Bob Seger

[Krispy Kreme]

I bought and like Face the Promise. Maybe not as good (great) as the 1978-1980 albums, but solid and very enjoyable. I would recommend it to the  fans of his.

[freedom78]

I like the new album.  And he put on a great show in Indy a few days back!

[BLS-Pride]

Yeah the new CD is pretty good. I dig the track with Kid Rock the most.

[Krispy Kreme]

So what is the set list for the 2006 tour?

[Malcolm]

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids
Nov. 8, 2006


1. ?Roll Me Away?
2. ?Tryin? to Live My Life Without You?
3. ?Wreck This Heart?
4. ?Mainstreet?
5. ?Old Time Rock and Roll?
6. ?Wait For Me?
7. ?Face the Promise?
8. ?No Matter Who You Are?
9. ?Simplicity?
10. ?Betty Lou?s Going Out Tonight?
11. ?We?ve Got Tonight?
12. ?Turn the Page?
13. ?Travelin? Man?/?Beautiful Loser?
14. ?Between?
15. ?You Never Can Tell?
16. ?The Answer?s in the Question?
17. ?Sightseeing?
18. ?Sunspot Baby?
19. ?Horizontal Bop?
20. ?Katmandu?

First encore
21. ?Night Moves?
22. ?Hollywood Nights?

Second encore
23. ?Against the Wind?
24. ?Rock and Roll Never Forgets?

[Malcolm]

GRAND RAPIDS -- 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 in a 2-hour, 15-minute show that ended with a two-encore bang. 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 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 tour road ahead for Seger, whose real test will come as he moves into the guts of the tour, with shows 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.

[Krispy Kreme]

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids
Nov. 8, 2006


1. ?Roll Me Away?
2. ?Tryin? to Live My Life Without You?
3. ?Wreck This Heart?
4. ?Mainstreet?
5. ?Old Time Rock and Roll?
6. ?Wait For Me?
7. ?Face the Promise?
8. ?No Matter Who You Are?
9. ?Simplicity?
10. ?Betty Lou?s Going Out Tonight?
11. ?We?ve Got Tonight?
12. ?Turn the Page?
13. ?Travelin? Man?/?Beautiful Loser?
14. ?Between?
15. ?You Never Can Tell?
16. ?The Answer?s in the Question?
17. ?Sightseeing?
18. ?Sunspot Baby?
19. ?Horizontal Bop?
20. ?Katmandu?

First encore
21. ?Night Moves?
22. ?Hollywood Nights?

Second encore
23. ?Against the Wind?
24. ?Rock and Roll Never Forgets?

Thanks! I just might see them when they pass through town.

[Malcolm]

Air Canada Centre, Toronto - January 23, 2007
By JANE STEVENSON -- Toronto Sun

So, just how long has it been since Detroit rocker Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band played Toronto?

Would you believe it was 1996 at Maple Leaf Gardens, the year after he released his last album, 1995?s It?s A Mystery?

Naturally then, the 61-year-old Seger?s return to T.O. last night at the Air Canada Centre, in support of his first album in 11 years ? 2006?s Face The Promise ? was a highly anticipated one by the boomer-heavy, sold-out crowd.

Appropriately, the song that heralded Seger and the Silver Bullet Band?s arrival on stage was Thin Lizzy?s The Boys Are Back InTown.

To be accurate, Seger?s six-piece band had swelled to include three female backup singers and a four-piece horn section ? the Motor City Horns ? by the second song, Tryin? To Live My Life Without You.

Opening the show with Roll Me Away, Seger evoked almost Springsteen-like energy and enthusiasm, singing his heart out and dressed casually in a black T-shirt, jeans and beat-up black loafers with no socks.

?Alright Toronto, you feel funky tonight?? said Seger, who had worked up enough of a sweat by the third (and new) song, Wreck This Heart, to wrap a black bandana around his head.

But it was the next two songs, the late ?70s classics Mainstreet, and Old Time Rock And Roll that provoked the audience to really roar for the first time.

?It?s great to be back in Canada,? said Seger, who alternated between having no instrument and playing an acoustic guitar and upright piano.

