In an Uproar
The Uproar Festival rocked DTE Energy Music Theatre on Friday and D-Days was in the midst of all of it during the two days and nights of serious insanity. Despite forecasts of rain, the clouds held back their water until late in the evening and we made sure we enjoyed the weather and the music as long as it was going to last. Headlining the main stage were some of our favorite bands including Shinedown, Godsmack, Staind and Adelitas Way. Adelitas Way opened up the main stage, and you knew the band rocked loud when confetti from the previous night began to fall from the ceiling. Staind soon followed, then Godsmack. The drum solo/battle between Sully Erna and Shannon Larkin was one for the books (if you missed it, it's seriously worth looking up). On the second stages were a number of great acts that had the crowd going wild which included Thousand Foot Krutch, Within Reason, Fozzy, Mindset Evolution, P.O.D. and more. P.O.D. closed out the second stages to a roaring crowd and ended their set with a cover of Sublime's "What I Got." The heavens couldn't hold back the rain any longer and during Shinedown's main stage performance, it rained both natural precipitation and confetti while the band brought the house down. While they played a number of their hits and also the cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Simple Man," we didn't mind getting wet one bit. Soaked with rain as well as confetti, we knew then it was another kick-ass summer concert to wind down the season. And yes, we did find confetti in some pretty weird places once we got home.

Food & Fun
Another Arts, Beats & Eats is in the books. This year's outing felt a little more streamlined and even more comfortable, but that's not to say there were less people. The crowd for Mayer Hawthorne on Friday night was huge and gave our hometown boy a proper welcome. We walked around the festival on Sunday to sample some of the delicious offerings. While some places had lines ten to twenty people deep, we found our way to fantastic food anyhow. The kafta sliders at Gemmayze, sweet potato pie from Andre's, and apple pie from Bastone pleased our tastebuds. Pleasing to our ears over the course of the weekend were performances by Theory of a Deadman, Kaleido, Sean Forbes and way too many more to list. Plus, we were able to make a pit stop at Mayer Hawthorne's after party on Friday night at Fifth Avenue. The place was bumping (Hawthorne knows how to play to a crowd – not just as a crooner but as a party DJ who knows how to get folks dancing) with all sorts of good-lookin' folks, and of course we did a little dancing – and drinking – ourselves. Always a good time at that joint!

Huzzah!
It was wenches, pirates and knights galore at the annual Michigan Renaissance Festival in Holly, Michigan. We shopped all day, ate giant turkey legs with scotch eggs and washed it all down with some delicious cider they had on tap. We saw tons of bulging cleavage and sexy men in tights. It is one of the best people-watching events of the year, and if you haven't gone yet, you still have time. The fair runs weekends til the end of the month!

You Gotta Lose Your Mind in Detroit Rock City
...And Detroit lost their minds, indeed, during the Mötley Crüe and Kiss show at DTE. After a gnarly pyro truck crash in Ohio, the show was postponed 24 hours for the crew to piece back together all of the equipment. Mötley's circus-style stage setup was perfect against Tommy Lee's drum rollercoaster and Nikki Sixx's fire-blasting guitar. All the ladies went crazy during "Girls, Girls, Girls" (alright, during the entire Mötley set). When Kiss opened with Detroit Rock City, the crowd defined that name – we're not called Detroit Rock City for nothing! Paul Stanley proved that age is just a number, shaking his bum and strutting around in platform boots better than most chicks ever could. And to end an already incredible show, Kiss let off one of the longest confetti blasts we've ever witnessed during "Rock and Roll All Nite." We just want to party with Kiss every day!

Aesthetically Pleasing
D-Days catches literally hundreds of live concerts every year. So, to say that Amon Tobin's performance on Sunday night at the Royal Oak Music Theatre was the most visually impressive thing we've seen all year is a pretty big statement. The area that his "DJ booth" was situated in was an enormous mega-structure (kind of like an oversized 3D house of blocks) that Tobin has all forms of visuals projected on to. In theory, it sounds a little nuts and futuristic. In reality, it's one of the most remarkable things we've ever seen – EVER! And coupled with his instrumental trip-hop, drum & bass minimal audio style, it was mind-blowing. In fact, that's probably the most quiet (and entranced) we've ever seen the crowd at the ROMT.

Anything but Dead Disco
There's something pretty sexy about Metric. Maybe it's lead singer's Emily Haines' voracious stage presence or maybe James Shaw's cool and collected demeanor, but we were pretty mesmerized at The Fillmore on Saturday night. Their mix of slow, melodic eroticism and upbeat, danceable jams had the crowd grooving one minute and jumping around the next. Early on in the show, the haunting "Dreams So Real" had the crowd mesmerized and hinging on Haines' every note. | RDW