Jim Price
Moderator
Joined: 07 Dec 2002
Posts: 4817
Location: Altoona, PA
|
 Posted: Friday Aug 29, 2003 |
|
|
WEEKEND RECAP 7/29:
THE 2003 WING-OFF CHRONICLES CHAPTER III: FELIX & THE HURRICANES @ LAKEMONT PARK, ALTOONA 7/24/03:
The third installment of the Lakemont Park Wing-Offs featured the first of two Wing-Off appearances this year of Felix & the Hurricanes.
As I arrived, acoustic performer Ryan Matthews was just wrapping up his opening set before the Hurricanes began; he would be back to perform during intermission. The skies looked threatening as I went to procure my first batch of wings, quickly deciding upon City Limits’ uniquely flavorful Italian wings (topped with Italian dressing and a sprinkling of grated cheese) and hot wings. Although a few renegade drops of rain did fall during the Hurricanes’ first set, the skies never did open up enough to hamper this week’s Wing-Off event.
In the early going, The Hurricanes showcased several of the new songs that will be on their “Travelers Not Forgotten” CD when it comes out shortly; including “Issues,” “Grow,” the Jeff Clapper-sung hard rocker “Issues” and the funky “Walking The Straight Line.” The group also broke out familiar ‘Canes faves like the bluesy “Free,” their recent Garageband.com Number One pop hit “Talk About Love;” and various classics from the Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels, ZZ Top, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lynyrd Skynyrd and more. The Hurricanes’ first set culminated in Skynyrd’s “The Ballad of Curtis Lowe” seguing into “When The Saints Go Marching In.” With the threat of rain diminishing, more wing-eating fans gradually made their way to the stagefront picnic table area to partake in the ‘Canes’ sounds, and trusty Lakemont Park denizen Bobby “The Lakemonster” eventually arrived and began grooving along.
Between the Hurricanes’ sets, Ryan Matthews performed another short set of tunes. I was able to catch good-sounding versions of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville” and Barenaked Ladies’ “If I Had $1,000,000.”
The partied continued to build steam as the Hurricanes entered their last set. Soundman Brian McConnell and Freelance Audio gave the Hurricanes a big and thunderous mix. Guest John Stevens joined the group onstage to contribute some harmonica on ZZ Top’s “Waitin’ for the Bus/Jesus Just Left Chicago” and the ‘Canes’ fave “I Just Had to Play the Blues.” “Lakemonster” Bobby got into the act as well, contributing his own train whistle howl to help the ‘Canes kick off Blackfoot’s “Train Train.” A number of fans began dancing at stagefront, and this night’s Wing-Off concluded in one big happy vibe as the Hurricanes ended the party with a rousing rendition of the Allmans’ “Whipping Post.”
But for The Hurricanes, the party wasn’t over for this night. It was only taking a breather while the group changed location…
Jeff Clapper of The Hurricanes.
Felix Kos of The Hurricanes.
Felix and Jeff of The Hurricanes.
Bobby "The Lakemonster" grooves down with Hurricane Felix.
Guest John Stevens wails some harmonica with The Hurricanes.
More harmonica with John Stevens, onstage with the Hurricanes.
"The Lakemonster" chimes in with a little 'air harp' of his own.
Fans of all ages groove to Felix & the Hurricanes at the Wing-Off.
Bob Watters of The Hurricanes.
FELIX & THE HURRICANES @ PETER C’S, ALTOONA 7/24/03:
After the Wing-Off, Felix & the Hurricanes’ party moved from Lakemont Park to Peter C’s. Typical Thursday night, right? Wrong. Any observer of Hurricanes Thursdays at Peter C’s soon learns that these shows are rarely ever “typical,” and something always happens to set off each Thursday from the ordinary. A guest or guests onstage, somebody’s party, a particularly frisky crowd, the band’s moods or other factors always play into making each Thursday somehow different. This is why I can go see this band on Thursdays endlessly, and never get bored with it. Every show IS different!
In addition, with the lone exception of their original song “Walking the Straight Line;” for at least the last half of the show that I got to see, The Hurricanes did not duplicate any songs from their earlier Wing-Off performance!
The big surprise for me this night was the lone special guest who stepped onstage with the group to sing versions of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Call Me The Breeze” and “I Know A Little.” I did not recognize this individual at first as he belted out some good voice on the aforementioned songs. But then after he left the stage, drummer Bob Watters thanked him and mentioned the name…Dan Grabill. My jaw dropped to the floor! Dan is actually a former radio announcer here in the Altoona area, and was one of the first people I ever worked alongside in the radio biz. He relocated to the Tampa, Florida area in the mid 80’s, and eventually hooked up with a band from that area called Diamond Gray (www.diamondgray.com). Dan (“Danny Gray”) and Diamond Gray have released a full-length CD and an EP to date, and are preparing to issue a new CD soon. It was great to run into a former coworker and former ‘Toona guy who is doing well in the music biz in another part of the country!
