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HAMTRAMCK BLOWOUT 2005
Motor City Rocks looks back at the Blowout Thursday Night  The worst part of
every year’s Hamtramck Blowout is admitting that the whole thing is
over. For three days (four, if you’re one of the brave souls that
took on the Launch Party, too), MCR night life revolved around $2
Molsons, frantic prayers for close parking spots, cell phone calls
trying to coordinate venue meet-ups with friends, and (for the nerdiest
of us) ‘study’ sessions that involved trying to plot out courses of
action for the evening via computer printouts of the Blowout
schedule. Yeah, we’ll admit to all of that, because no one’s ever
mistaken any of us for being too cool for school or anything. For
as crazy and as hectic as it all sounds, by halfway through Thursday
night, everything already seemed routine – as if this weird sort of
rock-and-roll multitasking was second nature or something.
Despite the negatives that could possibly be associated with four days
of cheap beer, smoky bars and way loud music, all of us here at MCR
grew somewhat depressed with the end of Blowout festivities, and jokes
were even made to the effect of wanting to find something that could be
considered a Blowout post-party on Sunday
night. -- Gary Blackwell********************
While the Majestic Complex’s Launch Party was a fine affair, it doesn’t really feel like the Blowout until the shows start up in  The Candy Band ran
through a wide variety of children’s
songs, but did them in their own punk style - which is very Ramones
sounding.
They played such classics as “Skip to My Lou”, “Spiderman” and
“Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star” along with some originals such as “Paper, Rock,
Scissors”,
“Playdate” and “Monsters”, which was based on the tune of Metallica’s
“Master
of Puppets.” It seemed that the band
members might not have been used to playing to actual adults, as their
on-stage
banter was very themed towards children (although in the setting of the
Belmont, it came across with some humor). Rumors that the Milf Hunter
was there
were completely false. Overall, it was a fun and different set and a
great way
to start the night off.From that point on, the male contingency of MCR had decided to lump together as a traveling unit for the rest of the evening. The posse was in full effect at Baker’s for the Prime Ministers, who also counted Uncle Grambo and various Friends of Whatevs as audience members. Once again, here’s Big Matt:  The Prime
Ministers played at what may have been the coolest
‘non- venue’ venue - if that makes any sense. As far as we know,
Baker’s
Streetcar doesn’t usually host bands. It felt like we were drinking in
someone’s basement, and we were just waiting for mom and dad to come
home early
or for the neighbors to call the cops. Anyways, the Prime Ministers
took the
“stage” on Thursday night running through songs off of their latest
release,
Prime Ministers Go For The Glory. Songs like “Bored Again Kristen” and
“Summer
Shoulders” are perfect summer pop jams that made the crowd forget that
it was the
dead of winter – we were transported us all the way back to August
imagining we
were driving around town with the convertable top down. One thing that
was kind
of funny about the Prime Ministers set was right after the third song,
the Jaeger girls came by looking frightened and bewildered and then
took a
picture with the band between songs. The highlight of the set was the
spell-a-long/ sing-a-long version of “Sunday Volume,” which had many in
the
crowd clapping along. This, in turn, warmed everyone up as they headed
out into
the night to catch another show. Well said, Matt. ‘Twas a
hop, skip and a jump over to the Knights of Columbus Hall from there,
as Scott Morgan and Powertrane ripped out a tight set with a really
clear live mix. Morgan certainly has been around the scene longer
than most, but man oh man, on this night Powertrane ripped harder than
most acts 20 years younger could. Bookending the set with a few
old Sonic’s Rendezvous Band tunes (“Dangerous” and “City Slang”),
Morgan led the band through a guitar-solo filled forty minutes that
left MCR staffers saying aloud, “Now that right there is a damned ROCK
BAND” … And yes, Uncle Grambo was right on Whatevs when he said that
lead axe slinger Robert Gillespie bore a pretty startling resemblance
to Alice Cooper. Did anyone else find it a bit odd (and slightly
disturbing) that there was a HUGE orange Jaegermeister banner hanging
on the wall about three feet away from a bronzed figure of Jesus on a
wooden cross? Weird. Anyways, MCR has already spouted off about the absolutely stellar performance Loretta Lucas at Baker’s Streetcar on Thursday night (I, personally, will go on record as saying that this was my favorite performance of this year’s Blowout), but there’s no reason not to review the particulars again. Lucas stood up at the ‘stage area’ wearing a knee-length white lace dress with see-through lace sleeves (accessorized with an almost knee-high pair of brown boots), and between her dress and the smile on her face when she started her set, the entire audience was hooked on her every breath almost immediately. She’d croon quietly, and just when it sounded as if her voice would falter and crack, she’d raise up and belt out a slightly raspy vocal wail that widened eyes and dropped jaws. While the few tracks Lucas performed with her twin sister Julie were standouts, her finest moment was easily a daintily sweet cover of Melonie’s “Brand New Key.” I’ll do you the favor of typing the name a few times so no one forgets it: Loretta Lucas, Loretta Lucas, Loretta Lucas, Loretta Lucas, Loretta Lucas. Coverage provided by Matt Caruana
and Gary Blackwell
All photos courtesy of Matt Caruana |
 Prime Ministers at Baker's Streetcar  'Box' Taylor of Powertrane at the Knights of Columbus Hall  Loretta Lucas folks it up with twin sister Julie at Baker's Streetcar |
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