"Searching For Sugar Man" - An Unbelievable Story

By now everyone has heard about "Searching for Sugar Man". The documentary came out last year and even won an Academy Award for Best Documentary. After hearing about it and reading every article related to it, I have been wanting to see this movie for what seems like years. The other night I finally saw what all the hype was about.

"Searching for Sugar Man" chronicles the unbelievable story of how Sixto Rodriguez, of Detroit, was an amazing musician, but just didn't make it at all in the United States. However, he was as big as the Beatles, even bigger than the Rolling Stones according to some, in South Africa. To make it even crazier, everyone across the Atlantic thought that Rodriguez had committed suicide on stage in the middle of a concert years ago. Everyone there thought he was dead, but they kept on listening to his music and had no idea that he was actually living an extremely modest life right here in Detroit.

A couple of guys in South Africa decided to figure out where Rodriguez came from because he was surrounded in mystery. They idolized this guy and had no idea where he was even from! After a lot of investigating they finally found his daughter via a website about their search. This of course led to them discovering that their idol was actually alive. Rodriguez ended up going to South Africa and played sold out shows in stadiums and arenas in the 90's, then coming back to Detroit where no one had any idea who he was.

I knew most of the story before sitting down to watch the movie (and hopefully you did before reading this), but no matter how many times you hear it, this story is still insane. It doesn't sound like it could be real, but this is Detroit and it seems like unbelievable things are always happening here! The movie is done incredibly well and does a great job of telling the story. The only parts that I didn't like that much were a couple of the weird animation/transition things, but they are fairly insignificant in comparison to the rest of the movie. Everyone should watch it and then proceed to listen to the music. It really is an amazing story. I know I'm just gushing now, but it's not often that you come across a story like this.

Rodriguez still lives in the same house that he's lived in for 40 years in Detroit. Despite his new found fame he is still living quite modestly, giving most of his money away to family and friends. This is an extremely talented man that never got any recognition until recent years and seems to be the most grounded person you can imagine. He wouldn't even go to the Oscar's when the movie about his life won because he didn't want the focus to be on him!

I am happy that he is finally receiving some sort of fame now, because his version of folk-rock really is great. Some of it seems familiar, but I doubt I heard it so I might just be crazy. If you were smart enough to buy a ticket months ago to see Rodriguez play at the Masonic Temple tomorrow (Saturday, May 18), you are lucky! He has been on tour this whole year and is continuing on through the year all over the world.

If you are like me and not lucky enough to get to see him live tomorrow night, try renting or buying "Searching for Sugar Man". It's a really moving movie that has jump started a Detroit musicians career and changed history. Rodriguez does have one more Michigan date on June 22 at the Traverse City Wine & Art Festival. So you can make the drive up there to see him, but hopefully he'll start playing regularly in Detroit and we can all catch this legend live on stage! If you're interested in learning more about Rodriguez because the story does not stop where the movie ends, you can visit his website here.

~B

A Sideshow in Detroit!!!

Come one come all, the freak show is coming to town! This Friday, May 17th the Trumbullplex is hosting New York’s The Freak Kings as they perform some of the most outrageous side show acts that you have ever seen. The Freak Kings are two heavily modified creatures called Illustrated Penguin & Baron Von Geiger. Baron can lift objects with hooks in his eyes and holds the world record for extreme pierced weightlifting. These talented freaks also do some of the more traditional stunts including walking over a bed of nails, blockhead, fire breathing and sword swallowing. You can check out a performance from Coney Island New York below.

Christie & Becca had the chance to see these amazing men last year at Sideshow by the Seashore during a visit to Coney Island. They said you're not going to want to miss this! The show starts at 8 p.m. and the cover is $7. For all of the details, visit the Facebook event page here.

~S

Get Your Comic On at Motor City Comic Con!

This Friday, Saturday and Sunday the Motor City Comic Con will be at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi. This is the 24th year for Michigan's largest comic book convention, with over 250 people from the comic book industry and more than 40 actors and actresses participating in the event.

Amongst the long list of people to see at the convention this weekend, there were a few that popped out at us. First off, the legendary Stan Lee will be signing autographs on Saturday, which is pretty amazing. Advance tickets to meet with Stan are sold out, but there will be some available at his table. You probably want to get there early if you want to try to score one though!

Some others that stand out above the rest include Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Micky Dolenz (The Monkees), David Della Rocco & Sean Patrick Flanery (Boondock Saints), the Grandpa from Texas Chainsaw Massacre (John Dugan), Edward James Olmos (all kinds of stuff, but more recently Dexter), Robert Carradine & Curtis Armstrong (Revenge of the Nerds) and Alex Winter (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure). There are a ton of other great ones on the list, which you can see here. As you can tell from our picks, we're bigger fans of the pop culture/media side of Comic Con than we are of the comic book side. For the list of Comic professionals (writers, artists, etc.) go here.