Other highlights of the Hurricanes’ nightcap performance included the Jeff Clapper-fronted version of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold” and their fiery night-ending rendition of the Outlaws’ “Green Grass and High Tides.” The audience, including a number of folks who followed the group to Peter C’s from the Wing-Off, was festive, including several ladies who got crazy on the dance floor. Mission completed: The Hurricanes’ doubleheader got the weekend off to a good start.
In town from Florida, guest singer Dan Grabill with The Hurricanes.
“BAND DISCOVERY SHOWCASE” @ CLUBCAR CAFÉ, ALTOONA 7/25/03:
After putting in a late night at the office, I headed to Altoona’s Clubcar Café for their “Band Discovery Showcase.” This amounted to a battle of the bands-type event, where several aspiring bands would perform over this Friday and Saturday night, to win the opportunity to open for Felix & the Hurricanes the following Friday night at the Clubcar, during the first installment of the Q94 2004 Calendar Girl Contest. I had arrived pretty late, and had missed performances from Pneumatic, Shift and Ragadee Hobo, but arrived in time to catch a performance from another young band I had not yet seen before, Subdued.
A four-piece band, Subdued mixed heavy modern rock original songs with covers from Godsmack, Cold, Bush and more.
As their set unfolded, though, it became apparent to me that Subdued needs some work. They were not tight; instrumentally they weren’t totally in tune or in synch with each other; and coupled with the smallish Clubcar sound system this night, just did not come off sounding good. Subdued’s singer had his moments, particularly on the group’s original songs like “Reinvent” and “Closet Psycho;” but on the cover material, his voice was raw and out of key. Although Subdued had some supportive fans who cheered them on during their set, a good portion of the Clubcar audience packed it in and headed out the door as the set progressed.
To be fair, Subdued appears to be a young band just getting started, and didn’t appear quite ready to be playing out just yet; they still need to log some additonal time in the garage or basement to tighten up and get their feet beneath them. Hopefully this night was a learning experience for them, and they’ll continue to work on improving their presentation.
Subdued, onstage at the Clubcar Café.
The lead singer for Subdued.
Subdued's guitarist performed several solo tunes after Subdued's set.
ROLLING ROCK TOWN FAIR IV @ HEINZ FIELD, PITTSBURGH 7/26/03:
For the first three years, the Rolling Rock Town Fair called the Westmoreland County Fairgrounds in Latrobe its home. While the first year of the event had its controversies, from local Latrobe townspeople protesting having their town overrun by thousands of rock fans to lack of drink vendors; the Town Fair organizers did their homework, and this event settled into the Fairgrounds and seemed to improve with each year. This year, though, a change – according to its organizers and promoters, Rolling Rock Town Fair had outgrown its original home base, and was relocating to the new home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Heinz Field in downtown Pittsburgh. How would this new venue work out? Would the fans follow Town Fair to this new venue? This and other questions waited to be answered.
My accomplice, Sparky D’Engineer, and I arrived at Heinz Field right around 3. As I wasn’t sure what the security situation would be like, I opted not to bring my camera. This turned out being a mistake, as security was light and not concerned about cameras; other people were freely carrying them around and shooting pictures of their friends, no problem. If Town Fair returns to Heinz Field next year, I’ll bring mine along.
Returning to the Town Fair with its move to a new venue: The second stage, which was set up outside the stadium. Unlike the first year of the event, though, the second stage featured mostly Pittsburgh area bands, one Philly band (Asher Kahn Band) and a group from New Zealand (Steriogram). Sparky and I took in half of Prowler’s set. From Latrobe, Prowler did old-school 80’s-styled metallic rock with a slight Queensryche/Dream Theater sound. Their singer displayed good range and the rest of the band was instrumentally solid. We heard several original songs, including the power ballad “Angel of Mercy” and “Morning After,” before the group finished their set by dedicating their crunchy version of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” and Deep Purple’s “Perfect Strangers” to all the 30- and 40-somethings in the audience (thanks, guys!). I liked what I heard from Prowler, and wouldn’t mind catching a full night’s show from them sometime.
