Black Crowes rock casino

Atlanta-based alt-rockers, The Black Crowes, took an outdoor stage at the Emmett Township casino as the sun set beyond Battle Creek. The morning's rain clouds parted for an orange-streaked-to-blue sky as the eerie opening chords of the Crowes' "Moving on Down the Line" rang out over the packed rear parking lot of the casino.

With a stage set up only about 200 yards from I-94, it was arguably the most conspicuous concert the area has ever seen.

Cars streamed past by the dozens on the highway, past the casino's large LCD sign directly beside the roadway advertising the concert. Often, cars slowed to catch the spectacle; if their windows were down, interstate travelers could have heard the music booming from the big speakers.

The 3,500-seat show was sold out, with a much-varied mix of concertgoers. Tapping feet and bopping heads were folks from giggling 20-somethings to geriatric gray-hairs.Between 12-minute instrumental breakdowns that had women swerving their hips in trance-like dances, the Crowes performed some of their biggest chart-toppers, including "Jealous Again" and "Hard to Handle," bringing nearly everyone to their feet.

The crowd appeared jubilant but calm -- perhaps because of the obvious presence of the Emmett Township Department of Public Safety, the Huron Potawatomi Police Department, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Tribal Gaming Commission and casino security. Unlike many other rock concerts in Battle Creek, there was only a faint whiff of marijuana about 45 minutes through the Crowes' set.

For Battle Creek-area music fans, it was a long-awaited and much-welcomed scene. The last major-label concert to happen here was Aug. 5, the day the casino opened, when Black Label Society and Mudvayne performed at Kellogg Arena.

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