And while it was Seger?s classic rock and soul hits the crowd came to hear, the best material from Face The Promise fit in seamlessly with his quality work from the ?70s and ?80s, particularly such energetic rockers as Wreck This Heart and the title track.

Otherwise, the evening?s standouts were no surprise and audience participation was encouraged.

?I need the help from the guys, the men, the boys,? said Seger before launching into audience favourite Betty Lou?s Getting Out Tonight.

?I?m winded,? admitted Seger, before he sat down afterwards to play the piano on the classic ballad, We?ve Got Tonight and the undispited show highlight, TurnThe Page, with Alto Reed?s striking saxophone opening.

Sadly, there was a brief intermission at about the show?s hour-and-10-minute mark so Seger could change his sweat-soaked clothes, breaking the concert?s momentum ever so slightly.

[Dr. Blutarsky]

Bruce
Petty
Seger
Mellencamp

All homegrown rockers who stayed true to their roots.

[Malcolm]

February 2007
1 - Washington, DC - Verizon Center
3 - Memphis, TN - The Pyramid
8 - Dallas, TX - American Airlines Center
10 - Little Rock, AR - Alltel Arena
12 - Houston, TX - Toyota Center
14 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
17 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden
22 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
24 - Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena
27 - Phoenix, AZ - US Airways Center (formerly America West Arena)

March 2007
1 - Inglewood, CA - The Forum
3 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
6 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
8 - Lexington, KY - Rupp Arena
10 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center

[Malcolm]

Live Review: Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band in Inglewood, CA- Great Review

When veteran rocker Bob Seger  busted into "Rock and Roll Never Forgets" as the final song of his nearly two-hour set Thursday night (3/1) in Los Angeles, it was a fitting finale to a long-awaited night his die-hard fans won't soon forget.

It's a good thing the memories will be positive, as judging from Seger's track record, it might be a while before he tours again.

In the midst of his first North American tour in more than a decade, the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee put his 40-year career on display in front of a near-capacity crowd at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. The 24-song set spanned his catalog, from the title track of his 1968 debut, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," to six cuts from his latest release, last year's "Face the Promise."

The new album debuted an impressive No. 4 on The Billboard 200 album chart and quickly achieved platinum status, marking the 11th platinum effort of Seger's heralded career. To his credit, the new material doesn't stray far from his comfort zone, and the tracks made comfortable additions to a hit-laden performance.

Opener "Roll Me Away" immediately shifted the night into gear, the heartland's favorite rocker aiming his set for the open road and never looking back. It was the early, back-to-back billing of "Main Street" and "Old Time Rock & Roll" that got the equally veteran crowd off their feet in a big way, though, Silver Bullet Band saxophonist Alto Reed kicking off the first, and piano man Craig Frost hitting the intro notes that put Tom Cruise on the map in "Risky Business."

Seger, for his part, sounded strong, his voice warm, weathered and raspy, and showing nary a sign of wear (possibly due, in part, to its limited use over the past 10 years). Dressed down in blue jeans and a black T-shirt, and accessorized by a black headband, the frontman was as stripped-down as his stage show, which offered little more than robotic light-trusses that wouldn't have been considered high-tech even the last time he toured.

The presentation was so bare bones, even the upper-most riser, behind the modest drum kit, didn't get used until Reed climbed atop to play his sax during the night's closer. But bells and whistles weren't necessary.

Backed by his six-piece Silver Bullet Band, the four-piece Motor City Horns and three female backing vocalists (Laura Creamer shared the spotlight on the duet "The Answer's in the Question," recorded on the new album with Patty Loveless), Seger sat behind the piano for "We've Got Tonight" and "Turn the Page," donned an acoustic guitar on "Night Moves" and "Against the Wind," and even fired up the electric six-string, serving up his latest title track with an adrenaline rush that defied his years.

When he wasn't behind an instrument, he worked the stage with an assertive savvy that drove the crowd to return the same, his fists pumping, theirs pumping back, his legs braced to the floor and fists clenched in delivery, and the crowd dancing in appreciation, even if not always in rhythm.

