On August 30, 2024, Cheap Trick played the Arts, Beats & Eats Festival in Royal Oak Michigan. This was my 41st Cheap Trick show, and the 82% mark on my quest for 50. Why does it matter? I dunno. Can’t say I embrace the Phish and Dead culture of following bands around for hundreds of shows, there are other bands ya know? But here I am. At least these are 3-minute power-pop songs and not 25 minute extended acid-trip space jams, right?
Part of the quantity here is just based on sheer proximity. Sure I’ve traveled to NYC for the 3-night stand, and to Chicago, Milwaukee, and into Canada even, but the opportunity to see Cheap Trick has not been rare, and there are several Detroit-area shows I didn’t make, usually because I wasn’t up for the logistic pains and ticket prices the headliners demanded to see Cheap Trick play a 45-minute opening set. But if they’re within an hour or even two, I’ll at least try to make it.
The story starts in summer, 1986, though I wouldn’t see Cheap Trick live for another 2½ years. It ends, for now, in Royal Oak.
1986 – August 18
Escanaba, Michigan
Upper Peninsula State Fair
I didn’t go to this show, but the story most certainly starts here. You see, I was about to start my senior year in high school and friggin’ CHEAP TRICK was coming to the U.P.! We got Ratt, Poison, non-makeup-era KISS, Ted Nugent, and that was all good and fine…but CHEAP TRICK! I couldn’t wait. A couple days prior I wrapped my parents’ Chevy Monza around a big elm tree on Magnetic Street in Marquette with a cold Old Milwaukee between my legs and another 20 on ice in the back seat after an afternoon of day drinking. I was out cold, and my buddy Joe, riding shotgun but less injured, had the wherewithal to hide the beers in the bushes before the cops and ambulance arrived.
As I came to, I knew I was in trouble and was sure I’d be okay if I could just walk it off, but I’d smashed my head hard, and didn’t know who or where I was. I pleaded, and the paramedic made me a deal: “I am gonna tell you 3 things. I’ll ask you to tell me what they are in a minute. If you can remember them, I’ll let you get up and walk away.” Seemed fair to me. “A cat, a tree, and a house.” A few seconds later I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, and he knew it, so I admitted defeat, and it was off to the ER in my only ambulance ride to date.
Anyhow, that whole scene was not pleasant, and the fallout was significant. My parents weren’t impressed, to put it mildly, my soon-to-be personal vehicle was now a crushed tin can, and I’d permanently dislocated my jaw on the steering wheel (to this day I’ll bite into a sandwich and get everything but the lettuce). Cementing a hard lesson learned, I’d be missing my first chance to see Cheap Trick. There was no way in hell I’d be allowed to go. My friends John, Julie and Fritz went and said it was great, albeit muddy. Fritz got pinged square in the forehead by a Rick Nielsen pick and John was not impressed with the sound and cites it at the bottom of his list of the many Cheap Trick shows he’s seen. I vowed to make up for the blown opportunity.
Newspaper articles requested from, provided by, and used with the permission of the Upper Peninsula State Fair.
1989 – January 14
Auburn Hills, Michigan
The Palace of Auburn Hills
A long two and a half years after the UP State Fair debacle, my time had come. Tom Petersson was back in the band and they had a hit on MTV. I’d moved to the Detroit/Ann Arbor area in September, and Cheap Trick was coming to town supporting Lap of Luxury. We drove to the Palace, my pal John Burke and me, after work on Friday night and were pleased with our 3rd row seats. House of Lords, with ex-Angel/Guffria guy Gregg Guffria opened and they were mostly forgettable. Cheap Trick was great, all I’d hoped and more. It was a long time coming and I was so happy to be there.
Like many concerts around that time and since, I had a small recording rig shoved down my trousers, not unlike Rerun recording The Doobie Brothers on What’s Happenin’. I taped the show and was looking forward to hearing how it turned out. We stopped at my apartment in Ypsilanti for a nightcap after the show and 3 bulky figures emerged from the shadows in the dark. “Yo give me that.” one of them said, grabbing the small tape deck from my unsuspecting hands. It happened so quick. “Give it back man – c’mon!” I pleaded. “Give what back, boy? Get outta here before you regret it!” Scared for my life but still obsessed with hearing my recording “Ok keep the deck, just give me the tape in it!” I pleaded. It quickly became clear that I wasn’t getting it back, these guys were not messing around, and it was time to remove ourselves from that situation. I was not happy.
