So the Nuge had some major problems selling tickets to his show at the Nokia (pronounced "Nookie Theater" by our crazy Uncle Ted during the concert) so there was a deal on Ticketmaster that admission was free as long as you paid service charges. This worked out to about 10 bucks a ticket. Turcotte already had one so we grabbed a couple and went on a journey to the centers of our minds.I am not even sure how to write a concise review of the show. I'm just going to list out random thoughts and observations of the evening.
Picture 1 - Yes, the Nuge rocks a headset Mic Sammy Hagar style. It is not cool when he does it either.
Picture 2 - That is a cane. Yes. Someone was rocking so hard they had to raise their CANE in the air. Not a pimp cane, just a cane.
Picture 3- Taken so you can see the backdrop. Click on the picture to enlarge. Make it your wallpaper.
Ted Nugent HATES the French. He made two derogatory references to them during the night. I think he still holds a grudge that they wouldn't join the coalition of the willing in 2003. As the show was really starting to cook, he exclaimed that he celebrates his freedom each and every day. He then told us to appreciate our freedom and this rock show as you "can't do this in France." No, really. Then he played a simple pentatonic blues lick on his red white and blue American made Gibson Les Paul and said "you can't do that on a Jap guitar." No, really.
He saw a small child in the audience and asked the father to bring him closer. Ted tells the child, speaking directly to him, that he is 59 and loves life because his father taught him to hunt, fish, and kill his own meals. No, really. Then he said you can be as happy as "Uncle Ted" if you just follow these four rules: No drugs, no alcohol, no tobacco, no fat pussy. "The fat pussy will kill you first!" he said. The child was under 10.
Not only did the Nuge constantly bring up that he was raised in Detroit, he called the music he played "Soul music" and also told us he was a black child with a large afro. Nuge said it was his job to give us white folk soul, and to get us to dance. No, really. He also played a cover of "Soul Man."
There is a song in his repertoire called "Wang Dang Sweet Poontang." This should not be confused with the song "Wango Tango," which he segued into a cover of "You Really Got Me." This was third up. He opened with "Journey to the Center of your Mind." As Kristin pointed out he really wastes no time just diving into those hits.
At a certain point in the show the Nuge did a shout out to all the members of our Armed Forces who were in the audience tonight. No doubt to pad more of the empty space left open by those who didn't buy tickets. He enthusiastically announced how much he loves "when the good guys kill the bad guys."
His drummer is "Wild" Mick Brown from Dokken. No, really.
There is more, but this post is now quite long. He obviously did not pull me to his side, but I enjoyed and admired the FUCK out of him. Like Manowar, believe it. He is for real and takes himself completely seriously. He, unlike most of you and myself, has a real life philosophy he applies towards his everything he does, and he lives well. I do not dig his tunes, I disagree with his politics, and I think he is a pretentious prick. But I had a really fun time at the "Nookie Theater" last week watching the Nuge just be the Nuge.
