BY MIKE SHALER | Go Venue Magazine
January 18th 2020 marked a day of cold and blustery snow showers then rain showers then back to snow showers. But all that wicked weather didn’t keep the fans away from The Machine Shop in Flint, Michigan to enjoy a night of rock and roll from KISS tribute band, Detroit Rock City, Scorpions tribute band BFT’s The Zoo and Rushmore Pass.
Folks packed in early to catch Flint’s own Rushmore Pass to perform their debut appearance at The Machine Shop. With original material of hard-hitting rock by Fisher Hollingshead on drums, TJ Barden on bass guitar, Jake Todahl on guitar, Kyle Kogut on lead guitar and gruff vocals by Jake Coggins, Rushmore Pass had the audience hooked from the get go.
Getting the evening’s tribute acts going was BFT’s The Zoo playing a medley of Scorpions tunes. This group was poised to rock an arena as lead singer Brian Thomas belted out the sweet vocals. Julian Fonseca rumbled on the drums with fellow bandmates, Ben Harmsen on lead guitar, Blake Banner on rhythm guitar, Terry Herman on bass guitar and Linda McParlan on backing vocals. With a slew of fantastic jams from “No One Like You”, “Wind Of Change”, “Rock You Like A Hurricane”, “Still Loving You” and “Big City Nights”. BFT’s The Zoo kept the crowd in their grip for the entire set.
Detroit Rock City is a Kiss tribute band that encapsulates Kiss’s early years as Kiss was just beginning to rattle the world with their wild theatrics of blood spewing, fire breathing and catchy songs. With Nic as Starchild playing rhythm guitar and vocals, Raj as Demon on bass and vocals, JD as Spaceman on lead guitar and vocals and JR as Catman on drums and vocals. These guys busted out all the stops to bring us back in time to enjoy some classic Kiss.
Raj as the Demon was spot on as he pummeled the bass and displayed his long tongue time to time to entice the crowd. Everybody in the band got their time to shine doing solos and taking the helm on lead vocals. JR delivered a touching performance with the song, “Beth”. Other songs that had the place rockin’ were “Detroit Rock City”, “Parasite”, “Calling Doctor Love”, “Shout It Out Loud” and “Love Gun”, among many more.
JD as the Spaceman played some cool licks on the guitar as his stoic demeanor while playing only added to the stage presence. Nic as the Starchild played great renditions of Paul Stanley’s character from the singing to even smashing a guitar at the end of the show. Detroit Rock City lives and breathes old school Kiss and it was a great time to relive those fun moments.
Cold outside weather drove scores of people inside to enjoy a hot time to rock and roll all night because we’ve been shoveling all day!
Detroit Rock City
BFT’s The Zoo
Rushmore Pass
All images © Mike Shaler
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