Cheap Trick released a killer pro-shot version of the show to their YouTube channel, which is pretty awesome, so it’s preserved anyway. I got back into recording shows after the pandemic and have since captured them a half-dozen times or so.
1991 – May 26
Detroit, Michigan
River Rock Café
The River Rock Café was a short-lived Hard Rock Café wannabe bar in downtown Detroit near the waterfront. I have little recollection of this show, except that it was very crowded, as outdoor free shows often are, and we couldn’t get very close. We were pretty stoked that they did “Elo Kiddies.”
1992 – June 17
Clarkston, MI
Pine Knob Music Theater
This was the first of 6 times I’ve seen Cheap Trick at Pine Knob, the major shed venue north of Detroit. I remember things from each show, but for the most part, I don’t remember exactly which show it was. Local hard rock band DC Drive opened this one. “All tickets just $10” the Pine Knob add read.
1994 – March 27
Windsor, Ontario
California’s
This was a low-point for Cheap Trick, playing essentially a small cover-band bar on a corner in Detroit’s Canadian cousin of Windsor. As a fan, however, it was amazing. Here’s this band I’d loved since I was 10 years old playing 4 feet away from me in this tiny bar in another country 25 minutes from my apartment! I remember Rick Nielsen’s guitars were everywhere – there wasn’t enough room backstage so they were just behind random stations around the floor here and there. It was packed and hot and glorious. The smallest place I’ve ever seen them.
1994 – July 28
Clarkston, MI
Pine Knob Music Theater
Foghat opened this show, and we heard them close their set with “Slow Drive” as we found our way to our seats. That is all I remember.
1995 – August 27
Clarkston, MI
Pine Knob Music Theater
Loverboy opened this show, and they were surprisingly OK. My then girlfriend, now wife, had after-show passes from the record store she worked at. We walked back stage after the show and there was a small group of people in the catering area and Rick Nielsen introduced us all to Kirk Gibson, the Tigers’ slugger who’d just returned to Detroit to wrap up his career. I remember staring in awe at his forearms. They were like Popeye’s – I’d never seen anything like it. Just gargantuan, super-human. “Welcome back to Detroit!” I told him, not fan-boy-ing out too bad. He rolled his eyes and said “Gee thanks,” knowing the Tigers were terrible. Everyone but Bun E. signed my Woke Up With a Monster poster. He was talking to someone in the hallway and clearly didn’t want to be bothered.
1996 – July 20
Clarkston, MI
Pine Knob Music Theater
This was a special promotion show for local radio station 101.1 WRIF and all seats were $1.01. Corny DJ personality Dick the Bruiser’s shitty cover band opened, and that was not something I was into. Charge a buck for a classic rock concert around Detroit and you will get all sorts of humanity out to the show. I guess I was happy they got to go see Cheap Trick, but these were not my people. It was a weird night.
1996 - December 28
The Palladium
Roseville, MI
I’d grown tired of the Woke Up With a Monster set by this point and had now seen them 7 times in 6 years. I could tell what was coming next by the guitar Rick strapped on or the fill Bun E played before the count-in. Still, Cheap Trick was in town, playing a club, not Pine Knob, and why wouldn’t I go? The Palladium was formerly known as The Ritz, where I’d seen The Smithereens, Body Count, 24-7 Spyz, and The Tubes, and remains to this day the only dressing room I’ve ever trashed, as a snotty, arrogant punk who wasn’t as cool as he thought he was. Not proud, but there it is.
This show stands out because of the small venue and the introduction of a few songs that would be on the forthcoming Red Ant 1997 self-titled album. It’s their best since Dream Police in my book, and hearing those songs was something exciting to look forward to.
1997 – July 1
Clarkston, MI
Pine Knob Music Theater
Another mostly unmemorable Pinke Knob show, except Slash’s Snake Pit opened, and they weren’t great. They did a 10+ minute of AC/DC’s “Night Prowler” and there was this kid with a Slash wig and top hat going nuts a few seats away from us and Slash gave him the wave. Helmet also opened, and I don’t remember seeing them at this show, though we may have. I did like their first hit, and that they also covered a Hüsker Dü tune.
1998 – August 5
Clarkston, MI
Pine Knob Music Theater
The last of the times I saw them at Pine Knob (so far – there’s still time!) Candlebox and Brother Cane opened I see, but don’t remember seeing them. This may have been the show where torrential rains cleared the hill and flowed like floodwater down the pavilion over our feet towards the stage, then BAM – power out a few songs into Cheap Trick’s set. 10 minutes later they came back out and finished up. Not positive that was this show, but I think so.
