DETROIT

DETROIT

JULY 6

The good news about the hotel is that they had quite an excellent gym, and not many people using it. I had a very nice workout while watching some of the Wimbledon tennis matches on the various tv screens scattered on the walls. Checking emails back in my room, I had one from my friend, US Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

She had contacted me weeks before saying that she was hoping to come to the gig, but wasn’t sure she would be able to with all the politics going on in DC. But it turned out that she could attend, and that was the nature of her email. Very cool...she would come with some family members, including her brother, who used to play drums. Debbie is a musician as well...and they used to have a family band. I’ve worked with her on some conservation issues at the Capitol in DC over the past several years. She is a great champion of the environment, forestry and conservation. I looked forward to seeing her.

Another good friend, John Kulhavi would be coming to the show as well. John is an interesting guy...a retired General from the Reserves, he flew helicopters in Desert Storm and earned a Purple Heart. Then he went into the stock brokerage business and became one of the top representatives of Merrill Lynch, winning several awards. John is also a hunting client of ours at Charlane and he handles some of my portfolio...doing a fine job. John is also on the board of the US Endowment for Forestry and Communities...I nominated him for the position several years ago and was able to serve with him for a year before I rolled off of that board. He would be bringing quite a crowd to the show...about 18 people in all.  

Rose Lane had noticed that there was an exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Art on Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and expressed interest in going to it. So we had the hotel doorman hail us a cab to go to it. It was raining a bit, but we decided to go for it. Our cab driver was a nice guy named Floyd. We had a good conversation with him on the way, and he dropped us off on a side door that was closer than the main entrance, to avoid getting too wet. I settled up with Floyd and took his info in case we needed to call him later to pick us up. We entered the building and went to the desk to buy tickets...only to be told that it was sold out for the day and it only had about a half an hour left anyway. Geez, should have called in advance! We killed some time in the gift shop looking around, but didn’t buy anything and decided to try for an Uber car to take us back. Using the Uber App, it indicated that a driver was only 6 minutes away, so we waited a while. But after 10 minutes, we still didn’t have a car and the App indicated it was 8 minutes away. Another ten minutes went by...no car. So we cancelled that and called Floyd. He was back at the MGM, but said he would come get us, which he did. Finally we returned to the hotel, disappointed to have missed the exhibit and to have waisted the time.

As there really wasn’t any other interesting things to do in our surroundings, we pretty much hung out in the hotel the rest of the day, getting quite bored in the process. On the bright side, it did give us a chance to relax some and to catch up on this diary and some other things.

In the evening we tried to dine in the Wolfgang Puck Cuchina restaurant, but unfortunately it was closed, so we opted for the Steak House again. Food and service was as good as the night before, so we were content. Next day would be busy with the show and seeing our friends.

JULY 8

Entrance to The Fox Theater

That evening there was a party given by AEG at the amazing Fox Theater in Detroit. What an incredible place! We had never been, and while we have been to the other Fox Theaters in other cities like  St. Louis and Atlanta, this one takes the cake. The party

Chuck takes his turn at the organ

included the band, entourage and crew. Great to hang out with everyone. One of the

highlights for me was getting to play the fantastic organ. This is one of the very few

theater organs in the world that has been restored to its original condition and is in top

shape. I enjoyed experimenting on it for a while.

The party was a welcome relief from the norm...great to hang with all of us in the same

place. Robert Bull had been flown in after recovering from his heart attack. He gave a really special toast to everyone, thanking especially Lizzy McGoran, who performed CPR on him until the ambulance came. She literally saved his life. He won’t be joining us back on tour, but wanted to come and see everyone before we resumed the tour.

Domed Ceiling At the Fox Theater

Nice to know we have a show today to keep us busy! We were well over the MGM Grand and welcomed the day’s events. Rosie preceded me in departing for Coamerica Park, and I followed about an hour later with the other band members. In the dressing room I finalized the draft of the set list and checked with Elizabeth Curan to see what song was in the lead for By Request. That turned out to be “Rocks Off”, so I knew we would go over it in the sound check. We did, also adding in “Just My Imagination” in the set as a little tribute to Detroit and Motown. The rest of the sound check went smoothly and I headed back to the dressing room to finalize the set list and present it to Mick. All that done, I hit catering to get some nutrition. It was a nice setup with good food....which is the case 75% of the time...kudos to catering!

By then it was time to hit the VIP room to find my guests. I saw John Kulhavi first...his wife, Carole with him as well as his brother, Donald, who has hunted with us at Charlane with John. He introduced us around to his other friends and we enjoyed catching up some. I also took some pictures with them and with other fans in the room that requested them...and soon I saw Senator Stabenow. Wonderful to see her and I introduced her and her folks to John and his. It was great to catch up with her...she was really excited to be there, and was glowing in the aftermath of the incredible week the Democrats had. First was the Supreme Court’s ruling of affirmation of the legitimacy of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), and the second was the ruling in favor of same sex marriage. In addition, the President also got approval from congress on his “fast track” Trade Deals request. Obama had also given a very moving speech on race relations in his eulogy of Rev. Clementa Pinckney, one of the nine Afro Americans shot and  killed in the tragic  Charleston Church shootings by Dylan Roof, a young radical white supremacist. It was one heck of a week for the Democratic Party.

After a time, I offered her and her brother to go with me backstage. I had asked Mick earlier if he would take a moment to meet her and perhaps take a picture with her, and he had agreed. So I took them to his room first to get that done. Mick was truly gracious to them and the Senator and her brother were ecstatic to meet him. Then it was on to meet Keith, Ronnie and Charlie and get photos with them...that went well, and it was fun to see the joy it brought the two of them. I escorted them back to the VIP and said my goodbyes to them and to John K and company, promising to meet John at the MGM after the show for a short time.

I know I keep saying this...but it was another really great show...smooth, well paced and well played. And yet another sold out stadium. Mick had his usual comments and jokes ready to deliver to the crowd, very clever and well received. Chalk another one up!

Back at the hotel I got the call from John after a half hour or so, and Rosie and I went down to meet him and his party. The casino was buzzing...and the only bar open was the main one in the center, which was pretty crowded. There was no great place to sit, but we made the best of it, standing and talking to his folks for a while. Joyce Smyth, the Stones’ business manager and confidant, and her husband, Michael were there as well, and had some nice comments on the show. It has been good for her to see as many of these shows as she has...to let her know how well it is all going. We socialized for a half hour or so, then called it a night.