Riff2 Awards Show @ The Belmont (2/29/08)

Riff2 Awards Show @ The Belmont

Hamtramck, Mi–  Friday night brought Detroit’s local music scene players to The Belmont for the 1st Annual Riff2 Awards to celebrate a year’s worth of music coming from Detroit’s Local Rock scene. In the past two-plus years that RIFF2 has been on the air, they’ve put the spotlight on many of the finest bands, clubs and people that make up the unique musical landscape here in the Motor City. Riff2 decided that it was time to go in depth and honor the very best of the Detroit music scene by your vote!  The inaugural 2007 RIFF2 Music Awards showcases the unmatched talent, diversity, and dedication of Detroit bands, clubs, and the tastemakers that help make it all happen.  The nominees were hand picked by the RIFF2 staff and represent our picks for some of the best of the Detroit music scene. After an online vote by the Riff2 listeners, the winners were announced on February 1st with tonight being the ceremony where the awards were passed out. What a night that unfolded with a houseful of Detroit Rockers running around enjoying their night, giving us that rare opportunity to see bands of different genres actually hanging out and getting to know each other. It was cool introducing some of these members to each other then sitting back and listening in as most have heard of each other, silently admiring one another’s work, but never getting a chance to meet. Got to love having Danny Methric admiring Ian Kirwan’s playing, having Melody Baetens as your bartender, seeing Krakatoa hanging with The Muggs, hell even Detroit’s very own Karaoke extraordinaire “Matt The Millionaire” was mulling about! Great stuff! Seemed like everyone was having a riot, and with the place packed full, Bat on Fire took the stage to start the Festivities for the night. A local band out of Detroit, Bat on Fire rocked the house, setting the Stage for the “Ceremonies” to begin with none other than Ms Suzy Cole as MC. It was clear now why it took so long for these winners to be announced, Riff2 stepped up to the plate and instead of handing out worthless pc generated certificates or something similar, Riff2 offered up some amazing looking awards modeled after those much sought after “platinum albums” that won’t be tossed out in next weeks trash. These awards looked awesome and I’m sure the recipients will be proudly displaying them for years to come. The sad thing was that some of the winners were not present to accept their award, many had good reason with such bands as The Hard Lessons in the middle of a US Tour, The Electric Six finishing up their UK Tour, but there were a  couple of MIA’s that raised Dr2’s eyebrows. Their loss. We must say that Suzy Cole did an outstanding job as MC, coming up with some of her own reasons for the MIA’s that had everyone in an uproar! Even some of the Award Winner’s got in on the fun with Tony Muggs accepting the Riff2 Award for “Best Dance Moves” as Steven Beggars, then Steven Beggars filling in as Tony Muggs during The Muggs acceptance for their “Best Rock Band” Award. With the Awards passed out, it was time for more music as the multiple nominee & Riff2 Award Winner for “Best Underage Band” Dangerous Pursuit took the stage. Not ones to ever hold back, theses young guys took the bull by the horns and proceeded to cement themselves in the Detroit scene, opening up with their huge cover of Highway Star. Coolest thing was watching Danny Methric watching Dangerous Pursuit with an adamant eye on Ian’s guitar playing. From the looks of things, Danny gave Ian a huge thumbs up too as he was playing along with his air guitar and enjoying every minute of it! Dangerous Pursuit not only proceeded to kick ass in Ham-Town with their monstrous DP songs, they pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the night, launching into their version of Chicago’s 25 or 6 to 4. These guys continue to blow Dr2 away with every show we see, I mean these guys weren’t even born when Lyman wrote this song, yet ripped it as if it were their very own! Amazing set from this fast up & coming Rock Band! Well if you’re gonna throw a party in Detroit (in this case Hamtramck), you better bring along these next guys, The Beggars, Winners of the Riff2 Award for “Best Party Band” (ok it was a tie with the Koffin Kats) to assure a good time is had by all. With an arsenal of well crafted “party” tunes, an eclectic front man, and a cast of eccentric party goers, The Beggars will have even the most stout rock fan swaying along to their music. Drawing mainly from their latest disc “Party To The People” (an obvious omen to their style of music), Steven Beggars draws you in with his unique no-holds-barred delivery, spending as much time rolling around the stage (and stealing Suzy’s beer) as he does on his feet. Never a dull moment as they hit up the Riff2 Party with It’s All About Me, Bent, Bending, Broke and Dr2’s favorite Stop, Drop, Rock & Roll! What an absolutely fantastic show to end the night. Hopefully the folks over at the Riff2 will continue this somewhat off the wall “Awards” event next year, as it certainly was a hit over at all those MySpace pages this past December, and from what we just seen tonight, you won’t want to miss next year’s Riff2 Awards Show! Be sure to check out all the nominees listed below with the winner of each category highlighted in Bold. And don’t forget to head on over to the  Dr2 MySpace site to see all the photo’s from the night’s action! Detroit Rock Review, the ONLY place for Local Music News and Reviews. Support Local Music Before It’s Gone!

M:

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