11/08/06 - It's not always simple finding the magic in rock and roll these days. Sometimes you have to look hard, digging through a
swamp of soundalike newcomers, fashionable phonies and retread oldies acts. Once in a while, though, the moments still come easy.
Bob Seger made it that way on an emotionally charged evening at Van Andel Arena, sounding strong and looking upbeat as he underlined his
iconic home state status for more than 12,000 high-spirited fans. On the opening night of a tour that will take him across the country, the
61-year-old Detroit native tapped deep wells of nostalgia without lapsing into schmaltz. It was an evening that felt easygoing but purposeful,
a comeback that felt triumphant.
Michigan hadn't seen him like this in a while. A decade ago, Seger stepped off the Pine Knob stage and walked into full-time family life. For the next
several years, he was absent from the rock world he'd inhabited since the mid-'60s, bunkering down to raise a son and daughter.
Seger traditionally has opened his tours in out-of-the-way markets, and with Grand Rapids he had a cozy corner -- a friendly audience on familiar turf. At
Van Andel, where tickets had sold out in six minutes, it was the sort of night destined to be special no matter how Seger sounded, as fans arrived with their
ragged old concert shirts and untattered loyalty.
Casual in blue jeans and a black T-shirt, silver hair gleaming under the spotlight, Seger opened with a soaring "Roll Me Away." If there were nerves,
they didn't show; he looked loose and assured on the no-frills stage, pumping his fists and grinning as he shot thumbs-up at his audience.
With a polished Silver Bullet Band he delivered an eclectic set list -- classic hits laced with offbeat selections ("You Never Can Tell") and party
faves ("Old Time Rock and Roll," "Betty Lou's Getting Out Tonight"). The 2-hour, 15-minute show sagged only during a stretch of new material -- he could
ditch the plodding "Simplicity" and help the cause.
Soaked in sweat by the set's third song, the pumping "Wreck This Heart," he joked about his stamina during frequent loose, amiable banter between songs.
Seger is a heavy smoker who just two months ago confessed genuine anxiety about the state of his voice. But although he'll never again sound like the
30-year-old whose raw roar could propel him to the edge of rock abandon on "Live Bullet," he was rugged and robust Wednesday night, revealing a voice that
sounded burnished by the years rather than corroded by them.
It's a lengthy road ahead for Seger, whose itinerary stretches at least into February.
The real test will come as he moves into the guts of his tour, withs hows every other night. But Wednesday night was a firm push off the starting ramp,
a solid blast of momentum as he heads to Saginaw on Friday and back to Grand Rapids on Sunday. It was also a big reminder why, in Michigan at least,
Seger is far more than just another old rocker hitting the road.
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