[Jim Price]

VACATION/WEEKEND RECAP 8/9/10

JP’S ANNUAL OBX VACATION MISADVENTURE 7/30-8/8/10

My anticipation had been building for this week since…well, last year’s vacation trip, and even two years ago, the last time we stayed at the beach house. Organized by cohort Sparky D’Engineer, this year we would return to spending a whole week at a beach house, instead of doing half a week in a hotel room like last year.

And two years ago, we discovered the exemplary cooking talents of another friend, Kate, and decided we wanted her culinary skills at the beach house again this year. The offer was made for the rest of the travel party to divide and pay her share of the beach house rental, if Kate would be our cook for the week. She gladly accepted, so we were assured that good eats would again be a part of this year’s OBX vacation!

After the building anticipation and angst leading up to it, this week had arrived…Outer Banks here we come!

NIGHT ONE: FRIDAY 7/30

The scheduled departure time was around 7:30 PM. I had spent much of Friday afternoon and evening packing, buying last minute supplies I would need (at least a few of them I could purchase for far cheaper in Altoona and take along, rather than spend more money at the Outer Banks), and wrapping up loose ends around my abode before leaving for a week.

As carefully as I had planned and packed stuff up, I overlooked the items in the back of my car when we loaded up Sparky’s Pathfinder and departed. I had left behind some snack nacho chips, a Genesee 30-pack (which I had purchased in the afternoon solely for this trip) my folding beach chair, and bath towels and wash cloths to use at the beach house. Alas, I would need to hit a few stores upon my arrival at the beach destination.

But I was still on vacation, so I wasn’t going to let a few forgotten items dampen my spirits. Since our friend Rocky had some matters on the home front that needed addressed on Saturday, he wouldn’t be able to join us until Sunday. So after driving Kate to Hancock, Maryland, he departed for his hometown area of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia; and Kate rode with Sparky and me for the duration of the journey.

We observed as we were leaving Pennsylvania the number of orange barrels on the roadways that we had to dodge around. We saw very few of these after we crossed the state line.

As we passed through Berkeley Springs, Sparky did the ceremonious washing of the Pathfinder at the Splish Splash Car Wash. We zoned out at the psychedelic color display as the various soap and wax mixes oozed over the car. Cheap thrills!

Next destination, the Waffle House. Since the two Waffle Houses in Winchester, VA, closed up shop, we had to travel a little further southward to dine at one. So our Waffle House of choice is the one along Route 17 at Fredericksburg, VA. We had experienced good food cheap and additional thrills during past visits to Waffle House establishments. But we hadn’t experienced the craziness we would encounter during this stop! My craziness started with the “exploding” steak sauce bottle; whoever last used the steak sauce left the cap loose on it, so when I shook the bottle before using, half of it flew out on my shirt and shorts! This Waffle House was full when we arrived, and the staff was frantically rushing to fill everybody’s order; a scene reminiscent of Altoona’s Tom & Joe’s during any given weekday morning! Our waitress had a “loaf in the oven” and wasn’t afraid to allude to it; saying as she nervously marched in place, “Baby says I have to go!” (As in like, to the bathroom!) Then, as we departed the building and made our way to the Pathfinder, some apparently alcohol-enhanced gent approached us; first laughing and remarking to Sparky “You’re making me nervous,” and then telling me “You’re badass too!” It was Friday night, and the nutjobs were out, even in Fredericksburg, Virginia! We quickly took refuge in the Pathfinder and wheeled our way out of the parking lot, passing another vehicle where several people were busting dance moves to loud hip hop music on a car stereo – in the words of former PA rockers Backstreet Law, a real “party in the parking lot!”

Following all of this unexpected excitement at the Waffle House, the rest of the journey southward to our overnight hotel accommodations was uneventful. Shortly before 4 AM, we arrived at the hotel destination in Suffolk, Virginia. Both Sparky and Kate described the hotel proprietor as an a**hole, but he did give them their respective room keys, and we retired for the night to rest up for the following day’s remainder of the journey to the beach destination.

Yours truly, impressed with the psychedelic soap display at the Splish Splash car wash in Berkeley Springs. With the red glow off my glasses, I look like a damned cylon!

Sparky and yours truly outside the Fredericksurg Waffle House, as I show off the results of the exploding steak sauce bottle.

