This event has become an annual ritual for me; this is an unbeatable combination of great music and fun all over my favorite place in this world – Hamtramck, Michigan. I’m not being sarcastic – I grew up in Hamtramck and this weekend brings the little city back to life. Hamtramck was always an oddity – a tiny little enclave of houses, churches and bars anchored by the giant assembly plants that provided much of the wealth that drove this city. The houses and bars are still there, but only the infamous Poletown plant remains. Most of the car dealers on Joseph Campau are now history and the character of the city has changed over the years. However, Hamtramck just rolls with the punches and has quietly transformed itself into the ultimate rock & roll destination in the country. A couple of years ago, Blender magazine selected Hamtramck as one of the top 5 rock & roll cities in the country and I was somewhat skeptical. At that time only Small’s and Paycheck’s were still consistently booking live bands and I just assumed that Blender didn’t know where Hamtramck left off and Cass Avenue started. Things sure have changed – Lili’s has been resurrected as the Painted Lady, the Belmont is blasting away on Joseph Campau and both the New Dodge and the Polish Sea League are regularly hosting live shows. This number is quadrupled or so on the Blowout weekend and it was time for me to check out how much the old neighborhood has changed.
There is only one problem with the Blowout – there are way too many great bands playing at the same time and I always wind up hearing about the great show that I missed because I was at the wrong place. So I decided to be a lot less ambitious this year and just concentrate on some of those bands that just are way too connected to Hamtramck to miss. Thursday night saw me at Paycheck’s for the Earworms and the Polish Muslims with a quick side trip to the Belmont for the Mydols. It was just too much fun to pass by; Paycheck’s is the granddaddy of them all and no visit to the Blowout is complete without spending a few hours in the hallowed halls of this establishment. Where else can you see an Irish band (Death by Accordion) singing about “drinking and dieing” on the same bill as a Polish band singing about Panczki Day? (especially with $2 Molsons). Friday saw me wandering around Jos Campau and Caniff again – between Paycheck’s, the Belmont, the Record Graveyard and even the scary Diesel. First up were the Space Heaters at the Record Graveyard – a chance to drink beer, buy records and listen to one of Detroit’s newest bands. Next up was the return of Snakeout back to Paycheck’s – this band used to own this place and their 11:30 set on Saturday just re-established them as being a band that you just have to see. Later on that night I managed to see some Cinecyde and some Fondas as I even ventured inside the Diesel. These dance clubs just plain scare me – even if they book good band like the Nice Device or the Fondas – the threat of some DJ spinning techno never really lets me get comfortable. I’m always edging toward the door and checking out my escape route. My Blowout experience ended as Saturday night was reserved for the Human Eye, the Hentchmen and Guitar Wolf at the Stick. Therefore I missed the other 199 bands and will be reminded of this for the rest of the year. However, perhaps my favorite scene of the weekend was just wandering around Hamtramck and seeing the streets filled with people rushing off to the next show.
Hamtramck has gone through a lot of tough times, but it just keeps rolling with the punches and coming out stronger and that in itself should be a lesson to all of us.