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Concert Venues.


Ken

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Wherever you happen to be, share the hallowed Rock venues in your area. Where do you go to see the stars? Being in a border city with Detroit as a neighbor, there are no shortage of concert meccas here. I've seen AC/DC at Joe Louis Arena (Known locally as 'The Joe', home of Detroit's Red Wings), I've seen Kiss at both the now defunct Tiger Stadium and Pontiac's Palace of Auburn Hills. I've seen more shows than I care to remember in Clarkston Michigan's Pine Knob Music Amphitheatre (An outdoor venue, featuring seating both in the bowl shaped lawn seats, and under the pavillion). I've seen Tom Petty there, Bob Seger a couple of times (NOTHING like Seger in his home town. What a show.) Eddie Money usually opens the summer concert series at Pine Knob. There was a triple bill there last year, my son's first concert. We sat on the lawn. Psychadelic Furs, the Go-Go's, and headliner the B-52's. It was a magical night. They opened with 'Planet Claire', and every a$$ was a shakin'. Gordon Lightfoot has closed the season out a couple of times in mid-September. We have St. Andrews Hall, I saw the Ramones there in the early 80's. It was pretty popular for punk bands, I think an early Clash played there. We have the revered Fox Theatre, gorgeously decorated. I've seen Ozzy there, again, Lightfoot once or twice there as well. One wild night during a B-52's concert there, I saw a sight I'll never forget. The balcony was visibly bouncing. Like, you could see it flexing, and Fred Schneider made the announcement that he had something to say he never thought he'd have to say. He asked the people in the balcony to refrain from dancing. The Fox is in Downtown Detroit. On the beaten path, Detroit is beautiful. However, the beaten path is narrow, and getting off it is downright petrifying. You don't want to get lost there. Chene Street park is another outdoor venue on the water. We sat on the boat and listened to B.B. King one summer night. I've also seen Aretha Franklin there. The Queen of Soul put on a fantastic show. Alvin's Delacatessen used to be a pretty good spot to see jaw-dropping blues. It isn't used much anymore, however Detroit's 'Cobo Hall' in it's heyday was the choice of venue for the big acts. Seger's 'Live Bullet' was recorded there, as was Kiss' 'Alive'. I can see Cobo and Joe Louis from the balcony of my In-Law's condo across the river here in Windsor. Wherever you might be, God Bless you. but like Seger says.... "I was readin' in Rolling Stone the other night.... They say that Deee-troit audiences are the greatest Rock and Roll Audiences in the WORLD..... I thought to myself, shi*, I've known that for ten years. " They don't call it Detroit Rock City for nothing. There is a simple beauty in sitting next to a Kid-Rock look alike, long greasy hair grinning at you and although you may or may not share the same life ideals, at that moment, both of you are getting off on the performance, high-fiveing each other. Oh yeah, and the smell of weed wafting in the air. THAT'S GOT to be universal. How about it folks... Where do YOU go?

Ken.

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Here in CT, we have a venue problem. There are some great 700-1000 seat clubs, a wonderful 5,000 seat theater, a big outdoor venue and the good ole' Hartford Civic Center, which shows up on the Rock And Roller Coaster ride at Disney World if you're really paying attention.

Anyway, there are a lot of great acts that fit nicely into a 3,000 seat theater, and most of them avoid Connecticut. There is a hall in Hartford that holds about that number, and that's where we saw Barenaked Ladies, but they are more of an off-Broadway kind of place and rarely have concerts.

It's great being part of the masses for a fantastic arena show by a band you love, and it's also fun to catch some great music in small clubs, but a nice, mid-sized theater can draw some great acts and provide a very comfortable listening experience. At least we have Northampton, Mass nearby. That city leads the league in music venues per capita.

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