Ah, Detroit...What can I say that hasn't been said about you already.
I was very surprised to be back in Detroit so soon. I closed HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS last year for 2 weeks at the Detroit Opera House. Now I'm back for me 5th Detroit show (4th time at the fabulous Fox Theatre). And its still a place that I'd rather not spend alot of time in. Funny how I've performed more times in Detroit than any other city in the country (professionally at least).
Last time I was here I learned the hard way about the city. I was walking around (middle of the day mind you) by myself. Just sort of exploring the city - and stopped in at a Thai place for lunch. A homeless man saw me go into the restaurant and noticed that I was sitting at a table by a window that faced the street. He perched outside of the building and stared at me ominously - when my food came out - he started banging (not tapping) on the window and demanding that I bring him the food and 'anything else I got'. I tried to ignore him until a cop came and escorted him away. I hightailed it outta there and back to my hotel...2 blocks away. This time, I was approached in my hotel's breakfast area by a woman begging for food and money before the hotel manager escorted her out. Yeah, its that kind of town.
But there are some nice things, like Greektown - the Greek restaurant area and home of the Greektown Casino. I frequented there a lot in my 2 week stint here last time. This time Mark and I grabbed a little bite at Santorini - a really really good lamb sandwich. The other really nice thing about Detroit is, of course, the Fox Theatre. It is probably the most beautiful and most famous of all the places I've ever played. We were offered a tour of the theatre and even though I've taken it before, I hopped on that train again. It was one of 5 big movie house built by the Fox family (from 20th Century Fox) - only 3 remain. The other two are in Atlanta (which I've also played) and St. Louis - which is the sister to the Detroit theatre. They are identical in all ways except for the carpeting in the lobby of the St. Louis (apparently Mrs. Fox didn't like how the terrazzo flooring in the Detroit turned out). The entire auditorium was built to look as if you were in a huge tent with the sunshine pouring in from the hole in the top. The style of the artwork within is a mix of Egyptian and different Asian cultures - and uses alot of figures of elephants. If you ever get a chance to see something there - or even if you're just in town - take a quick tour... Its incredibly gorgeous and almost impossible to think of going to see a movie there. Definitely an experience.
The shows we did there were fun - and it was fun to add our names to the all of the other famous ones on the walls (Dean Martin, Jerry Louis, Red Skeleton, Rosemary Clooney - just to name a few). But what I remember most about this trip is how almost impossible it was to do the shows with this cold. It has crept almost entirely into my head and my ears. My left ear has only about 20% hearing in it - making hearing the music AND myself almost impossible. Somehow I got through them though - and without the audience knowing (I hope). We are also all pretty much worn out. Our last show here was #12 in a row without a break - and we still have tomorrow...number lucky 13. Then our 'day off' is a 14 hour drive to the overnight stop we're taking on our way to our next stop. Tired Tired Tired - and hoping to heal soon....
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