The I-664 tunnel under the Chesapeake Bay.

DAY TWO: SATURDAY 7/31

Checkout time at the hotel was 12 noon, so we were up by 11 and making haste to exit the hotel as soon as we could. This was apparently not good enough for the a**hole far eastern hotel proprietor, who was quickly buzzing our phone when we didn’t check out at exactly 12 noon. Just what we needed, a hotel nazi!

But we did get out of there and back on the road by around 12:30 PM. Although the remaining part of our journey would take around 90 minutes on any other day, Saturdays are when thousands of vacationers are either departing or arriving at their beach houses. So the gridlock intensified as we approached the Virginia-North Carolina border, and mass gridlock ensued at the toll plaza for the bypass route. We slowly advanced through the bumper-to-bumper traffic to the Outer Banks, eventually arriving at the real estate office to pick up our house keys. At least the real estate office had their act together, with two ladies in the parking lot armed with envelopes with all the arriving clients’ house keys. They had us in and out in about 2 minutes! We hit a nearby Food Lion to procure some quick groceries, and arrived at our beach house, the Steele Away, by around 4:30 PM.

The house looked in great shape, save for one sizable cockroach Kate discovered in the downstairs bathroom. With a quick sweeping motion, I used the small trash can in the rest room to scoop up the roach, promptly deposit it in the toilet and flush it out of our lives.

After settling in, Kate prepared her first meal for us, spaghetti and cooked zucchini. I had supplied the zucchini from my own garden.

Another member of our vacation entourage, Big Jim, would arrive in the evening after we had finished eating. Rocky would arrive the following day, Sunday.

The only other eventful thing to happen this day was during the evening, as we were relaxing on the front deck. Kate had noticed a strange looking shadow moving back and forth but couldn’t quite determine its source. The source was finally discovered while I was bending over to grab a beer out of one of the coolers…a sizable orb-web spider was making its new home just above my head on the deck. I was cautioned not to stand directly up, lest I ended up wearing the spider in my hair. Sparky used a plastic container to capture the arachnid, and I soon relocated the eight-legger in some brush at the edge of our driveway. Little did I know that this would be just the first of several encounters with spiders during this vacation trip.

Gridlock at the Chesapeake toll plaza.

A “supermom” provides privacy support as her kid relieves himself during gridlock at the Chesapeake toll plaza.

We arrive at Kitty Hawk.

Kate celebrates our arrival at the real estate office, and subsequently, the beach.

The view of the beach from our deck.

DAY THREE: SUNDAY 8/1

Our first full day at the beach house was mostly damp and rainy until the later part of the afternoon, so we generally lounged and slothed around the house. It didn’t look to be too exciting a day at the beach, and for most of the day it wasn’t.

We did walk over and check out the beach after the showers cleared out, and discovered a sizable dip at the edge of the shore; apparently some choppy seas had eroded part of the beach. We also noted a number of dead jellyfish washing ashore. Hopefully this would clear up soon so we could do some ocean swimming without the risk of getting stung.

During the front deck spider adventure from the night before, Kate had remarked about seeing a large spider with a web on the side of the beach house. Curious about spiders, I looked over the side of the deck at the side of the house to see what she was talking about. I quickly saw the big eight-legger Kate was referring to, a sizable garden spider with a huge web that spanned about 5 feet from the side of the beach house to some taller-standing brush in the patch of brush adjacent to the carport. But I noticed not just this large arachnid, but a whole neighborhood of garden spiders with webs throughout that brushy area; roughly 8 or 9 in that area of brush. But I reassured Kate that we were not facing an arachnophobia outbreak at the house; the garden spiders’ webs were their homes, and they don’t traditionally wander around or bother people. As long as nobody drunkenly stumbled into the spider’s brush patch, there shouldn’t be any problem.

The large garden spider that built a web attaching to the carport.

The fifth member of our travel party, Rocky, finished up his business in Berkeley Springs and completed his journey, arriving at the house by late afternoon. Soon after his arrival, Kate cooked up the evening meal. This night’s cuisine included meat loaf, scalloped potatoes, summer squash and cauliflower/broccoli salad, with peanut butter pie for dessert. Taste buds were again very happy!

