Kid Rock trucks into Virginia

	What's his name??!!

KID ROCK
TY STONE

Patriot Center
Fairfax, VA
March 24, 2006


By GREG MAKI

Love him or hate him, there’s one thing you have to give Kid Rock. With millions of albums sold and a slew of singles, including one crossover smash, under his belt, it would be incredibly easy for him to sit back in his beloved Detroit and do little more than enjoy the fruits of his success. But that isn’t how Kid Rock got to where he is today. It was years of hard work that did it, and he isn’t about to rest on his laurels now that his efforts have paid off. Even now, he’s out on the road, putting on his spectacle of a show night after night.

A surprising lack of promotion seems to be accompanying Kid Rock’s current trek across the United States. With his latest release being the concert disc ‘Live’ Trucker, he doesn’t have a new single clogging the airwaves. No one I talked to prior to the show even knew he was tour. On this particular night, Kid Rock also had another obstacle to contend with. The Patriot Center lies on the campus of George Mason University, which found itself thrust into the national spotlight due to the surprising run by its men’s basketball team in the NCAA tournament. Showtime was also gametime for one of the Patriots’ games in the tournament. So multiple factors contributed to lower than expected attendance at the show.

The night began with another proud Detroit native, Ty Stone (recently signed to Kid Rock’s Top Dog Records), taking the stage with only an acoustic guitar. Immediately, he showed that his large frame comes with a powerful, soulful voice. His band joined him starting with the second number, the most up-tempo song of the set. Stone’s old-fashioned rock n’ roll sound went over well with the crowd, effectively whetting the collective appetite for the evening’s headliner.

Kid Rock’s show followed a pattern similar to what he presented on tour in fall 2004, beginning with the Twisted Brown Trucker Band already on stage and each member getting a brief moment to shine when introduced by DJ Freddie “Paradime” Beauregaurd. Then Kid Rock, decked out in a coat most pimps probably would find gaudy, rose up to a platform at the rear of the stage, and the band launched into “Where U At Rock.” For the duration of the two-hour show, Kid Rock had the fans eating out of the palm of his hand. Each song was a crowd favorite, whether it was an old classic like “Devil Without a Cause,” featuring a posthumous appearance by Joe C., or a cover of Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love” or Dobie Gray’s “Drift Away.”

The problem Kid Rock runs into – and I suppose it’s a good problem to have, if you have to have one – is that he has amassed so many hits (“Bawitdaba,” “Cowboy,” “Only God Knows Why,” “American Bad Ass,” “Forever,” “You Never Met a Motherfucker Quite Like Me,” “Picture”) and concert staples (his detour through every instrument on stage during “3 Sheets to the Wind (What’s My Name),” for example) that there is now little variation in the show from tour to tour. The other quibble I have – and this goes more toward how concerts are structured in general – is with Kid Rock stretching the end of the show over two encores. All of his biggest hits were still to be played when he walked off the stage for the first time. It seems kind of silly to me.

If you’re a fan and you haven’t experienced Kid Rock in concert, you should check out a show on this tour. It’s a good representation of what he’s all about. Even if you’re not a fan, you might enjoy it. I never cared for his music until I saw him on Metallica’s first Summer Sanitarium tour. If you’ve seen Kid Rock live before, you know exactly what you’re getting. There are far worse ways to spend your concert dollar.