Bob Seger Summer tour dates with Kid Rock

Seger talks about his summer plans


March 15, 2007

BY BRIAN McCOLLUM

FREE PRESS POP MUSIC WRITER

With his 50-city run closing Saturday night at Cobo Arena, the tour road is ending for Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band.

But is it the end of the road for Seger?

The Michigan icon, who will turn 62 in May, says he’s not sure where it goes from here. A desire for more family time could push him back out of the public eye, he says — just as it did in the decade leading up to this latest flurry of activity.

Still, with a handful of potential summer dates in the wings — and demands from promoters for more — Seger isn’t putting a firm cap on anything just yet. And he’s got enough to keep his hands full this week, with Cobo shows tonight and Saturday that will include a goosed-up set list, film and audio crews taping for possible releases, and scheduled appearances by fellow Detroit stars Uncle Kracker and Kid Rock.

Seger talked with the Free Press on Wednesday, a day after the Joe Louis Arena performance that commenced his tour-closing homecoming week.

ON HIS SUMMER PLANS: “We got these really big offers in Calgary and Milwaukee, and we had talked about a Canadian summer tour anyway. We only played Toronto (on the winter tour). It was a matter of the routing, because of the nature of the way we play — only Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays. That’s the optimum for us, which means you can only play so many dates, and there were a bunch of places we missed. So I floated the idea awhile back: What about a little swing through Canada?

“We might build something around that. The Milwaukee Summerfest, Minnesota — probably Minneapolis. For some strange reason, it works, because it happens to coincide with Grand Funk’s tour (featuring Seger drummer Don Brewer). But the downside would be Donnie has to play 10 straight gigs! (Laughs) So I have to weigh that.

“But it’s not just Brewer. It’s everybody — crew, sound, lights. I’d say it’s 50-50 at best, maybe 40-60. But at this point I’m inclined to hold the dates.”

ON POSSIBLE SHOWS WITH FRIEND KID ROCK: “He firmly believes he’s going to be on tour in June. But he’s still finishing his new record. So he’s only talking about (scattered) dates, not a full-on, full-fledged tour. But if we can get us both going at the same time, sure.
“It certainly would be a thrill to do that. I’d love to do a couple of dates with him, anywhere.”

ON PREPARING FOR COBO, SITE OF 1975’s “LIVE BULLET” RECORDINGS: On Tuesday, “we did a 2-hour, 40-minute sound check … and that was just for ‘Nutbush’! By the time I played last night, in the middle of the show — sometimes I talk to myself up there — I said, ‘Oh man, I don’t know about doing Canada!’ (Laughs)

“I’ve got to get some distance from this. Six dates (this summer) — fine, that’s no skin off anybody’s back. I’ve got to decide in the next three weeks.”

ON RETURNING TO COBO AFTER 24 YEARS, AND THE ARENA’S ASSETS: “That was my idea. When we did that (recent news feature on) ‘CBS Sunday Morning,’ we walked in there. And I said, ‘Geez, it would be fun to play here again.’

“No. 1 is the sound quality there. When a building sounds good, it’s really fun to do. There are a lot of arenas that don’t sound great. I’d say 50 percent of them are set up for sports events, not concerts. Rupp Arena in Kentucky, Joe Louis Arena — you get a big, boomy thing, and it’s difficult for a singer.

“Then you get a building like Omaha, or Phoenix, or Cobo. The echo isn’t as bad. It knocks down on the 500 Bobs I have to hear at those other places. I can just hear the one Bob. I mean, I had to wear earplugs at Joe Louis last night.”

ON HIS MEMORIES OF THE “LIVE BULLET” NIGHTS 32 YEARS AGO: “It was really great. It was the first time, basically — or close to the first time — we’d ever headlined anywhere. So it was thrilling to be able to play everything we knew. We’d been playing (as opener for) other people, and playing for just 45 minutes, so to be able to try stuff and stretch stuff was really nice.

“God, we were just so strong then. We’d played so many nights. We were road dogs — five, six nights a week. So we were ready for it, because it such an exciting opportunity. After 11, 12 years of not headlining, playing small venues, here we were. We were on.”