Most rock music geeks who grew up in the 60’s and 70’s remember reading magazines like CREEM, ROCK SCENE, HIT PARADER and CIRCUS and constantly hearing about a fabled venue in Detroit, Michigan called the Grande Ballroom. People like the MC5, Iggy, Alice Cooper and Ted Nugent would mention the place quite often as it was important to their early careers (MC5 were the house band) and really helped establish their legends. This film documents the rise and fall of the venue with the people that made it happen on both sides of the stage.

Built in 1928, the place was known for its beautiful hardwood dance floor but was abandoned as people began moving out of the city and the neighborhood fell into disrepair. In 1966 high school teacher Russ Gibb took the place over after hosting a few sock hops and visiting the Fillmore while in San Francisco. He wanted to provide the youth of Detroit with a psychedelic dance experience and ended creating an important destination for bands wanting to prove their chops in front of a no-nonsense crowd of rock fans who demanded you KICK OUT THE JAMS OR GET THE FUCK OFF STAGE!

A fascinating look at a legendary scene featuring interviews with people like Roger Daltry, Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson and Brother Wayne Kramer of the MC5, MC5 manager Brother John Sinclair, Alice Cooper, B.B. King and that ol’ reprobate the Nuge. It’s a hard-hitting story about some hard times and the venue that demanded the people on its stage hit it hard or go home.