Dee Snider, Ratt and Jackyl - 2008
From the concert T-shirts on their backs, you'd think Ben VanGelderen and Jordan Timm were in their mid-30s, from a time when hair metal ruled the land.
The two are only 21, but they're devoted to Ratt, a 1980s metal band that played the Dow River Roar concert Saturday in Bay City, along with Dee Snider of Twisted Sister and Southern rockers Jackyl.
"We love Ratt," said Timm, who was seeing them for the third time on Saturday.
He fetched his 1990 Detonator Tour shirt on eBay. He scored a "Ratt Patrol" T-shirt for VanGelderen from a teacher who saw the band in 1985.The two Bay Cityans play in a band of their own, Forsaken Knowledge, which pays tribute to '80s rockers from Motley Crue to Metallica.
"My dad's the big reason I listen to a lot of hair metal," said Timm, who has all of Ratt's albums on vinyl.
"I wish I would have grown up at that time, because the music is so awesome."
VanGelderen and Timm were scanning the crowd for vintage Ratt T-shirts before the start of Saturday's show.
"We've seen three originals, including ours," Timm laughed.
The two were happy to be part of the crowd on Saturday, which was soaked by a storm early in the show.
Thousands of people packed Veterans Memorial Park to see the concert.
"It shows that people still like them," Timm said of his idols.
"I think it makes people think and remember the '80s - not that we do," said Timm, born in 1986.
Jayson Shook, 36, of Bay City, remembers those days a little more vividly.
Today, he's still a fan of old school 1980s metal, and has the long hair to prove it.
"I grew up, but the music stayed the same," Shook said.
"You can always go back to the music, even though you get older. Today's music, most of it's crap."
A guy named Dean Martin - producing a driver's license to prove it - was hanging out with Shook.
Martin, 37, of Bay City, he was always a fan of Twisted Sister and Jackyl as a kid, but never got to see them play.
When he was younger, Martin had ear problems and underwent four surgeries. It was too risky for his hearing to go to rock concerts in the 1980s.
But it's safe now, and he was excited to be in Veterans Memorial Park for Saturday's show.
"I'm just trying to relive what I could have had," Martin said.
He also was thrilled to see '80s rock still drawing crowds.
"It's the heart of rock," Martin said. "It stands the test of time.
"All these kids are coming back to the good music.
Integer tempus, elit in laoreet posuere, lectus neque blandit dui, et placerat urna diam mattis orci. Fusce at massa nec sapien auctor gravida in in tellus. In sit amet felis malesuada, feugiat purus eget, varius mi. Integer tempus, elit in laoreet posuere, lectus neque blandit dui, et placerat urna diam mattis orci.