Pure Style - Pure Energy - Pure Entertainment!
By: Michele Ross
His name - Kid Rock. His occupation - crowd pleaser!
He's ferocious, beautiful, brilliant, exciting, entertaining, talented, confident, compelling, funny, sexy, devilish & unstoppable.
In his trademark black hat, the ultimate American Badass has this irresistible energy. He is a showman who gives the audience exactly what they want. Supporting his "Born Free" CD, Kid Rock's performance Friday night in the Grandstands at the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming was nothing short of spectacular. The just under two hour set of the Kid's greatest hits in rock, country & rap music was so well blended together it pleased the entire sold-out show. I for one had a KILLER time.
Earlier in the day I watched as his crew set up the stage and what a WOW moment it was when it all came together.
He has an amazing stage show complete with dancers and fire. A giant steer head and couple of KR shotguns graced the stage.
We were treated to lots of fireworks, confetti, lasers, huge pollars of flames and even an explosion.
The laser shows and the pyrotechnics was astonishing, all timed to perfection.
It’s tough to list everything Kid Rock does in a live performance.
He plays electric guitar, drums, piano, and makes music while spinning some albums - all while maintaining a madmans pace. You get a glimpse into how good he really is. He's a remarkable singer but also very skilled on other instruments as well. There was a nice cigar scene and a working bar that he actually made use of on stage. Yeah, a few shots of Jim Beam somehow managed to work its way into the show. Hey this is Kid Rock we're talking about! Beavis and Butthead also made an appearance on the three video screens that accompanied the stage, complaining about a Kid soft Rock. The audience loved it!
He brands his own style of music. He puts it all out - no holds barr. He gave 110% every single second he was on stage. Every moment like his first! He charged, jumped, sang, screamed, growled, rapped, danced and strutted his stuff. I love his cocky attitude - his rebel like style - and that make your life your own sense of pride!
He does a great job of changing up his songs and really playing them live. You definitely don’t get the feeling you’re just listening to him go through the songs exactly as they were recorded. You get a real solid, unbelievable performance.
Mixing his older hip-hop crowd faves such as “Bawitdaba,” “Forever” and “Cowboy” with his new rock songs such as “Slow My Roll,” “Care” and “Flyin' High” from his “Born Free” album was brilliant. The infusion of old and new really worked.
Among the songs for the night were:
Care, American Bad Ass, God Bless Saturday, Motherfucker Quite Like Me, Lowlife, Cocky, Cowboy, Forever, All Summer Long, So Hott, Bawitdaba and more. It seemed like they never stopped coming.
Singing “Flyin’ High,” - off his Born Free CD- from a fold-out lawn chair was a crowd favorite. "Cocky", one of my favorite KR songs turned into a screaming, singing, arm-pumping mass with non-stop cheers of approval .
He threw "Fucking Forty" in there somewhere as well, a song he wrote in honor of his fortieth birthday this year. It's a song you have to hear! Had the crowd laughing as did the slide show that went along with it. It was great!
At one point the lights go down and off comes his shirt and the laser lights start. Let me just say this, ladies... Kid Rock has a body to drool over! One of the youngest 40 years old ever. First he's strutting his stuff - the next thing you know he's sitting at a piano pouring out emotion with lines like "The least I can do is care". What an awesome number that was. When he played "Cowboy", the crowd went nuts, and the vibe was insane! He paused mid-song, and the crowd went crazy. Whether he was sporting a cowboy hat, baseball cap or his signature black hat there was some sophisticated melodic structure and terrific vocals going on under all those hats. Truth is no matter what he was singing or what hat he was wearing, the legions of Kid Rock fans were on their feet, yelling, swaying and singing back in support.
Shery Crow - the opening act - was the softer side of the show. Midway through the show, she came out and together they performed "Love The One Your With" and the crowd ate it up. Sitting side by side the duo sang "Pictures" but their duet had the crowd on their feet. Towards the end of the song Kid gets up and holds his cry for such a long time that the fans went crazy. Not to be outdone, Sheryl gets up and well, I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it - but she what she does to his picture... PRICELESS!
The encore, like the beginning was amazing. He came back singing "All Summer Long", "Only God Knows Why" and "Born Free". "Born Free" is a catchy, powerful tune all around but his encore rendition just blew me away. Standing on top of a beautiful grand piano singing his heart out was so HOT! We could feel the love. The flames shot out in perfect timing to the melody. It was hard to tell if the crowd was sweating from the pyrotechnics - which were flames shooting out of the stage in 6 or more places - or just Kid Rock. He was breathtaking, mesmerizing and totally in sync with his audience.
Kid Rock is a born performer and one I feel fortunate to have been able to see live. His strength is his versatility.
He played a fast and furious set that was impassioned and wild. A powerful and provacative musical force that must be seen as well as heard. His show was flat out amazing. It couldn’t have been more excessive or more enjoyable. It was certainly an "OH WHAT A SHOW" performance. Truthfully, I think he should be "Entertainer of the Year!"
Favorite Moment: Kid Rock strutting his stuff & Pictures... Sheryl Crow's surprise! Favorite Performance: Hmmmm. Believe me it was all fantastic but "Born Free"" was my personal favorite. The combination of piano, flames and knock-out vocals was a beautiful thing!