Even the tabloid headline-stealing Kid Rock couldn't rob Seger of his roaring thunder. The fellow Detroit native joined the elder statesman for a run through "Real Mean Bottle," "an ode to Merle Haggard, Cali-style." It was a one-off highlight for the Hollywood crowd that would have normally been reserved for one of the pair's hometown throwdowns.

It was working-class rock, as delivered by the working man's rock-and-roll messiah.

If the night were any more blue collar, Dickies would have been required dress, and Union cards would have discounted the $22 parking. But there was magic in the blue-collar missives delivered on this night. While classic ballads may have rekindled broken hearts, and broken hips from excessive dancing might have worried some in the crowd, the man they came to see ultimately proved exceptional.

Bob Seger is more than just an acclaimed rock-and-roll legend, he's part of the American fabric. In Los Angeles, that fabric, however simple and understated, felt as comfortable as ever.

Like the best pair of jeans, there's no denying slightly worn and timeless.

Setlist:
"Roll Me Away"
"Tryin' to Live My Life Without You"
"Wreck This Heart"
"Main Street"
"Old Time Rock & Roll"
"No More"
"Face the Promise"
"Sunspot Baby"
"Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight"
"We've Got Tonight"
"Turn the Page"
"Travelin' Man/Beautiful Loser"
"Real Mean Bottle" (with Kid Rock)
(intermission)
"Simplicity"
"Ramblin' Gamblin' Man"
"C'Est la Vie"
"The Answer's in the Question"
"The Fire Down Below"
"The Horizontal Bop"
"Katmandu"
(first encore)
"Night Moves"
"Hollywood Nights"
(second encore)
"Against the Wind"
"Rock and Roll Never Forgets"

[Krispy Kreme]

Seger came to Dallas in Feb. I tried to get tickets but the show was  sold out, a 20,000 seat arena. In 2002 GNR was supposed to come to Dallas and could not  fill half the place. What does  that tell you?

[freedom78]

Seger came to Dallas in Feb. I tried to get tickets but the show was  sold out, a 20,000 seat arena. In 2002 GNR was supposed to come to Dallas and could not  fill half the place. What does  that tell you?

Seger released an album. 

I'm not saying that GNR will definitely fill the 20,000 seats, but an album and some real promotion would help.  To quote some random guy outside the Rosemont Horizon, last November:

"Hey, who's playing tonight."

"Guns N' Roses"

"Shit, they're still around?!" 

With proper promotion and an album (preferably a successful one), maybe this guy isn't wondering who's playing.  Maybe he has a ticket. 

[Malcolm]

Will Seger keep rockin'?
Hit tour could keep Detroit legend up on the stage
Susan Whitall / The Detroit News

Will he or won't he?

As Bob Seger prepares to close out his resoundingly successful, 47-date "Face the Promise" tour with a home stand of three downtown Detroit shows, starting with tonight's sold-out show at Joe Louis Arena, the question lingers: Is this it?

Will the 61-year-old rocker pack it up after Saturday night's gig at Cobo Center and retreat for another 10 years into the leafy quiet of Oakland County to watch his kids grow up, go to Pistons games and record in his Clarkston hideaway?

While Seger has said he wants at least the summer off, already he's hedging a bit on that.

"There's a chance we might do some dates June 28-July 14, the upper Midwest and Canada, up to Vancouver," Seger said by phone Monday. "But it's so hard to get everybody back for just two or three weeks, and I only want to do it with this band and this crew."

Many longtime Seger associates are clearly surprised but pleased at how well the tour went.

"This band sounds better than we did 10 years ago," said Silver Bullet Band keyboard player Craig Frost. "Bob has definitely got more energy "

Seger credits the band as well.

"I have a lot of help," he said. "The band was really, really good and everybody's been really committed."

Still, the rocker is a bit wistful when contemplating the future. "I'm going to be 62 in May," Seger said. "I still enjoy doing it, but by the same token, I've done everything I wanted to do. I came back, and I think we did a real good job and it was really fun."

