Then I rationalized it by telling myself I walked to the island so I got a short workout in anyway.
Who am I kidding? I didn't fit in a single run all weekend.
Actually, in all seriousness it is just something I feel very strongly about. Those readers who know me in real life or through forums where I'm very active know that I'm a Detroiter. I may be living in exile these days for the sake of a more child-friendly community, but in my heart I am and always will be a Detroiter. And this weekend, I had the privilege of attending a fabulous event in my hometown.
Orion Music + More is a festival put on by Metallica, and for this year Detroit was chosen as the host city. The festival was held on Belle Isle, which is a rather unique city park in that it is an island in the Detroit River. It has also been at the center of some controversy lately as the city has considered selling or leasing the park to help solve the city's budget crisis. I hope that never comes to pass; Belle Isle is more than just another park, and it brings a lot to the city.
My son and I got tickets to the festival as soon as it was announced and I knew we were going to make a whole weekend of it. We started at Eastern Market, which can only be described as the mother of all farmers' markets. On a Saturday morning, it is also home to some of the best food truck eats the city of Detroit has to offer. We started with pierogis from the People's Perogi Collective, then shared a burrito from El Guapo, and finished up with beignets from Beignets2Go, all washed down with apple cider from an Imlay City farm. Quite a feast for $20 and my son found the street entertainers fascinating. I never realized what a small town kid he really is until I took him into the city!
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| Eastern Market |
After lunch we headed down to Cobo, where the official festival parking was. To be honest I suspected this was a bad idea from the start - as a native, my first instinct was to park close to Belle Isle and cross the bridge on foot, but the festival guide made it sound like this wouldn't be allowed so I went with the masses downtown. A fleet of buses shuttled concertgoers to the island, but there were just so many people to move! It took us a good half hour to get on a bus but eventually we were on our way.
Once we got to the island the process was much smoother. RFID wristbands in place of traditional tickets made the gate a breeze, and soon enough we were finding a spot for the first must-see band of the weekend. My son discovered the Dropkick Murphys after they did the main theme for The Departed, and was really looking forward to seeing them. They put on a great show, very unusual with the combination of bagpipes and flute with hard rock/metal guitar. Sebastian picked up a t-shirt and got it signed by the whole band.
We wandered a bit after their set, checking out the car show that was set up along the edge of the island. Each of the band members added a "lifestyle" element to the festival, and the car show was James Hetfield's contribution. When it came time for the best-in-class honors to be awarded on Sunday he announced them himself so each winning car owner got a brief meeting!
My favorite of the displays was Kirk Hammet's "Kirk's Crypt", which featured some of his personal collection of horror movie memorabilia as well as an extended trailer for World War Z. I got over there just in time to hear Tom Savini speak on Sunday which was really cool, and I got a WWZ promo t-shirt for my zombie-loving daughter.
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| Kirk's Crypt |
But of course the music was the highlight. Some of the smaller bands were very enjoyable, particularly Japandroids, Gogol Bordello, and of course the Dropkick Murphys. But the headliners absolutely rocked the island. Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage on Saturday, and man I cannot believe they're still so high energy! Its been maybe 15 years since I've seen them live and Flea is still bouncing around like he's a young man! Then Metallica on Sunday, an absolutely killer performance mostly made up of songs old enough to bring back memories of high school for me. It cracks me up that my son is into so much of the same stuff I was listening to at his age!
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| Metallica |
The only minor glitch with the festival was transportation back to the parking areas on Saturday. It took us over three hours to get back to my van and to our "home" for the night, about 20 minutes away. That was easily solve by walking over on the second day; our ride dropped us off on the land side of the bridge and we crossed on foot, which worked out much better - an hour after the show ended we were on the expressway headed back home to the country. From start to finish it was an absolutely awesome weekend and I'm actually glad my son chose the concert tickets over the mother-son Disney trip I had in mind. I know people say parenting teens is so very difficult but I rather enjoy that my kids are older have such fun interests that end up pulling me in so many unexpected directions.
Orion has a contract with the City of Detroit for two more years of festivals on Belle Isle with a possibility of making Detroit the festival's permanent home. I'm thinking this just might become an annual tradition for the city, and for my son and I.
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| View from the Belle Isle Bridge |
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