The Go proved to be too much rock for Hamtramck to handle! At the grand opening bash for The Painted Lady, a new bar occupying the space on Jacob Street formerly home to Lili's, the cops raided the stage, stopped the drunken dancing and eventually silenced the screaming guitars. Apparently the The Painted Lady's residential neighbors were not as amused as the rest of us were with the GO's impressive solid wall of amps. One disillusioned drunk wondered, "Is that the stage or am I at Junkyard Guitars?" It definately did not help that the bar now allowed people to use the front entrance rather than the back alley sneak-in routine of Lili's days. This basically leaves patrons stepping onto the stage and propels the wrath of the PA onto the neighbors' front porch.

With original GO member Dion Fischer on guitar and Matthew Smith manning the Moog, the band opened with a jammed out rendition of "Meet Me At The Movies." The wall of amps was loud enough to be heard all the way over to the Hamtramck Police Department. At first it seemed cool that several of Hamtown's Best were inspired to roll up in a few squad cars... "grab a beer, you pigs!" The GO then started into "Brain Damage" and encouraged the craziness to ensue. Amidst the chaos, singer Bobby Harlow found himself passed out between a pair of giant amps for a few minutes and then re-emerged to briefly make out with a blonde who had somehow drifted onto the stage. Likely struggling to hear themselves think, the cops made their way onstage and yelled something into bassist John Krautner's ear. He looked mildly amused and kept right on playing. He must have suggested they consult Harlow, who was again lying on the floor. This forced the big cop to lean over and try to reason with him. Didn't take, of course - Harlow stood up, looked annoyed and gently nudged him back. All of this encourged the band to jam out harder and longer than ever. Eventually the law decided cutting the power was the answer, and that was the end of that. Perhaps the blame lies on the shoulders of Mark Ramrod himself, but rock n' roll debauchery has clearly made a triumphant return to Detroit Rock City.  - Ryan N. Sult
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