An Open Letter to Bob Seger

Dear Mr. Seger,

First off, congratulations on your new album. I have been waiting a long time to hear from you and let’s just say it was worth the wait. Well done.

My name is Nick Klenske and, like you, I’m a Midwesterner too. I’ve actually known you all my life. I first met you through the speakers of my family’s wood-paneled station wagon. We were driving uneventfully to visit my grandparents when Dad suddenly cranked up the volume and began keeping your old time rhythm on the vinyl steering wheel. It was love at first listen.

Even in high school, when all the cool-kids were listening to gangsta rap and music by bands with names like Butthole Surfers and Tool, I remained committed to you. While others were sipping gin and juice, I was out working on my night moves in the back of my ‘92 Chevy.

In college my friend Scott and I founded a fan club, the “Frick’n Seegs Club”. We got together on Wednesday nights, drank beer, and discussed the metacognitive theories behind your lyric “Ces’t la Vie”. We were on a mission to bring you to the University of Iowa for a concert. Imagine our disappointment when we discovered you were no longer touring, nor making music for that matter. “He’s retired,” we were told. This news may have wrecked our hearts, but we didn’t loose faith. After all, you are the “Frick’n Seegs”.

I cannot even describe my excitement when I heard rumor of a new album in the works. When the wait was finally over and I was listening to Face the Promise for the first time, I got to thinking, which brings me to the point of my letter. The point being, I want to personally invite you to come play in my hometown, Dubuque. You and Dubuque are destined to accompany each other. For starters, you would take Dubuque’s concert scene to the next level. Granted, Lover Boy had their share of hits, but not nearly enough to legitimately fill a greatest hits album (let alone two). Then there is Styx, who have not been the same since Cartman sailed away with the lead vocals gig. Although these bands sell out shows for a reason, neither are of the same caliber as you. Like Bob Dylan, who once graced this town with his rock and roll legacy, only you are a Hall of Famer and only you are still putting out hits. Your music is timeless and solid, just like a rock.

When planning your tour, you probably won’t even notice little old Dubuque. You’ll probably check Iowa off your to-do-list with a stop at Des Moines’ flashy Wells Fargo Arena. But I think you should think twice about Dubuque. You see, in Des Moines you’ll be confined to playing in a sterile venue alongside an impersonal interstate. In Dubuque, on the other hand, you will play to an intimate crowd at our Five Flags Theater located down on Main Street.

We here in Dubuque are like you in that we are both phoenixes experiencing a rebirth. We’re both turning the page in our respective stories. We can celebrate together. Dubuque will celebrate its revitalized downtown, influx of new residents and opportunities, its riverside tourism and increase in overall diversity. You can celebrate your new album and the resurrection of your rock ‘n roll soul. What better place to celebrate than here, together, in the heart of the great American Midwest? In your latest single you sing you’ll be around if we wait for you. Well, we’re waiting for you Mr. Seger. “Why,” you ask? Because you’re the Frick’n Seegs man. Frick’n Seegs.

Sincerely,

Nick Klenske