I said earlier that for most of the day it wasn’t an exciting day at the beach. But this night, activity picked up in a quite unexpected way. We had noticed among the other neighbors moving in around us, a group of young guys and girls, roughly in their late teens or early 20s, moving in the beach house adjacent to us. The girls were running back and forth to the beach and providing eye candy throughout the day in all their glory.

After our dinner, we all headed outside and sat on the deck to relax and enjoy the sunset and early evening. It was light when we first went out on the deck, and we didn’t turn on the outdoor light as the sun set, as we were content to enjoy the darkening nighttime view. This made us incognito on the deck, and pretty much not visible to our neighbors unless they were especially looking for us. The young gang next door was hanging out in their driveway area, and the girls were cavorting into the house and upstairs to change in and out of their bikinis and shorts. They unwittingly started doing so in front of a long window facing our house, with their shutter blinds in the open position! Kate had first noted the ladies moving about in front of the window, and we chuckled when the bikini tops started getting dropped! “Girls Gone Wild,” right next door! I thought this stuff just happened in late-night television commercials! As I had been recording some sunset and ocean footage from the deck when we first came outside, a digital palmcorder was in the vicinity. It has 42X zoom capabilities. You can figure out the rest…

The “Girls Gone Wild” activity eventually subsided. We continued to lounge around the house until 2 AM, when Sparky came up with the idea of going for a power walk. What the heck, I needed to get a few walks in during my stay at the beach, so why not at 2 AM, when vehicle traffic was at a minimum. We headed up to the main thoroughfare, Croatan Highway, and did a 2-3 mile walk, checking out plazas and shop fronts as we walked through parking lots. Humorous highlight during this morning’s walk was encountering a sizable cockroach on the sidewalk of one plaza, walking toward a Mexican eatery!

Returning from our walk just after 3 AM, we decided to call it a night.

A head-on view of the ocean.

Sparky and Kate check out the beach.

One of the dead jellyfish that washed ashore.

DAY FOUR: MONDAY 8/2

The weather was markedly improved this day, making the beach option much more appealing. We logged some beach time, but with jellyfish still washing ashore, we didn’t wander into the ocean, only stepping in far enough to get our feet wet.

Kate did up another great meal, this time serving up salmon, asparagus, sweet potatoes, marinated mushrooms and mandarin salad.

We again took up positions on the front deck to see if there would be any repeat of the previous night’s show by our neighbors. Unfortunately not the case; tonight it was “Girls Gone Mild.”

As we did the night before, Sparky and I did another late-night walk, this time exploring shops and plazas going up the other direction on Croatan Highway. We walked down past the Holiday Inn Express we stayed at last year, and passed an eatery we were contemplating visiting before week’s end, Hurricane Mo’s. Upon returning to the house, it was again time to rest up for the next day’s slothing.

Relaxing at the beach, while reading a book about Saddam Hussein.

Some attractive scenery crossing the road, courtesy of two of the “girls gone wild” contingent.

DAY FIVE: TUESDAY 8/3

Once again, we stuck around the beach house much of the day, again logging some more beach time. The sea was still rather choppy, and dead jellyfish were still washing ashore with too much frequency to chance any deep incursions into the ocean.

This night’s dinner cuisine from Kate was chicken marsala and green beans (supplied from my garden).

After dinner, I finally left the house for the first time since the day we arrived. We headed to a nearby Wings beach store to check out clothing and possible souvenirs; I picked up two new Outer Banks ballcaps for $15. Afterward, we took a spin southward toward Oregon Inlet and back.

Back at the house, we pretty much slothed and took in television. No late night walk this night.

DAY SIX: WEDNESDAY 8/4

The weather was getting warmer, and the sea was settling down from the previous few days of turbulence. Although I didn’t venture to the beach this day, Sparky reported that the numbers of dead jellyfish had diminished greatly, improving the likelihood that I would get to do some ocean swimming.