1998 – October 29, 30, 31
New York City, New York
Irving Plaza
Convinced I’d missed the opportunity of a lifetime by not seeing the band at Chicago’s Metro when they played 4 nights, each night showcasing one of their first 3 albums in its’ entirety, capping it off with the At Budokan set on night 4. Talked the wife into it and we got tickets, then she tore her ACL in her knee a week or two before playing volleyball. It was a long weekend dragging her gimpyness all over Manhattan, but she was a Trooper (living up to her name) and got through it. There was a Q&A before night 1, and a frail and peaked Joey Ramone was in attendance on night 2. Openers were Chavez, The Independents, and Babe the Blue Ox. It was great. TrooperGirl was done limping around and standing for hours on end by night 3 and we may have left before the very end. Before we went to NYC they’d already booked the same series in Detroit for 2 weeks later and I got tickets for that too, of course.
Irving Plaza poster from JP's collection
Irving Plaza ad courtesy Adam Kranwinkel
1998 – November 16, 17
Detroit, Michigan
Saint Andrews Hall
I’d just seen these sets but couldn’t pass it up. Saint Andrews is one of my favorite rooms in Detroit. Someone asked about why Tom left during the Q&A and it was awkward. Rick also expressed regret that Bun E and Tom smoked a joint with John Lennon and he did not. I stayed home for night three Sunday, Heaven Tonight, even though I had a ticket. Not proud of that but I was just burned out on the whole thing. The shows were not sold out and lacked the excitement that the NYC shows carried. Scott Ian was in the crowd for the In Color night, with Anthrax playing Harpo’s later that same evening.
1998 – August 23
Auburn Hills, Michigan
The Palace of Auburn Hills
Cheap Trick was supporting Pearl Jam for 3 sold out shows in Montreal, Barrie, and Detroit. Their “cool” factor was in full swing as the bands they’d influences started to sing their praises, and the self-titled Red Ant album was so strong. I wasn’t a big Pearl Jam guy, and I’d spent the weekend erecting a privacy fence at home, so I was wiped out, but my wife’s co-worker had an extra ticket and I was jonesing for a Cheap Trick fix, so I bit on it. I got to the Palace and met up with a co-worker of mine and her husband, who had awesome seats and snuck me down front for Cheap Trick’s set. There was plenty of room as Pearl Jam fans slowly filed in. I don’t remember much, but it was oddly cool seeing them in a big room again.
After their set I joined my wife’s co-workers in the nosebleeds for Pearl Jam and I might have lasted 3 songs. They looked at me in disbelief when I said my goodbyes and headed towards the parking lot. No regrets there, unlike walking out on Tom Petty in ‘89 and Elvis Costello in ‘91. But those are stories for another time. I’ve since grown to really like Pearl Jam, and while I probably won’t go to a stadium to see them, I think they’re a really important - and super great - band to have around.
1999 – August 25
Merriville, Indiana
Merriville Radisson Star Plaza – Trickfest 3 (Night One)
What could possibly be geekier than flying to New York City to see Cheap Trick 3 nights in a row, then seeing the same shows in Detroit 2 weeks later? How about getting tickets for Trickfest 3 at a hotel-resort in nowhere Indiana, with no one to go with and no real idea what to expect. Well, it was ok. There were autograph sessions, photos with the band’s gear, instrument workshops, and general hanging out with other Trick geeks. I was sure I could find someone to go – someone would be dying to go right? Nope. Off to Merriville by myself. Tom Petersson’s room was next to mine and we’d exchange awkward “hello”s on and off over the weekend as we came and went.
Night one was an acoustic set in the theater at the hotel. It was laid back and loose, pretty fun, and certainly unique. Can’t remember a single song they played, but I remember the night.
1999 – August 26
Merriville, Indiana
Merriville Radisson Star Plaza – Trickfest 3 (Night Two)
I went to Bun E’s drum clinic and he pretty much demonstrated and reiterated how nearly every fill he’s ever played was copped in one way or another from Keith Moon. It was funny and educational. Robin brought a very young Robin Taylor Zander out for his clinic, and the kid did a few bars of “I Know What I Want.” I asked about his writing session with Paul Westerberg and he said what he remembered was that Paul had just gotten divorced and had absolutely no furniture in his house. It was a loose and fun Q&A.
Before the show I went out for a beer at a local brewery and filled my gas tank up for my trip to Chicago that night. As I drove away from the gas station, a few minutes later, I realized I’d never paid for my gas. Fearing for my freedom I went back to the station and paid, explaining honestly that it was just a lapse and not intentional. They laughed and said they’d already written it off as a drive-away (but were still happy to take my money).
