Jim Price
Moderator
Joined: 07 Dec 2002
Posts: 4817
Location: Altoona, PA
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 Posted: Friday Apr 25, 2008 |
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MILLENNIUM MUSIC CONFERENCE RECAP, PART 1
THURSDAY NIGHT SHOWCASES 2/14/08
The 12th annual Millennium Music Conference took place Feb. 14-17 in the Harrisburg area. Although the Millennium Music Conference didn’t officially begin until Friday, Thursday night was when the showcase performances commenced.
After arriving and checking into my hotel room at the conference site, the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center in Camp Hill, I made my way to Molly Brannigan’s Irish Pub in downtown Harrisburg, one of three venues running showcases on this light first night of showcase activity.
Maybe it had to do with Valentine’s Day and all the romancers not being in the mood for bars or live music, but Molly Brannigan’s was relatively empty; far less busy than when I was here last year during Millennium (on a Saturday night, this place was wall-to-wall people then). I ran into one of my Harrisburg area friends, Shel Hoachlander of promotion organization Black Thorn Entertainment and writer for Philadelphia-based local music publication Origivation Magazine. Shel was in a little bit of “shell” shock, after just paying $14 for a pitcher of Coke! (14 bucks!? Was the bartender selling her soda or white powder?)
I thought I had arrived late and would miss part of the first band of the showcase, Harrisburg’s The Illuminati. However, one of the scheduled performers at this showcase bowed out at the last minute, so The Illuminati started later than their originally-scheduled 9:30 start time, and I didn’t miss any of their performance. Comprised of singer/guitarist Stephen Musti, guitarist/keyboardist Aaron Hoke, bassist Matthew Boyer and drummer Dana DeLong; The Illuminati presented an overall sound that refuses to be pigeonholed. This group dabbles in a variety of styles and sounds, ranging from Pink Floyd-like comfortably numb progressive passages, harder rock and funk, trippy 60’s-styled psychedelia and more. They introduced a number of new songs this night, including the punk-edged “Whole Wide World,” “The Passenger,” and a song that Steve dedicated to presidential hopeful Barack Obama called “New Hope New Voice.” The group also did songs from their past, including tunes from their most recent CD, Love and Hate, such as “Holiday” and the surging and powerful closer “Picture.” Although continuing to defy categorization, The Illuminati continues to carve a unique niche for themselves, using the divergent parameters they established on their first two recordings. Their showcase set was a very solid performance.
Steve Musti of The Illuminati.
Aaron Hoke of The Illuminati.
The Illuminati, kicking off the Thursday night showcase at Molly Brannigans.
Again, Steve Musti of The Illuminati.
Blowing some harp, Steve Musti of The Illuminati.
After a changeover intermission, the second band of the showcase, Allentown-based trio The Electrostatic Rhythm Pigs, took the stage. Featuring singer Erin Fowler, guitarist/bassist D.W. Pickman and drummer Bret Talbert, this group played a stripped-down, basic brand of indie/alternative rock slightly reminiscent of the Pixies. Singer Erin and guitarist D.W. were almost secondary to drummer Bret, whose animated and inventive beats often carried the group’s song material. The group did mostly original songs from their forthcoming debut CD; including the galloping “Countdown,” “Big Sky” and “Green Eyes;” they closed their set with two covers, Cheap Trick’s “Hello There” and CCR’s “Fortunate Son.” This band didn't really connect with me; their song material tended to be redundant and their melodies weren't well-developed. And drummer Bret was the most entertaining performer on the stage; Erin and D.W. didn't display much sense of urgency or enthusiasm in their performances. The group appeared haphazard and disorganized at points as well, twice taking over a minute between songs to decide what to do next. At least this night for me, Electrostatic Rhythm Pigs' monicker was more interesting than their music and performance. Others' mileage might vary.
Bret Talbert of Electrostatic Rhythm Pigs.
Erin Fowler of Electrostatic Rhythm Pigs.
D.W. of Electrostatic Rhythm Pigs.
One more time, the Electrostatic Rhythm Pigs.
Attrition took its toll on what small crowd was in attendance at Molly Brannigan’s, and by the time the third and final band of the evening, New Jersey’s Phoenix Down, took the stage, only a handful of people remained to view them. Six members strong, Phoenix Down demonstrated a melody-based hard rock sound that was modern, yet tapped a little of the keyboard-driven hard-rocking dynamic of more famous Jersey rockers Bon Jovi. Drummer Joey Napurano sings lead vocals, and the rest of the group harmonizes well with him. Due to the lack of crowd, Phoenix Down only did five songs before calling it a night, including two songs from an EP they were handing out to fans this night.
Phoenix Down.
Gus Pazas and Rob Mackaravitz of Phoenix Down.
Joey Napurano of Phoenix Down.
Again, Phoenix Down.
One more time, Phoenix Down.
Afterward, since I hadn't eaten supper yet, I was in search of some grub. Although I had a card good for some free Sheetz munchies, the nearest Sheetz stores were either in bad neighborhoods or miles away. As I made my way to the parking garage holding my car, I saw an open pizza shop, 2nd Street Pizza, and decided to take the plunge and try the pizza there. Overall, I liked the pizza; slightly gummy dough, a little bit greasy, but hey, to me that's what real pizza is about. And an authentic Italian guy running the place, how can you go wrong?
Although quiet as opening nights for this conference go, the showcase at Molly Brannigan’s provided three bands with different flavors, and provided the opening chapter to what would be an exciting weekend of music in the Harrisburg area in the days ahead.
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