Skynyrd on the 4th

I've never been a big fan of the retro-rock extravaganza, but when I heard that Whitey & the 78s were opening for Skynyrd @ Pine Knob, it was just too cool to ignore. I didn't think I was actually gonna be able to go though, but then @ zero hour, Stacey came through w/ a sweet, sweet pair of free lawn tix. I met Liz & Dan @ my parents' place for some ribs & beans, then Dan & I were off to Clarkston. We picked up Bud Tall Boys from 7-11 & then started counting Stars-n-Bars... 38 by my count, including a Sharpee drawn fake tattoo on some douchebag's arm & a ridiculous full on flag pole on the tail gate of an old yellow pick-up.

We downed the Buds in the lot then headed in right as Whitey & the boys were starting "Bad News." They played for about 45 minutes... & in my humble opinion, they rocked it. I hope they're able to parley this into some other big stuff. When Skynyrd came out, I was a bit shocked by 2 things: 1) how many of their songs I actually knew & 2) how bad they are. I've never been a fan, but wow! We took off after about 45 minutes. We heard "What's Your Name," "Working for MCA," "Simple Man," & that one about "can't you smell that smell?" Apparently, the set-list had them closing w/ Sweet Home Alabama" & encoring w/ "Freebird," but there was no way we could make it that long.

As for the crowd? Good Lord! It was like the Secretary of State office on Meth. And so many of them were taking it sooo seriously. The "skanky-ass-ho" factor made the Springsteen show I went to last year look like Sunday School. They really came out of the woodwork to hear some Skynyrd. Ironically, Whitey played the Hell out of Pine Knob while the Skynyrd fans didn't really pay enough attention. I think they were able to appreciate them though. I definitely hope they were. Maybe they sold some CDs & swag too.

Dan in his Skynyrd costume


Rocking the Tall Boys


Whitey rocking out!
Skynyrd doing their schtick