We actually didn’t do much beach time this day because for the only time during our beach stay, we actually ate a meal outside of the beach house. Last year, Big Jim, Sparky and I dined at Hurricane Mo’s, and remember very much enjoying their steamed shrimp and wing special. That special was still on, with what Hurricane Mo’s calls their “Happiest Hour,” 10-cent shrimp and 25-cent wings between 3 and 5 PM. We arrived there just short of 3 PM to beat the rush, and feasted on shrimp and wings for lunch. And wing connoisseur that I am, I am usually very skeptical of wings served south of the Mason-Dixon line, which I generally find to either be undersized or otherwise suck. But Hurricane Mo’s wings were the best I’ve tasted south of Pennsylvania so far, enough so that I ordered an extra half-dozen!

We then returned to the house and lounged around until our next meal. This meal actually cut Kate a bit of a break, because Rocky, Sparky and I took care of two of the main menu items. I did what has become a popular item with this crew at the Outer Banks, my grilled old bay-seasoned potato wedges; while Rocky and Sparky did up steaks on the grill. Dessert was Kate’s take on banana pudding, good eating!

After the delicious meal, Sparky and I did our late night power walk down the road to Avalon Pier, a fishing pier that stretches out into and over the Atlantic Ocean. We observed several late night fishermen on the pier sampling the night angling, as well as several other folks taking in the nighttime ocean view.

As we did this walk, we made a surprising discovery…as we walked past the driveway of the aforementioned “Girls Gone Wild,” we noted that one of the cars had a sticker for…Blue Knob Auto Sales! The “Girls Gone Wild” were local, central PA talent!

Kate, Rocky, Big Jim and Sparky outside Hurricane Mo’s.

A ghost crab shows itself on the beach.

More wildlife shenanigans, as a seagull captures what is either an eel or a small sea snake.

A pelican passes by.

DAY SEVEN: THURSDAY 8/5

With the warmer temperatures, calmer seas and diminished numbers of dead jellyfish washing ashore, today we thought we’d immerse ourselves in some ocean water. However, one variable we weren’t expecting was COLD OCEAN TEMPERATURE! The water still felt like it was in the 60-degree temperature range; this may have been partially due to the hot weather relative to the water temperature, but the water still felt cold, and thus we didn’t venture far into the ocean this day. It was at least warm enough to enjoy some knee-deep wading, so we did that for a while, carefully avoiding the occasional dead jellyfish that did wash in around us.

Citing work duties, Big Jim departed the beach house and headed back home in mid-afternoon. We never did quite get that front deck jam session going during this year’s vacation sojourn…

Kate’s evening meal this night was another surefire winner: boiled shrimp and corn on the cob, with ample doses of old bay seasoning to top on both! Also present were potatoes, and a strawberry shortcake confection that Rocky had noted in one of the grocery stores. Good call Rocky, that was good shortcake!

By this point in the week, I was starting to jones for some live musical entertainment. We had noted that a nightspot within walking distance of the beach house, Chili Peppers, was running an acoustic entertainer this Thursday night, and I had hoped to do a walk to that venue to check it out. Unfortunately, a line of heavy thunderstorms rolled through the area this night, and with heavy rains and lightning in the vicinity, I thought better of attempting this foot journey.

By late night, the storms had subsided, and I retired for the night. Rocky, who had crashed on the couch earlier in the night, awakened around 4 AM and stepped on the front deck to burn a ciggie. As he did so, he noted some activity at the “Girls Gone Wild” beach house next door. According to Rocky, one of the boyfriends scored with one of the “Girls Gone Wild” on the top deck of their beach house, obviously unaware that an audience of one was observing the action.

DAY EIGHT: FRIDAY 8/6

Alas, our week at the beach had again passed quickly, and we were facing the reality that we would be packing up our stuff and heading home the next day. So we did the only thing we really could do…again sloth around the beach house and take in one more afternoon of quality beach time!

Kate’s last evening meal before our departure was pork chops, plus a variety of reheated leftovers from the previous nights. We cleaned up on the leftovers so we didn’t have to haul them home with us. Although leftovers, still good eats!

Although Sparky and I considered heading to the Outer Banks Brewing Station to catch a local live band, we never quite got around to it, and spent Friday evening packing our gear and readying for departure the following morning.

