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Tuesday, March 18, 2008
DownbeatRoot Doctor: Change Our Ways (Big O 2457; 52:58) 3 & 1/2 stars
This blues-soul-funk quintet from Lansing, Mich., holds one’s attention. Delta-born and raised Freddie Cunningham has texture and depth to his singing voice, and the other players (plus guests, like the Motor City Horns) exhibit a smooth, passionate resolve. The cause is further served by six built-to-last songs from keyboardist Jim Alfredson and makeovers of the Temptations’ "I Wish It Would Rain" (quietly dignified with cello and violin) and Warren Haynes’ "Soul Shine" (uplifted with background vocals fit for Sunday morning worship and a fine Greg Nagy guitar solo).
Frank-John Hadley
Downbeat April 2008
Hittin the note review
If your feeling down, Root Doctor certainly has the "blues for what ails ya!" The band’s latest release, Change Our Ways, has six original songs, and four excellently chosen covers that become addictive fast. With bluesy vocals by Freddie Cunningham, some jazzy Hammond B-3 by Jim Alfredson, the funky bass of James Williams, forceful and precise guitar licks from Greg Nagy and Rick Bole on the pumped-up drums, this Lansing, Michigan-based band is blazing a steady path through the blues scene. "Blues Will Take Good Care of You" sets the tone with exceptional roots-based blues.
The band’s namesake song, a Roy Hytower favorite, is surreptitiously provocative, while "Give Me Love" - with its catchy beat and enthralling harmonica - has a more swing-blues sound. The Motor City Horns help take the Meters’ "People Say" to a funky new level, while the Warren Haynes classic "Soulshine" climbs up the spiritual hill - the mixture of a slow Hammond introduction, the developed, soulful vocals and the background choir makes this song a religious experience. Bringing you back down to earth, the title track has a real street feel to go with poignant lyrics and a rockin’ beat.
The Temptations’ masterpiece "I Wish It Would Rain" closes out Change Our Ways and it calms the mind and solidifies the incomparable talents of the doctors involved. When your soul aches, just take what the doctor gives ya.
by Emily Parks
Hittin the note
Issue 56
2008
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Blues Bytes ReviewCategory: Music
Root Doctor is finally starting to be recognized as one of the hottest bands on the international blues landscape. They've gotten solid press from the UK to France and Italy, to Wyoming, New York and Detroit -- and the accolades are all well earned.
This is a fantastic band. On their new disc, Change Our Ways (Big O Records), from the spectacular Albert King-inspired opener, "Blues Will Take Care Of You," to the funky "Keep Our Business Off the Streets" to the gospel and soul drenched "Lucky One," lead vocalist Freddie Cunningham and his mates don't just impress, they knock this listener right over.
"People Say" reminds more than a dab of the Meters, the original source of this killer funk tune, with a dash of Sly & The Family Stone thrown in the mix. Guitarist Greg Nagy shines on "Big Blue Cadillac," with bassist supreme James Williams and rock steady drummer Rick Bole laying a foundation thick enough to support a Mack truck. Keyboardist Jim Alfredson, who serves as the musical director of the band, serves up some sizzling B-3 here, too, and the guesting Motor City Horns burn it up on this track and elsewhere.
This one will definitely make my year-end Top 10 list. Whew!
--- Mark E. Gallo Blues Bytes Jan 2008
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Root DoctorChange Our Ways
Big O Records 2407
Root Doctor has it down cold. Name it: blues, funk, soul, they have it locked down tight with their latest release, Change Our Ways. The Lansing, Michigan-based quintet has been knocking around the blues circuit for the better part of 15 years and has gone through several incarnations, but the driving force remains the group's two founding members, vocalist Freddie Cunningham and James Williams on bass. The band may have its strongest lineup for this outing, especially with Jim Alfredson's keyboard mastery driving nearly
every track.
From the opening cut, Blues Will Take Care Of You, a funky, hip-shaking nod to the blues masters (invoking greats like Muddy Waters and Freddy King), Alfredson's keyboard work melds flawlessly with the band's tight rhythm, while guitarist Greg Nagy knows when to fly with a solo and when to kick back.
Change Our Ways features six originals among its ten cuts, and the band shifts gears easily from the dangerous undertones of Roy Hytower's Root Doctor to the punchy, beat laden original cut, Keep out Business Off The Streets (which is punctuated by the swinging contribution of the Motor City Horns). Evn the ban's version of the oft-covered Soul Shine get fresh life from the Root Doctor.
Add [Rick Bole's] understated drum work--check out the original cut Big Blue Cadillac and the album's cover track--and Change Our Ways stands out as the best recording to date from Root Doctor.
-Dave Ruthenberg
Living Blues Dec 2007
Monday, August 13, 2007
Detroit Free Press (8/9/07)Category: Music
THE LOWDOWN: The Motor City Horns was formed in 1999 by trombonist John Rutherford, who wanted an accomplished and intuitive unit to counteract the "thrown-together" feel of many sessions he'd played on. The group has worked steadily ever since in a variety of studio settings and has branched out to do roadwork with the likes of Bruce Springsteen's saxophonist Clarence Clemons and, most recently, Bob Seger.
THE LINEUP: In addition to Rutherford, the section includes Mark Byerly (trumpet), Keith Kaminski (saxophone) and Bob Jensen (trumpet). There is also a New York auxiliary comprised of former Detroiters.
THE DIVERSITY FACTOR: "Our strength is in our diversity," Rutherford says. "Mark Byerly has toured with Justin Timberlake and the Verve Pipe, and has lots of experience in the pop and hip-hop realms. He also leads a modern jazz group called Bop Culture. Keith Kaminski has played with the cream of the blues world. Bob Jensen has no problem going from the Temptations to Interlochen to orchestra work. I'm from a classical background, having played with Yo-Yo Ma and the Detroit Symphony. So there's almost nothing you could throw at us that somebody in the group doesn't have experience with."
THE SEGER CONNECTION: "We got a call from Bill Blackwell, who said Bob was interested in exploring the possibility of a horn section. Seger gave us five songs, and we had about 24 hours to work up parts. He's got such an identifiable sound that tinkering with it in any way is a big deal, but he liked what we came up with. Halfway through the tour, he had us on about 15 songs."
DREAM SESSION: When asked who they'd most like to work with, Rutherford had two immediate answers: "Steely Dan. We went and saw them at Freedom Hill last month, and their sound was spectacular. Kid Rock came out and did a song on some of the Seger shows, and it was so much fun working with him that we'd love to do more."
NEXT UP: The group has been playing selected dates with Alexander Zonjic this summer, the next being Saturday at the River Raisin Jazz Festival in Monroe. Studio sessions due for autumn release include an album with blues icon Johnnie Bassett, tracks with Lansing group Root Doctor and Chicago guitarist (and ex-Detroiter) Paul Priest. While in Atlanta on the Seger tour, the group recorded with new rap outfit Red Dirt for UpFront Records, the label responsible for the Akon-Eminem hit "Smack That." Also in the works is a project with the Brothers Groove.
NEED HORNS? Go to www.motorcityhorns.com to get hooked up.
By Ben Edmonds, Free Press special writer
Saturday, April 21, 2007
BY BRIAN McCOLLUMFREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER
For 19 years, the Detroit Music Awards ceremony has served as one of the most dependable gatherings for local musicians -- and a chance to highlight a few of the city's touchstone acts.
The show's 2007 installment touches down tonight at the State Theatre with a diverse bill of live performers and nearly six dozen awards in 10 genres.
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Last year's big winners -- pop-rockers Jill Jack and Liz Larin -- are in familiar roles once again, leading the nominees list with four apiece. Other highlights on tap for the DMAs, which drew about 1,000 to the State last year:
- The brass ensemble Motor City Horns, fresh off a high-profile national tour with Bob Seger, may have the busiest DMA night of all: The four-man group will be on the State Theatre stage for performances by Alberta Adams and Alexander Zonjic -- after zipping over from Comerica Park, where the band will play the national anthem at the Detroit Tigers' game against the Chicago White Sox.
- Adams will be presented with a distinguished achievement award, honoring the 81-year-old vocalist's celebrated life tenure on the Motor City blues scene. Baker's Keyboard Lounge, the longtime Detroit jazz club, will also receive a distinguished achievement award, with a special achievement honor going to the 2006 documentary, "High Tech Soul: The Creation of Techno Music."
- Rapper Trick Trick comes with his own Alberta Adams link: His mother once sang backup vocals for the blueswoman. The Detroit hip-hopper is among a slate of scheduled DMA performers who include gospel group God's Army, techno artist Ectomorph, rock band the Go and the local supergroup featuring guitar heroes Jeff Grand, Jim McCarty and Bobby East.
- A handful of acts have been too successful for their own good: Blues group Detroit Women, rapper Paradime and country singer Terrie Lea are among those shut out in certain categories because of DMA rules that disqualify artists from winning in the same field four years in a row.
- Handling emcee duties for the evening is MC Serch -- the 3rd Bass rapper and former WJLB-FM jock most recently seen as host of VH1's "The (White) Rapper Show."
- Contenders for the DMA's biggest national award -- best major label recording -- include Blanche, Bob Seger, Kid Rock, the Raconteurs, Regina Carter and Smokey Robinson. For a full list of nominees and other awards details, go to www.detroitmusicawards.com.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Oakland Press (Gary Graff)Category: Music
Concert Reviews:
Bob Seger Closes Tour With Cobo Blowout
By JULIE JACOBSON-HINES
Of the Oakland Press
DETROIT — One fan's homemade sign said it all at Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band's St. Patrick's Day concert: "We all come home eventually."
Indeed, a crowd of about 12,000 crammed into Cobo Hall to witness the end of Seger's "Face the Promise" tour on Saturday. Included were family members and friends of Seger and his band members. The emotion was evident as the crowd sang along, danced and occasionally grew misty-eyed as the band flawlessly played old favorites amidst its newer ones.
Seger thanked his wife and children for being patient through his 50-city tour, and he dedicated "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll" to his daughter's piano teacher, who beamed from the front row.
John and Gayle Szymek of Pontiac held a homemade sign: "Thanks for 40 years of Rock 'N Roll." As a teenager, John Szymek said he did some stage set-up for Seger when the rocker was just starting out. He recalled Seger playing a Waterford Township bowling alley before hitting the big time.
In addition to guitars, drums, keyboards and Alto Reed's saxophone, the band had the Motor City Horns and three female backup vocalists, for a full sound. Seger, who looked lean and energetic for his 61 years, played for 2 1 /2 hours, including short breaks.
Kid Rock joined in for a song near the end of the set, and the crowd roared a welcome for him, too. Dressed in a beige fedora, trademark sunglasses, St. Patrick's T-shirt and leather jacket, he sounded at home with Seger, who was dressed simply in black T-shirt and black jeans.
More gray hair receding hairlines were apparent in this crowd than at most rock concerts, but it showed the aging baby boomers don't want to let go of their early rock roots, or Seger — their hometown hero.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Seger's high-energy night moves rock The JoeDetroit News Review - by Susan Whittall
March 13th, Columus - Bob Seger hasn't laid off thousands of people. He didn't move his headquarters to Texas, and he hasn't torn down any buildings. So it was possible, watching him, almost lean after a rock 'n' roll aerobic workout for the past four months, to believe Detroit was on top of the world again.
Maybe that's why the feeling inside Joe Louis Arena Tuesday night was so giddy. It felt like any year when Detroit was triumphant, not battered, the kind of city where homegrown rock stars played the downtown arenas every other week. Seeing Seger at his top form, with the Silver Bullet Band members honed over the weeks into the best shape of their careers, is to be reminded of a time in Detroit when the jobs were plentiful and the bosses were paying, and bands like Seger's felt it their professional duty to not only play their butts off, but to have so much fun onstage that it spread like a happy contagion through the assembled.