"A good job" is putting it lightly. Seger's average number of tickets sold -- 17,600 per city -- was higher than any other act in the last few months, according to Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the industry trade magazine Pollstar.

Although Seger's shows grossed more than $1 million in each city, he is not the top-grossing act, but that's only because he kept ticket prices reasonable, with an average price of $65. In comparison, the average ticket price for Rod Stewart is $85 and for The Who, $92.


Latest CD goes platinum

As for his CD, "Face the Promise," which was released last September, it easily went platinum, selling 755,901 copies as of last week, according to Soundscan.

"Face the Promise" has outsold new releases by The Who, Prince, Eric Clapton, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Neil Young and Stewart. Out of this pool of veteran artists, Seger is third in total sales; only the Beatles and Bob Dylan have outsold him.

His seasoned but sturdy voice, gray hair and glasses, not to mention his nightly uniform of black T-shirt and jeans, were noted favorably in concert reviews across the country. Maybe it's because authenticity is rare in the glamour-crazed music business these days, and Seger is authentic -- to the core.

As Frost says: "Bob dances the way he wants, he does his thing. He's not trying to be cool. Most of the audience just loves that; he's like the guy next door. I've taken the time to watch the audience on this tour, and they're all watching Bob, with grins on their faces."

Seger undertook touring with the discipline of a Marine. On the advice of doctors, after each show he didn't hang around and socialize, but left for home or his hotel, to drink water and go to bed.

For all the dates in the East or Midwest, he flew home in a private jet so he could spend the night with his family; wife Nita, son Cole, 14, and Samantha, 11.

"I only had really one bad gig in Seattle where I had a head cold; I caught it from my daughter," he said. "Everything is so tightly packed, you can't afford to get sick."

Seger didn't even go to the backstage party after his December shows at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

"Oh, God, it's like being in jail," he said. "You've got to watch everything you do. They want to have a party, for instance, Thursday night because the crew is leaving Friday night. I said, 'Yeah, you can have a party but I can't go!'"

In part because of the long hours of rest he needs between gigs, and because he misses his family, Seger is hesitant to commit himself to another tour.

"I'm basically telling everyone, give me till October, let me thaw out, because I've literally been working for about two and a half years straight."

The band, Seger admits, feels a little sad that the tour is ending.

Frost, a Silver Bullet Band veteran of 18 years, figures he'll enjoy himself for about a week, at home in northern Ohio before he gets bored.

Seger admits he's surprised that touring was so much fun.

"It got long, and it got tiring but it never turned into what you call drudgery. Because the show was always so good, and we'd slip new songs in and out and make it fresh."

[Malcolm]

Detroit, MI (COBO Arena) - March 17, 2007
FINAL SHOW of the Tour

Roll Me Away
Tryin to Live My Life Without You
Wreck This Heart
Main Street
Old Time Rock'n'Roll
Wait for Me
Face the Promise
Sunspot Baby
Betty Lou's Gettin' Out Tonight
We've Got Tonight
Turn the Page
Travelin' Man
Beautiful Loser
Real Mean Bottle w/ Kid Rock


Intermission

Simplicity
Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
C'est La Vie
Nutbush City Limits
Good for Me
Fire Down Below
Horizontal Bop
Katmandu

1st Encore
Still the Same
Hollywood Nights

2nd Encore
Against the Wind
Rock and Roll Never Forgets

[Krispy Kreme]

Bruce
Petty
Seger
Mellencamp

All homegrown rockers who stayed true to their roots.

I would disagree slightly. Bruce has tried  many different  styles on various albums. Mellancamp  also did after 1995 to about 2002 (?) Not  sure of the date  because I stopped  listening after  he  changed so much. But his 2006 sound  is back to his  "roots" of the 80s and early 90s, althought the recent album is a bit sappy for  my taste.


Only   the two remaining, Seger and Petty, stayed true throughout. Before I became addicted to Guns, Petty was  my favorite singer and band. Seger was  right up there too.

So my point is  that  to lump  the four together is not quite  accurate, although I would agree  that  the four  are great artists  and I  am  a big  fan of  all of them.