Observing many people walking around carrying Rolling Rock bottles, and noticing that the line for wristbands was fairly short, Sparky and I went and got our green wristbands, permitting us to consume the show sponsor’s foamy adult beverage product. But when we stepped up to obtain such beverage, we were floored by the price tag - $5.50 for a 12-OUNCE BOTTLE! What did Rolling Rock brew this batch of beer with, Perrier? I did purchase one bottle, and since the bottles were plastic (for safety reasons), the beer didn’t stay cold for long. That turned out being my one and only beer purchase of the day. (Seeing several inebriated folks walking around the Town Fair later, I could only imagine how much cash they dropped in order to get that way!)
Sparky and I had a unique ticket situation; I had two stadium seat tickets, and Sparky had two general admission tickets. This meant that we could both access the stadium seats or the general admission area in front of the stage at will. We made our way inside the stadium itself, and picked two seats in the opposite end of the stadium from the mainstage. Trapt was just finishing up their set as we arrived; we got there in time to hear them do their big song, “Headstrong.” Eyewitness accounts later on informed us that Trapt did a good job on the rest of their set, demonstrating a lot of energy and movement.
The main stage was a revolving stage, so one band could set-up in back while the other band played out front. It only took a few seconds for the stage to revolve 180 degrees and reveal the next band of the afternoon, Pittsburgh favorites The Clarks. The group almost instantly launched into “Better Off Without You;” problem was, the sound folks weren’t quite ready yet, and the full sound mix didn’t kick in until the middle of the song. Oops. After that initial glitch, though, The Clarks did a good job on their set, featuring mostly songs from their latest album, “Another Happy Ending,” and their hit album “Let It Go.” The group received good response from the Town Fair crowd on songs like “Superstar,” “Hey You,” “On Saturday,” “Born Too Late.” “Boys Lie” and more, finishing with their hit “Chasin’ Girls.” The Clarks delivered a steady, solid, friendly set, and served as the calm between the two stormier bands on either side of them on this bill, Trapt and Saliva.
The humorous highlight of this year’s Town Fair experience happened near the end of The Clarks’ set. We were sitting in the opposite end of the stadium from the main stage area; and as such, we were also in the least populated part of the stadium. In the seating section directly in front of us, there were only one or two small groups of people. Wouldn’t you know it, one of these groups erupted into a fight? We didn’t even notice it at first (it was about ten rows in front and to the right of us) until several security folks and yellow-shirted personnel moved in to deal with it. The two participants, two shirtless and beered-up gents, started throwing down for some apparent reason, with a defenseless pack of nachos and cheese between them. As the security folks led the brawlers away, one was covered in nacho cheese. The other participant disgustedly threw the empty plastic nacho tray at his sparring partner, flashing a look of “Thanks a lot, a**hole” for ruining his Town Fair experience.
After The Clarks’ set ended, we worked our way down to the general admission area in front of the main stage, and met up with “Big Jim” Ricotta and his contingent. We took up position as the next band prepared to hit the stage, Saliva. At first, Saliva was intimidating, as the five members – decked in black – strode up to their mics and sternly stared out at the audience. They then launched into “Raise Up” from their latest album, “Back Into Your System,” and it was on! Saliva came, saw, and kicked ass! They delivered total, in-your-face metallic mayhem; tearing through songs such as “Superstar,” “Doperide,” their best known songs “Click Click Boom,” “Your Disease” and more. The group clearly won the crowd over when frontman Josey Scott dedicated their song “Pride” to our servicemen, and welcomed everybody to the “Rolling Rock Celebration of M-F’ing American Freedom!” Several healthy moshpits erupted, including one fairly close to our location near the soundboard. Crowd-surfing also picked up in intensity, with even several female audience members launching themselves atop the crowd (and one unfortunate guy near us who went up and came right back down when nobody reached up to support him, hilarious!). Saliva was instrumentally tight, high-powered and on the mark, and Josey and his bandmates exuded confidence and presence as they fired off their set for the crowd. Josey continued the ‘pride of America’ theme of the set, and the crowd soon responded with chants of “USA! USA!.” Josey also won cheers when he offered a quick thought on file-sharing, declaring that he didn’t care whether the audience bought the CD’s or downloaded the songs, the important thing was that they were in attendance and supporting Saliva live. For me at least, Saliva served up the best set of this year’s Rolling Rock Town Fair, and was the highlight of my Town Fair 2003 experience.