Seger bounced around happily, communing with the near-capacity crowd of 14,600 as if it were a bunch of teenagers at the Hideout Starting off with "Nutbush City Limits" is a great move, propelling the show into high gear from the start. His voice is deeper and burnished, which delays song recognition a bit, as those high notes are gone. It's most noticeable in songs like "Old Time Rock and Roll," but he mustered a high note or two - relatively speaking - for "Katmandu."
Seger has said he doesn't want to tour without the same band and backup, and you can see why. The Motor City Horns are tight and add immeasurably to songs like "Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight," bringing out the soul that has always been integral to Seger's sound, but could often be overshadowed in the arenas by flailing guitars.
His three backup singers - Shaun Murphy, Laura Creamer and Barbara Payton - are a huge part of the show; even with the considerable firepower of the Silver Bullet Band all around them, that feminine wall of sound wailing behind Seger on "Face the Promise" packs a potent punch. Craig Frost's piano work is a reminder of how rock piano is severely underrated; he rocks as hard as the rest of the band, and it adds to that huge Silver Bullet Band sound.
Longtime Seger fans might feel a flashback or two when they see his slimmed-down 2007 self busting a few moves you'll recognize from his "Beautiful Loser" days.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Denver -- 2/14/07Review
Andy Stonehouse
Denver Post
February 15, 2007
Seger, 61, still rocks with gravelly voice
Bob Seger performs Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center. Seger and the Silver Bullet Band played several encores from the packed crowd. (Post / John Leyba)
Fresh off a break of more than 10 years from the stage, veteran rocker Bob Seger - a guy who has, for decades, embodied the spirit of hardworking, no-nonsense, middle-class rock 'n' roll - amply demonstrated that 61-year-old dudes can, and do, keep rocking.
Seger and the Silver Bullet Band thrilled a comfortably packed crowd at the Pepsi Center Wednesday evening.
They offered up loads of Michigan-born heart and soul with a set that transcended many, many years of hits.
The recent years that Seger chose to spend with his children after a long career as one of America's most iconic rockers apparently helped preserve that distinctive, nicotine-flavored voice and left him with a whole lot of energy and enthusiasm to spare.
Dressed in a black T-shirt and pants at the outset - finished off with a trademark headband - the bespectacled, stocky rocker traveled across a long catalog of material that ranged from the expected classics ("Old Time Rock 'n' Roll," "Night Moves," "Hollywood Nights" and "We've Got Tonight") to a sizable chunk of songs pulled from his new CD, "Face the Promise."
The resulting mix was admittedly up-and-down during the first set, as fans jumped to their feet to support fist-pumping pieces such as "Roll Me Away," only to quietly settle down for Seger's new material.
But the variety made for a nice night, with the gravelly voiced rocker turning up the mood on a sensitive rendition of "We've Got Tonight" and an especially growly "Turn the Page."
Decades of smoking really will take a toll on the voice box. Luckily for Seger, the effect is still as cool and crunchy as it was in the 1970s.
What the evening lacked in pyrotechnics and flash, it made up for in sheer numbers.
Backed by as many as 13 players (including the sexy trio of veteran vocalists Laura Creamer, Shaun Murphy and Barbara Payton, plus the smooth-sounding Motor City Horns), Seger was never lonely.
And the long-established chops of the Silver Bullet Band kept things vital and vibrant.
Alto Reed, hoisting a saxophone the size of a vacuum cleaner at various points, was a definite crowd favorite.
Toward the end, Seger and band were well into an extended round of enthusiastically received encores, offering loads of evidence that there's still room for powerful, completely unpretentious rock 'n' roll.
Sunday, March 04, 2007
Los Angeles -- 3/1/07Review
Paul Gargano
Live Daily
March 2, 2007
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band in Inglewood, CA
When veteran rocker Bob Seger (tickets | music) busted into "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" as the final song of his nearly two-hour set Thursday night (3/1) in Los Angeles, it was a fitting finale to a long-awaited night his die-hard fans won't soon forget.
It's a good thing the memories will be positive, as judging from Seger's track record, it might be a while before he tours again.
In the midst of his first North American tour in more than a decade, the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee put his 40-year career on display in front of a near-capacity crowd at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. The 24-song set spanned his catalog, from the title track of his 1968 debut, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," to six cuts from his latest release, last year's "Face the Promise."
The new album debuted an impressive No. 4 on The Billboard 200 album chart and quickly achieved platinum status, marking the 11th platinum effort of Seger's heralded career. To his credit, the new material doesn't stray far from his comfort zone, and the tracks made comfortable additions to a hit-laden performance.
Opener "Roll Me Away" immediately shifted the night into gear, the heartland's favorite rocker aiming his set for the open road and never looking back. It was the early, back-to-back billing of "Main Street" and "Old Time Rock & Roll" that got the equally veteran crowd off their feet in a big way, though, Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed kicking off the first, and piano man Craig Frost hitting the intro notes that put Tom Cruise on the map in "Risky Business."
Seger, for his part, sounded strong, his voice warm, weathered and raspy, and showing nary a sign of wear (possibly due, in part, to its limited use over the past 10 years). Dressed down in blue jeans and a black T-shirt, and accessorized by a black headband, the frontman was as stripped-down as his stage show, which offered little more than robotic light-trusses that wouldn't have been considered high-tech even the last time he toured.
The presentation was so bare bones, even the upper-most riser, behind the modest drum kit, didn't get used until Reed climbed atop to play his sax during the night's closer. But bells and whistles weren't necessary.
Backed by his six-piece Silver Bullet Band, the four-piece Motor City Horns and three female backing vocalists (Laura Creamer shared the spotlight on the duet "The Answer's in the Question," recorded on the new album with Patty Loveless), Seger sat behind the piano for "We've Got Tonight" and "Turn the Page," donned an acoustic guitar on "Night Moves" and "Against the Wind," and even fired up the electric six-string, serving up his latest title track with an adrenaline rush that defied his years.
When he wasn't behind an instrument, he worked the stage with an assertive savvy that drove the crowd to return the same, his fists pumping, theirs pumping back, his legs braced to the floor and fists clenched in delivery, and the crowd dancing in appreciation, even if not always in rhythm.
Even the tabloid headline-stealing Kid Rock couldn't rob Seger of his roaring thunder. The fellow Detroit native joined the elder statesman for a run through "Real Mean Bottle," "an ode to Merle Haggard, Cali-style." It was a one-off highlight for the Hollywood crowd that would have normally been reserved for one of the pair's hometown throwdowns.
It was working-class rock, as delivered by the working man's rock-and-roll messiah.
If the night were any more blue collar, Dickies would have been required dress, and Union cards would have discounted the $22 parking. But there was magic in the blue-collar missives delivered on this night. While classic ballads may have rekindled broken hearts, and broken hips from excessive dancing might have worried some in the crowd, the man they came to see ultimately proved exceptional.
Bob Seger is more than just an acclaimed rock-and-roll legend, he's part of the American fabric. In Los Angeles, that fabric, however simple and understated, felt as comfortable as ever.
Like the best pair of jeans, there's no denying slightly worn and timeless.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Seger still knows how to throw a partySeattle Post Intelligencer - by Gene Stout
February 24th, Seattle - Embracing the passage of time rather than pretending to be forever young, the 61-year-old Detroit legend known for such songs as "Hollywood Nights" and "Against the Wind" rocked a near-capacity crowd at KeyArena with the songs that made him a rock 'n' roll institution. He also offered a sampling of songs from his new album, "Face the Promise," among them "Wreck This Heart," "Simplicity" and the tender ballad "Wait for Me." The new songs compared favorably to his classic tunes.
The boisterous show -- opened by Tennessee rocker Steve Azar and his band -- drew a near-capacity crowd spanning several generations but dominated by baby boomers. After the concert, Queen Anne Avenue was choked with rented stretch limos, indicating the event had been a special occasion for many concertgoers who had perhaps taken their cue from the line about "the rich man in his big long limousine" in "Fire Down Below."
Seger's current tour is his first in 10 years. During his last tour in 1996, Seger also performed at KeyArena, shortly after the former Seattle Center Coliseum reopened with great promise. The April show was the first big rock concert at the renovated facility. Backing Seger on Thursday night was his long-running Silver Bullet Band, featuring Chris Campbell on bass, Craig Frost on keyboards, Mark Chatfield on lead guitar, Jim "Moose" Brown on guitar and keyboard, and the popular Alto Reed on saxophones. Reed, who moved about the stage more than anyone (he was especially animated during "Horizontal Bop") played a giant bass sax that was quite an eye-catcher.
Seger's entourage of more than a dozen talented performers included three background singers (Shaun Murphy, Laura Creamer and Barbara Payton); a four-piece horn section, the Motor City Horns; and drummer Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad. Dressed in black T-shirt, jeans and headband, Seger roared through a generous selection of songs in a raspy, robust voice long familiar to legions of fans. He said he had been fighting a cold, but powered through such songs as "Trying To Live My Life Without You," "Night Moves" and a raucous "Old Time Rock and Roll."
The concert featured Seger's potent blend of rock, soul and R&B. Among the more playful, retro-sounding songs were "Katmandu," "Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight" and "C'est La Vie," Seger's retitled version of the Chuck Berry classic "You Never Can Tell." With duet partners from the entourage, Seger sang the raucous "Real Mean Bottle" (recorded with Kid Rock) and the gentle ballad "The Answer's in the Question" (recorded with Patty Loveless). Both were from the new album. The two-hour show included a short intermission (after "Beautiful Loser") and two encores. The first featured "Night Moves" and the incendiary "Hollywood Nights"; the second, "Against the Wind" (with the audience singing along) and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets."
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Little Rock -- 2/10/07Review
Jack Hill
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
February 13, 2007
Bob Seger shows Alltel just why rock 'n' roll never forgets
Bob Seger could have passed for a quiet bookkeeper or the bespectacled history professor whose stories are good enough to make you want to read his assignments.
But the 61-year-old Seger proved that age is no obstacle to providing an energetic rock show. Still the same? Grayer, but still as good.
Starting off with "Roll Me Away," Seger became more than a simply-clad singer in a black Tshirt and blue jeans whose movements were just as believable, if not as wildly theatrical and almost cartoonish, as those of Mick Jagger, who cavorted on this stage 11 months ago. Thunderous bass lines, two drum sets and a huge bass saxophone competed for the crowd's attention, and made clear early on that excellent sound and a devoted technical crew would mean no need to hurriedly search for ear plugs - this was a concert to be enjoyed painlessly.
The roar of the band was matched by the thunderous applause of adoring fans at the soldout show of 14,141 Saturday at Alltel Arena. Seger barreled into " Tryin' to Live My Life Without You" as if he meant it for an early Valentine's Day treat for the crowd, and the band's great horn section's soulful wail made the song sound like something Otis Redding could have recorded.
New songs from Face the Promise, Seger's 2006 release, were mixed in with familiar hits: the new "Wreck This Heart," "Mainstreet," "Old Time Rock & Roll," the new "Wait for Me," the title cut from Face the Promise, "Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight," "We've Got Tonight," "Turn the Page," "Beautiful Loser," the new "Simplicity," "Ramblin', Gamblin' Man," "C'est La Vie," the new "Real Mean Bottle" and "The Answer's in the Question," "The Fire Down Below," "Horizontal Bop," "Katmandu," "Night Moves," "Hollywood Nights," "Against the Wind" and finally, "Rock and Roll Never Forgets."
At times, you could look around the arena and see a mix of two technologies held aloft: the lighted cell phone cameras of modern times and the old-style lighter (and judging from the haze inside and on the concourse, lighters had been used for more than just saluting Seger). With no smoke machines on stage, it was hard to think the haze was anything but scofflaw smokers.
Subtracting a nine-minute intermission, Seger gave the adoring throng a two-hour show and never looked winded. He looked and acted like an unreformed rocker who had missed the road and was out to make up for lost time. He was backed by musicians of unquestioned talent, especially saxophonist Alto Reed and lead guitarist Mark Chatfield, who were attuned to each other's moves.
