Here's a review of the Bob Seger concert by listener Mark Stitt: Kemper was filled to the rafters Saturday night. Bob Seger's Travelin Salvation show was in town for the first time in over a decade. The crowd was filled with lots of baby boomers, from their mid 30's all the way up to 70's. This was Seger concert number 7 for me, and I could not help but recall some of the shows I had seen in the past. I distinctly remember show #1, I was 17 and saw Bob and the band at Municipal Auditorium, which was a general admission show. Back then, Seger was not nearly as well known since that was before 'Night Moves' came out and the band was working hard to convert people at the show into fans. I was blown away, and became a life long fan that night!
Eric Church and his band were the opening act, and they did a 45 minute set of mainly non-descript music. They left the stage and the soundtrack to 70's classic rock was playing in the interlude. Right at 9:00, the volume was cranked up, the song 'The Boys Are Back In Town' came over the speakers and the lights were shut off. The crowd rose as one and cheered as Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet band took the stage. Bob, dressed in a black tee shirt and blue jeans, grabbed the mic, said "Hello Kansas City, good to see ya again" as the opening piano chords sounded from 'Roll Me Away' and they were off and rocking! This was just going to be one big sing along concert as everyone in attendance knew the words to all the songs. A younger gal sitting behind me was extra excited, and what she lacked in singing ability she more than made up for in volume.
Although Bob was touring in support of his new CD 'Face The Promise', this was really a greatest hits show with some of his newer stuff (Wreck This Heart, Wait For Me, Face The Promise, No Matter Who You Are, Simplicity) thrown in. After the opening number, they went right into 'Tryin To Live My Life Without You' as the crowd continued to stand and sing along. Followed that with 'Main Street' then right into 'Old Time Rock and Roll'. It was like that all night, just one classic hit after another. Towards the end of the first set, the band really hit their stride with 'Betty Lou's Gettin Out Tonight', which had fans dancing in the aisles. Then, Bob sat down at the piano and played the classic ballad 'We've Got Tonight' which of course brought out all the lighters (along with cell phones!) and followed that with 'Turn The Page'. That song still brings chills with the haunting sax sound. Bob sounded pretty good, despite not being able to stretch his voice like he used to. They closed out the first set with a red hot smoking version of my all time favorite 'Travelin Man/Beautiful Loser' that just rocked!
After a brief intermission, the band (guitars, bass, keyboards, sax, along with a horn section and three female back up singers) once again took the stage. Bob said he was gonna play a song he wrote over 40 years ago, and with that the drummer launched into that instantly recognizable beat for 'Ramblin Gamblin Man'! Went from that into an old Chuck Berry song 'C'est La Vie' (You Never Can Tell), then 'Sunspot Baby' followed by 'Horizontal Bop'. Bob closed out the set with another rocking favorite 'Katmandu'. At the conclusion, the entire band lined up and took a bow. However, the crowd applause reached such a deafening roar that after just a few minutes, they came back out and Bob strapped on an acoustic guitar, strummed the opening lines and sang "I was a little too tall, could have used a few pounds" a song that I was sure he wrote just for me, from his timeless classic 'Night Moves', and the years melted away and it was the summer of 1976 again and anything was possible. Such is the evocative power of a well written song! The crowd, after singing along word for word roared its approval as the band tore into 'Hollywood Nights', then 'Against The Wind' and for his closing number that all time favorite 'Rock and Roll Never Forgets'! This time, Bob changed the lyrics slightly by singing "Now sweet 16 has turned 61" as he spread his arms as if to say "Can you believe it"?
And with that, the band took their final bow, waved to the crowd and left the stage. I was not alone in thinking what a great show we had just seen, everyone in the crowd was smiling and sweaty, some still singing along with their memories, proof that rock and roll is more a state of mind rather than a matter of age!
Submitted by your roving rock and roll reporter,
Mark
