The Michigan singer-songwriter and actor regaled a sold-out crowd at St. Cecilia Music Center on Wednesday with laugh-inducing ditties, many of them involving the Mitten State. The review and photos.
On a Michigan Tour: Jeff Daniels played Grand Rapids Wednesday, with two Michigan shows later this week. (Photo/Joshua Tufts)
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With song titles such as “Jesus Was a Stoner,” “The Dirty Harry Blues” and the Detroit Lions’ anthem, “The Curse of Bobby Layne,” there’s little secret to Jeff Daniels’ successful approach as a tunesmith and performer.
His sold-out, 90-minutes-plus affair Wednesday night at St. Cecilia Music Center in Grand Rapids was full of his clever ditties, down-to-earth humor and hilarious anecdotes — not to mention inducing audience members to join him on stage to blow a train whistle (during “Detroit Train”) and do the Upper Peninsula-inspired “Big Bay Shuffle,” to the delight of attendees.
The show also was rife with Michigan-propelled material, from the aforementioned “The Curse of Bobby Layne” (which had Lions fans singing along to the refrain) and “Detroit Train,” to a rapid-fire medley of classics by Marvin Gaye, Bob Seger and Mitch Ryder.
“That,” he declared, “is pure Michigan.”
Anecdotes Galore: Daniels had plenty of funny stories to share. (Photo/Joshua Tufts)
The 70-year-old, multi-award-winning actor who grew up in Chelsea, Mich. (and later formed the Purple Rose Theatre Company there) chatted at length about attending Central Michigan University (dropping out after three years) and attending a J. Geils Band concert at Eastern Michigan University after smoking a joint as a teen (calling it “a religious experience”).
“I was too young to go Woodstock, but I could smell it,” joked Daniels, who also had the crowd laughing uproariously in describing the first time he met Clint Eastwood, the star actor who later asked Daniels to appear in one of his movies so he could be shot — thus sparking the tune, “Dirty Harry Blues.”
There were plenty of poignant moments, too, with performances of the songs “Grandfather’s Hat” and “When My Fingers Find Your Strings,” an ode to his love of playing guitar.
Daniels — who continues his Michigan tour with a sold-out show tonight (Aug. 21) at City Opera House in Traverse City and a Saturday appearance at Max & Emily’s in Mount Pleasant (with Mike Ward and Emilia Ward opening) — further professed his love of the Great Lakes State by closing the night with a touching tune he wrote while traveling the Upper Peninsula.
“I can see the Michigan in me,” he sang.
Pure Michigan, indeed.
PHOTO GALLERY: Jeff Daniels at St. Cecilia Music Center
Photos by Joshua Tufts