After Saliva’s set, we left the stagefront area and went to get some drinks and take in the sights of Heinz Field. We observed all the Steeler artifacts on display at various parts of the stadium complex, and walked past some of the other Town Fair attractions (such as the circus sideshow, which had just gotten underway). Eventually, we returned to the stadium bleacher area to take in part of the next band, Sum 41. I was largely not familiar with Sum 41 outside of their hit, “Fat Lip.” The group performed quick-hitting, high-energy power pop/punk of the Greenday/Offspring/Blink 182 variety, introducing songs such as “No Brains,” “Motivation,” a raunchy novelty tune about Anne Nicole Smith and more. The group even sampled in a few licks of Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” during one song, to the cheers of the audience. Sum 41 demonstrated abundant youthful energy, crazily jumping and running around the stage and rallying the stagefront masses. Their tunes were short and to the point, get in, get out. While I would be hard-pressed to tell them apart from the other bazillion power punk/pop bands currently out there, I thought Sum 41 did what they did well, and they were a hit with the Town Fair crowd.
Observation: While Sum 41 was good at what they did, the thought crossed my mind that this was a band that got to where they presently are by being in the right place at the right time. A door opened for them somewhere along the way, they entered and are now receiving national airplay and attention. It seems that every year, Rolling Rock Town Fair finds at least a band or two like this – last year they were nobodies, this year they are somebodies. As I watched them perform, I observed that Sum 41 could have been Nevermoure, Negative Space, Stept On, Backstreet Law or Emily’s Toybox had fate smiled in a slightly different direction. And it also occurred to me that next year, who knows? If the chips fall in the right places, opportunity knocks on the right doors, and if any of the aforementioned local and regional rock forces are in the right place at the right time, it could be one of these names onstage at Rolling Rock Town Fair. How will fate work, and who will it work for next year?
Def Leppard was next. Their set would be an interesting study. Would Def Leppard, the senior citizens of this year’s Rolling Rock Town Fair line-up, fare well with the mostly younger fan base a generation removed from the group’s commercial success peak? Or would Def Leppard be the fish out of water, like Outkast was at last year’s Town Fair? At least early on, Def Leppard appeared a bit tentative, and looked a little like deer in the headlights as they tested this decidedly younger audience with Leppard standards like “Let It Go,” “Rock Rock Til You Drop” and “Foolin.’” But as the group proceeded, and realized that the younger crowd was cheering for them and digging the show, the group seemed to build steam and enthusiasm, through their recent hit “Four-Letter Word,” “Promises,” “Photograph,” and “Animal.” As the group hit their homestretch with “Armageddon It,” “Pour Some Sugar On Me” and “Rock of Ages;” the stagefront audience was bodysurfing, and people throughout the stadium audience – particularly women – could be spotted standing and grooving along. Def Leppard sounded sharper and more energized as they went along, and ultimately claimed victory over the Rolling Rock Town Fair masses.
The stage again revolved 180 degrees, and 311 soon was underway. Opening with their breakthrough hit “Down,” 311 performed their eclectic blend of metal, rap, reggae and funk. Not a big follower of 311, I only recognized a few of their songs, but was impressed when the group did a percussion jam in the middle of one song, with all the band members forming a percussion line and jamming out some intense rhythms. 311 was tight and on the mark on what they did, and received a rousing response from the crowd. Although 311 isn’t my cup of tea, I thought they did a respectable job.
Towards the end of 311’s set, we noticed some commotion in the stands below and to the right of us. An audience member, likely inebriated, attempted to do a balancing act on the fence railing separating the front bleachers from the field. He didn’t succeed, falling over the railing onto the field surface, about ten feet down. Ouch. As we were making our way down to the field stagefront area after 311’s set, we noticed the ill-fated acrobat, being loaded onto a stretcher. Idiot.
We had made our way down to the field to check out Puddle Of Mudd, who was next. But having not eaten anything since early in our journey to the show, Sparky and I decided to leave the stagefront area in search of food and souvenir Town Fair T-shirts. The search for food was easy; we quickly found the Quaker Steak & Lube stand and procured some wings. The search for the T-shirts, though, was fruitless, as we were informed that every shirt vendor had sold out of them. This would be the first year I would not come away with a Town Fair T-shirt. Lesson learned, buy the shirt early next year!
Anyway, we returned to the stadium seats to catch most of Puddle of Mudd’s set. For me, this band had their work cut out for them to win me over. I had been suspicious of Puddle Of Mudd ever since “Control” first became a hit, and moreso when “She Hates Me” became popular. I considered this group a one-trick pony, riding gimmicky songs with cheap f-bomb laced choruses and references to butt-snacking to fame and fortune. Was there any substance to Puddle Of Mudd after you got past those hits? The answer for me as their set unfolded this night, no. Beyond the radio songs, Puddle Of Mudd struck me as a poor man’s Nirvana, with their singer going through the Kurt Cobain motions, but not possessing the voice or charisma to pull it off. The band itself showed less movement and energy than the other groups this day, and the camera and jumbotron screen operators seemed to notice this, focusing primarily on the singer. Puddle Of Mudd’s set confirmed what I had thought all aong, that they rode their gimmicks and Fred Durst’s coattails to quick fame and fortune. But unless they can follow that early success with a strong follow-up, or at least a few fresh gimmicks, Puddle Of Mudd will dry up pretty quickly and be yesterday’s news in another year or two.
