This Saturday night my hometown hero plays for the first time at the iWireless Center in Moline. It will also be the last time as Bob Seger's final tour, kicks off this weekend.

As a native Detroiter, I've seen Bob in concert many times. You can expect a show filled with hits and home runs like "Hollywood Nights" "Mainstreet" and "Turn the Page".

Here are my Top Five Bob Seger concert memories:

Detroit, MI - Cobo Arena - Bob's double album Live Bullet was recorded here in September 1975, and released in early 1976. Later that year, his Night Moves album launched Bob into the national spotlight. I saw Bob several times at Cobo, and the 1978 tour in support of Stranger in Town was the first time I heard him play "Old Time Rock n Roll" live. Alto performed the sax solo 30 feet high atop the speakers stacked on the right side of the stage.

Songwriters Hall Of Fame 43rd Annual Induction And Awards - Show
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Clarkson, MI - Pine Knob, August 16, 1977 It was the day Elvis died. Bob didn't reference the sad news until the end of the show. Instead, he dedicated his first encore "Night Moves to the King's memory. On this tour, Alto performed his sax solos swinging over the pavilion crowd, suspended in a paratrooper's harness. Fans were leaping to touch  the heels of his feet, while Bob and the band roared with laughter onstage.

Pontiac, MI Silverdome - Summer 1978. Bob headlined in front of 80,000 fans for a show that included openers Ted Nugent and Aerosmith, at a time when both those artists were also at their peak popularity. The sound inside the concrete monstrosity known as the Silverdome sucked, the seats were terrible, but it was still Bob Seger.

Bob Seger 2011 Tour Opener
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Bay City MI - Ingall Stadium - Summer of 1980 It was the "Against the Wind" tour. My first time backstage at a Seger show. My buddy Dave and I feasted on free food and drinks in the hospitality tent and talked with the opening acts. The lineup included the Rockets and Mitch Ryder, both famous Detroit rockers, making for a pure Michigan rock fest. Then Bob pulled up in a limo and immediately hit the stage. The crowd goes wild.

The Billboard Touring Awards
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Lansing MI - The last time I saw Bob in concert, it was the late 90's and he had just released the CD "It's a Mystery". Singer-songwriter John Hiatt opened for Bob, an excellent choice for those of us older and wiser rockers who loved his lyrically poetic selections. Backstage, Bob was gracious and really appreciative of the support his loyal fans were showing  for his newer songs. Another great backstage memory at this show was reuniting with a couple east side Detroit friends of mine, fellow radio DJ Bob Watts, and his sister Shaun Murphy - she has been singing back up vocals for Seger for decades.

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