Terrible, Ted

Ted Nugent doesn’t just show up in your town, play a show and leave quietly. It’s more like he storms the gates of you community, gives you a proper thrashing and leaves you in a heap on the floor. That’s been his Modus operandi over the span of his legendary career, and if Ted’s recent tour stop in Providence is any indication, he’ll be doing this for years to come. In his words “Hell, I’m 60 years old and I’m having the time of my life!”

Weather you know him as Terrible Ted, The Motor City Madman, or your uncle Ted the end result for his fans is always the same; Ted Nugent will exercise his inalienable right to beat you senseless with his unrelenting brand of pure American Rock ‘n Roll and impassioned political diatribes. Yet, herein lies a problem.

Let me explain:

If you know anything about Terrible Ted you know that he is a staunch supporter of the 2nd amendment (the right to keep and bear arms), somewhat anti-immigrant and a ferocious conservative/Republican. So passionate is Mr. Nugent about politics he’s developed a conservative radio program and writes a weekly article for the Waco Tribune-Herald. This is a man that has spent most of his adult life defending the Constitution of the United States and telling anybody within shouting distance all about it. His live shows are yet another forum for his politics and a good portion of his time on stage is devoted to such principled notions as “automatic weapons for the children” and calling into question if the Democrat’s contender for the White House is “American enough!” That’s all well and fine but there is a gaping hole in his unquestioned support for the Conservative movement in America.

According to an article Ted penned himself for the aforementioned Waco Tribune-Herald, "I was serious when I threatened to run for office in the past if I cannot find a candidate who respects the U.S. Constitution and our sacred Bill of Rights." Sir, the very party you support has made an abomination of our justice system and virtually blown their collective noses on “the Constitution and our sacred Bill of Rights." The Bush administration is tantamount to a criminal enterprise and he thinks they are defenders of the Constitution? He bring up the fact that Barack Obama is in favor of gun control laws, even though as Ted would have you believe, willing to abolish the 2nd amendment. Ted Nugent refuses to even entertain the notion that the Republicans have virtually declared war on “our sacred Bill of Rights.”

If his politics aren’t misguided enough, at one point of the show he decided to pay homage to his Motown heroes… then drops the “N BOMB” on them? Way to show respect to the musicians that blazed that trail so many years ago. However, that brings us back around to the fact that at his heart Ted Nugent is a true American Rock ‘n Roll legend.

Joining him on stage were Dokken’s former Thunder God “Wild” Mick Brown and his close friend Greg Smith on Bass. No doubt powerful enough players to handle joining The Nuge on stage, while not overpowering the headliner himself. The band played everything you’d want to hear at a Ted Nugent show and a couple of nice surprises. A couple of the true highlights were Ted’s tribute to his father, a song called “Fred Bear” and the show closer “White Buffalo.” Of course the two sexiest riffs of all time were well represented and well introduced by Ted as he launch from “Cat Scratch Fever straight” into “Stranglhold” taking the crowd to a fever pitch.

Over the last four decades the man has honed his craft to the point where there are few live acts on Earth that compare to him. It’s too bad that he is so painfully misguided in his political slant that he no longer can discern the real threat to our American freedoms. As far as the musical portion of the program there’s nothing but raves to share, but the political diatribes? Repugnant. Having said that, I would defend his right to say whatever he wants where ever he wants with my life.