Reed is an old hand at playing with Seger, as are bassist Chris Campbell, drummer Don Brewer, keyboardist Craig Frost and backing vocalists and percussionists Laura Creamer and Shaun Murphy. The band's other members are John Rutherford, Mark Byerly, Robert Jensen and Keith Kaminski, collectively known as The Motor City Horns, plus backing vocalist/percussionist Barbara Payton and rhythm guitarist Jim "Moose" Brown, a native of Nettleton, near Jonesboro.
Opening act Steve Azar and band blazed through a good, if brief set, full of energy and vigor. Azar, a lifelong fan of Seger, was overjoyed to be playing as Seger's opening act and in front of Azar's Conway native wife and her family, he said. High points of his set were "Waitin' on Joe" and "I Don't Have To Be Me ('Til Monday)," a song with sentiments that were likely shared by fans who turned out for a long-delayed shot of Seger's music.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Motor City mayhemWashington Times - by Dan Campbell
February 2nd, Washington DC - The Detroit auto industry is running out of gas, the Tigers lost the World Series in five games, and Michigan narrowly missed a shot at the national collegiate title last fall. But cruel fate holds no dominion over the ageless Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band, one Detroit export that never disappoints. Sixty one-year-old Seger - on tour for the first time in a decade but looking fit and obviously running on high-octane fuel - had a nearly sold-out house at the Verizon Center Thursday night bouncing in the aisles to his rockers and nodding and swaying to his schlockers. After two-plus hours of Motor City mayhem, there was no doubt that DC still likes Seger's old time rock and soul.
Mr. Seger says he preferred the music of James Brown to the Beatles in his youth, and it showed in his gospel-tinged, soul-shout vocals and the frequent use of R&B rhythms and arrangements by his band, which numbered 14 or so pieces when augmented by the Motor City Horns and three female back-up singers. There is still nothing remotely pretentious about Mr. Seger. Now silver- haired and dressed in the same simple black t-shirt and jeans on both sides of the intermission, Mr. Seger frequently worked his way out to the far corners of the stage and exhorted the crowd to sing and move with him, pumping and thrusting his arms to the beat of ex-Grand Funk drummer Don Brewer.
Mr. Seger's best songs paint vivid landscapes of working class America, real and mythic. You could feel the anguish of lonely and sometimes-harassed musicians stuck on the endless road on a riveting version of "Turn the Page," easily the best and most convincing ballad of the night. Alto Reed's plaintve, wailing sax lines pierced to the bone as Mr. Seger stroked the piano keys. It was preceded by another ballad, "We've Got Tonight," which demonstrated Mr. Seger's regrettable tendency to sometimes sail a little too close to the reefs of Kenny Rogers-like schlock.
Even though ballads such as those have accounted for most of his biggest hits, Mr. Seger is at his best when playing low-down, gritty rock'n'roll. For this tour, Mr. Seger has revived -- for the first time in 26 years -- his 1968 hit, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man." Wisely, he didn't mess with the original formula, since it is hard to improve on perfection. The Bob Seger System, as the band was then called, wouldn't have another big hit for seven years, but the band continued to tour incessantly until the hits finally began to flow.
"Fire Down Below," which the band has not been performing at most other recent shows, is one of rock's true masterpieces of seething lust, a song that wouldn't be out of place on the Stones' "Exiles on Main Street" or "Sticky Fingers." Last night, the Silver Bullet Band hammered it home with visceral impact, with Mark Chatfield's lead guitar providing the proper sting and Chris Campbell (the band's bassist since 1968) making it all churn.
Mr. Seger closed the regular set with two more of the band's best rockers: "Horizontal Bop" and a frenzied "Katmandu." The band encored with "Night Moves" and "Hollywood Nights," then came back yet again for "Against the Wind" and "Rock 'n' Roll Never Forgets." The show included a good helping of numbers from the band's new album, "Face the Promise," and most of it sounded better live. "Real Mean Bottle" was probably the best of the lot, with Mr. Brewer handling the vocal duet lines that country singer Clint Black does on the album.
The show was opened by Steve Azar, a highly competent alt-country-rocker who told the crowd, "We're here to get you lubed for Bob Seger!" He played his hit, "I Don't Have to Be Me ('Til Monday)," and a tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn from a new album.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band
(Madison Square Garden; 17,400 seats; $79.50 top)
By DAVID SPRAGUE
Bob Seger serves up some of that old-time rock 'n' roll in Gotham.
Presented by Live Nation. Reviewed Jan. 25, 2007.
Band: Bob Seger, Jim "Moose" Brown, Mark Chatfield, Craig Frost, Chris Campbell, Don Brewer, Alto Reed, John Rutherford, Mark Byerly, Robert Jensen, Keith Kaminski, Laura Creamer, Shaun Murphy, Barbara Payton.
In one of his biggest hits, Bob Seger addressed the passage of time with a wistful note that his protagonist was "Still the Same" -- a description that could certainly apply to the 61-year-old singer, who has weathered the years with grace, rather than attempt to swim against their inexorable tide.
While Seger ended a decade-long hiatus late last year with the Capitol release "Face the Promise," he didn't load up the groaning board with selections from that disc -- having apparently come to the realization that aud members come to a get-together like this craving comfort food, not nouvelle cuisine.
To that end, the two hourlong sets -- punctuated by an intermission just long enough for Seger to take the breather he was clearly in need of by the end of the first -- were dominated by sing-alongs that, truth be told, could've sailed along without much input at all from the man at centerstage.
Seger opted not to coast, however, and while his energy levels flagged from time to time, he poured an impressive amount of gusto into rollicking renditions of "Katmandu" and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets," the latter of which seemed to serve as a rallying cry for a goodly number of the old-school fans in attendance.
The flesh was certainly willing -- surprisingly so, given musings about the state of Seger's health not all that long ago -- but the pipes weren't always up to the task, as evidenced by a parched two-fer of "We've Got Tonight" and "Turn the Page." On the other hand, the rough edges that have crept into his tone worked to the benefit of the perf's pricklier material, notably "Horizontal Bop" and a version of Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" that lead guitarist Mark Chatfield kicked into overdrive.
Seger and the Silver Bullet Band play the Forum in Los Angeles on March 1.
Boston Herald - by Christopher Blagg
January 29, Boston - Bob Seger has always been a rather sneaky rock star, continually playing third fiddle to fellow Middle American rockers Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp. Yet without any glitzy-magazine cover stories or a massive, headline-grabbing press blitz, he has returned after 10 quiet years, armed with a Top 10 Billboard-charting record and a nation-spanning arena tour. Despite the lengthy break, Seger doesn't seem to be showing any signs of rust, as the capacity crowd squeezing into the TD Banknorth Garden on Saturday night could attest.
Touring in support of his first record in 11 years, "Face the Promise," Seger and his trusted Silver Bullet Band put on an almost 2-hour marathon set, chock-full of FM radio classics and a sprinkling of new tunes. Unlike other classic rockers on the comeback trail, there was no glitter or leather to be seen on Seger. Donning a simple black T-shirt, jeans and headband, Seger made sure this was to be a no frills, no gimmicks show, the usual arena rock pomp replaced by sweat and Detroit grit.
The piano-pounding heartland rocker "Roll Me Away" kicked things off on a suitably earnest note, followed by the Motown swing of "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You," which featured the Motor City Horns.
The 40-something-dominated crowd was understandably less enthused for newer tunes such as the generic but pleasant blue-collar rock of "Wreck This Heart" and the chugging riffage of "Face the Promise," but still gamely danced along - the new tunes not being bad enough to force a beer run, but not memorable enough to truly stand out.
Despite the healthy sales of the new record, it was the hits the crowd was waiting on. Classics such as the sax-fried boogie of "Old Time Rock & Roll" and the insistent stomp of "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" forced many a graying/balding head in the crowd to bob in righteous rock salute and wistfully recall a simpler time before Eminem and Britney, when trendy bands like the White Stripes were still in diapers.
Throughout the set, Seger's unmistakable granular baritone remained true to form, the veteran rocker sounding loose and relaxed. His stage moves consisted of an occasional knee bend combined with the consistent pumping of a defiant fist - simple but oddly effective in its Spartan simplicity. No ill-advised splits or stage dives to be found.
The steady stream of jukebox material raged on through two encores, highlighted by the iconic acoustic strum of "Night Moves," the epic power ballad "Against the Wind," and closing with the manic joy of "Rock & Roll Never Forgets." Considering Seger's decade-long layoff, the finale was quite fitting. Bob Seger's in no danger of being forgotten.
Seger still plays with a youthful exuberence
Boston Globe - by Joan Anderman
January 29, Boston - Bob Seger's is a no-frills, meat-and-potatoes version of rock 'n' roll salvation, and his return to the concert stage following a decade-long hiatus followed suit. At the TD Banknorth Garden on Saturday, a blaring snippet of "The Boys Are Back in Town" served as fanfare. Seger walked out and waved. He wore blue jeans and a black T-shirt, and with the sturdy support of a reconstituted Silver Bullet Band -- several longtime members now sport flowing locks the color of their namesake ammo -- played heartland rockers and back-to-basics ballads for more than two hours.
It was as simple, and satisfying, as that. At 61, Seger seems more than ever like the blue-collar Bruce Springsteen, a less-complicated American dreamer who inspires fist-pumping around a nostalgic theme of youthful escape. "Katmandu," "Night Moves," "Roll Me Away," and "Hollywood Nights" were rendered, and received, exuberantly. So was Seger's like-sounding, but not like-minded, new music, which largely celebrates the comforts of home and hearth. (Springsteen's grown more thoughtful and political with the years; Seger has not.) But Seger has a secret weapon, something his more influential contemporary never mastered: great ballads.
"We've Got Tonight" turns an unfancy fistful of chords and a few clear-eyed refrains into one of rock's most poignant come-ons, and Seger sang it at the piano with seasoned conviction. He stayed at the keyboard for a beautifully torpid read of "Turn the Page," which captured the strangeness and weariness of life on the road so well you wouldn't guess the singer is just coming off a 10-year break. The four-piece Motor City Horns and a stellar trio of female singers supplied the subtle strain of hometown soul that colors older songs like "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You" and "Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight" as well as the riff-heavy title track of the Detroit native's new album, "Face the Promise."
Seger's always had a foot in the past; he covered "Old Time Rock and Roll" as a young man, and wrote "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" -- the charging rallying cry that closed down the show -- as an even younger one. Now it turns out those songs, and their invitation to rock out forever, have become that much more compelling for an aging musician and his devoted fans.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Boston -- 1/27/07Review
Sarah Rodman
Boston Globe
January 26, 2007
He's a father now, but triumphant return shows he's still a rocker
When Bob Seger laughs, it sounds exactly as you might it imagine it would.
It's a deep, rusty chuckle that starts in his belly and fights its way through the nicotine-coated throat famous for a whole mess of songs familiar to anyone who has ever listened to a classic-rock station or seen a truck commercial.
At 61, Seger is a jolly soul who laughs often. At his good fortune -- more than 50 million albums sold, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acclaim, a concert tour drawing rave reviews that comes to the TD Banknorth Garden tomorrow and the DCU Center on Tuesday. At the senior moments, he and his manager of 40 years, "Punch" Andrews, have been experiencing lately. At his ability, after an 11-year hiatus, to record an album as rock solid as his recently released "Face the Promise." And, unlike a lot of artists his age, at hearing his songs on the radio with his kids in the car.
"Oh yeah," he says in his friendly bellow on the phone from his home in Detroit. "I know every nook and cranny of all of 'em, and it's fun to hear 'em on the radio, we usually turn it up every time!"
