I'm Retired! Now what?

The first time I experienced a Kid Rock concert was during one of those multi band concerts that tends to take all day.  The whole thing took place down in Dallas around the year 2002.  Although I had no interest in taking in the entire earsplitting day, I was basically looking for something cool to do, where I could carry out a little musical bonding with my teenage stepdaughter.  She kept stealing my Kid Rock CD so I figured she was a fan, but if the truth was to be known, I had really wanted to see the concert myself.

When Kid Rock first came onto the music scene, I figured that he was just some lame, whiteboy, hip hop screamer, and I had little interest in knowing anything about him.  I even blew off reading his Rolling Stone cover story.  Then I saw him on some awards show and thought, “Hmmm, maybe this guy has got something going on after all.”  With that in mind I bought his recently released COCKY album, and even though he screeched out enough “F” words in his songs to make my mom’s head explode, I actually liked the CD.  Apparently, I liked it so much that I bought a couple of tickets to see the foul mouth Michigan boy when he came to Dallas.  As far as I know, this was his first major headline concert in Dallas, and he was sharing the stage with the likes of Puddle of Mudd and Drowning Pool, which were a couple of bands who were blowing up rock radio back in those days!

Well, the stepdaughter decided she didn’t want to give up her Saturday afternoon and evening for some rock concert.  So with that plan in the dumpster, I went with a co-worker, and we had a freaking blast!  We had such a blast that I decided to see Kid Rock when he played in Ft. Worth a couple years later with Puddle of Mudd again.  This time I took my stepson and my wife.   And after that concert I saw Kid Rock again, again, again, and again!

Over the years I’ve watched Kid Rock go from hip hop to hard rock to country to well, Kid Rock music.  I’ve also watched his crowd change from a bunch of screaming hip hop youngsters to a bunch of grey-haired dudes in cowboy hats.  I’ve also seen his ticket prices go from twenty-five bucks to two hundred bucks over the years.  I didn’t pay that much this time, but I still probably paid more than I should have (like all concerts), but the concert was going down at the Dos Equis Amphitheater, and if you stay out of the VIP parking lot the parking is free, which is a bit mind blowing in itself these days.  I don’t mind walking the 1/4 of a mile through the parking lot though.  In fact, I kind of enjoy it.  Now had my wife decided to go with me, the parking situation might have been a different story.  But at this point in my life, I’m a solo concert goer, and I can park where ever I darn well please!  As I’ve watched the concert going crowd chug down fifteen-dollar beers over the years I’ve also found that I can have just as much fun at a show while keeping my concession spending down to zero!

 Perhaps one of the biggest draws to this particular show for me was the weather.  Dos Equis is an outdoor stadium, and I’ve been to plenty of shows there when the temperature was sizzling over the century mark.  The fact that most of those in the crowd for this concert were wearing coats was indeed an added bonus!

So with my biggest concert issue being the grueling drive through Dallas traffic, I slapped on my 2004 Kid Rock concert shirt, loaded myself up in my trusty Chevy truck, and made the trek down to south Dallas to celebrate America’s 250 years with Kid Rock, Brantley Gilbert, and some band named Them Dirty Roses.  And here’s the thoughts that I posted on FACEBOOK regarding Kid Rock’s 250 Freedom concert in Dallas, Texas.

Kid Rock’s Freedom 250 Concert at Dos Equis Amphitheater, May 1, 2026

For the last couple of months I had been debating if I really wanted to haul myself down to Dallas to see the Kid Rock concert.  But the weather was pretty decent, and I figured there aren’t too many times when I can go to an outdoor concert in Texas when I’m not sweating my brains out.  So, with that in mind I found a ticket and joined all the good, patriotic folks down in the Dos Equis amphitheater to take in Kid Rocks’ Freedom 250 Tour.

 With half the crowd standing in the beer line or stuck in traffic on Central Expressway, the Alabama band Them Dirty Roses kicked things off around 6:15, which for a rock concert is pretty much the middle of the afternoon.  I had never heard of this band, but they showed up packing all the evening’s requirements, meaning they were cranking out of few tunes of modern-day outlaw country along with some southern fried rock mixed in with plenty of squealing guitars!

However, if there could be such a thing as a ‘headlining opening act’ Brantley Gilbert would fit the bill for the evening.  In fact, I think I saw as many Brantley Gilbert concert shirts as I did Kid Rock shirts.  Of course, you’d think most people would have settled into their seats by the second band, but the constant traffic of walkers was as crazy and rowdy as the tunes coming from the stage.  The theme for the evening seemed to be “God bless the U.S.A.” and Brantley pretty much covered the requirements while dishing out a few salutes to our country and those proud folks in uniform, and if everyone wasn’t fired up enough, the place really exploded when he belted out a cover of Toby Keith’s COURTTESY OF THE RED, WHITE, AND BLUE!  And like any good outlaw country singer, there were a few songs about drinking, but Brantley told everyone to have a drink for him.  He said that he was allergic to booze, claiming that alcohol made him break out in handcuffs and bad choices.

 Right before Kid Rock took the stage the overhead speaker boomed out the message, “The show will begin in ten minutes.  Everyone find your fxxking seat!”  I wanted to scream out, “Thank you!”  Seems like everyone is always more interested in buying beer and waiting until AFTER the show starts to find their seats!  I guess everyone has their priorities, and that goes for music choices as well.  The five guys behind me disappeared after Brantley Gilbert and never returned while the couple next to me completely blew off both opening acts.  For what concert tickets cost, I was there for every note of every song.

This was my seventh Kid Rock show, and he always tends to make quite the entrance, even if the show did kick off with a few technical problems.  This was the first concert of the tour though, and the guy seemed to get his point of American life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness across regardless of the first show issues.  Kid Rock kept his own personal politics to himself for the evening and basically blasted out the message that there is no blue or red in kick ass rock and roll!  There’s only the red, white, and blue, and several times the chant of “U.S.A.” broke out across the crowd with as much attitude as Kid had when he launched into the songs COCKY, AMERICAN BADASS, and DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE!

Like the 250-year history of this great land, the show had plenty of wild and powerful moments, but there were a few chill times, and Kid mellowed out with one of his backup singers for the duet PICTURE, and for some reason the guy felt inclined to forego his own songs and broke out into the Kenny Rogers/Dolly Parton duet ISLANDS IN THE STREAM.  I will give a thumbs up to the guy for ditching the braids this tour.  They don’t go well with the cowboy hat, and Kid always puts on the cowboy hat when he belts out the words, “Cowboy, baby!  With the top let back and the sunshine shinin’.”

The guy was pulling out songs from five years ago as well as ones from twenty-five years ago.  Twenty-five years?  No wonder the crowd is looking a bit geriatric these days.  I’m hardly one to talk, considering I was wearing a Kid Rock concert shirt from 2004 myself.  To put forth a bit more peace, love, and understanding the guy changed up the words to WE THE PEOPLE, but I don’t think anyone would have cared if he had sung those original, biting words.

With all the patriotic vibe going on, I nearly expected the band to break out into the Star Spangle Banner, but instead, they broke out into Kid Rock’s anthem, and with all the lasers, a little pyro, and a booming sound that pretty much rattled all of south Dallas, the guy cranked out BAWITDABA leaving us all with the message ringing in our ears “Get in the pit and try to love someone!”