We remained in our seats and awaited the final band of the day, Blink 182. I was familiar with several of this band’s hits thus far, but had never heard anything about their live show, so I was somewhat curious to see what Blink 182 brought to the live stage. Along the way, Blink did many of the songs fans know and love them for, such as “What’s My Age Again,” “First Date,” “Rock Show,” and “All The Small Things” and “Dammit” to close their set. With their geeky onstage personality (guitarist Tom Delonge’s nerdy persona reminded me of comedian Jerry Lewis), Blink 182’s presentation was loose and somewhat haphazard, with the group offering humorous banter in between songs. They weren’t musically the most strong band onstage this day, but at least Blink 182 was entertaining, and brought laughs from the Town Fair audience through the course of their set. For me at least, Blink 182 wasn’t great; but they weren’t bad for what they did, either. They were at least an improvement over Puddle of Mudd. And the thought again occurred to me that Blink 182 isn’t doing anything radically different than a number of bands right here in our own region; only the fickle finger of fate, timing and opportunity separates Blink 182 from groups like Emily’s Toybox, Nevermoure, Negative Space and other regional bands yearning for that big break.
I thought that this year’s Rolling Rock Town Fair was good overall. I wouldn’t rank it above the previous two years (Town Fair 2.2 with Stone Temple Pilots headlining was still the best one so far, in my opinion), but the bands were mostly good, and at least for me, the new venue was a definite improvement. I liked the expanded variety of food and drink vendors; I didn’t like the beer prices. I understand attendance was lower this year, probably due to the new location; but hopefully the organizers will continue to develop the event in its new home. No Doubt, I expect to make Town Fair 5 next year; and this time I will obtain my souvenir T-shirt early!
JUICED @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 7/27/03
My weekend drew to a close with Juiced at Pellegrine’s. On a rare occasion, I was actually able to get to Pellegrine’s relatively early in the night, only a few songs into Juiced’s first set. Juiced was into the Vines’ “I Hate to Say I Told You So” as I arrived and procured my first brew. The group mixed current favorites fromn Blink 182, Wheatus, The Clash; celebrated the hair band 80’s with Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It;” and finished their first set with Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing In The Name.” Juiced succeeded in drawing several folks onto the dance floor early, setting the stage for the party mayhem to follow.
The pace of Juiced’s party increased during the second set, as the group continued to mix current rocking favorites with classics, oldies, and even some select rap and hip hop. Highlights included the interesting shotgun marriage of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” with a Sublime “What I Got” midssection; also a surprise rendition of Dion’s “Runaround Sue;” and the set-closing take on Kid Rock’s “Bawitdaba.” Frontlady Carrie Rapaport continually worked the stagefront, taking the party to the fans, and demonstrating her uncanny ability to read the crowd and their mood. Dancefloor action was getting hot and heavy as the second set concluded; and the finale set was still to come.
As expected, the third set was high-octane and action-packed, as Juiced went full-tilt and nonstop on tunes from Beastie Boys, Harvey Danger, Ramones, Disturbed, Blur, House Of Pain, Rage and more. Carrie brought the Right Honorable Guv'nor Jesse onstage and complimented him on his 'white-man rhythm;’ other Juiced highlights included the dancefloor/disco fusing of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Relax” with Lipps Inc’s “Funkytown;” and the set achieving its full fury on the finale, Rage’s “Bulls On Parade.” The Pellegrine’s masses weren’t done partying just yet, and quickly had Juiced slam the lid on the night with one more song, Korn’s “Got The Life.”
Juiced was tight and on target the whole night, with guitarist Norm Marks, new bassman Greg Folsom and drummer Don Carr executing like a well-oiled machine, and providing the constant uptempo backdrop for Carrie to work her magic. It seems that Juiced Nation has largely accepted Greg as a part of the family, following the departure of popular bassist Beth Karpovich. The group appears to be gradually mixing in a few new songs and reworking their set list; this observer still awaits more original songs from this band.
But in all, it was a good party, and a suitable blast to end the weekend with.
Don Carr of Juiced.
Norm Marks of Juiced.
Guv'nor Jesse whoops it up with Carrie and Juiced.
Once again, Norm of Juiced.
Greg Folsom of Juiced. |
|
