Vanilla Ice performed at Grover's Bar & Grill in Frisco, TX on 9/12/13. The concert venue had a spacious stage and lighting equipment. An opening act, a Beastie Boys tribute band called Rhymin' N Stealin', performed a high-energy set. After over an hour, Vanilla Ice took the stage. He performed many of his hits from his six albums, including "Ice Ice Baby" which got the crowd recording on their phones. Though his music is no longer popular, Vanilla Ice still has dedicated fans who enjoyed the concert.

1. Show Reviews
Vanilla Ice at Grover's Bar
& Grill in Frisco, 9/12/13:
Review and Photos
By Danny Gallagher Fri., Sep. 13 2013 at 7:24 AM
Categories: Show Reviews
Ed Steel e. Slideshow.
It is not every day that an email lands in my mailbox from my editor with confirmation that I'll
be seeing Vanilla Ice at a restaurant/venue in Frisco. The Farmers Branch native's music may
not be on top of most people's Spotify playlists these days, but there are clearly more than
enough people who still embrace Mr. Van Winkle. He had the packed house singing along to the
deep cuts, by which I meaneverything except "Ice, Ice Baby."
See also: Slideshow -- Vanilla Ice at Grover's Bar & Grill
The Iceman played a packed show last night at Grover's Grill & Bar, one of the more unique
music venues in Dallas-Fort Worth. It's got the look and feel a friendly neighborhood bar and
grill, but there's a spacious stage in one corner of the main dining area. The stage is more than
just a bit of open space dedicated to bands who are willing to play for free chicken strips and a
discounted bar tab. It's got a full lightning set, smoke machines and even room for a good-sized
crowd to surround the stage. It's nearly impossible to get a table or move around much when the
place is packed like it was on Thursday.

2. I stumbled into the crowd. White, white, white. No surprise there. A few minutes later, a
brainstorming session started among a few of us at the urinals as we tried to remember one of
Ice's hits besides "Ice, Ice Baby." Someone started chanting "Go ninja, go ninja, go," the refrain
from the "Ninja Rap" that Ice performed for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the
Ooze,.
The opening act, a Beastie Boys tribute group called Rhymin' N Stealin', had a very solid set.
They sound remarkably similar to the real thing, which, I may or may not know from experience
alone in my car, is harder to do than it looks.
Still, if I am Vanilla Ice, maybe I would not have a cover band of a much more beloved hip-hop
group open for my actual set. Maybe Riff Raff's available for next time.
Ed Steel e
Rhy minN Stealin
So: Rhymin' N Stealin' pulled off an awesome, high-energy set that got the room moving before
the main talent hit the stage. They clearly can carry a room all by themselves.
It took a little more than an hour for the mainact to take the stage. Most of his equipment was
hidden under black tarps. There was a looming, inflatable skull arch that looked like it was taken
from someone's yard at Halloween time. Still, the room was patient, and everyone was in good
spirits when the show finally started. It quickly grew to a frenzy as the man himself took to the
stage, having traded his signature hairstyle for a ball cap and his American flag jacket with
"Word to Your Mother" bedazzled into the back for a simple T-shirt. Did you know he has six
studio albums, a live record and two greatest-hits compilations? He does. The newest album
came out in 2011. So there was plenty of material to draw from, both familiar and not.

3. Of course, he wasted no time working the phrase "Ice, Ice Baby" into his opening song for the
crowd to chant. I immediately switched from Coke to beer.
Give the man credit for knowing his demographic -- one of those newer ones is "Born on
Halloween," a little ditty he recorded with Insane Clown Posse. His performance of it last night
came complete with an evil clown dousing the crowd in bottled water.
Ed Steel e
Of course, Ice still plays his famous songs, like the aforementioned "Ice, Ice Baby,"which was greeted by
many a cell phone, recording the moment for social media posterity. After pointing outthat his drummer
had "the world's only Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles drum set,"Ice even got the crowdto recite a few bars
of "Ninja Rap."
"I can't believe y'all remember that shit,"he said. Neither can I, Ice.
After a few more ofhis less famous hits and a crowd-pleasing rendition ofBob Marley's "No Woman No
Cry,"the show came to an end in the span of an hour, leaving the room in good spirits. It's not my kind of
music, even when I was at an age when I would pretend to listen to just about anything ifit meant a sliver
of a chance at friendshipor access to someone's NES. But the crowd was still buzzing after he left the
stage, and even ifthe name Vanilla Ice has become something ofa pop culturepunch line,he still has fans
who are willing to drive at least as far as Frisco to see him.
As long as you've got someone enjoying your work, it's still worth getting up and fighting through the
grind of the day to put something out for them. IfVanilla Icecan do it, surely the rest ofus can.

4. Ed Steel e
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