Night two was billed as an “All Request” show where they solicited attended requests for deep cuts or hits that would comprise the setlist. I was hoping I’d finally get to hear “Way of the World” or “Everything Works If You let It” live, but the band pulled a cheap trick when they came out and announced instead that it would be an all-covers show. While that was cool, it wasn’t what most of us had expected or hoped for. Further bumming me out was that Tom Waits was playing the Chicago Theater that night and I had a ticket. I opted to drive into the city, sell the ticket, pick up a close friend who’d never seen Cheap Trick before but always wanted to, and take in the special all-request show.
Knowing what I’d know later, I regret passing up that Waits show (even though I’d see him in Minneapolis 3 days later), and my friend, who’s no longer with us, never saw the Cheap Trick show I wish he would have. Arguments commenced on the message boards – it was awesome, it sucked, it was a brilliant move, it was a shitty move… Hey, it’s rock and roll. They can pivot and change their minds. It’s not the end of the world.
1999 – August 28
Rockford, Illinois
Davis Festival Park (Silver Concert)
The grand finale of Trickfest was the 25th anniversary concert in their home town of Rockford, Illinois. TF3 members got VIP section tickets, and rumors abounded about the show.
I was to meet my pal John (different John than the early Detroit shows), who was from Ann Arbor, but in Chicago for the Tom Waits show, and we’d hit the concert. I had dinner at the Kryptonite Lounge, where they had the Budokan Burger and other Cheap Trick-named dishes, and waited. And waited. And waited. Cell phones were still a decade out, and I was getting worried. I told the staff to look out for a small, skinny dude who looked like a young Alan Alda in M*A*S*H and tell him I went to the show and hurry up and get over there. I walked over to the concert grounds, the show was starting in 10 minutes, so I had to sell the ticket.
A dude was interested, but very suspicious of the VIP section. Was it good? Was it bad? Was I scamming him? “Look buddy, I’m not in there, I don’t know, but I suspect it’s a good section because, you know. Trickfest and all.” He wasn’t convinced and I was getting annoyed and moments away from eating the ticket. Just as he was reluctantly agreeing to trust me I heard “Jer!” and my tardy Hawkeye Pierce pal came bounding up the hill. “Sorry buddy, enjoy the view in back.” I said to the skeptical guy, and we went in.
They did 3 sets – an acoustic set, one with an orchestra, and a full rock set. They touched on every album in their catalog to that date, and had a bunch of special guests including Slash, Art Aleksais, Billy Corrigan, and more. The concert was released on DVD and CD later, and it was one of the most special shows I’ve seen.
I drove to Minneapolis the next day and saw Tom Waits at the State Theatre. He was amazing, but our seats were in the last row of the balcony and that wasn’t ideal, especially after the A-list treatment at TrickFest and Silver. I drove home after the concert, 12 hours overnight, to get home for my wife’s birthday after a crazy week of rock and roll fan-geek shit. Like missing Cheap Trick in 1986, I’d more than make up for my lacking Tom Waits experience in years to come, but that’s another story.
2000 – July 11
Kalamazoo, Michigan
State Theater
This was a weeknight show in downtown Kalamazoo at a historic theatre I’d seen The Replacements at 9 years earlier. I took a co-worker pal who’d never seen them (a pattern…). We had dinner at Bell’s and took in the show and drove the 90 minutes back to Ann Arbor.
2000 – December 20
Mount Pleasant, MI
Soaring Eagle Casino
We drove up to Mount Pleasant on a nice Saturday afternoon and met some friends who were staying the night at the casino hotel. It’s a pretty stiff room. I’d seen Waylon Jennings there that March, and he was on and off the stage in 60 minutes flat. Tickets are sold at tables, and it just wasn’t what I would prefer in a concert. Lots of mid-Michigan, don’t-get-out-much and only know the hits types were there, and it just generally wasn’t all that memorable.
2001 – March 11
Mount Clemens, Michigan
Emerald Theater
The Emerald Theater is a cool old room in the northeast suburbs of Detroit. It’s a hike for us west-siders, but worth it for the right show. The only other show I’ve seen there was X with The Fags, and that was amazing. The Cheap Trick show was oversold and it was awkward finding a place to stand, ending up on the stairs heading down to the front, but we managed. The Trash Brats opened, who are friends, but I must have missed them.
