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Kid Rock Mixes It Up At Terminal 5

 

Just a few weeks after a headlining concert at Jones Beach, rap / rock / country music star Kid Rock played a benefit show at Terminal 5 last, nearly filling the former nightclub with fans of Kid Rock’s unique blend of musical genres.

 

Kid Rock rose to prominence riding the popular wave of rap metal in the late ‘90s, alongside groups such as Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. However, as the rap metal phase quickly grew old and many bands changed their sound to a softer, rap-free ‘emo’ style, Kid Rock turned west and started writing country songs. 

 

Last night night’s show found the artist legally named Robert Ritchie playing an eclectic set of rock and country songs, with bits of hip hop mixed in. Fans who remember Kid Rock’s early MTV, strippers n’ booze persona might have been surprised by the musician’s opening songs, including Rock N’ Roll Jesus and Amen. Clearly influenced by the artists he gets played alongside on Country Music Television, Kid Rock’s newer songs are packed with religious and Bible Belt themes, even as he still lays claim to “sex, drugs, and rock and roll.” 

 

Backed by the gritty, yet ultra-talented Twisted Brown Trucker Band, Kid Rock did an admirable job of dancing the fine line between hard rock and country music, playing the Metallica-sampling American Badass (although he disappointingly left off the final, somewhat more explicit verse) and new song You Never Met A Motherf*cker Quite Like Me, only to switch to country guitars for a cover of George Satellite’s Keep Your Hands To Yourself and the Lynyrd Skynyrd-sampling All Summer Long. 

 

Despite his early successes coming largely from his mashup of heavy metal and hip hop, Kid Rock did surprisingly little rapping over the course of the show, tacitly acknowledging that his success and relevance in 2009 has come from his abandoning his hip hop roots in favor of the country sound. Nonetheless, the band did an enjoyable mash-up of Wasting Time over the music of Guns N’ Roses’ Paradise City, and Kid Rock literally hopped on top of the turntables to scratch out 3 Sheets To The Wind, simultaneously sipping a glass of Jim Beam.

 

Especially notable was the soft, piano introduction to hit song Cowboy, and Kid Rock’s touching rendition of the ballad Picture, with a backup singer covering Sheryl Crow's verses, and the entire crowd joining in for the choruses.  The audience also enthusiasticaly sang along to Half Your Age, and ending with breakout hit Bawitdaba, the several thousand people packing Terminal 5 went berserk, singing and even moshing along to one of the heaviest songs to emerge from the rap-metal era.

 

While some music fans find it surprising that Kid Rock is even still touring in 2009, anyone in attendance at last night’s show can certainly testify to the self-made man’s star power and commanding presence. Few other artists can genre-hop as fluidly and enjoyably as Kid Rock, and both rock and country music fans got satisfying set lists last night, and a stellar performance from the band. However, fans of Kid Rock’s earlier, rap-based albums were thrown only scraps of hip-hop, and fans of his early, debauchery-promoting style were surprised by the man’s newfound, almost pious attitude on some songs, even when balanced with raunchy lyrics on others. Sadly, the monster, autotune-rocking ballad Only God Knows Why was left off of the setlist for unknown reasons, and perhaps most disappointingly of all, the house lights came on immediately after Bawitdaba, without even a chance for the expected encore. 

 

Despite any disappointments for older fans, there was no doubt that Kid Rock masterfully blew up Terminal 5 last night, with a well-attended audience despite the blistering $100 ticket price. While his future career seems firmly set for CMT, as opposed to Headbanger’s Ball, he played enough rock and metal songs to appease rock fans, and exhibited the finest level of showmanship. Kid Rock never lays claim to be the best at any of his genres, but his unique blend of rock, rap, and country continues to be innovative enough that he is sure to be a powerful name in the music scene for a long time to come.