By PETE TATTERSALL
ptattersall@sunherald.com
Fresh off the critical success of his latest album, “Rock ‘N Roll Jesus,” the musical rebel known as Kid Rock performs 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum.
The concert, billed as Kid Rock’s Rock and Roll Revival Tour and sponsored by Hard Rock Biloxi, also features the eclectic talent of Rev. Run and the legendary Dickey Betts, of Allman Brothers fame, who, instead of performing as opening acts, are scheduled to join Kid Rock on stage.
“The concert is two-and-a-half hours of a journey through American music… .It’s most probably, musically, the best tour I think I’ve ever done,” Kid Rock, aka Robert James Ritchie, said this week in a telephone interview with the Sun Herald.
According to Rolling Stone magazine, ”
‘Rock ‘N Roll Jesus’ is Kid Rock’s most honest, eclectic and soulful record to date. It’s his State of the Union, a deeply personal statement…”
“The songwriting’s better. The singing’s better. It’s great musical performances. It’s real. It’s true,” said Kid Rock.
A perineal tabloid favorite, what with his marriage to Pamela Anderson and his recent, much-publicized dust-up with Anderson’s other ex, rocker Tommy Lee, at last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, Kid Rock seems to take it all in stride.
His music, meanwhile, has been hailed as an amalgamation of a variety of genres, including country, hip-hop, rock and punk.
“I just love the music. It’s how I was raised. It’s just what I do, what I love… .Everybody’s always looking for an explanation to everything I ever wrote. I’m asked all the time. It’s what I love to do. It’s what I studied. It’s what I’m good at,” said Kid Rock. “I’m like everybody else. I’ve listened to all sorts of music… .I’m open-minded about music. I love it all. As I grew older, I grew to appreciate it even more. You know, why should I have to have Cornflakes for breakfast every day? I don’t want to be narrow-minded. Life’s too f—— short. I want to do everything, experience everything, have a great time, make music, any type of music I want to make. I’m not looking for approval from anybody. I never have… .I want to make music, and have people have a good time. People seem to be liking it.”
Though he hails from Michigan, more than a few think of Rock as Southern-born and bred.
“Dickey (Betts) thought I was from Atlanta…
.I think it’s (because of) my love of Southern rock, of the South in general. I don’t know…
.I say what’s on my mind. I’m very kind to people. Very nice,” said Kid Rock.
A song on his latest album, for example, titled “New Orleans,” is an indication of Rock’s affinity for, and fascination with, the Crescent City.
“I love New Orleans. New Orleans is one of the last spots that still feels like it’s kept its culture intact. Nowadays, you go anywhere in the world and it’s all the same stuff. It’s hard to go somewhere, you know, and experience what that place is all about. Especially, you go anywhere in America and it’s all the same town. There’s a Cosco, there’s a frickin’ Wal-Mart, a McDonalds. There’s this and that, and that’s about it,” he said. “There’s something about New Orleans. There’s just a history there, the culture, the music and the food. And just everything about it is just really, it’s kind of mysterious.”
Though he’s seemed to struggle through the years in search of his place, and success, in the world of music, Kid Rock seems content with his lot in life.
“I’m having a great time. I’m in a great spot. I love life. I’m the luckiest person I know, and the most blessed person on the planet,” he said. “I love it all. Or, quite simply, I wouldn’t do it.”
If you go
What: Kid Rock’s Rock and Roll Revival Tour, also featuring Rev. Run and Dickey Betts, sponsored by Hard Rock Biloxi.
Where: Mississippi Coast Coliseum, Biloxi.
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Cost: $23 and $43, plus tax and Ticketmaster fees. Tickets available at ticketmaster.com, at the Coliseum box office, or by phone at 1-800-488-5252.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
I enjoyed his show at the RBC Center in Raleigh NC. It was a great show.
The after party sucked because so many of us paid another $100.00 to see kid Rock in the VIP room. We were promised pictures and autographs. I mean a lot of people got ripped off by the longbranch who promised us this stuff and then could not deliver. I am hoping that Kid Rock did not have anything with all the extra money we had to pay after we bought tickes, shirts and then another $100.00 at the long Branch. The bouncers at the long Branck were ass holes–plain and simple.!!!!!!!!!!!