By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
The Madison St. Plaza in Decatur exploded Thursday night – exploded in terms of a blast of hard rockin’ music and exploded with a huge crowd.
The third plaza appearance of the Hairbangers Ball brought out what may well have been the largest crowd in the seven-year history of the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Summer Concert Series.
The place was already full when Bellmont senior Riley Thieme kicked off the evening ahead of the Hairbangers. Even the “adult beverage” area was stuffed with people.
A hot sun and temperatures in the mid-80s obviously were no deterrent!
Surely no one left disappointed. The Hairbangers promise rock music from the ’80s era of the “hair bands” and they brought it with great energy… for two hours, pausing only once for some brief announcements.
Lead singer Mick Jager’s long, blond hair was flying as he produced hits originated by bands like Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Ratt, Van Halen, Ozzy and Black Sabbath, Guns & Roses, KISS, AC/DC and many more.
Polly Pantz, meanwhile, kept things going with the music of Pat Benatar, Joan Jett and others.
The Hairbangers band – four men and two women – has been bringing the rock heat since 2001, based out of Chicago, and originally wound up in Decatur after, by chance, local Chamber Executive Secretary Craig Coshow saw them perform at IU a few years ago.
It’s a busy weekend for the band, playing in Milwaukee on Friday and Westmont, Illinois, on Saturday.
BTW: Local resident Phil McDonald was operating the sound board for the first time this season. He’ll be back for the next several Thursday concerts.
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