Kid Rock’s campaign swings through Vegas

Spencer Patterson

Monday, April 19, 2004 | 8:23 a.m.

Midway through his Mandalay Bay Events Center show Saturday night, Kid Rock outlined plans for his long-rumored run at the White House with the acoustic ditty, "If I Was President."

Included in his platform: turning churches into strip clubs and installing cameras in the Lincoln Bedroom. And the crowd-pleasing kicker: "I'd give my State of the Union Address from a mile high, smoking a joint on Air Force One."

Silly stuff, to be sure. But as I sat through the raucous two-hour performance by the former Robert James Ritchie and his Twisted Brown Trucker Band, it slowly dawned on me that a Kid Rock campaign might actually have a fighting chance.

After all, there are probably plenty of Americans out there whose idea of a good time -- like the 8,500 fans in attendance Saturday -- is watching the Detroit native cover Bad Company's "Feel Like Makin' Love" while scantily clad cage dancers gyrate in front of a giant American flag backdrop.

Though I've never been particularly impressed by Kid Rock's music, I have to give the man credit. Six years after he burst onto the mainstream scene with his fourth album, "Devil Without a Cause," the 33-year-old remains one of rock 'n' roll's master entertainers, capable of keeping audiences standing and screaming for an entire concert.

Kid Rock's formula for success is relatively simple: Give the people exactly what they want.

So you like fire?

Kid Rock had it in spades, in the form of giant sparklers, exploding fire pots and even indoor fireworks that went off during his encores.

Maybe you're a fan of classic-rock covers?

The Kid was more than happy to oblige, mixing in excerpts from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird," Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water," ZZ Top's "La Grange" and AC/DC's "Back in Black," along with full versions of Bob Seger's "Night Moves" and the aforementioned Bad Company staple.

You say once-popular rap-rock is doing the same slow fade as hair metal and grunge before it?

Not a problem for the adaptable Kid Rock, whose show includes twangy country tunes ("Picture") and sedate piano ballads ("Cold and Empty"), the latter of which might have made Elton John proud.

That's not to say Kid Rock has completely disregarded the rap routines that made him famous. He still gets his most enthusiastic reactions with hip-hop-meets-Southern-rock blends such as "Devil Without a Cause," "Cowboy" and "Bawitdaba."

But the Kid Rock of 2004 is also capable of captivating a crowd without even using his voice, as he showed during the set-capping "3 Sheets to the Wind (What's My Name)."

As his six-piece band jammed, Kid Rock moved from the microphone to the turntables, then over to the lead guitar spot, then to the keyboards and finally to the drums, demonstrating talent at each stop along the way.

Of course, many in the arena didn't notice any of that. They were too busy snapping shots of the cage dancers with their cell-phone cameras.

Or maybe they were just calling for directions to those presidential ballot boxes.