2001 – August 2
Detroit, Michigan
MGM Grand Casino
Cheap Trick played in a sold-out tent in the parking lot of the new MGM Grand Casino in downtown Detroit on my birthday. It was a pleasant night, a somewhat intimate setting, and a great birthday, but I distinctly remember feeling for the first time that the band was sounding tired and a bit uninspired. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the juggernaut I’d grown to expect.
2002 – August 19
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
The Milwaukee Zoo
Summer vacation for my wife and I included a mountain bike race up in Marquette, some backpacking in the western UP, and a couple days in Milwaukee before heading home, where Cheap Trick was playing….the zoo.
It was hot and humid, and the scent of animal shit permeated the air, but it’s a damn nice zoo and we spent the day frolicking with the critters and taking in a birds of prey show. Back at the Radisson we had a couple drinks at the bar with none other than Robin Zander, who was enjoying a coffee and Baileys and happy to chat with us for a good while. I told him we’d seen the stage earlier in the day and he asked about it. “It’s next to the caribou pen.” I told him. He took a long inhale through his nose, smiled, and said “mmmmm the scent of Caribou…” He couldn’t have been friendlier.
The show was great – upbeat and rockin. A unique and special night, with a few blurry photos to remember it by.
Slideshow photos from Milwaukee by JP
2002 – September 21
Jackson, Michigan
Michigan Theater
We’d only ever been to Jackson because it was the closest place to Detroit that was just outside of the blackout perimeter for watching Lions games that weren’t sold out, and in the twilight of their run at the Pontiac Silverdome, there were a lot of those. Many a Sunday early afternoon was spent at a crappy brewpub with a mediocre brunch buffet and a bunch of big-screen TVs.
It’d been a whole month since we’d last seen Cheap Trick, so why not? I remember very little about the show except that the theater was pretty small and it was well attended. Most people didn’t know most songs, but that doesn’t make it much different than most other Cheap Trick shows. We had dinner beforehand at a local restaurant where a chef from one of our other favorite restaurants, The Common Grill in Chelsea, Michigan, had started up. An easy one-off from our house, and this theater-era shows for the band were great.
2003 – April 13
Detroit, Michigan
State Theater
Cheap Trick continued their run of theatres with this stop in Detroit. Most memorable for me was that Guided By Voices opened, and they are and were awesome. It was also nice to get an abbreviated set from GBV focusing on the A-list material rather than a 3-hour marathon, not that that doesn’t have its appeal either. The great Detroit band The Paybacks also opened, who I missed, but would soon really love.
2004 – January 8
Detroit, Michigan
Hard Rock Café – Grand Opening Private Event
This was the early days of the resurgence of Detroit, and in the lower level of the giant Karmanos Cancer Institute building was a new Hard Rock Café that would only last a few years. Trick International put out feelers for locals who could attend, and I was able to get a pass for the show. My wife had class, working towards her masters, and I didn’t think I’d get two, but when I got there, they asked me who my +1 was. Um… I had to think quick. They agreed to hold it for me.
I walked around, ate some great (free) food, and generally felt pretty awkward being by myself at this ritzy party. Diana Ross was walking around. Ok, well it was a look-alike, but the resemblance was uncanny. This was in the earliest days of cell phones and I didn’t have one yet. I asked a cop if I could borrow his, and I called my friend Jon (Jon from the Palladium show, not John from the Silver show or John from the early Detroit shows) and left him a message. “Dude I have +1 for Cheap Trick at the Hard Rock Grand Opening tonight. There’s food and Diana Ross is here. You gotta come down” I spewed into his answering machine. I suspected he was there, just screening calls, and I was correct. 20 minutes later I borrowed someone else’s cell phone and got a hold of him. He came down and I got him in.
Cheap Trick played in the massive atrium of the skyscraper and it was awesome. I stood right under Robin with a cold drink in hand, arm on the monitor, and plenty of comfortable space. Can’t remember the set – I expect it was short and full of hits, but it was really cool. That night I told my wife we were no longer holding out – time to get cell phones.
2007 - July 1
Detroit, Michigan
Belle Isle – The Detroit Grand Prix
Summer of 2007 was the only time I saw Cheap Trick in a 6 year span between 2004 and 2010. Not sure why that is except that there were a lot of support slots for shows I didn’t care about, and not many nearby headlining shows. Anyhow, it was a good one! The Detroit Grand Prix moved to Belle Isle for a few years – a beautiful and historical island in the Detroit River that is now a state park. Cheap Trick was to play after the race, so we went to check it out. We had to park at a church a few blocks away where a friend of mine was a deacon (or some other role above normal attendee), and walk over the bridge to the grounds. We couldn’t really care less about car racing, but it was something new to check out and we took in what we could. It was hot! Cheap Trick went on around 4PM and played for an hour or so I guess, can’t really remember. It was good, got some pics, walked back across the river and were home by dusk. Things would be a lot different when I next saw them.