For the first time in a long time, that is also what Seger's fans are doing with his music, and not just because more than a decade has passed since he released an album and hit the road. "Face the Promise," a mix of yearning ballads and heavy-duty rockers -- including the cowbell-licious "Wreck This Heart" and a raucous Kid Rock duet on Vince Gill's "Real Mean Bottle" -- has sold 693,000 copies in the five months since its release. By contrast, 1995's "It's a Mystery" has sold only 537,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. [Seger File Note: The RIAA certified Face the Promise as Platinum in December 2006, meaning it has sold at least 1,000,000 copies. The album isn't yet listed as platinum in the searchable RIAA online database, however.]
Longtime Seger backing vocalist Laura Creamer attributes the album's sense of creative vitality to the work that her boss did during the break he took to raise his children. "He took a lot of time off of touring, but he didn't take time off of writing and recording," she says. "So this album is what he has chosen out of a great body of work in the last nine or 10 years."
"It's the best album that Bob's written in 25 years," seconds Alto Reed, who's been the restless-legged saxophonist with Seger since 1972. "Not that there haven't been other great songs and other albums, but I really think that [ 'Promise'] was a return to his basic sense of how he connects with the world around him and how he puts that into lyrics. It's a much more universal-themed album."
Seger agrees, saying he felt a desire to "be very out front with everything. The lyrics felt better to me when they were very straightforward."
He drew much of his lyrical inspiration from his kids, Cole, 14, and Samantha, 11, for whom he had taken time off to be a hands-on dad.
"When I talk about ' Face the Promise,' I'm talking about facing the future and the pitfalls in the future," says Seger of the album's rip-roaring, let's-hit-the-road title track. (In a list of towns, it name-checks Framingham. This, Seger says with a laugh, was "a simple matter of geography; it had to end in 'ham.' ") "I'm probably talking about their future, not mine, because that's what happens when you're a dad: You start worrying about your kids' future, not your own."
Which led to the poignant, Orbison-ian antiwar lament "No More"; the indignant minor-chord burner "Are You," which targets rampant consumerism; and the near-funk fury of "Between," which relates to the fragility of the environment.
"I took my kids to see 'An Inconvenient Truth' when it first came out, and they were just knocked out," he says.
But it might understandably rub some people the wrong way that a man who lent his music and image to gas-guzzling trucks for more than a decade is now singing the finger-pointing lyric "We buy a bigger engine and say it isn't me."
Seger offers up his six-cylinder truck and sports car as doing his "little part to save" and points to improvements in truck engineering and diesel. He aims to set a good example for his kids and has no regrets about the ad campaign. He doesn't think John Mellencamp should, either, with his currently inescapable "Our Country, Our Truck" ads.
"If it helps save jobs in the American auto industry, that's fine with me," says Seger. "That was my impetus for doing it, to help my area, and it did. I think the Chevrolet truck division never lost money for the 10 or 12 years that that was a commercial." He does admit, however, that the band no longer plays "Like a Rock." "We just put it away, enough's enough."
They do play just about everything else though, says Seger of the 25 - song, two-hour shows he is giving with the Silver Bullet Band, which is also augmented by the Motor City Horns.
So expect to hear the hits, from early tracks such as "Night Moves" and "Turn the Page" to later successes like "Fire Lake" and "Roll Me Away," along with a half-dozen tracks from "Promise."
"I don't think it could be going better. The band is real committed, and it's just a joy to do it," says Seger.
The tour is going so well that Seger recently taped a couple of performances at Detroit's Cobo Hall [Sic: It was The Palace of Auburn Hills] for a possible DVD release. He has yet to see the footage, however. "I've had the same manager for 40 years, and we're both getting kind of old, so I said, 'Where's the DVD? I want to see it.' And he said, 'I can't find it,' " he says. "So he's still looking around for it. They say it's good, but I'd love to see it myself."
Superfan Kid Rock, who inducted Seger into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and thinks that his hometown hero's plain-spoken comfort rock has long been underrated, confirms that Seger and the Silver Bullet Band still have the live goods.
Kid Rock caught a recent show in Los Angeles with compatriot Uncle Kracker. "So we were standing there checking out the show, and he busted out 'Turn the Page' about 35 minutes into the show, and I knew he was playing for two hours," says Rock. "I turned to Kracker and said, 'Dude, you know you've got hits when you bust out [expletive] "Turn the Page" 35 minutes into the show. You know you've got hits.' "
In one of the most enduring, and thoughtful, of those hits, Seger reflects on the life of a road warrior and the emotional bills one racks up pursuing any dream, rock 'n' roll or otherwise.
"When I wrote that song I was a lot looser," he says of 1980's "Against the Wind." "I'm really glad I didn't have kids back then, because I was so career-driven at that time -- 'never worrying about paying or even how much I owed' -- that really refers to the time . . . before we made it.
"I'll give you an example. In '71, I think we did 280 shows, and we cleared $9,000 after all of the expenses. I spent $6,000 on equipment, and that was my IRS statement. That was the way we were. If we had any spare money, we'd buy another guitar or a spare amp or a better mike, and it was totally pure music 24 hours a day. I think now having [my career] in its proper place with the family is much better."
So now he knows what to leave in and what to leave out?
"Oh, yeah," he says with another rumbling chuckle, "I think so."
Friday, January 26, 2007
Rock and roll never forgets - 4 of 5 starsToronto Sun - by Jane Stevenson
January 23, Toronto - So, just how long has it been since Detroit rocker Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band played Toronto? Would you believe it was 1996 at Maple Leaf Gardens, the year after he released his last album, 1995's It's A Mystery? Naturally then, the 61-year-old Seger's return to T.O. last night at the Air Canada Centre, in support of his first album in 11 years — 2006's Face The Promise — was a highly anticipated one by the boomer-heavy, sold-out crowd.
Appropriately, the song that heralded Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's arrival on stage was Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back InTown. To be accurate, Seger's six-piece band had swelled to include three female backup singers and a four-piece horn section — the Motor City Horns — by the second song, Tryin' To Live My Life Without You. Opening the show with Roll Me Away, Seger evoked almost Springsteen-like energy and enthusiasm, singing his heart out and dressed casually in a black T-shirt, jeans and beat-up black loafers with no socks.
"Alright Toronto, you feel funky tonight?" said Seger, who had worked up enough of a sweat by the third (and new) song, Wreck This Heart, to wrap a black bandana around his head. But it was the next two songs, the late '70s classics Mainstreet, and Old Time Rock And Roll that provoked the audience to really roar for the first time. "It's great to be back in Canada," said Seger, who alternated between having no instrument and playing an acoustic guitar and upright piano.
And while it was Seger's classic rock and soul hits the crowd came to hear, the best material from Face The Promise fit in seamlessly with his quality work from the '70s and '80s, particularly such energetic rockers as Wreck This Heart and the title track. Otherwise, the evening's standouts were no surprise and audience participation was encouraged. "I need the help from the guys, the men, the boys," said Seger before launching into audience favourite Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight.
"I'm winded," admitted Seger, before he sat down afterwards to play the piano on the classic ballad, We've Got Tonight and the undispited show highlight, TurnThe Page, with Alto Reed's striking saxophone opening. Sadly, there was a brief intermission at about the show's hour-and-10-minute mark so Seger could change his sweat-soaked clothes, breaking the concert's momentum ever so slightly.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Rock and Roll never forgetsPhiladelphia Inquirer - by Nick Cristiano
1/19/2006 Philadelphia - Even 30 years ago, when he was a superstar in a world where rock-and-roll was a bigger cultural and commercial force, Bob Seger could sound like a man out of his time, a guy already feeling the weight of mortality. Think of "Night Moves" or "Against the Wind," two hits whose autumnal air is closer to country fatalism than rock swagger. Or, at the other extreme, the reactionary railing of "Old Time Rock and Roll" - "Today's music ain't got the same soul."
Seger didn't write that last one, although he might as well have - it's hard to think of a rocker who better fits the song's sentiments. But by the time the 61-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and his Silver Bullet Band delivered the tune five songs into their scintillating show Thursday night at the far-from-sold-out Wachovia Spectrum, it was clear that while "old-fashioned" might apply, "relic" and "over-the-hill" did not.
What came to mind foremost was the description he gave to the wheels he sang about in 1982's "Makin' Thunderbirds" - "classic, in a word." This is a musical vehicle that, for all the miles on it, has stood the test of time magnificently. Looking fit and energetic for his first tour in 10 years, the silver-haired Seger opened with "Roll Me Away," a mid-tempo song built on his basic sound of heavy rhythms, guitars, and graceful piano lines, with three female backup singers.
Befitting his Michigan heritage, however, his rock also contains heavy doses of soul and R&B, and that immediately became apparent when he brought out a four-man brass section, the Motor City Horns, to augment Silver Bullet sax man Alto Reed. The horns reappeared periodically throughout the night, putting an extra charge into numbers like "Horizontal Bop" and "Katmandu."
Seger included five songs from his strong new album, Face the Promise, but mostly he gave the fans what they wanted from his catalog of radio and concert favorites. The show moved along briskly - befitting his no-frills, working-class ethos, the band didn't indulge in any extended flashy solos. Rather it functioned as a finely tuned machine in the service of the songs, keeping the rockers hurtling along and providing spare atmospherics on the ballads. Seger's distinctive rasp, meanwhile, remains robust; it has taken on some deeper tones, but that has only made one of the great rock voices sound even better.
It was fitting that the night would end with a song about the music. "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" is another tune about getting older ("Now sweet 16's turned 31..."). But with the rhythm section laying down that heavy beat, the guitarists firing off chunky riffs, the piano player pumping out a boogie woogie, the horn section driving, and the singers wailing - all threatening to blow the lid off the old arena - the music did what all the night's rockers did: rage, in a gloriously infectious and good-time fashion, against any dimming of the light.
And isn't that what rock-and-roll is all about?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
He roars, they cheerTampa Review - by Sean Daly
1/14/2006 TAMPA - He's 61, grizzled, growly and with a voice just as big. And a raucous crowd just loved it. Let's be honest: The best way to hear a Bob Seger song has nothing to do with big, bursting arenas or $40 concert tees. Instead, the growly Detroit rocker has always been the patron saint of drive-time radio, the perfect guide as we rattle home from work in our beatup rides, pounding the steering wheel to the beat, just enough money in our lonely, linty pockets for a cheap six-pack.
Many in the raucous crowd of 16,994 at the St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday forged their affections for Seger in very much the same way, growing up in the '70s and '80s, running against the wind, working on their night moves, you get the picture. And now here they were. Here he was. All of them loud and happy and still young enough to rock.
Man, was this a fun show. In order to raise his kids and be a family man, the 61-year-old blue-collar hero took a decade off from singing songs and kicking out the footlights. But now he's back on the road - finally - with a gone-platinum new disc, Face the Promise, and a bestselling comeback tour with his venerable Silver Bullet Band.
And my oh my, weren't his fans happy to have him back. You could say that Seger has always been the Springsteen of the heartland, the chosen navigator of all those wide open spaces and dusty main streets where a young Midwesterner can feel a little lost. Seger is a rich man now, with a nice big house in Michigan, but he never forgot his roots. And he certainly never bothered dyeing his roots either, as Seger hit the stage for his two-hour-plus show looking every bit his age, a grizzled, gray-headed grizzly bear in a black T-shirt, jeans and uncool glasses.
But the layoff only helped preserve his iconic voice, as Seger unloaded an opening version of Roll Me Away with a voice that sounded just as big as it did all those years ago. And he certainly wasn't lacking for energy. Backed by his 13-piece band including a wild, woolly horn section, Seger unloaded hit after hit: Mainstreet, We've Got Tonight, Turn the Page, the latter of which Seger performed behind a piano, leading the crowd in a tingly sing-along. Seger is such an eager, robust performer, he has the ability to pump refreshing life into songs you've heard hundreds of times. If you think you're tired of Old Time Rock & Roll - and if the sight of Tom Cruise gamboling in his undies in Risky Business soured the song for you years ago - that sucker flat-out cooked in a live setting, the very definition of "arena rocker."
