Jim Price
Moderator
Joined: 07 Dec 2002
Posts: 4817
Location: Altoona, PA
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 Posted: Wednesday Apr 09, 2008 |
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WEEK/WEEKEND RECAP 12/17/07
WARREN DANE @ THE HITCHING POST, ALTOONA 12/12/07
Once again, my Wednesday evening destination this week was the Hitching Post, where I headed in hopes of feasting on tasty ribs and taking in the latest visit of Kulpmont-based country crooner Warren Dane.
Well, one out of two ain’t bad. The Post had run out of ribs by the time I arrived, so I instead went with their gold wings; also very good! And Warren Dane was in the house, with special opening guest Bruce Foor finishing up his set as I procured a seat to view the musical action.
Accompanied by and alternating sets with State College’s Steve Yetzko, Warren performed his laid-back brand of acoustic country and folk sounds. Warren set the fun tone of his performance right off the bat, opening with comedian Rodney Carrington’s song “The Day My Wife Met My Girlfriend.” Steve then stepped up to sing a couple of songs; his own original tune “Sister Mabel,” and “Standing in the Rain.” Warren then returned and did a John Denver favorite, “Take Me Home Country Roads,” followed by another Rodney Carrington novelty number, “Titties & Beer.” Next Warren entered Man In Black territory, doing “Folsom Prison Blues” and his own riotous take on “Ring of Fire,” before returning to comedy with another Rodney Carrington tune, “Mama’s Got Her Boobs Out.” He then did Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been a Cowboy,” followed by Gordon Lightfoot’s “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Steve then returned to the stage and crooned out Roger Miller’s “King of the Road” and several more numbers. The two musicians continued to alternate back and forth and perform together, doing more country, folk, pop and more, fielding audience requests and yukking it up along the way. Other highlights included Warren’s rendition of Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me,” rural-leaning spins on Harry Chapin’s “Taxi” and Pink Floyd’s “Mother,” and more.
Warren’s voice was in good form, displaying a sturdy and resonant quality. Warren and Steve kept the mood casual and lighthearted, and the show took on a vibe of two friends having fun strumming and singing on the back porch, with audience members and even Hitching Post staff and management visiting the microphones to sing and dance along! Again, these two musicians had so much fun with the audience, they played on well past the scheduled 10 PM quitting time!
It’s becoming established that when Warren Dane comes to the Hitching Post, good times are happening, and happening well into the night! This evening was no exception!
Warren Dane, throwing another wild country party at the Hitching Post.
Kicking back and having fun, Warren Dane and Steve Yetzko.
DASHBOARD MARY @ 4D’S LOUNGE, ALTOONA 12/14/07
With a winter storm forecasted for the following night, I headed to the 4D’s Lounge this night to stock up on live musical enjoyment in case I ended up homebound the rest of the weekend. Providing the entertainment this night was northeastern PA’s Dashboard Mary.
I arrived during the first set, as the Scranton-based group was entertaining a mostly empty room early on. Singer/guitarist/percussionist Chris Langan, lead guitarist Rob Roman, bassist Joe DelRosso and drummer Keith “Shroeder” Eckstein were doing Sublime’s “Wrong Way,” and continued with Green Day’s “Basketcase,” Jimmy Eats World’s “The Middle” and Tom Petty’s “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” to finish the set.
A few more folks started to arrive as Dashboard Mary commenced their second set, starting off this chapter with Pearl Jam’s “Daughter.” The group proceeded to blend rock from the 60’s to present, continuing with Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Suck My Kiss” before veering into the Turtles’ 60’s chestnut “Happy Together!” Next was Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing,” followed by Blind Melon’s “No Rain,” the Doors’ “Peace Frog,” Rusted Root’s “Send Me On My Way,” “I Will Survive” and Spin Doctors’ “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong.” They then closed out the set with a medley that strung together tunes from Huey Lewis & the News, Billy Idol, Modern English, Kiss, Poison, Aerosmith, Joan Jett, Prince and Adam Ant.
Although far from packed, the 4D’s was in far better shape crowdwise at this point than it was at the start of the night, and the folks in attendance seemed to be enjoying the show thus far. Dashboard Mary was keeping it interesting with tight execution, occasional percussion duels between Chris and Shroeder, and more. Their musicianship was solid, and their presentation was varied and entertaining.
Soon Dashboard Mary was back for the final round, this time launching with their high-powered take on Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” which pulled some dancers onto the Dees’ dance floor. The group followed with Chevelle’s “Red,” Tommy Tutone’s “867-5309/Jenny,” Divinyls’ “I Touch Myself,” Santana’s “Smooth” and Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun.” Chris and Keith engaged in a percussion jam during the group’s rendition of Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me (Like a Record),” before Dashboard Mary closed the night with 311’s “Down.”