[Malcolm]

Bob Seger Raids Vaults For 'Early Seger' Set

Bob Seger is raiding his vaults for a 10-song set dubbed "Early Seger, Vol. 1" that will be released Nov. 27 exclusively via Meijers stores in the Midwest before becoming available on Seger's official web site three days later.

Highlights of the collection are four unreleased tracks, three of which -- "Star Tonight," "Wildfire" and "Days When the Rain Would Come" -- were written during the early '80s; "Star Tonight" was recorded by Don Johnson for his "Heartbeat" album in 1986. "Gets Ya Pumpin'," meanwhile, began life as a song called "Pumpin' " originally for Seger's "Seven" album in 1973 and was recorded again in 1977 before being revisited for "Early Seger." In all cases Seger enhanced the original tapes with fresh vocals, horns and/or other new instrumentation recorded during September at Kid Rock's studio in suburban Detroit.

Seger also did some extensive re-recording on "Long Song Comin' " from the "Seven" album, while the set's other five songs -- a cover of Tim Hardin's "If I Were a Carpenter" and Seger's own "Someday" from 1972's "Smokin' O.P.'s," a gospel-flavored rendition of the Allman Brothers Band's "Midnight Rider" from 1973's "Back in '72" and the "Seven" Tracks "Get Out of Denver" and "U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)" -- were remastered from the original tapes.

Snippets of the songs are currently streaming at BobSeger.com. There's no word yet on whether the album or individual songs will be sold as downloads when "Early Seger" becomes available at the web site; Seger has so far kept his catalog away from online sales.


"Early Seger" is the Michigan rocker's first since "Face the Promise" in 2006. He's not planning any live appearances to promote the album but is said to be considering additional volumes of the collection but no determination has yet been made.

The track listing for "Early Seger, Vol. 1" includes:

"Midnight Rider" (from "Back in '72," 1973)
"If I Were a Carpenter" ("Smokin' O.P.'s," 1972)
"Get Out of Denver" ("Seven," 1973)
"Someday" ("Smokin' O.P.'s")
"U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)" ("Seven")
"Long Song Comin'" ("Seven")
"Star Tonight" (previously unreleased)
"Gets Ya Pumpin'" (previously unreleased)
"Wildfire" (previously unreleased)
"Days When the Rain Would Come" (previously unreleased)

[Malcolm]

Bob Seger to go on tour?
He says it is so.

Bob Seger may be hitting the road this summer.  Seger called in to the final broadcast of Detroit disc jockey Dick Purtan, when he casually dropped a bombshell announcement.  Said Seger, ?we?re thinking about maybe a tour later this year...We?re looking at some dates and trying to get some buildings, maybe October-November. We just started three days ago and we?ll see what?s available, and of course we?ll play here [Detroit]? See you at the Palace [of Auburn Hills].?  Seger last played live in 2007, which was his first series of appearances in more than a decade.

[Malcolm]

Greatest news ever

Bob Seger Plots New Album, March Tour Dates

Bob Seger is coming with a new album and tour this year -- and that's about all we know about them at this point.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer announced on Thursday (Jan. 27) that he'll be hitting the road in March for his first tour since 2006-07. He also promised a "forthcoming, as yet untitled new release" that's expected to come out shortly before or during the trek.Seger plans to reveal the concert dates in the near future. He has posted a 42-second teaser on his official web site and YouTube mixing music and archival visuals with a U.S. map highlighting Michigan, Ohio, Missouri and New York.

Seger first announced his intent to tour last May in a Detroit radio interview. A fall tour was tentatively planned and then withdrawn when Seger decided to spend more time recording. He and his Silver Bullet Band began rehearsing for the tour last week in the Detroit metro area. Seger played 50 shows on his last tour, which promoted his then-new album "Face the Promise." Since then he's released the partly retrospective "Early Seger Vol. 1" in 2009.

[Malcolm]

Headin to my 1st Seger show tonight at the ACC, im 22 and cant friggen wait, happy to see hes playin ramblin gamblin man again and nutbush, should be an amazing show