Seger took a quick intermission - perhaps to refresh his likably dorky headband? - and returned with just as much fire. He played and played, oldie after goodie, long into the night. After all, the man had a lot of catching up to do.
Friday, December 22, 2006
The Oakland Press-Gary Graff (12/22/06)Category: Music
AUBURN HILLS - A knowingly placed recording of Thin Lizzy's "The Boys are Back in Town," playing at fullvolume over the speakers, said it all at Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band's concert Wednesday night at The Palace.
Seger and his boys were indeed back in town, fulfilling wishes that his legion of hometown fans have held for 10 years' worth of holidays.
Like kindred spirits Bruce Springsteen in New Jersey or John Mellencamp in Indiana, Seger in Michigan - and especially in the metro Detroit area - is as much an event as a concert, a collective celebration of civic pride presided over by a favorite son. In Milwaukee or St. Louis or Chicago, songs such as "Mainstreet," "We've Got Tonight," "Hollywood Nights" and "Night Moves" are big hits; in these parts they're part of the cultural fabric that has defined the musical heritage of the area for the better part of four decades.
With all that going for him, Seger could have spent more than two hours singing Christmas carols Wednesday night and still kept the soldout Palace crowd of about 17,000 on its feet for the entire show - including Kid Rock, who was in the house planning to re-create the duet version of Vince Gill's "Real Mean Bottle" that he and Seger recorded for the latter's new album, "Face the Promise." Instead, Seger and the Silver Bullets rocked their fans with plenty of hits and a generous sampling of material from the platinum-certifi ed "Face the Promise."
Greeting the faithful with a hearty "Nice to see ya!" Seger drove into the first of four Palace shows with the anthemic "Roll Me Away" as the audience sang almost as loudly as his amplified voice and pumped their fists with each stab of timpani. The four-piece Motor City Horns section brought extra muscle to "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You," while guitarist Mark Chatfield put the appropriate Rolling Stonesy grind into "Wreck This Heart."
The fans hung with Seger and company for new songs like "Wait For Me," "No Matter Who You Are" and "Face the Promise," but they really raised the roof for favorites that were greeted like old friends returning from a long absence - especially "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," Seger's first national hit which has returned to the repertoire for the first time since 1980. "Old Time Rock 'n' Roll," with Chatfield and Silver Bullet showman Alto Reed trading guitar and saxophone solos, turned The Palace into a veritable wedding reception. "Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight" had the grit of a barroom shuffle, and an effective pairing of the gentle "We've Got Tonight" and the pensive "Turn the Page" provided a perfect set up for the pairing of "Travelin' Man" and "Beautiful Loser."
With both the performance and the sound mix noticeably improved from the tour's Nov. 8 opening in Grand Rapids, Seger exuded confidence and an energy that belied his 61 years, and was ably supported by the whole Silver Bullet crew, from Craig Frost's keyboard fills to Don Brewer's rock-solid drumming. When he sang "next time we'll get it right" at the end of "Roll Me Away," Seger was being a bit disingenuous; this time it worked just fine.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Cleveland -- 12/16/06Review
John Soeder
Cleveland Plain Dealer
December 18, 2006
Fabulous how the Seger night moved after a decade
Ain't it funny how "Night Moves" was moving in a whole new way?
"Strange how the night moves / With autumn closing in," Bob Seger crooned, striking a reflective note between a few gentle chords strummed on acoustic guitar.
He first sang those words as a hirsute young man in the mid-1970s. Yet they never rang truer than they did in concert Saturday night at The Q.
Seger, 61, has entered the autumn of his years, a bit heavier and grayer. OK, a lot grayer. But this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer from Detroit still had all the right moves as he came to town for a sold-out show on his first tour in a decade.
"Roll Me Away" announced his return, although Seger was almost drowned out by an ecstatic crowd.
Middle-age fans who used to cruise around to "Hollywood Nights," slow dance to "Mainstreet" and make out to "We've Got Tonight" welcomed those tunes and the man with the pack-a-day pipes who sang them like old friends. Held aloft were antique devices apparently known as "lighters," which ancient civilizations used to ignite cigarettes, before smoking was all but outlawed.
"It's great to be back!" Seger said. He struck a familiar pose in the spotlight, hunching slightly and bending his knees as he leaned into the microphone. Close your eyes and you might have believed a wrinkle in the space-time continuum had whisked you back to the glory days of the "Live Bullet" album.
Seger parked himself behind a piano for a particularly well-received "Turn the Page," with veteran sideman Alto Reed's sax howling like a lonely coyote.
Besides Reed, Seger's Silver Bullet Band featured old hands Chris Campbell on bass and Craig Frost on keyboards, as well as longtime backing vocalists Laura Creamer and Shaun Murphy. On drums was Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad, who traded vocals with Seger on "Real Mean Bottle." The four-piece Motor City Horns provided extra punch on several numbers, including a rambunctious "Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight."
Seger performed for two hours, not counting a brief intermission. The 25-song set was stacked with no fewer than seven tunes from his new album, "Face the Promise," including "Wreck This Heart," the tender ballad "Wait for Me" and "The Answer's in the Question," a country waltz done as a duet with Creamer.
When it came to oldies, Seger eschewed a few obvious choices ("Like a Rock") in favor of more obscure songs such as "Sunspot Baby." Nonetheless, he didn't ignore such career highlights as his first Top 40 hit, 1969's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," or the ever-lovely 1980 smash "Against the Wind."
"Rock and Roll Never Forgets" fittingly capped a memorable night. Now if we could only remember where we put our bifocals.
Cleveland
Review
Malcolm X Abram
Akron Beacon-Journal
December 18, 2006
Seger fans get memorable night
Still in great voice, singer shows why it's called classic rock
Rock `n' roll may never forget, but fans of ``active'' rock can be quite fickle (ain't that right, Fred Durst?).
Classic rock fans, however, not only don't forget, they relish opportunities to revel in the music and praise the musicians who provided the soundtrack to their memories.
Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Bob Seger, a songwriter known for encapsulating the longing and confusion of youth and, well, the longing and confusion of growing older, gave a sold-out crowd a two-hour trip down a memory lane paved primarily with his numerous hits from the 1970s and early '80s.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has returned to the road after 11 years behind a solid new album, Face The Promise. Five songs from the album peppered the set list, fitting in fine between classics such as the show-opening Roll Me Away, Horizontal Bop and Katmandu.
Sticking with the no-frills persona, the spry 61-year-old wore a simple black T-shirt and jeans and the simple stage featured no screens or pyro or fancy lasers to get in the way.
The current edition of the Silver Bullet Band is a taut 14-piece group that includes longtime sidemen saxophonist Alto Reed and bassist Chris Campbell; Grand Funk Railroad drummer Don Brewer; three backup singers dubbed ``the girls''; and the Motor City Horns.
Seger, a lifelong and repentant smoker, was in great voice, still able to lend a guttural growl to hard-rocking songs such as Hollywood Nights and Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight and imbue gentler tunes such as Night Moves and Against The Wind with a masculine vulnerability.
Seger reached back to 1968 for Ramblin' Gamblin' Man and ended with Rock and Roll Never Forgets.
Throughout the show, the mostly over-40 crowd basked in Seger's music and blue-collar demeanor, turning some songs, including Turn The Page and We've Got Tonight, into massive singalongs.
The only hints of disapproval were the playful boos hurled at Seger at the mere mention of the ``M'' word. ``I'm surrounded by all these Buckeyes,'' the Detroit native remarked after mentioning his wife's Northeast Ohio roots.
Baby boomers love to see their musical heroes still out there getting it done on record and on the road. Seger, a little softer around the middle and all gray on top, proved he still can do it and do it well.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Ramblin' againSusan Whitall
Detroit News
Somewhere out on the road between Kansas City and oh, say Katmandu, Bob Seger found his mojo again.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer never abandoned music, but as recently as September, with the release of his new CD, "Face the Promise," he hedged his bets about whether he'd ever go back on tour. If he did a few dates, and if they worked out well, then maybe just maybe, he'd do a brief tour of 10 or so dates.
Things worked out well. "The feel-good show of 2006," raved the Indianapolis Star about his show there. It was "a cathartic return for one of rock's greatest voices," exulted the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Chicago reviewers, who sharpen their pens on veteran rockers, bubbled over.
Next Wednesday is the first of his Palace of Auburn Hills shows, "the most important dates," Seger called them in a phone interview Monday. That's why he delayed the hometown shows to the end of the first leg of his tour, which started Nov. 8 in Grand Rapids. "You want to be peaking, kind of like the playoffs," the veteran road warrior said. "You want to come in here and rock hard!"
Rocking hard will apparently include Kid Rock on one of those Palace dates. He did, after all, duet with Seger on the Vince Gill song "Real Mean Bottle" on "Face the Promise." Although granted, Rock's life has been a little tumultuous lately.
"I'd be surprised if he wasn't there," said Seger, erupting in laughter. "But we never know, Punch (Andrews, manager to both rockers) and I, what Rock is going to do. We thinkwe know.
"We're saving 'Bottle' for him, but we'd loooveto have some notice!" Seger said, building to a genial roar. "We do the song in sound check every third date, but it's not the same as playing it live. But he won't tell us anything."
But hang on, how did "maybe a few shows" in September turn into a 45-date tour. Right now the concerts extend into late February. What happened? What's he on?
Sleep and water, as it turns out.
"I go home, drink a lot of water and go to sleep," Seger revealed. And yes, he means all the way home: He flies back to Michigan on a private plane after each gig. No noisy hotels, no endless backstage yakking. It's meant that his voice has held up surprisingly well, even with his lifelong smoking habit.
Babying his voice
One of the secrets to Seger's enduring career has been that voice, with its unmistakable scratchy, soulful timbre, a voice that turns rough and raucous on the hard-rocking numbers, but is an instrument of sensitivity and emotional nuance on the more reflective songs.
Fortunately, except for puffing on the smokes, he's looking after it.
"I went to this doctor after seven gigs," Seger said. "He said, 'What do you do after the show?' I said, 'I go offstage, get in the car, go to the airport and fly home!' He said, 'You could not be doing anything better.' Most singers after the show, they bask in it. They want to talk. They want to party, and that's the worst thing you can do after you've just killed yourself for two hours and 10 minutes.
You've got to let it rest! But in rock and roll, nobody ever wants to do that."
Energy to spare
Some of Seger's own staffers are marveling at the energy he's showing on this tour, more than on his last outing 10 years ago.
"Or the one before that," the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer offered with that laugh audible for a square mile. "I don't know what it is. For some reason, it's just yeah! I think it's maturity, that's the best thing I can say. You really owe it to people who paid money to show up in the best shape possible."
But it's even deeper than drinking water and resting. To see Seger dancing as he sings Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell (C'est La Vie)" is to observe someone losing himself in the joy of performing.
As the line in "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" goes, "sweet 16's turned 31," but he now sings it "sweet 16's turned 61!!!"with disbelief, wonder and awe. Recapturing that joy did surprise him.
"But I've gotten such good support," Seger said. "The three gals I sing with are so great. And the (Motor City) horns, I really love what they add. They only play seven or eight songs out of 25, but it's a nice change."
Along for the ride
Seger is joined onstage by Silver Bullet Band veterans (of 30 plus years) Alto Reed on saxophone and Chris Campbell on bass, as well as Craig Frost (formerly of Grand Funk), a 25-year vet, on keyboards. Mark Chatfield and Jim "Moose" Brown play guitar, and Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad, who's toured with Seger before, is on drums.
When the band kicks into Seger's '60s hit "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," which they've played on every show since Saginaw, if it sounds just like the old Capitol single, it helps that backup singer Laura Creamer sang on the original record back in 1966.
Seger's other longtime backup singer, Shaun Murphy, took a brief hiatus from singing lead with Little Feat to join him on the road, and Barbara Payton rounds out the trio of backup vocalists.