Slideshow photos from Belle Isle by JP
2010 – February 5
Windsor, Ontario
The Colosseum at Caesars
I’d see Cheap Trick 13 times in the next 14 years (and counting), and only one or two of these shows was not at a casino or a festival/festival setting. More notably, however, was the absence of Bun E. Carlos behind the drums. I’m not going to lie when I say that this bummed me out.
But this theater is a pleasant place to see a show. What it lacks in rock and roll grit it makes up for in comfort, easy logistics, and great sound. Irish rocker Ricky Warwick opened up and he was great. He fronts the current/most-recent version of Thin Lizzy when they play, and also the alt-named Black Star Riders, who have some great records out. We had great seats, right up front, and our old pal, now retired, Kirk Gibson was right across the aisle. Rick dedicated “Heaven Tonight” to him, and said it was Gibby’s favorite song.
The other thing about this show was that they opened with “Way of the World,” which is quite possibly my favorite Cheap Trick song, and one I’d NEVER heard them play before (that I can remember, anyway).
I don’t remember if it was this night or one of the subsequent shows, but it didn’t take long for Daxx Nielsen to win me over. There is only, and will ever only be, one Bun E. Carlos. His feel and image and presence was a big part of Cheap Trick. But Daxx brought a new energy to the stage that had frankly been missing in recent years. His youth and energy kicked the asses of the 3 guys out front and elevated their playing to a level that hadn’t been seen in a while. His extended jams with Tom, most notably on “Gonna Raise Hell” or “Need Your Love” are amazing, and I’ll never complain to get one of those. I’m a fan of Daxx, and a staunch supporter.
2011 – July 15
Detroit, MI
Motor City Casino - Soundboard
While I’m not a big fan of casinos, with their crammed-together masses of cigarette smoking humanity, free drinks that couldn’t get a grasshopper tipsy, and sensory-overload lights and bells, I have to confess that the Motor City Casino is an impressive addition to the Detroit skyline. It stands alone and high above everything else around the intersection of Grand River Boulevard and The Lodge Freeway, acting as a beacon from other parts of the city, and slowly changes colors that become more vibrant as the sun sets. Soundboard is the music venue, hosting concerts regularly by mid-tier, often 70s-80s bands that play the casino circuit.
It's difficult to recall what might have made this night different than seeing again there 22 months later, but looking at the setlist I had to be elated with the setlist, which included “Tonight It’s You,” “I Can’t Take It,” and “Gonna Raise Hell.” While Cheap Trick varies their setlist every night, an impressive task that most bands can’t be bothered with, I haven’t seen these songs played since.
2013 – May 16
Detroit, Michigan
Motor City Casino - Soundboard
Nearly two years since my last Cheap Trick show, and this one is a blur. I vaguely remember hearing “Can’t Hold On,” a rarity from …at Budokan and the Found All the Parts EP. Other than that, it just sort of blends in.
2015 – September 04
Royal Oak, Michigan
Arts, Beats and Eats
AB&E is, as the name suggests, an art-music-food festival that’s been part of Labor Day Weekend in the Detroit area since about the early-mid-00s, if I had to guess, though I can’t find the actual date of the first one. In 2010 they moved from Pontiac to Royal Oak – cool because it’s closer to home, but it lost some charm in RO, including the great stage at the Pheonix Plaza in Pontiac where I saw acts like Wilco, Steve Earle, and Drive-By Truckers very early on at AB&E.
The Royal Oak setting is very much like your typical street fair concert. Laid out on a hot, asphalt slab, metal gates separating the VIPs (who pay $50-$100 to be on the other side of the fence), and a mass of humanity that doesn’t get to many shows, and even fewer that aren’t free. The VIP section is worth the price if you’re a fan of the band. It’s more comfortable and the sight lines are way better. But it sells out quick, so you gotta jump on them when they’re released.
So there we were, behind the VIP section, watching one of my favorite bands from 50 yards back, behind a couple hundred people who just wanted to hear “The Flame.” The setlist was fine, and to be honest, the whole AB&E thing is run really well and, while not my scene necessarily, not a terrible experience.
2017 – March 24
Windsor, Ontario
The Colosseum at Caesars
Chalk up another casino show across the river in Canada. My second of 3 shows so far at Ceasars. This one blends into the ether a bit, though I had to be excited to hear “Voices,” “Baby Loves to Rock,” and “Lookout.”
