Question of the Week: For good or bad, what’s the most memorable show you ever attended at The Orbit Room (or Club Eastbrook)?

Local Spins’ Question of the Week (March 16, 2023)

For good or bad, what’s the most memorable show you ever attended at The Orbit Room (or Club Eastbrook)?

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THE READER RESPONSES:

Frank Tobin – Robin Trower

Timmy Rodriguez – I saw Stone Sour there in 2002. They were touring for their first album and it was a fantastic show. Chevelle opened up for them and they were brand new to the radio scene.

Michael Kroll – Tragically Hip, around 2000.

Derek Ketchum – Saw so many great shows. One of my favorites there had to be Jesus & Mary Chain/Mazzy Star. Green Day with Mustard Plug opening is right up there, too. Worst: definitely the Counting Crows show.

Roger Kintner – Gov’t Mule (Orbit Room), Johnny Winter (Club Eastbrook)

Isaac Powrie – Umphrey’s McGee and Queens of the Stone Age

Andrew Ogrodzinski – BB King and Chick Corea Electrik Band amongst countless others.

Jeff Martin – Perhaps solo Tom Verlaine opening for The Church in 1988.

Bruce Madden – I have a few but the highlight was my band the T-BONES opening for B.B. King for two shows. The first show was mostly white people, the second one mostly black people-both crowds liked our groove. Here’s a back-stage oddity: There was a man dressed in a tuxedo, holding a fancy tray of biscuits, standing outside B.B.’s dressing room. None of us in the band had the courage (we used a different word) to ask the guy about it.

G. Kendall Kiel – Chick Corea, or U2

Calvin Webb – Definitely Aris’ Hometown Rock Search each year it was hosted.

Mike Pawloski – Wow so many great shows, Yes the last tour before Chris Squire died, Crosby and Nash, Blues Traveler. My favorite memory is Joe Walsh coming back out on stage as people were leaving with the house lights on, cigarette hanging out of his mouth after he had told us earlier in the night he quit smoking and playing ‘The Confessor.’

David Kirchgessner – Green Day. They trashed their dressing room and were still being driven on tour by one of their uncles in a converted book mobile.

Pete Dunning – Great memories playing there and seeing some great shows there.

Lee Chase – Johnny Winter, Buddy Guy, Smithereens, a Jefferson Airplane reunion of sorts that played there around 1995.

KIT KAT VON B – I saw John Mellencamp but he was secretly touring under a different name. Doggy something. I could touch his boot! It was his comeback.

Tim Hamm – Dread Zeppelin back in the ‘90s – definitely one of the weirdest cast of characters I’ve ever seen on stage, but they also could play the songs. Overall, a fun evening – and would love to see them again sometime.

Robin Marckini – Night Ranger sometime late 80s/early 90s, and Aris got me back stage!

John Sanger Music – Jane’s Addiction right when “Nothing’s Shocking” came out. Perry Farrell had those green dreads. Shared wine with us. Epic. Dave Navarro had a striped shirt and just looked like a regular dude back then. Rhythm section was so great. Drummer killed it.

Carl Tammy Esakson – Won tickets from WLAV and backstage passes to see 38 Special. It was in the early 90s. Got all autographs from the band. Also, the lead singer made me a turkey sandwich. “We’re not going to eat all this stuff, someone should”. Showed us a room filled with guitars. Even put one on me. Do you play? “I wish, I’ll leave that up to you guys.” Great bunch of guys.

Kev Roloff – Queensryche

Danielle Sieh Ouendag – The Kinks! Black Crowes! BB King! with Steve Ouendag.

Eric B Thomasma Jr. – Weird Al was my first concert ever at Club Eastbrook!

Victoria Lj – Ari’s hometown rock search. With The Screaming Karats. When it was Club Eastbrook.

Steve Ouendag – Peter Frampton, Alligator Blues (Buddy Guy, Elvin Bishop, Coco Taylor) Todd Rundgren, Sam Kinison, Verve Pipe…should have seen Blind Melon.

Denny Richards – Saw the mighty Fishbone with BWP opening. BWP might be the worst group I ever saw, Fishbone was definitely one of the best.

Richard Rowland – My favorite show I attended there was UFO. My band also played some shows there with Dream Theater, Frank Marino, Lillian Axe and Love On Ice.

Joe Garcia – Tragically Hip

Kristen Koole Zoetewey – Joe Satriani, late 1990s.

Michael Grant Leavell – Michael Hedges

Rick Boss – Probably Tool in ’94.

Karmel Berens – Well, it wasn’t a ‘show’ at the Orbit Room, but one evening during a blizzard, Princewas supposed to be showing up to the Orbit Room after a concert at Van Andel. My girls and I parked in the back (cuz, like Prince was just going to walk in the FRONT door? lol). I had my paperback unauthorized biography and sharpie ready! As soon as we saw the limo pulling back there, I was out of our car and running after the (then) braking vehicle — that was, until he saw me. The vehicle then sped off out of the parking lot, never to return. So basically, I stalked Prince which prevented him from attending the after party at the Orbit Room.

Mike Dodge – Fear Factory (with Type O Negative and Powerman 5000). The drummer in FF was off the charts!

Mike Millering – Alice Cooper was UNREAL. Loved his theatrics.

Carrie Ann – Clutch

John MacKenzie II – Anberlin with Foxy Shazam and Circa Survive.

Mike Gilbert – Saw Slayer there and someone threw a beer up into the balcony and it hit a guy smack dab in the face. Someone else told me that the guy that got hit was the owner of the Orbit Room.

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