("Play The Funky Music", "Centerfold" from J Giles, and "My Prerogative" from Bobby Brown). This is the sort of thing that has me questioning current "new country" bands - if I want to hear rock songs, I'll got to the rock shows, OK? But, the crowd seemed to love it, so what do I know! After that, he went back to more ballads. Overall, it sounded to me like Blake Shelton needs coaching on how the keep the show moving and not kill the momentum.
We sold off our tickets to the Day 6 rap music show that was to feature Ludicris and T-Pain. Reviews indicated the crowd wasn't as big as Blake's, but the rap show did get good reviews.
For the first time the event has been held in downtown Grand Rapids (it was previously held at 53rd ballpark outside of town), the organizers did a good job. I've got a couple tweaks in mind, but things could have been much worse. They need to expand the overall crowd area (getting around the crowd became difficult on the larger attendance nights), and they need to at least double the amount of "port o pottys" (you don't want to skimp on that).
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