Bob Seger's Farewell Tour

As we start to lose our Rock and Roll heroes, last night at the PNC Arts Center, we said good bye to a true rock legend. Robert Clark Seger, from the Detroit, Michigan area has been around Rock and Roll since the early 60s. I personally have never seen the PNC Arts Center so crowded for any concert (I have been going their since 1980).

What makes Bob Segar special is two fold. The first is that he sings fun songs. His songs are as easy as the gentle winds that surrounded the PNC last night. The other being is that Seger never really toured a great deal over the last thirty years.

Seger's musical roots are based on heartland rock. He sings about love, and women, as well as blue-collar themes. He can be classified as a roots rocker with a raspy, shouting voice. With a career spanning six decades, Segar belted out twenty three songs last night.

Seger started his career with Bob Seger and The Last Heard. After a few years with that band, he formed the Bob Seger System. It was not until 1970, however, that Seger would have his national breakout with his Silver Bullet Band. His album Night Moves brought him international fame in 1976.

With still a strong voice and a great band behind him, last night was an enjoyable concert experience. His horn section was particularly noteworthy. Seger was both thankful and humble when he address the crowd. His tribute to Glenn Frey was particularly touching in a great rendition of "Forever Young," a Bob Dylan classic that Seger acknowledged Dylan as "The Mount Everest Of Song Writers."

Opening with "Shakedown," and quickly going onto "Still The Same" and "Fire Down Below," Seger fired up the crowd with his missives in between songs. We learned a lot about Bob Seger during this concert. As a farewell, Seger was open and honest about his career and his life. He talked about how he got here, he seemed to have no regrets that this is his last hurrah. Seger played "Shame On The Moon," a song he had not played live for twenty six years. It gave the audience a finality to his musical life.

The wonderful thing about seeing Bob Seger is that all of his songs are good, not a bad one in the lot. Songs like "Old Time Rock and Roll," as well as "Like A Rock" we very entertaining as well as nostalgic. Seger last night gave two different encores, five songs in total. His first encore he started with "In Your Time", "Against The Wind," and "Hollywood Nights."

Coming out to his second encore had as much electricity as when he first stepped out onto the stage. It was more that we were saying goodbye, I think, than being grateful that we had more time to spend with him at the very end of his career. Seger didn't disappoint us, either. "Night Moves" brought the crowd to a frenzie, and "Rock And Roll Never Forgets" was a stoic reminder that we will never forget Bob Seger, nor will we forget the great Rock and Roll that he gave us over the past six decades.

Bob Seger was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. Seger was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of fame in 2012. Bob Seger has sold over 75 million records and is recognized not only by the public, but by his peers as one of the real great ones in Rock. Bob Seger will be missed as both a musician and a touring artist. Bob Seger will end his farewell tour in Michigan where it all began. Rumor has it that he will perform as many as six concerts there before he fades away into Rock and Roll history. Seger will then leave behind a terrific career in music.