Special
thanks to Jack Seiler for his great pics and show review! Be sure to
check out Don Rad's review below!
Greetings
to Link lovers! I was lucky to attend the first show of the
2003 "Link on the Loose" tour. It started at the Magic
Stick in Detroit Michigan on February 12, 2003.
For a Wednesday
night at midnight in Detroit - and 7degrees - a few hundred
showed at the upstairs ballroom for the Wraymen. After a local band
opened the evening, the Jet City
Fix took the stage and I mean "took it"--these guys rock and
rock well. They say they have a new CD coming out in April. I will
watch for it--they were good.
A couple of
the same group accompanied Link, just before midnight. Link's wife,
Olive played tambourine. He began with Rumble, Rawhide, Jack the Ripper,
Run Chicken Run, and Ace of Spades. This was a completely
instrumental set. I am used to some vocals so I was a bit
disappointed. He did an extended version of Geronimo that really
kicked butt. Link was in good shape and reminded everyone that he is
74.
He was very
active and seemed to really enjoy the doing the show. I had a copy of Link
Wray's Shack 3 Tracks (the first Polydor LP)
and my friend was waving the album over and over in front of the stage. e stopped the show and mentioned that he had
seen the album.
I grabbed it and
pushed my way to the front--handed it to him--he grabbed it and kissed the
picture of his mother, mentioned how much he loved her and the record--I
handed him a felt marker and begged for an autograph--he obliged and I was
one screaming happy guy. Link played for over an hour and came back
for an encore that lasted for another half hour.
He then signed
autographs from the stage and the night ended about 1:45 am--I got to
drive back home, about 90 miles, with plenty of great memories of a living
legend and a super rock show. Thanks Link, may you go on and
on--Jack Seiler
Here's
another review by Don Rad!
LINK WRAY ~
Magic Stick, Detroit, Michigan ~ Wednesday, February 12, 2003
Link Wray, the man who put the "edge" on guitar, was in Detroit
on a very frigid Wednesday night for the first stop of his latest tour.
Needless to say, the weather may have been icy outside, but inside the
Magic Stick, Link heated the place up to the boiling level.
The show's opening band, The Jet City Fix, from Seattle were the perfect
opening act for Link. This young band got the place going from the
start of the first chord. They had the garage rock echoes of an old Iggy
and the Stooges, and had the stage presence of professionals who've been
rocking auditoriums for years. Keep your eye out for these guys, I
expect big
things to happen for them.
Link Wray came onstage with Justin McDonald on bass and Dana Sims on
drums (both members of The Jet City Fix). These guys weren't even
born when Link was riding the crest of his popularity in the late 50's and
early 60's, but they held their ground and rocked with authority while
Link led them down his assault of guitar mastery.
With his hair pulled back into a pony tail and dressed in his trademark
leather jacket and jeans with rolled up cuffs, Link opened the show with
his signature song "Rumble." Then it was on to many of the
songs that Link's fans have come to know and expect, "Jack The
Ripper, Run Chicken Run, Batman Theme" and just about everything else
he could throw in. Link also did a newer song called
"Spiderman" that was very similar to the old classic "Black
Widow" and it rocked.
Halfway through the show, some fan in the crowd was holding up an old
album of Links. Link told him to pass it on up to the stage, he then
made some comments about his family who were pictured on the back of the
record jacket, kissed the cover, autographed it and handed it back to a
very excited guy in the crowd (you'd have thought the guy won the lottery
by the way he hollered). Then it was back to business as only Link
can do. One hour and a half later, Link's show closed with the song
"Rumble" and the crowd was left exhausted.
Link appeared for an encore and again opened with "Rumble" went
into the "Batman Theme" and "Run Chicken Run" and
closed with "Rumble." I guess if I'm going to hear
"Rumble" four times in a night, what better way to hear it than
from the main man himself!
I have to say that for a 73 year old guy, Link Wray can rock with the best
of them. It also appeared that Link was in a very good mood on the
opening night of this tour, as he stayed at the front of the stage for
about a half hour or more and signed autographs for his hardcore fans.
What a great night, as only a true legend like Link Wray can pull off.
-Donrad-