One major thing to keep in mind if you plan on going to the Motor City Comic Con is that there is an extra fee to get an autograph from most guests. Sometimes there's even a photo fee and an autograph fee. So plan on bringing some extra $$$ if you want to meet a lot of celebrities! Actual tickets to get in to the convention are available online here or at the door for $25 for one day or $60 for a 3 day pass. Buying tickets ahead of time will save you a few bucks. Motor City Comic Con runs Friday from 12:30-7 p.m., Saturday from 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday from 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. For all of the detail on this year's show visit MotorCityComicCon.com. Make sure to keep an eye on their Facebook page too for updates throughout the weekend!

~C

Wilson with Newsted at The Crofoot this Friday!

The boys are back in town and they're about to cause some trouble. After being bled on, jizzed on, and baptized by the church of Gwar, the party animals of Wilson are ready to go on tour with a legend. This Friday, May 17th Wilson will open up for Jason Newsted's band called Newsted.

For those of you that don't know, Jason was the bassist of a little band called Metallica. Wilson will be bringing their unique brand of Fuckery to the stage as they open up for Newsted in places like Chicago, New York and New Jersey. They may very well steal the show. With Chad beating on the bass drum and Kyle hanging from the ceilings, Wilson's live show has slowly become something of an urban legend. I assure you all the legends are true and it's better than you can imagine when you see it in person.

 

The band's new album Full Blast Fuckery won't be out until July 9th, but you can preview a track called “College Gangbang” here.


Friday's show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $22 at the door. The Crofoot Ballroom is located at 1 S. Saginaw, Pontiac, MI.

~S

Le Rouge Season 2 Home Opener This Friday

It's been 9 months, but it's finally soccer time in Detroit again! Put the Wings and Tigers on the back burner for the night and head out to Detroit City FC's first home game of the season this Friday, May 17.

In case you missed out last year when it started, here is a little background info on the team for you (or check out our post from last year). Detroit City Football Club (DCFC) is a minor league soccer team that plays in the National Premier Soccer League's Midwest Great Lakes Conference. It's a grass roots organization that works hard to bring soccer to those that love it in Detroit, while representing the city positively.

Going to a DCFC game is something that everyone should do this summer. Like, seriously, it's a lot of fun- soccer fan or not. You can't help but to get caught up in the energy, especially if you sit with the hooligans, which I highly recommend. They're on their feet the whole game. There is smoke, as well as lots of yelling and craziness. Make sure to pick up a scarf, t-shirt or jacket when you're there so you can get all decked out in Le Rouge gear and fit right in.

In honor of DCFC, last week MillKing It Productions released a special limited-release beer.  City Red is a red IPA made by MillKing It Productions. Click here to see a list of locations that MillKing It beers are available so you can try it yourself and get into the spirit.

The home opener against AFC Cleveland on Friday is a special game. DCFC have a particular goal for the night, besides kicking Cleveland's ass of course. The club wants to have the largest crowd anywhere in the National Premier Soccer League. I know the games last year had pretty good turnouts, so why not try it out yourself this year and help them out with some Detroit spirit of your own? If you get there early you'll even get a special treat courtesy of Solid Dudes Kitchen. Head to Harry's for pre-game festivities and to join the rest of the supporters marching in to the game at Cass Tech High School. The gates open at 6:30 p.m. and kick-off is at 7:30 p.m.

Another reason why these soccer games are so good is that they are easy on the wallet at only $5 a ticket! If you're a big fan, you can buy a season ticket for only $35 for all 8 games. Word has it that there will be a lot of good, local music played at the games this year as well! Go Detroit!

~B

Last Chance To Catch The Dewtons 'Til Fall!

We are ashamed to say that it has been awhile since we have seen our friends in The Dewtons. Lucky for us, they are playing at Corktown Tavern this Thursday night with a pretty killer line-up. The show will feature The Dewtons, Flamingo Nosebleed (IN), The Isotopes (Vancouver) and The Flaks. This is your last chance to see The Dewtons play in the Detroit area until September, so you better not miss it.

The Dewtons have been touring quite a bit over the last year. So Thursday's show is sort of a "welcome home" and "we won't see you for awhile" wrapped into one. The three piece always puts on a great show. If you aren't familiar with the band or you just want to check out some of their music, they have a few songs on Reverbnation. 

Doors to Corktown will open at 9 p.m. on Thursday and you have to be 21+ to get in. The cover charge is only $6, which is a steal if you ask us. You'll want to make sure you make it out to catch all of the bands on this bill. Word has it that Flamingo Nosebleed is pretty awesome too. So make sure you check out all 4 bands and pick up some merch from the touring guys. For all of the details, visit the Facebook event page here. 

~C

Flint Eastwood wants to Party Hard with Andrew W.K.!!!

Bled Fest is coming up fast and a campaign to party has begun. Flint Eastwood is working on getting headliner Andrew W.K. to come party on stage with them during their set. The band is urging their friends and fans to help get the word out by sharing the video below. They hope that if enough people encourage the king of partyin' hard, he won't be able to say no. Check out the promo Flint Eastwood has come up with.