As was the case the first time I saw them back in the spring, I was again impressed by Dashboard Mary’s show this night. I liked their song selection, their varied presentation and wide musical range, along with their ability to tie it all together into a cohesive, consistent, hard-rocking sound. Based on the increased response the group received throughout the night, the 4D’s crowd was digging it as well, which bodes well for the possibility of more Dashboard Mary sightings in this neck of the woods in 2008.
Here is some rough video of Dashboard Mary's performance:
http://www.rockpage.net/users/jprice/video/MOV00227.MPG
Dashboard Mary fires up the dance floor party at the 4D’s.
Chris Langan of Dashboard Mary.
Again, Dashboard Mary.
Rob Roman and Chris Langan of Dashboard Mary.
Joe DelRosso of Dashboard Mary.
Chris Langan and Joe DelRosso of Dashboard Mary.
Again, Rob Roman of Dashboard Mary.
Keith “Shroeder” Eckstein of Dashboard Mary.
Again, Rob Roman.
Dashboard Mary keeps the Dees’ dance floor busy.
Again, Chris Langan of Dashboard Mary.
Once again, Dashboard Mary.
Again, Rob Roman and Chris Langan (this time playing percussion).
Once again, Rob Roman of Dashboard Mary.
One more time, Dashboard Mary.
STEVE SUMMERHILL @ PRIVATE PARTY, ALTOONA 12/15/07
I was invited to attend a surprise graduation party for a friend of mine who was receiving her master’s degree from Penn State. Held at her sister’s house in Altoona, one of the party’s big surprises (for the graduate) was that Steve Summerhill was hired to provide the afternoon’s entertainment.
Since this was a private party and not an official public gig, I left my notepad and camera in the car. But I got to see the magic of Steve Summerhill as this entertainer elevated the mood of the afternoon and provided a fun show for the mixed-ages audience of family and friends, which spanned young children to senior citizens.
Armed with his acoustic guitar and midi back-up, Steve played a wide variety of favorites throughout the afternoon, spanning classic rock, pop, folk and country. What impressed me the most was his ability to quickly shift gears on the fly from song to song, using audience cues and requests to guide him along. A lot of the familiar favorites made their appearance, such as Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville,” CCR’s “Bad Moon Rising,” Jim Croce’s “Bad Bad Leroy Brown,” Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Piña Colada Song),” the Eagles’ “Hotel California” and “Take It Easy,” Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” and “Brown Eyed Girl” and many more. Several highlights included Steve’s Paul Simon medley of “Me & Julio Down by the Schoolyard” into “Cecilia” into “You Can Call Me Al;” several James Taylor numbers such as “Fire and Rain,” “Mexico” and “Sweet Baby James;” and his renditions of Santana’s “Smooth,” Charlie Daniels’ “Devil Went Down to Georgia,” The Grateful Dead’s “Mexicali Blues,” and to close the afternoon, Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett’s “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” (since the party ended at 5 PM), which triggered dance activity from guests, the graduate, her sister and grandmother, and even I got pulled into the festivities!
Steve also brought along copies of his brand new CD, One Man Band, another live album recorded at Jethro’s in Altoona in September of 2006.
It was a fun afternoon that I’m glad I was invited to be a part of. Thanks to Jen for the invite, congratulations and best future wishes to Cortnee, and thanks to Steve Summerhill for the autographed copy of the new CD!
SATURDAY NIGHT…A winter storm was just arriving as I was leaving the aforementioned graduation party. By 10 PM, sleet and freezing rain was coating the Altoona area, and noting that no let-up was in sight for this night, I made the difficult decision to stay home this Saturday night, for it is understood: If it sleet, JP get cold feet. So I sat at home, and finished off a six-pack of Bass Ale while processing Pennsylvania Musician “Hot Shots” and browsing the internet. Ahh, the life…
SUNDAY NIGHT…My “Backyard Rocker” guest and I had already determined that the winter storm would make the roads too risky for him to do his 3-hour roadtrip to Altoona to appear on the show, so his appearance was postponed, and I had taken the precaution of Memorex-ing the show for this week so I wouldn’t have to be on the roads if the storm was still raging by Sunday night. Well, the winter storm had passed, but the winds were fierce and blowing snow showers around, keeping the roads slippery, and ultimately, keeping me inside one more night. GRRRRRR!!!!! But I used the night as an opportunity to cut at least a little bit into my “JP’s Corner” workload, while enjoying a six-pack of Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat…damned alkie!
JP’s HAIKU
Sleet, ice, snow and wind
Curtailed JP’s band-watching
Winter weather SUCKS!
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