Kid Rock & Lynyrd Skynyrd

July 8, 2009

PNC Arts Center

Holmdel, NJ

Review by Ralph Greco, Jr.

It was a drinking crowd, to say the least. I never knew so many people were still so into Skynyrd, especially when you have to get around the fact that there is only one original member left in the band. But the guys were tight, and the last original man standing, guitarist Gary Rossington, played the slide in “Freebird” like it was 1976 all over again.

The band worked through "Sweet Home Alabama," "Gimme Three Steps," a couple new ones, and "Simple Man.” This last one really illustrated that singer Johnny Van Zant is not his late brother and Skynyrd’s original singer, Ronnie Van Zant. The latest replacement member, keyboardist Peter Pisarczyk is a damn good player. If we have to do without Billy Powell, then this guy is as good as you can be tickling the ole ivories.

Collectively, the band played a competent near hour and half set, but please, somebody do something about the sound at PNC! I have been going to this venue since the mid 70s when it was The Garden State Art Center, and I’ve never heard a muddier sound in all my life. It’s bad for the main band, but for warm-ups, even co-headliners going on first (if indeed this is what Skynyrd was — you couldn't tell really from the bill), the crappy sound was disastrous. Probably not if you’re on your fifth beer, of course.

Kid Rock? Well, let me tell you about the Kid. This is a first-rate performer and a guy seemingly having the best time of his life. Really, he was in top form with a cracking band of young guns, complete with a wailing saxophonist, two guitar players, a shirtless-bassist, two female backing vocalists, a keyboardist, a percussionist, a drummer and backing vocalist/scratching-records dude.

Opening with "Rock and Roll Jesus" and jumping into "All Summer Long," the Kid played a slew of hits and covers covers covers. Ya gotta love a guy who will stop mid-song and break out into a ZZ Top riff, who references (complete with a video screen showing their faces) guys like Merle Haggard, Skynyrd and Run DMC, and a guy who will stop his hit "Cowboy" mid-song and kick into the theme from Dukes Of Hazzard (truly the highlight of the night, as far as I am concerned). Along the way, the Kid bopped, squatted, sweated and generally kept the crowd on its feet.

There was nary a stop in his near two hour set, as he croaked his way through slow tunes like "Amen" and "Picture" (all that screaming does get to one's voice), played piano on "Everyday People," ran through competent versions of "Tumbling Dice" and "Cat Scratch Fever,” then fell into a song that fits him perfectly, the Georgia Satellites hit, "Keep Your Hands To Yourself." During his great lowlife anthem “Lowlife (Livin’ the Highlife),”on which the Kid played guitar, drums and scratched records, the singer remarked: "I just wanna tell you that on this stage tonight all the musicians are playing the music live. This ain’t no American Idol bullshit.”

The Kid left without an encore (really what more could this guy give after this breakneck show?) ending the set with the balls-to-the-wall “Bawitdaba.” It really was a great night with my bro Tony scoring us tickets you would die for, sitting out there enjoying “real” music in the open sticky NJ night, seeing the old workhorse Lynyrd Skynyrd (with mostly all new guys) and Kid Rock, who might just be one of the few real rock and rollers we have left.