"Everybody is really committed. I think it's just maturity on everybody's part," Seger said of his band. "Don Brewer was always a major professional on drums, but everybody else in the band, they get it now. We don't know how many more times we'll be able to do this. They really are dedicated and committed, and it really is fun."
It was Brewer who suggested that Seger do "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" again, which he hadn't performed live in 26 years.
"I never thought I'd do that song again," Seger admits. "We were messing around and he started playing it and I started singing it I found the right key, a whole step down from the original, then we found the right tempo, and the girls started singing it oh man, it was too good! It's getting a hugeresponse at the shows. I didn't think anyone knew it! (He sings:) 'Ramblin' Man!' Everybody's singing it!"
Rocker John Mellencamp's barked order to Seger cinched it. "I did that Vanity Fair photo session with John, and he said, 'If you do this tour, and you don't do 'Ramblin' Gamblin' Man,' I'm going to come out and personally kick your ass.' So I said, 'OK, John ' "
It wouldn't be a Seger interview without an affectionate story/tirade about his longtime manager, Andrews. Seger speculates that Andrews might be arranging to have one or all of The Palace shows taped.
"I don't know if Punch is going to tape. He doesn't tell me anything," Seger said. "He hasn't said a thing, but that doesn't mean he won't do it. The guy will call a crew, he'll say, 'Oh, can you be here in two hours?' That's the way he is. I never know what the hell is going to happen. Just point me, tell me where to go "
You can reach Susan Whitall at (313) 222-2156 or swhitall@det news.com
Friday, December 08, 2006
St. Louis Dispatch (12/5/06) Barry GilbertCategory: Music
Seger delivers Old Time Rock n Roll
Saint Louis Dispatch - by Barry Gilbert
12/05/06 - Rock 'n' roll never forgets, and neither do loyal, multigenerational Bob Seger fans who jammed Scottrade Center on Monday night to welcome back Seger and his Silver Bullet Band from a 10-year absence. The veteran rocker, now 61, led his 13-member band through a 2 hour 15 minute performance of 24 songs, the vast majority of them timeless blue-collar, Midwestern anthems that had the crowd singing along .. aging boomers alongside thirtysomethings next to the young and pierced.
Despite occasionally muddy sound, the show marked a cathartic return for one of rock's greatest voices. Seger, dressed in a black T-shirt, faded jeans and later a headband controlling his longish gray hair, took the stage to Thin Lizzy's "Boys Are Back in Town" and said only, "Good to see ya," before launching into "Roll Me Away," punching the air with his right fist
Like a certain auto manufacturer his song ..Like a Rock.. once represented (and was not performed Thursday), Seger represents solid, no-frills, reliable rock and soul, a quotient that continues to make shows like this sell out many years after he dominated the charts. The reason has less to do with what he brings to the table (no surprises there) than with a core spirit mainstream rock has lacked since it splintered into a hybrid of genres and MTV made ironic detachment a cultural standard.
Seger made repeated jabs at his age - ..sweet 16..s turned 61,.. he adlibbed for a laugh during ..Rock and Roll Never Forgets.. - but time seemed to freeze during the 25 songs he played. If the haircuts (feathered coifs, mullets, man ponytails) of his band didn..t make that clear, then the rotation of black headbands Seger strapped to his head did. Even though his staple hit ..Old time Rock and Roll.. wished for the uncomplicated days of the 45-single, the band..s choreographed moves and a mid-song clap-along made that fantasy not so tantalizing.
What makes Seger..s songs so endurable is that, like Steven Speilberg..s Hollywood suburbia, they articulate the mundane details of everyday life and attend to them with romantic optimism. He..s a sincere populist and sang each song while smiling. His 15-member band (including the four-member Motor City Horns) provided a wide, cheery sound, faithfully replicating every recorded note. On ..Night Moves,.. even the famous silences were perfectly timed. The new - and quite good - songs of ..Face the Promise.. (Capitol), his recent album, also went for the familiar, mostly because they are derived from the same source.
Seger played piano for his ballads, strummed an acoustic guitar and when his hands were free, he struck the same clunky dance moves anyone in his audience would have matched. ..I..m older now, but still running against the wind,.. he sang. Whether or not that was the case wasn..t up for discussion. So, once more, he answered with a smile.Longtime saxman Alto Reed prowled the stage under a huge bass saxaphone, blowing a meaty foundation for the band, which features Grand Funk expats Don Brewer on drums and Craig Frost on keyboards, and the twin-guitar attack of Jim "Moose" Brown and Mark Chatfield.
"Face the Promise," Seger's solid new CD, was liberally represented by seven numbers, including four during the first set and three in a row: the rocking title song sandwiched by ballads "Wait for Me" and "No Matter Who You Are." The unfamiliar material put the up-and-dancing crowd back in their seats, something that wouldn't have happened 20 and 30 years ago when rock DJs routinely dug beyond the singles on Seger albums. But it was those older tunes that the audience came to hear, and the Detroit-area native .. who never mentioned the Tigers-Cardinals World Series .. delivered. Seger alternated funk- and soul-flavored numbers such as "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You" with elegant ballads such as "Turn the Page" that had lighters and cell-phone cameras held high, and on which he played acoustic guitar or piano.
Seger and the Bullets, for one night anyway, also freed "Old Time Rock & Roll" from wedding-band purgatory.
With the four-man Motor City Horns and glorious singers Shaun Murphy, Barbara Payton and Laura Creamer in support, Seger kicked up the pace in the second set with the 40-year-old "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," "Sunspot Baby," "Horizontal Bop" and "Katmandu" leading into a pair of two-song encores: "Night Moves" and "Hollywood Nights" followed by "Against the Wind" and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets."
Country rocker Eric Church opened and was politely received during his short set, which included his first hit single, "How 'Bout You," but ended oddly with the downer ballad "Lightning," about a guy keeping a date with the electric chair. As Chuck Berry wrote in the Seger-covered "C'Est La Vie," it goes to show you never can tell.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Seger simply delivers old time thrillsChicago Sun Times - by Jim Derogatis
12/02/06 - "Rock 'n' roll never forgets." Taken from the title of one of Bob Seger's biggest hits, this line has appeared in an astounding number of reviews of the Michigan rocker's first tour since 1996 and stories about "Face the Promise," his first album in 11 years. It's a hoary cliche, but Seger's earnest, crowd-pleasing, Midwestern meat-and-potatoes arena anthems inspire such fist-pumping hyperbole. And his performance Thursday night at a sold-out Allstate Arena proved that he's worthy of it.
The 61-year-old singer may have lost a bit of his already gruff voice during the long sabbatical, when he traded the spotlight for the role of what he calls "an ensconced dad," staying home to be part of his two kids' lives. But otherwise, he didn't miss a step as he returned to the stage. Fronting a 10-piece version of his long-standing Silver Bullet Band, including fellow Michigan legend and Grand Funk Railroad veteran Don Brewer on drums, and augmented by the four-piece Motor City Horns, Seger delivered a 2½-hour mix of his '70s and '80s hits ("Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight," "Horizontal Bop," "Katmandu" and even 1968's "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man") and much less familiar but similarly constructed songs from his new album ("Face the Promise," "Wreck This Heart," "Answer's in the Question").
There were no theatrics, no surprises -- or none more dramatic than his cover of Chuck Berry's "C'est La Vie" -- and there was certainly nothing new. Seger's musical aesthetic remains firmly rooted in the '50s, with hints of Motown and Stax/Volt, but no stylistic innovations fresher than 1976's "Live Bullet." "Call me a relic call me what you will/Call me old-fashioned, call me over the hill/Today's music ain't got the same soul/Give me that old time rock 'n' roll," as he sang in another of his more cheerfully rollicking hits.
Yeah, ol' Bob can be cheesy at times, especially on the big, sweeping ballads like "We've Got Tonight" and "Turn the Page." He crossed the line from earnest to Hallmark card-banal while introducing the new "No Matter Who You Are" and urging us all to "hold on to what makes you special." And sax man Alto Reed could be the hammiest boob ever to pick up that oft-abused instrument. But for my money, I'll take a strong Seger show -- which Thursday undeniably was -- over a run-of-the-mill Bruce Springsteen set any day. Unlike the Boss, Bob isn't aspiring to craft Important Art or make a Grand Statement. He's just playing the sort of music he loves, and he's arguably as good at it today as he ever was.
That shouldn't come as a surprise; you know what they say about rock 'n' roll and forgetting.
Chicago Daily Herald (12/01/06) Mark Guarino
Category: Music
12/01/06 - ..Has it really been 32 years since ..Live Bullet..?.. Bob Seger asked his audience at the Allstate Arena Thursday. Yes it has. Yet that anniversary proved not so significant compared to some of the early era songs Seger pulled out of his trick bag on this, his first tour in 10 years.
The Michigan native and arena rocker, who dominated album-oriented radio in the 1970..s and early 1980..s, revealed his true roots during the two-hour, 15-minute show. Before his star rose due to his husky power ballads and good-time rock anthems, Seger belonged to the first generation of Detroit garage rock, a graduating class that included Mitch Ryder, The Sonics and The MC5. Acknowledging that he also couldn..t fathom that it was nearly 38 years since he produced ..Ramblin.. Gamblin.. Man,.. his first hit single, Seger, proceeded to play the 1969 nugget with timeless gusto, demonstrating that underneath the sentiments of the monster hits that came later was a rock veteran who could still snap to the basics and make it sound raw.
Like a certain auto manufacturer his song ..Like a Rock.. once represented (and was not performed Thursday), Seger represents solid, no-frills, reliable rock and soul, a quotient that continues to make shows like this sell out many years after he dominated the charts. The reason has less to do with what he brings to the table (no surprises there) than with a core spirit mainstream rock has lacked since it splintered into a hybrid of genres and MTV made ironic detachment a cultural standard.
Seger made repeated jabs at his age - ..sweet 16..s turned 61,.. he adlibbed for a laugh during ..Rock and Roll Never Forgets.. - but time seemed to freeze during the 25 songs he played. If the haircuts (feathered coifs, mullets, man ponytails) of his band didn..t make that clear, then the rotation of black headbands Seger strapped to his head did. Even though his staple hit ..Old time Rock and Roll.. wished for the uncomplicated days of the 45-single, the band..s choreographed moves and a mid-song clap-along made that fantasy not so tantalizing.
What makes Seger..s songs so endurable is that, like Steven Speilberg..s Hollywood suburbia, they articulate the mundane details of everyday life and attend to them with romantic optimism. He..s a sincere populist and sang each song while smiling. His 15-member band (including the four-member Motor City Horns) provided a wide, cheery sound, faithfully replicating every recorded note. On ..Night Moves,.. even the famous silences were perfectly timed. The new - and quite good - songs of ..Face the Promise.. (Capitol), his recent album, also went for the familiar, mostly because they are derived from the same source.
Seger played piano for his ballads, strummed an acoustic guitar and when his hands were free, he struck the same clunky dance moves anyone in his audience would have matched. ..I..m older now, but still running against the wind,.. he sang. Whether or not that was the case wasn..t up for discussion. So, once more, he answered with a smile.
Friday, December 01, 2006
The Kansas City Starr-Timothy Finn 11/30Category: Music
A new page
The Detroit rocker left the road to watch his kids grow up; now he's back with his band family
In 1996, after completing a long string of sold-out shows in Detroit, Bob Seger ducked out of the music business for a very un-rockstar reason: to raise his children.
"After that last tour, my kids were 3 1/2 and 1, and I felt that, with them growing up, touring was not the way to live," Seger, 61, told The Star recently. "I didn't want to miss them growing up. I wanted to be an active parent."
So he virtually disappeared, reducing his presence in pop culture to classic-rock radio and to television, where his hit "Like a Rock" became a jingle for Chevy trucks for what seemed like half a decade. And for nearly 10 years, he was a doting stay-at-home dad.
But once his kids, Cole and Samantha, started school full time, Seger picked up his hobby again: writing songs and preparing for that inevitable day when he'd return to the road and be a rock star again.
