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<p>By Brad Patton</p><p>For Times Leader</p><br><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Kid-20Rock-2011.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kid Rock performs to a sold out show at The Pavillion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Saturday night. </div></div><div class="neFile"><img src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Kid-20Rock-2021.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kid Rock performs to a sold out show at The Pavillion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Saturday night. </div></div><div class="neFile"><img src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Kid-20Rock-2031.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kid Rock performs to a sold out show at The Pavillion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Saturday night. </div></div><div class="neFile"><img src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Kid-20Rock-2041.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kid Rock performs to a sold out show at The Pavillion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Saturday night. </div></div><div class="neFile"><img src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_kid-20rock-2051.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kid Rock performs to a sold out crowd at The Pavillion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Saturday night. </div></div><div class="neFile"><img src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_kid-20rock-2061.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kid Rock performs to a sold out crowd at The Pavillion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Saturday night. </div></div><div class="neFile"><img src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_Kid-20rock-2071.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kid Rock performs to a sold out crowd at The Pavillion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Saturday night. </div></div><div class="neFile"><img src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/web1_kid-20rock-2081.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kid Rock performs to a sold out crowd at The Pavillion at Montage Mountain in Scranton Saturday night. </div></div></div>
<p>Perhaps even Kid Rock was surprised the nasty weather didn&#8217;t keep his fans away on Saturday night.</p><p>&#8220;I thought you all would be like, &#8216;Tickets were only 20 dollars, we&#8217;ll see him another time,&#8217;&#8221; he said. &#8220;But since you&#8217;re here, and I&#8217;m here, I&#8217;m gonna turn it up a little tonight!&#8221;</p><p>Despite the torrential downpours and unseasonably cool temperatures, a massive crowd turned up at The Pavilion at Montage Mountain for the Detroit-bred singer and rapper&#8217;s &#8220;First Kiss: Cheap Date&#8221; tour.</p><p>Kid Rock sure gives you a whole lot for that 20-dollar bill: a near two-hour performance of hits with an 11-piece backing band and an hour-long opening set by arena-rock legends Foreigner. The &#8220;Cheap Date&#8221; also included low-priced beer, souvenirs at about half the going rate and his new CD for 10 bucks (which also included a chance at an autographed guitar) with proceeds going to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.</p><p>Foreigner, still with band founder and lead guitarist Mick Jones, revved the crowd up nicely with 60 minutes of its biggest hits, starting with &#8220;Double Vision.&#8221;</p><p>Kelly Hansen, the band&#8217;s lead vocalist since 2005, looks more like Steven Tyler than original singer Lou Gramm, but he has perfected the sound of songs like &#8220;Head Games,&#8221; &#8220;Cold As Ice,&#8221; and all the others played on classic-rock radio since the late &#8216;70s and early &#8216;80s.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s (expletive) cold and wet and we don&#8217;t give a (expletive),&#8221; Hansen said following the second song. &#8220;Ain&#8217;t nothing gonna stop this show tonight!&#8221;</p><p>As pictures of Elvis, Brando and James Dean lit up the huge video screen, Foreigner followed with &#8220;Dirty White Boy&#8221; and &#8220;Feels Like the First Time.&#8221;</p><p>The band&#8217;s utility man, Thom Gimbel, played some wicked saxophone on &#8220;Urgent&#8221; from the group&#8217;s massive-selling 1981 album &#8220;4,&#8221; and Foreigner capped the main set with that same album&#8217;s &#8220;Juke Box Hero.&#8221;</p><p>For the encore, the band was joined by the Wyoming Valley West Middle School Concert Choir for the ever-popular &#8220;I Want to Know What Love Is.&#8221; Acknowledging the choir after its performance, Hansen said, &#8220;Our future looks beautiful, doesn&#8217;t it?&#8221;</p><p>Foreigner then wrapped it up with &#8220;Hot Blooded,&#8221; making many in the crowd feel like they already got their money&#8217;s worth.</p><p>Making his second appearance in three years at the amphitheater in Scranton, the now 44-year-old Kid stormed out of the gate with &#8220;First Kiss,&#8221; his latest single and title track of his latest album. Wearing a black track suit, a black fedora and sunglasses, Rock then led his band through the new album&#8217;s &#8220;Good Times, Cheap Wine&#8221; before turning his attention to 2002&#8217;s &#8220;You Never Met a (Expletive) Quite Like Me.&#8221;</p><p>Not slowing down one bit, Rock then moved on to 2000&#8217;s &#8220;American Bad Ass&#8221; and &#8220;Devil without a Cause,&#8221; the title track of his 11-times platinum fourth album from 1998.</p><p>Kid Rock and one of his female background singers delighted the crowd with some &#8220;Justin Bieber bullshit&#8221; moves on &#8220;Wasting Time,&#8221; and followed with a spirited take on the anthem-like &#8220;God Bless Saturday.&#8221;</p><p>He then gave the crowd a 12-minute overview of his career, explaining how and why he switches genres from hip hop to rock to country on songs such as &#8220;Care,&#8221; &#8220;Fist to Rage,&#8221; &#8220;Blue Jeans and a Rosary&#8221; and his big hit &#8220;All Summer Long,&#8221; which he said came about when he was just &#8220;screwing around in the studio.&#8221;</p><p>Rock followed with &#8220;Johnny Cash,&#8221; a cool song from his new album, and went back to the &#8220;Rebel&#8221; album for &#8220;Cowboy.&#8221; Background singer Stacy Michelle did a fine job filling in for Sheryl Crow (or Allison Moorer) on the hit ballad &#8220;Picture&#8221; from 2001&#8217;s &#8220;Cocky&#8221; album.</p><p>Rock showed off his skills at the turntables and on electric guitar before taking over the drum kit for a bit of Ted Nugent&#8217;s &#8220;Cat Scratch Fever,&#8221; then ended the main set with 2007&#8217;s &#8220;Rock n Roll Jesus,&#8221; 1999&#8217;s &#8220;Only God Knows Why&#8221; and 2010&#8217;s &#8220;Born Free&#8221; (stopping to thank tour sponsor Chevrolet for helping to keep the ticket prices low).</p><p>Following an encore of &#8220;Bawitdaba&#8221; (another hit from the &#8220;Rebel&#8221; album), Kid Rock thanked everyone for staying during the rain and said, &#8220;We&#8217;ll see you again when the weather&#8217;s a little nicer.&#8221;</p><br>Brad Patton has been reviewing concerts and writing about music for the Times Leader and Weekender for more than five years. He also hosts a two-hour radio show on 88.5 FM-WRKC (Radio King&#8217;s College) every Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Kid Rock, Foreigner power on through downpours and cold weather