Several years back I convinced my husband Chuck to attend a Zac Brown Band concert with me. Although Chuck loves music and was raised with an eclectic musical upbringing ( in the mid 60’s his dad, Charlie Robinette, worked as the orchestra leader at Detroit’s famous Roostertail and was a recording musician on songs like “Rubberband Man” and “Games People Play”), he’s more of a The Who and Paul McCartney/Wings fan, but he loves me and he trusts my taste (well, Survivor and Air Supply excluded). He became a huge ZBB fan after the first concert and we’ve seen them several times since. When their concert at DTE in Clarkston, Michigan was announced it was Chuck who kept reminding me.
“It’s July 2nd. I don’t know,” I told him. “Maybe we’ll go away that weekend instead.”
The look in his eyes said that he’d rather stay home and go to the concert and 4 months later we anxiously awaited one of of our favorite bands.
Drake White and the Big Fire once again opened for ZBB. Drake White has a similar vibe as ZBB so it makes for a great transition. You feel like you are sitting on a front porch of a farm while your goofy brother and his friends play around a campfire and sing and dance, burning incense and acting kinda crazy. Drake has a friendly smile, laid back personality, and an easy way of bringing in the crowd. I honestly thinks he’s highly underrated and wish the best for him and his band.
Zac Brown and the band came on at 8:30 PM, just as the sky began to take on hues of pinks and purples, reflecting off of the scarce clouds and the sun setting on a warm summer day in the Mitten. Beginning with hits like Homegrown and Knee Deep, the sold out crowd was on their feet singing and dancing. We’ve seen them previously do Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” (with John Driskoll Hopkins singing), but this time it was more electrifying than ever. ZBB did a fabulous job of trying to make everyone happy with covers by The Who (sung by Clay Cook), Amos Lee, and Chainsmoke and mixing in favorites like Colder Weather (written and recorded at Kid Rock’s house several years back), Loving You Easy and Beautiful Drug (my favorite). They showed off their three piece horn section and two backup singers who have amazing pipes. After an acoustic set and a 10 minute intermission, the group came back out to continue to impress. For the encore they blessed us with Prince’s Let’s Go Crazy and Chicken Fried.
21 songs seemed to take a minute, but the music high lasted into the morning. The only song favorite they didn’t do was “Sweet Annie”, which many were disappointed at, and I did hear some rumbling about the covers and how the band sold out with songs like “Castaway”. Great musicians progress and show off their different genres, which is why they cover songs by Chainsmoke and John Mayer. How boring would it be to do the same sound day in and day out? Variance is the spice and true fans will stay and listen. Some may not like. Some may like better, but you can’t please everyone. I will say that I was super pleased and hope to never miss when they visit Michigan. Neither will my {not a country fan} husband. Thanks for making loving you easy, Zac and Band.
Believe,
Kristy Robinett
Author of several bestselling books, Kristy hopes to one day own her piece of the country, wrap around porch and all.
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