That day arrived early this month.
On Nov. 8, Seger and his Silver Bullet band launched their North American tour in Grand Rapids, Mich., a three-hour drive west of his hometown. Like the four shows in Detroit at the end of December, the two Grand Rapids shows (plus one in Saginaw) were virtual and immediate sell-outs.
"I think between the four shows, there are 120 single tickets left, so you can still go if you don't mind going by yourself," Seger said, breaking into laughter.
His voice these days sounds heavily tarred-and-nicotined -- he's a "chimney" like his friend (and Detroit Tigers manager) Jim Leyland, he said -- but after seven live shows, he thinks he is singing just fine.
He admitted that he's not in the physical shape he was in even as a 51-year-old, when he withdrew from the rock world so he could drive his kids to school and back. But, overall, his return to the limelight has been smooth and successful, and he has the numbers to prove it.
His new album, "Face the Promise," was released in early October, and it is already fast approaching gold status. As of Nov. 5, according to Nielsen/SoundScan, sales have exceeded 425,000 copies. That same week, nearly 10,000 people bought copies of his 12-year-old "Greatest Hits" compilation, raising its sales total to nearly 7.8 million copies.
Seger attributes some of the success of the new album and the tour to his long absence.
"We haven't been out doing a greatest-hits tour every summer, so a tour like this seems more exclusive or rare -- um, I guess," he said, breaking (again) into a gust of self-effacing laughter, one symptom of what his fans have remained so fond of.
Even over the telephone, Seger conveys the rustbelt accents and mannerisms of his birthplace (Dearborn, to be exact): the long, hard vowels ("car" sounds more like "kear"), the no-frills vocabulary, the lack of gloss or pretense. (Think of John Goodman's character on "Rosanne.")
Asked what he was most concerned about before starting this tour, he said: "The physical part. I'm 61 now, and I didn't know whether I'd be physically capable. You can rehearse your brains out, but the second you get out on stage and add the hot lights, the volume of the crowd -- it's way more strenuous."
Music support
That blue-collar persona has served him well. Seger had been kicking around the Midwest for years, trying to make a living as a rock/soul singer before he got his first big commercial break.
In 1976, cuts from his "Live Bullet" album became a mainstay on what is now considered "classic rock" radio, especially in the Midwest and FM rock stations like KSHE in St. Louis and KYYS here in Kansas City.
The follow-up to that record was "Night Moves," a studio album that featured narrative ballads like the title track and "Main Street" -- songs that inspired some favorable comparisons to other songwriters. A Rolling Stone critic called Seger a romantic and a realist, "a sort of .. Springsteen without the vast sweep of the Boss' vision."
Not so coincidentally, when "Night Moves" came out, Springsteen was vision-impaired. Embroiled in a bitter legal dispute, he hadn't released an album since "Born to Run," a gap of nearly three years.
Into that vacuum, like it or not, slipped Seger, at least temporarily. He would sustain that "romantic/realist," working-class image with simple, earnest ballads such as "Against the Wind," "Still the Same" and "Turn the Page," which chronicled life on the road, away from home, friends and family.
By the mid-1990s Seger was wealthy but increasingly less successful and less relevant to contemporary music. His last show in Kansas City was June 13, 1996, at what was then called Sandstone Amphitheatre. By year's end, he'd called it quits and left one family -- his band and road crew -- to be with his real one, a decision no doubt influenced by his own upbringing: When Seger was 12, his father abandoned him, his mother and brother.
This year he started missing his other family. So he cut his first studio album since 1995's "It's a Mystery," and, with the blessing of his nearly adolescent children, assembled a band and launched a tour. In all three processes, he has been helped by friendships and connections sustained during his long hiatus.
"I'm lucky: A real good friend is president of my record company," he said. "Back in the mid-'80s, when I was out in Los Angeles making records, I used to pal around with Don Henley and Stan Lynch when he was Tom Petty's drummer and a guy named Andy Slater. Well, Andy is now the president of my record label (Capitol)."
It's hardly a matter of luck. Even as he got wealthy and famous, Seger stuck with those who helped him get there. So his band is full of familiar names and faces, too: Alto Reed, who has been with Seger for 31 years, Chris Campbell (33 years), Craig Frost (25 years), Shaun Murphy (27 years) and background singer Laura Creamer: "She sang with me on 'Ramblin' Gamblin' Man' when I recorded it in 1966," he said.
Seger is so fond of them that he politely sidesteps a question so he can resume talking about his music support.
"I'm sorry to keep going on the band, but we got more people to mention, like the Motor City Horns," he said. "At some point, there are about 15 people up there. We even got a crew guy playing keyboard."
By the time he hits Kansas City on Saturday, Seger and crew will have 10 shows under their belt and 10 more on the itinerary before year's end. He has managed to remain something of a family man even on tour, flying home after shows (which are at least two days apart).
He will end the first leg with four shows in 10 days at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the suburbs of Detroit. According to the Web site SegerBob.com, the first show sold out in three minutes, the second in 15.
"It's always thrilling to play there," Seger said. "We have a history of that. It's our base. People are very passionate about us there. The ties run very deep."
It's the perfect setting for him: surrounded by old friends, familiar faces and family
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Funny Review-Minneapolis Star Tribune 11/29So he's a little bit older and a lot less svelte than he used to be.
Yes, "sweet 16's turned 61," Bob Seger sang in a reworked lyric in 1979's "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" Tuesday night at sold-out Xcel Energy Center.
He has aged like other baby boomers -- gray hair, silver beard, glasses, a middle-aged paunch. In fact, you could've looked around the arena and easily spotted someone who looked a bit like Seger -- save for that dorky headband he put on a few songs into the show.
Despite a 10-year layoff to raise his two kids, Seger, 61, hasn't forgotten how to thrill an arena audience with quintessential Midwestern rock 'n' roll. At night's end, he looked as happy as the boisterous 17,000 fans.
Seger isn't like the other 60-something Rock and Roll Hall of Famers who have played in the Twin Cities this year. He's not as intellectual as Paul Simon, as political as Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young or as transcendent as Bob Dylan. Seger, who was as friendly and chatty as your next-door neighbor, is the musical equivalent of comfort food, an Everyman who serves meat-and-potatoes rock -- seasoned with a little folk, country and R&B -- that reenforces who we are and where we come from.
Backed by the expanded 14-member Silver Bullet Band (several of whose members still have their 1980s hairdos), Seger offered 25 songs in two sets over 2¼ hours. A heavy smoker like Dylan, Seger needed a handful of songs to shake the nicotine-induced hoarseness from his raspy voice.
Midway through the opening set, "Old Time Rock and Roll" revved up the crowd as Seger strutted around the stage with Ozzy Osbourne-like mincing steps, punching his fists into the air. (Seger will never have to worry about being invited to participate in "Dancing with the Stars"; he dances just like the guys in his audience.)
But the highlights were two numbers for which he sat at the grand piano -- the sentimental ballad "We've Got Tonight" and "Turn the Page," a moody, bluesy meditation about life on the road.
After an improbably short intermission of nine minutes, Seger started the second set off on the wrong foot with "Simplicity," a disco rock strut from his new CD "Face the Promise" (all six of the new numbers sounded strikingly familiar).
But then suddenly Seger and the band -- as well as the crowd (must have been the beer) -- kicked into a new gear with "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," his greasy rock-funk first hit from 1968. Propelled by Craig Frost's piano, Seger turned Chuck Berry's "C'est La Vie" into a swinging wall-of-sound New Orleans celebration. The Detroit hero delivered the southern soul-styled "Sunspot Baby" with an infectious blend of fun and funky attitude.
And then it was party time with a string of classics, including the hard-driving "Katmandu," the sweetly seductive "Night Moves," the propulsive "Hollywood Nights" and the reaffirming "Rock and Roll Never Forgets," which proved that rock 'n' roll, like Seger, is ageless.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Milwaukee-Concertlivewire.com ReviewCategory: Music
Story and photos Matt Schwenke
Some 40 years into the making of another rock legend from Detroit, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band put on an energetic performance for an age-diverse audience at the Bradley Center and, along with some noteworthy new material, gave the crowd hit after hit after hit-- of song that is.
Modestly dressed in his trademark fashion of a black tee and blue jeans, Seger warmed things up a bit with tunes like "Old Time Rock & Roll" before donning his black headband and working up a sweat with the driving, new tunes "Face the Promise" and "No Matter Who You Are." Lively and animated throughout the night, Seger only took a brief break by way of an intermission and seemed to give it all he had, while his vocal, guitar and piano abilities showed no age-- though after one song Seger was noticeably out of breath, exclaiming, "61 years old. Yeah!" and then laughing.
Part of the show's charm was that Seger seemed genuinely appreciative of being able to be up on the stage in his 60's, and his from the heartland style of rock was infectious. Just a few of the classics played included a raucous "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," a set-ending "Katmandu" braced by the power of the four-horn strong Motor City Horns, and a thunderous "Hollywood Nights" featuring the power and precision of the backup singers, Shaun Murphy (frontwoman for Little Feat), Barbara Payton and Laura Creamer, carrying the power to the end of the tune. Original Silver Bullet Members Alto Reed and Chris Campbell, on saxes and bass respectively, made their presence known, especially in "Turn the Page," which Seger noted he wrote while at a hotel in Eau Claire, Wis., in 1972. And, guitarist Mark Chatfield was especially noticeable with his fiery guitar in the medley of "Travelin'" and "Beautiful Loser."
Paying homage to the old time Detroit rock sound that shaped him, Seger's own "Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight" primed the palate while his take on Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" truly delivered and culled much approval from the audience. Those hoping to hear some rock ballads weren't let down by Seger either and, more importantly, nor were they put to sleep by "Night Moves" and "Against the Wind." With teens all the way up to sixty-somethings singing along through the show, Seger is a musician for all ages, for the ages, and has proven to be equally indelible as both a performer and a singer/songwriter.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel-Dave Tianen (11/17/06)Category: Music
Seger lives up to his rock-legend status
I've been getting paid to go to concerts for most of my adult life, so people often ask me what the best concert I've ever seen was.
The answer probably varies from time to time, but on the very short list would be Bob Seger at East Troy's Alpine Valley circa 1978. Seger was at the height of his rock 'n' roll glory that night, and he did five encores, each one rising in intensity to a roaring finish with Chuck Berry's "Let It Rock."
In the years since then, Seger's life has sometimes seemed like a long retreat from stardom. The albums came more and more sporadically, three or four years apart. In early middle age, he divorced and remarried and immersed himself in the pleasures of family and parenthood. Now, after an 11-year absence, Bob Seger is back with a new album, "Face the Promise," and a road tour that brought him to the Bradley Center Thursday night.
Obviously this isn't the same Seger I saw at Alpine Valley. The hair is still thick, but gray; the physique in jeans and loose black T is a mite softer; and there's a pair of granny glasses on the bridge of his nose. In short, he looks like a rock 'n' roll grandpa. But more importantly the chops are still there, vocally and as a songwriter, too.
The new album isn't his absolute best work but it's pretty good, still true to the core values that made his name a touchstone in heartland rock. Seger's musical virtues include emotional honesty, a kind of blue-collar-everyman outlook and a restless spirit blended with a belief in the redemptive power of love. Seger is part of a tradition that starts with Chuck Berry and weaves through Detroit brethren like Mitch Ryder.
One of the likable things about Seger in concert is that he seems comfortable with who he is. At one point, he stopped to catch his breath and shouted, "61! Yeah!" Many of the songs he wrote in his prime like "Roll Me Away," "Night Moves," "Old Time Rock & Roll," and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets," were about the passage of youth. All of them were in the set list Thursday, with perhaps an extra coat or two of reflection and perspective. They remain, many of them, terrific songs. "Night Moves" is still one of the best sexual coming of age tunes in the rock songbook. Seger's classic document of life on the road, "Turn the Page," came with a bit of a revelation. Seger said he wrote that tune in a hotel room in Eau Claire, Wis., back in '72.
