Houston's Toyota Center was packed Saturday night as the energized crowd filled the theater to see Bob Seger and his Silver Bullet Band for their first tour in 5 years. Seger, famous for his live performances, did not disappoint and proved once again that rock & roll never forgets.
After an opener from Texas' own Shy Blakeman, Seger took the stage with the band that he has performed with since 1973, including saxophone player, Alto Reed, who's been with the Detroit rocker since 1971, and bass player, Chris Campbell, since 1969. Seger and the Silver Bullet Band wasted no time diving straight into "Roll Me Away" as the crowd roared, jumping to their feet.
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Seger rarely slowed down during the entire performance. His energy could be felt throughout the theater as he belted out hit after hit, asking the crowd more than a few times, "See if you remember this one."
Other than a short break, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band enthusiastically played throughout the entire show, never missing a beat. The two standouts of the show, other than Seger himself, were Alto Reed and his saxophone, who almost stole the show at times, and Mark Chatfield, whose guitar solos were killer.
Seger covered everything from his first ever single, "Ramblin' Gamblin' Man," to half the songs on both Night Moves and Against the Wind, and a third of Beautiful Loser and Stranger in Town. The only song he covered from his last album, Face the Promise, was "Real Mean Bottle," the duet between Seger and Kid Rock that was written about Merle Haggard.
Fan favorites were in abundance Saturday night, with songs like "Main Street" and then "Old Time Rock & Roll" that had the crowd first, well, swaying to the smoky beat and then dancing in the rows, along with Seger himself.
Seger performed just one song from his upcoming album that is set for release sometime later this year, "Downtown Train," a Tom Waits cover that was released as a single in March. Going by the enthusiastic reaction of the crowd, the song was well-received.
Sitting down at the piano, Seger played "We've Got Tonight," dedicating the song to his manager's daughter and her husband, as the crowd settled down. Seger remained at the piano as he then broke into the haunting "Turn the Page" and the crowd once again rose from their chairs and swayed on their feet as they sang along.
The band's performance of "Katmandu" was electricifying and had Seger dancing across the stage once again before the lights went dark and the band took their leave. After a few standard minutes of foot stomping and cheers from the crowd, the guys came back out for the only songs left that the crowd had been hoping for: "Against the Wind," "Hollywood Nights" and the epic "Night Moves." "Rock & Roll Never Forgets," Seger's fourth and final song during the band's encore was both powerful and inspiring, summing up the entire night and could not have left a stronger message.
Setlist:
- Roll Me Away
- Trying To Live My Life Without You
- Fire Down Below
- Main Street
- Old Time Rock & Roll
- Downtown Train
- Ramblin' Gamblin' Man
- Gets Ya Pumpin'
- Good For Me
- Shinin' Brightly
- Travelin' Man
- Beautiful Loser
- Nutbush City Limits
- Come to Poppa
- Her Strut
- Real Mean Bottle
- We've Got Tonight
- Turn the Page
- Sunspot Baby
- Horizontal Bop
- Katmandu
- Against The Wind
- Hollywood Nights
- Night Moves
- Rock & Roll Never Forgets
Did you go to the show Saturday night at Houston's Toyota Center? What was your favorite performance of the night? Let us know in the comments below!
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