Quite the proposal! Pizza and a bolo tie! If you want to help Flint Eastwood out, simply share the video on your Facebook, Twitter, etc. Make sure you tag Andrew W.K. though so he gets the message! For the bands exact instructions on what they want you to do click here.

~C

Win Tickets to The Whigs with The Hounds Below and Drivin' N' Cryin'

Last weekend The Hounds Below played The Metro Times Blowout in Ferndale and had what we all felt was one of the best performances of the weekend. Word of how great this group is must be getting out because this weekend they will be opening for the The Whigs at The Magic Stick.

The Whigs defined American Garage rock in 2005 with their self released album Give Them All a Fat Lip. They are out touring for their newest album called Enjoy the Company, which was released this past September. This bill was already solid with The Whigs and Drivin' N' Cryin' scheduled to play, but when The Hounds Below added on, the show became a lot more interesting.

We have been impressed with Hounds since the first time we saw them open for Flashclash with a small, ten minute showcase at The Magic Bag before they went to SXSW this year. As soon as they were on our radar, we made sure to start following and covering their pursuits. Apparently we are not the only ones doing so because the crowds keep getting bigger and their name is getting mentioned in more and more places each week.

This show should be a solid night of good rock and roll and as always we are happy to announce that 2 lucky people will win 2 tickets to this show courtesy of hipindetroit.com. To enter, please e-mail your full name with the subject line Whigs/HoundsBelow to hipindetroit@gmail.com. We will pick two winners the day of the show and announce them via e-mail/Facebook/Twitter. The event is on May 17th at 8 p.m. and tickets are $15 in advance and $17 the day of the show. For those that don't know, the Magic Stick is located at 4140 Woodward in Detroit.

~S

Friday Night with those Bastardous Terrible Things in Modern Suits

Friday night brought us to The Loving Touch once again. Apparently we didn't get enough of it the week before. However, there was, in our opinion, a can't miss show there that night as Terrible Things was headed to town with Modern Suits and Detroit's own Bastardous.

We're going to start the story out with the most important thing we learned all night, then we'll get to the review. We got to the bar a little before 9:30 p.m., which in our minds was super early. Not so much! The first band had already started. From what we heard through the grapevine, weekend shows are always going to start early now at The Loving Touch, with the new goal being to have them done by midnight to open the bar back up. We can't confirm that's the definite truth, but it's a good thing to keep in mind!

So, our night started early with the first band, Modern Suits from Philly, hitting the stage. The new stage configuration is way better than the old one, leaving a lot more room on the floor for the crowd. But, when there aren't many people there, it also makes it look way more empty. The guys didn't seem to let that bother them too much though and still played a pretty solid set. The five piece has a new EP out now that you can check out here.

Next up for the night was Terrible Things, who we thought were playing last which made us think we completely missed Bastardous. Luckily that wasn't true. Terrible Things was great. They were extra great for those of us that were fans of The Color Fred and Taking Back Sunday. But, overall most of the crowd seemed to be into the set and entertained by the band as a whole, especially the 12 string guitar. I have listened to the bands latest album way more often since I saw them play on Friday. So, that's always a good sign. I highly suggest checking Terrible Things out next time they are in the area. Until then, check out their album Pre-Transmission that's streaming on their Facebook page.

Last to hit the stage was Bastardous, featuring Nick Gigler, Rich Tschirhart and Tony Vegas. We don't really know much about this band yet, but we're guessing Wedge and Chuck just didn't show up for The A-Gang practice one night. Nonetheless, we are looking forward to catching up with those guys and finding out more about them soon. Head over to their Facebook page and give them a "like" so you can be sure to catch their next show! After Friday night, we're really looking forward to hearing more from this threesome.

Thanks again to Brian Southall for bringing this show to town. We hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as we did!

 ~C

Win Tickets To See The Airborne Toxic Event Tomorrow Night!

California based indie rock band The Airborne Toxic Event will be making a pit stop right here in Detroit tomorrow night. The band has been out on tour in support of their recently released album, Such Hot Blood.

Such Hot Blood is the band's third studio album and the first one in two years. They are known for blending rock with orchestral arrangements and often play concerts with orchestras. The Airborne Toxic Event was started by novelist Mikel Jollet so it seems fitting that the band is named after a  book. It comes from a section of White Noise by Don DeLillo.

Many of the shows on their tour are already sold out, so we wanted to help you out and get you there to see them live! We are giving away two pairs of tickets to the show tomorrow, Wednesday, May 15. All you have to do is email us at hipindetroit@gmail.com with your full name and 'I Want to see The Airborne Toxic Event' in the subject line. We'll email the winners on Wednesday. This is a quick contest so make sure you enter right away!

The Airborne Toxic Event are playing with Leagues at the Majestic Theatre with doors at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 for this one, so all the more reason to enter to win one for yourself and a friend! Good luck!

~B