The new songs are actually more about living in the moment. The singer of "Face the Promise" has "mighty plans" and is eager to hit the city lights. "Simplicity" is all about breaking it down to the basics and enjoying that.
Speaking of simplicity, that seems to be the approach to this tour. This was about as no-frills as arena rock gets. No projection screens. Minimal staging. Just Bob and 12 backing musicians. Most of the old Silver Bullet hands are gone, but Alto Reed is still there on sax and Chris Campbell on bass. The hired hands were first rate, though. Singing backup was Shaun Murphy, who's usually seen as the frontwoman for Little Feat.
As Seger went on in his career, the ballads gradually overshadowed the rockers in his albums. However, this was not exactly a set list for resting weary bones. High points included Berry's "Never Can Tell," the sexual rave up "Horizontal Bop," and an all-out attack on "Katmandu." Seger told the crowd several times it was great to be back, and it certainly looked like it. Better yet, the fun was contagious.
Opening act Steve Azar is a country cat who might seem like an unlikely warm-up for Seger on several levels. On stage, however, he proved to be a whole lot closer to Bruce Springsteen than George Jones, winning over the Bradley Center crowd with high energy rockers like "The Underdog" and "Goin' to Beat the Devil."
Saturday, November 11, 2006
The Flint Journal-Doug Pullen (11/10)Seger wields powers in tour debut
GRAND RAPIDS - Scott Jones sounds like a cranky old man. "All I listen to is classic rock," he said moments after Bob Seger's first concert in 10 years thundered to an end Wednesday night at a sold-out Van Andel Arena.
"Today's music is just made to sell. Back then, people felt something, so they wrote about it," said Jones, a Flint native and Seger fan now living in Rockford.
Jones isn't some fiftysomething classic rock bigot. He's a 24-year-old college student who clearly relates to Seger's stories about lost souls and the redemptive powers of rock 'n' roll.
His buddy, Doug Martinez, 30, another former Flintite who now lives in Byron Center, was effusive in his praise. "He put on a hell of a show," he said. "He's 61. That's unbelievable."
So is that common-man relatability that has fueled Seger's appeal for nearly 40 years. It's not only as strong as ever 10 years after his last tour - as evidenced by the strong response to the new album "Face the Promise" and ticket sales for the tour - it has been passed down to another generation, judging from all the young faces mixed in with the older ones Wednesday.
It's not hard to see why. Seger huffed and puffed his way through the two-hour performance - which may explain why he built in sit-down segments in the show - but he bounced, danced, punched and sang his way back into the hearts of his fans, who were 13,500 strong, including wife Nita, GOP powerbroker Peter Secchia, Michigan State football icon George Perles and a crew from CBS' "Sunday Morning."
With Seger preparing for the second show - and smallest venue - of the tour, tonight at Saginaw's sold-out Dow Event Center Arena, here are some things diehard fans, and new ones, might want to know.
The show
Wednesday's tour opener was a real rock 'n' roll workout. It had its rough moments - some pacing issues, sound problems, flubbed lines and dropped notes - but the explosive rockers and soulful ballads more than made up for it. The 25-song set was heavy on hits ("Old Time Rock & Roll," "Rock and Roll Never Forgets," "Turn the Page" and "Mainstreet") but also highlighted seven songs from "Face the Promise" and obscurities such as Chuck Berry's "C'est La Vie," making its Seger stage debut. Side note: Country artist Steve Azar is opening the first seven shows, including tonight's. No openers have been announced for Seger's run at The Palace on Dec. 20, 22, 28 and 30.
After the show
Longtime Silver Bullet Band member Craig Frost, the Flint native and former Grand Funk Railroad keyboardist, got a little anxious before the first night, even though they rehearsed for three months. "You always worry about the first show. The only time we did the whole show with Bob was tonight," Frost said with a smile. "It's nice to be back," Alto Reed said as he hugged a friend after the show. Reed's theatrical sax solos were a hit with the crowd, but a key malfunctioned during his "Horizontal Bop" solo, prompting Reed to dub it his "Horizontal Flop."
The band
In addition to Frost and Reed, the Silver Bullet Band includes longtimer Chris Campbell on bass, Grand Funk drummer Don Brewer, guitarist Mark Chatfield, guitarist-keyboardist Jim "Moose" Brown, backup singers Laura Creamer, Shaun Murphy and Barb Payton, keyboardist Kurt Wallach and the Motor City Horns (John Rutherford, Mark Byerly, Robert Jensen and Keith Kaminski).
The stuff
Seger likes to keep things affordable for his fans, and his merchandise is no exception. A total of 18 shirts, mostly tees with images ranging from the "Face the Promise" cover art to the Silver Bullet Band logo, started at $30. Baseball hats (two varieties) sold for $30. He's also selling five of his CDs - "Face the Promise," "Nine Tonight," "Live Bullet," "Greatest Hits" and "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" - for a cheap $15 each. Other goodies: bandanas, $15; coffee mugs, $15; posters, $10; wristbands, $8; magnets, $5; keychains, $5.
The Flint Journal-Doug Pullen (11/9)
Category: Music
Seger's back
"Whoa! Ah!," Bob Seger huffed and puffed six songs into his first concert in 10 years, "I've got to catch my breath. I'm 61." And a heavy smoker.
Breathing problems aside, the grey-haired, bespectacled Seger showed few signs of rust in a sometimes uneven, frequently explosive performance Thursday at Van Andel Arena, the opening night of the tour.
The Michigan rock icon and an expanded version of the Silver Bullet Band aided and abetted by the four-member Motor City Horns - rocked and rolled their ways through a two-hour, 25-song performance that included crowd pleasing warhorses such as "Old Time Rock & Roll," "Beautiful Loser," "Turn the Page," "Night Moves," "Katmandu," "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" and "Main Street."
Seger also worked in seven songs from his solid new album, "Face the Promise," but unwisely bunched four in a row near the show's mid-section, dampening some of the crowd's considerable enthusiasm.
The hard-driving title song, rocker "Wreck This Heart," ballad "Wait for Me" and an acoustic version of the country-tinged ballad "The Answer's in the Question" (with longtime backup singer Laura Creamer singing Patty Loveless' part) fared the best.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who wore a succession of head bands and played guitar often, also went back to his roots, debuting his version of Chuck Berry's "C'est la Vie," which Seger recorded for his first greatest hits album.
There were some of the usual opening night snafus - an uneven sound mix, flubbed lines, missed notes - and the show's pacing could be a little more consistent near the middle.
But it was an encouraging opener for the old man, a show that's only going to get better as they work out the kinks. Certainly the sell-out crowd of 13,500 - which included wife Nita, GOP heavyweight Peter Secchia, newly elected MSU board member George Perles and a crew from "CBS Sunday Morning" - lapped it up.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Billboard Review-Gary GraffSeger's tour kickoff is a welcome return
Billboard - by Gary Graff
Rock'n'roll never forgets, they say. And Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band haven't forgotten how to rock'n'roll -- as evidenced by the opening show of their first tour in more than a decade. The veteran Detroit rocker returned to the stage for the first time since June of 1996 with a 25-song, two-hour and 10-minute marathon that thrilled the highly partisan home state crowd of nearly 13,000 at Van Andel Arena. They got lots of what they came to hear -- i.e., the hits -- but Seger and the Silver Bullets, now a 13-member corps with the addition of the four-piece Motor City Horns section, also dished up some ambitious surprises.
There was, primarily, plenty of fresh music from "Face the Promise," Seger's first set of new material since 1995. He followed the show's opening couplet of hits ("Roll Me Away" and his cover of Eugene Williams' "Tryin' to Live My Life Without You") with the new album's opening track, "Wreck This Heart" and played six others over the course of the evening, including a daring block of four in a row at one point. Seger also pulled out, for the first time ever, his version of Chuck Berry's "C'Est La Vie," which he recorded for his first "Greatest Hits" album in 1994. A two-song, sit-down, "unplugged" style set featured "The Answer's in the Question" from "Face the Promise," with backing vocalist Laura Creamer handling Patti Loveless' duet part, and the Zydeco-flavored "Sightseeing" from 1991's "The Fire Inside," for which keyboardist Craig Frost strapped on an accordion.
There were more subtle sonic adventures, too, such as Alto Reed covering the electric guitar parts of "Night Moves" on his saxophone and the horn section pumping fresh, soulful energy into favorites such as "Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight," "Beautiful Loser," "Horizontal Bop" and "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" -- an exciting addition to the Silver Bullet corps that merits even greater involvement. And there was plenty of old time Seger rock'n'roll, as he lit up the crowd with, well, "Old Time Rock & Roll," "Mainstreet," "Sunspot Baby," "Katmandu," an effective pairing of "We've Got Tonight" and "Turn the Page," and solid encore renditions of "Hollywood Nights" and "Against the Wind."
Being off the road for so long has taken a bit of a toll on Seger, who started the evening sounding tentative but gained strength and confidence as the show rolled on. "First time in 10 years -- I need a little water," he apologized before "Wreck This Heart," while after "Old Time Rock & Roll," he exclaimed "That's only 20 percent of the show! You people our age know what I'm talking about." And, of course, he changed the lyric of "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" to "sweet 16 turnin' 61." Nevertheless, Seger, who played guitar and piano on quite a few songs, worked hard enough to sweat through a series of headbands and was visibly energized by his return to the stage and by the ebullient crowd response -- so loud that the Silver Bullet Band members said it drowned out the stage sound. As befits an opening night there were some rough patches and miscues -- a rough-hewn vocal here, a saxophone key sticking there, an inconsistent sound mix, lighting schemes that left the musicians in the dark -- but none dampened the night's overall sense of event. It was a triumphant, if overdue, return and an indication that Seger will not only face but live up to the standard his reputation promises as the tour goes on.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
'It's great to be back!' Seger saysSusan Whitall / The Detroit News
GRAND RAPIDS -- Seger Nation reconvened -- it only took 11 years, but it's as if 1975 at Cobo Hall was just yesterday. People scarfed down too many beers, slow-danced at inappropriate times, and you even saw grandmotherly types try to scoot past security.
It was all for the man of the moment, Bob Seger, who kicked off his first tour in 11 years here at Van Andel Arena. It was a warm, nostalgic set but most important, Seger seemed at ease and loose, even dancing more than we remember him doing back in the day.
There was an appropriate musical introduction -- Thin Lizzy's "The Boys are Back in Town" burst from the loudspeakers -- then at 8:45 p.m. Seger and the Silver Bullet Band took the stage, opening with "Roll Me Away." Seger's voice and wind were a worry; at 61 he practiced all summer to make sure he could last for two-plus hours. The good news is, his voice sounded rich, deep and burnished, but without the signs of wear he's shown at times in the last few years.
Whatever he's doing -- Throat Coat tea? -- he had the old Cobo Hall roar back. He did complain more than a few times about being out of breath. During "Rock and Roll Never Forgets," he sang the lyric as "Now sweet 16's turned SIXTY-ONE!" shaking his head and laughing as the crowd roared.
At one point he said he'd been practicing for five weeks, and his wife asked, "When are you going to do a whole show?"
"Grand Rapids?" he said, laughing. The crowd cheered.
"It's great to be back!" Seger said right before launching into the old Memphis tune, Otis Clay's "Trying to Live My Life Without You," which the Motor City Horns augmented perfectly.
Many of us were hoping to hear "Rambling, Gambling Man" -- we don't often get to hear any '60s vintage Seger -- but instead he reached back to Chuck Berry's "You Never Can Tell" and encored on "Katmandu," "Night Moves," Hollywood Nights" and "Against the Wind."
We saw the set list, and he had "Rambling Gambling Man" on there, last. Ah, maybe in Saginaw maybe in Detroit.
You can reach Susan Whitall at (313) 222-2156 or swhitall@det news.com.