Ribfests Remembered

One of my fondest memories of Ribfests past is the year that Loverboy headlined on the Saturday night.

Lead singer Mike Reno was dressed in the obligatory red leather jacket and pants but he was a lot heavier than we remembered him (aren't we all) and he was walking with a limp.

I asked him what happened, and he said that he hurt his ankle playing golf but he was more than ready to go.

I shook his hand, said, "Let's go!" and we took the stage.

What I saw when I looked out was one of the biggest crowds I'd ever seen downtown. It may have been the biggest (estimates were at 8,000), and with my "Kalamazoo are you ready to rock?" the crowd went wild and nearly knocked me off my feet.

Too bad the exuberance wasn't for me but it felt great.

Saturday night will be huge with Rock Your vote winner "Big Trouble", "Bone Hawk", "Hairmania" and, of course, Blue Oyster Cult. "RIB ON!!!