Bob Seger was running late, but he had an excuse. When you rupture a disk in your neck, it makes much of everyday life painful, even unbearable. Imagine trying to perform on stage and sing your best-known hits. Seger had to sideline himself just before coming to Des Moines in October of 2017.
“I didn’t think I’d make it back here. Then six months ago I said, ‘I’ll try, I’ll try.'”
After much healing, Seger went back out on the road this month to finish what he started last year – his final tour. If you had asked Bob Seger in 2017 what he’d be doing in 2018, he’d probably say he’d be enjoying retirement after a career that has spanned five decades. Instead, he’s still out on the road, finishing is reported to be his swan song.
After 57 years of performing, Seger should be a ubiquitous face. He should be as recognizable as Jagger, McCartney, or Nicks. Instead, Seger looked the part of the every-man on stage at Wells Fargo Arena Tuesday night. Seger took the stage in his blue jeans and boots, plus an Indian Motorcycle t-shirt that he probably got for free with the purchase of his last bike. It took until the night’s 5th song “Mainstreet” before his trademark headband made its entrance.
Backed by a 14-piece (!!!) band, Seger hit the ground running with hit after hit including “Still the Same,” “The Fire Down Below,” the jukebox favorite “Old Time Rock & Roll” and a song Seger said hadn’t been performed in over 25 years, Randy Crowell’s “Shame on the Moon.”
“You’re the third audience to hear it,” Seger boasted to the 12,100 in attendance.
Seger has a lot of miles on his motorcycles as well as voice. At 73, it’s not surprising that Seger has lost some of the strength in his voice. There were even times when the mix of the Silver Bullet Band and background vocalists nearly swallowed Seger’s vocals. Then during slower songs such as 1986’s “Like a Rock,” you could still hear a bit of that trademark Seger growl that became synonymous with his sound.
“This was my mother’s favorite song that I ever wrote,” Seger said as he took his first turn behind the piano for “We’ve Got Tonight,” a crowd favorite of the evening.
The crowd was sufficiently warmed by Grand Funk Railroad, the night’s opening act. “GFR” looked downright giddy to have the spotlight at Wells Fargo Arena for 45 minutes and didn’t waste a moment. The “All-American Band” ripped through some of their own catalog’s highlights including “Some Kind of Wonderful” and “We’re an American Band.” The band yucked it up and looked like they were genuinely having a blast as they emplored the crowd, “God Bless America and God Bless Bob Seger!”
One of the night’s biggest cheers came for saxophonist Alto Reed’s opening notes to “Turn the Page,” a song that many Central Iowans have adopted as partially about them since the opening lines mentioned a “long and lonesome highway east of Omaha.” The line was met with much delight and the song proved to be one of the night’s biggest sing-a-longs. In a brief story prior to the song, Seger admitted to writing the song in a hotel in Oklahoma. (Sorry, Iowans)
So Bob Seger was late. He was over 13 months late getting to his final gig in Des Moines. But once he made it here, he took his time. He gave Des Moines everything he had in nearly two hours. He was called back for not one, but two encores. “You know I love motorcycles,” Seger exclaimed. Seger has also loved his career. A career that began in the 1960s, hit its apex in the late 1970s/early 1980s and has continued to thrive to this day. Seger has his “Final Tour” dates scheduled until May of 2019. At that point, we should all hope that he gets to ride off into the sunset on one of his beloved motorcycles and leave behind a career that will have jukeboxes blaring that old time rock and roll for generations to come.
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD SETLIST
Rock & Roll Soul
Foot Stompin’ Music
Shinin’ On
Locomotion
Hooked on Love
Some Kind of Wonderful
I’m Your Captain
We’re An American Band
BOB SEGER SETLIST
Face the Promise
Still the Same
The Fire Down Below
Mainstreet
Old Time Rock & Roll
The Fireman’s Talking
Shame on the Moon
Roll Me Away
Come to Poppa
Her Strut
Like a Rock
You’ll Accomp’ny Me
We’ve Got Tonight
Travelin’ Man / Beautiful Loser
Turn the Page
I’ll Remember You
Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man
Encore 1:
Against the Wind
Hollywood Nights
Encore 2:
Night Moves
Rock and Roll Never Forgets