Windsor carousel photos by JP
2018 – August 3rd
Leamington, Ontario
Seacliff Park
“There’s a concert in Leamington?” the Canadian customs guard asked, puzzled, as if he didn’t believe me. Leamington is a small town on the northern shore of Lake Erie about 45 minutes south-east of the Ambassador Bridge over the Detroit River. There’s not much there, a lot of greenhouses, and a nice park with a bandshell that sits just off the beach. My birthday was the night before, and, always up for an adventure, it’s pretty easy to get TrooperGirl convinced that no birthday weekend is complete without a Cheap Trick show, so why not? The event was called “Hogs for Hospice” and was a benefit arranged by the local Harley Davidson chapter, I have to assume.
The show included 3 songs form their forthcoming (3 years later!) album In Another World, and the band seemed inspired and united in the new material. It was a beautiful night with the Lake Erie breeze and the water behind the tour busses, and a well attended but not too crowded show. It was great to see them outside the confines of a Casino or from the poor-seats at an over-crowded festival for the first time in 11 years. A great night, and the last time I’d see Cheap Trick before the Covid 19 Pandemic shut the world down.
2019 – January 17
Windsor, Ontario
The Colosseum at Caesars
The final (so far) of three times seeing them in this room. We had friends & family meet & greet passes before the show and it was very cool mingling with the band for a few minutes. Tom was standing awkwardly alone so TrooperGirl22 went up to him and said “You are my bass tone hero!” He lit right up and gave her a Beatles guitar pick and a big smile while they chatted. Don’t tell Tom, but the truth is he’s probably second on her list, after Geezer Butler.
In another world, Cheap Trick would play “Voices” instead of “The Flame,” and that’s exactly what happened in Windsor this night. I’m sure a few people left disappointed, but not this kid.
“Need Your Love” is always a treat, and it was cool to hear “Magical Mystery Tour” again.
Windsor carousel photos by JP & TG22
2021 – July 11
Bay City, Michigan
Wenonah Park
The world was slowly emerging from the pandemic and concerts were just starting to come back. Our first foray back into seeing live music was a trek to lovely Bay City on a mid-summer Sunday night for Cheap Trick. Not unlike Leamington, the setting was delightful, on the banks of the Saginaw River, a nice breeze coming over as the sun set, and a $5 16oz can of Bell’s Two Hearted Ale in hand. What else do you need?
The show was part of a run that saw the absence of Tom Petersson who was at home recovering from heart surgery. Rumors circulated that he was not coming back to the band ever, and his replacement – Robin’s son Robin Taylor Zander – was the guy now. Thankfully, those rumors proved false, and this was the only show I’ve seen without Tom.
Needless to say, Tom is an integral part of the Cheap Trick sound, and he was missed. That said, having RTZ play bass rather than second guitar opened up the sound quite a bit for Rick and Robin’s guitars, and also for the great harmonies he added, at the time doing just that rather than doubling pretty much everything as he does today. Without the unnecessary 3rd guitar the sound was amazing and the band was inspired and tight. It was a great show.
Bay City photos by JP
2022 – July 30
Maumee, Ohio
Lucas Country Fairgrounds – Ohio Rib Off
An easy hour from home, Maumee on a Friday night seemed like a good idea. Unlike Arts, Beats and Eats, this even was not very well run. The line to get in was MASSIVE at 5PM, taking nearly 40 minutes. Then there was a line to get a wristband, then a line to get tickets, then a line to get beers, then a line to get ribs. Lines lines lines, and not the fun kind. I know you gotta expect that to an extent, but it was extreme, and not proportionate to the quantity of people there. JFC I was done with lines by the time TrooperGirl dropped a sauce-soaked rib on her nice top that she’d have to live with for the next 3 hours and Colin Gawel came bounding out of the woodwork while the opening band played. It was good to see him for the first time in a couple years and we had a nice chat and a beer before getting separated around showtime.
The setlist was fairly standard with few surprises, but it was good to hear a couple new songs from “Hello World” that was out by now. What makes the show memorable was that Rick was a little off. He fell down near the drum riser at one point, and it seemed no damage done, as he rebounded quickly and finished the set, but he’d soon, maybe right after that, miss several shows while recovering from what the band called a “medial procedure” (if memory servers correctly), but what was rumored to be a case of Covid19.
Maumee photos by JP
2023 – April 16
Northfield, Ohio
Center Stage at Northfield Park Casino
7 months had passed since my last Cheap Trick show, and I’d started counting, and have since been eyeing up 50 as my goal. I know there are Pencil Storm staff and readers who scoff at that low number, but my OCD brain works on a grid, and 50 seems obtainable.
Northfield is a suburb of Cleveland, and I didn’t see why a 2 ½ hour drive on a Sunday night should impede my desire to see Cheap Trick. Unable to find a partner in crime, I pointed the Chevy southeast and crossed into that state to the south for another show. I had a quick dinner and a couple drinks at a nearby Mexican place with a giant lizard in an aquarium and headed over to the casino as a thunderstorm passed by. The casino looked worn and weary from the outside, and perhaps a little dated inside, but it was your general red carpet and gold fixtures cigarette smoke bells and lights sorta joint. I was about 15 rows back and sitting next to some nice ladies who were very interested in the fact that I was a big fan and had seen them so many times.
The set was good – they were inspired and tight, but no major surprises. I was home and in bed just after midnight.
Northfield slideshow images by JP
2023 – July 16
Chicago, IL
Metro – 40th Anniversary Show
Still stinging a but from missing the 4-night stand 25 years earlier, I jumped on these tickets as soon as they were announced to have a rare chance to see Cheap Trick in a club again, and at the great Metro in Chicago. Pal and bandmate Jake was in, having never seen the band, but always wanting to. We drove in that morning, spent a mortgage payment at Binny’s Beverage Depot, checked into our overpriced downtown hotel, and took the train to Wrigleyville.
We got off the train as the Cubs game was wrapping up and just beat that crowd to the local BBQ joint for some pre-show meat and beers. The line around the Metro was long, and the slightly eccentric woman behind us though I was Tom Petersson.
Opening band Brokeback was meandering and moping, but Cheap Trick played an hour and 45 minutes – the longest set I’d seen in many years, maybe since the Silver show. No major surprises, but just great to see them in a room like that again, something that will undoubtedly become less likely.
Metro carousel photos by JP
2024 – May 21
Detroit, Michigan
Little Caesars Arena
We’d always wanted to see Heart but hadn’t been able to yet, and Cheap Trick as support sold the ticket for us. We’re not huge fans of arena shows, but we had great seats and the upper bowl was curtained off as rumors of poor ticket sales followed the tour around the country.
Cheap Trick played a good hour-long set that, being honest, was a bit short on energy. Things seemed just a bit…slower up there (check out the video below that backs this up), and it wasn’t at the top of my favorite sets by them. Not to say they were bad – they weren’t. It was great to hear “Oh, Candy” for the first time in a long, long time, and then right into “He’s A Whore.” It was also the first time in many years that I’d heard something from the Red Ant album, as Robin now plays a few bars of “It All Comes Back To You” before they go into “The Flame.” They were loud and raw, more so than Heart, who also sounded fantastic, but in a more refined way, and played great. We loved their set, and I’d hit the #40 milestone with Cheap Trick.
LCA Photos by JP
2024 – August 30
Royal Oak, Michigan
Arts, Beats & Eats
This time I was able to pounce on VIP tickets and we had great seats 2 rows in front of Rick. It was hot, and it was TrooperGirl’s birthday, and what way to better spend a birthday than seeing Cheap Trick with your obsessed husband for the billionth time? As the name suggests, she’s a Trooper and put up little resistance.
The sound was fantastic and the band sounded huge. They played 6 songs from Heaven Tonight, which isn’t a bad thing, and I was happy to get “Auf Wiedersehen” and “Hot Love” Rick seemed to be struggling a bit with the heat and the constant on-and-off of his guitar collection, but they played well and it was a good set.
Robin mentioned that they’d played in Royal Oak before, a now legendary show where they supported The Runaways at the Royal Oak Music Theater, and the openers were some young upstarts called Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers. They had a chuckle about that and soon had to pause the show while a woman in front of Robin succumbed to the heat and humidity and passed out.
I wanted to stay to hear Tesla, who I like and have never seen, but it had been a long, hot night, and it wasn’t my birthday after all, so we bolted.
“I should do a recap of every Cheap Trick show I’ve seen for Pencil Storm.” I thought to myself on the drive home.
Jeremy Porter lives near Detroit and fronts the rock and roll band Jeremy Porter And The Tucos. Follow them on Facebook to read his road blog about their adventures on the dive-bar circuit.
www.thetucos.com
www.facebook.com/jeremyportermusic
www.rockandrollrestrooms.com
Twitter: @jeremyportermi | Instagram: @onetogive & @jeremyportermusic