DAY NINE: SATURDAY 8/7

One thing I hadn’t done yet on this year’s OBX journey was to videotape and photograph an ocean sunrise, as I had done in past years. With no alarm clock available, it would require my waking up on my own around 5:30 and heading over to the beach to catch the sunrise; given that my average bedtime during this whole week was in the 3 AM vicinity, the prospects weren’t good that I would accomplish this feat during this year’s trip. However, I did manage to wake up around 5:30, grab palmcorder and camera and catch this event. With some fog and humidity in the air, the sun had an orange glow as it surfaced above the ocean waves. Although my palmcorder’s battery ran dead during the sunrise, my Sony still camera had enough juice left to capture the remainder of the sunrise. After shooting about a half-hour of footage, I returned to the beach house to catch another hour or two of slumber before departure.

The next five pictures are successive shots of the sunrise:






Upon awakening the second time, we loaded up our respective vehicles and prepared for the trip home. While waiting for Sparky to return the house keys to the real estate company, I made a discovery at the rear of the beach house’s car port…a new, sizable garden spider had built a web on the back of the car port. I watched and photographed this arachnid as it sat poised in the web, awaiting unsuspecting insect prey that might fly into the web trap. This spider was positioned so symmetrically, it looked almost like a robot in its web.

We departed the house, and noting the heavy traffic leaving the Outer Banks, decided to do lunch at Hurricane Mo’s. We did some more wings there, and I enjoyed a tuna sandwich and fries. Again, great eats; impressive enough that I parted with some more green to purchase a T-shirt to take back home!

With thousands of carloads of people also ending their vacations and heading back northward to their homes, there was some gridlock as we departed the Outer Banks and advanced to the Virginia border. We stopped at one of the usual places we hit upon our trip home, the Grandy Farm Market in Grandy, just inland from the beach. The peaches grown and sold at this market are usually the best peaches I ever get to eat in a given year. We each bought a bag of peaches, and as we watched the huge crowds of people that descend upon this place, we pondered how much money Grandy Farm Market makes on a given Saturday from arriving and departing vacation traffic; they have to be making a mint each weekend!

Traffic was heavy, and gridlock frequent as we traversed southern Virginia along Interstates 664, 64 and 95. Traffic was stop and go all the way to Fredericksburg, where we exited onto Route 17, and promptly stopped off at the same Waffle House we ate and were entertained at during the trip down. Things weren’t quite as crazy this time, with no exploding steak sauce bottles, pregnant wait staff or crazies in the parking lot. Just good eats, again cheap.

The remainder of the trip home was uneventful. We got back to Blair County at around 10:30, and as we helped Kate and Rocky unpack at Kate’s Hollidaysburg abode, we presented her with a souvenir ashtray as our thanks to her for the week’s worth of great meals.

Upon my own arrival home, I unpacked, and within an hour of my arrival, was in my car and en route to see a live band in town this Saturday night…While vacation was great, it was still good to be home.

The garden spider that set up shop at the rear of our carport. Note how symmetric it looks; it almost looks like a cyborg arachnid!

At the expense of creeping out some of the more squeamish Rockpagers, here is another of the 8-legged beasties that populated the brush near the beach house.

Sparky presents Kate with a souvenir ashtray, a gift from all of us in appreciation of her excellent culinary skills over the past week.

Kate poses with her new ashtray.

…AND REVIEWS OF TWO BOOKS I READ ON VACATION:

Another reason I look forward to my annual beach vacation: In my hectic schedule the other 51 weeks of the year, this is usually the only real opportunity I have to read a book…or two. And this time around, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more diametrically opposite choice of book subject matter that I selected:

SADDAM: THE FACE OF EVIL by Mark Cantrell and Donald Vaughan (2003, AMI Books) I picked this one up for a buck at a Dollar General store a summer or two ago. This book describes the rise and fall of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and describes many of the atrocities he practiced against his own people, and in warfare with other nations. The authors document his childhood and violent rise to prominence, and also discuss his barbaric sons, Uday and Quasay. It documents the coups, assassinations, tortures, executions, genocides, military assaults and blunders that came to define Saddam and his regime. The book outlines the Iraq-Iran war in the ‘80s, Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the subsequent first Gulf War, and America’s entry into the second (ongoing) war with Iraq and how Saddam was toppled from power. The book was published before the deaths of Saddam’s sons and Saddam’s own eventual capture and execution. This book was informative and presented a solid timeline to everything. I think the authors came off a bit jingoistic as they frequently used colorful adjectives to emphasize Saddam’s brutality; the fact of those acts depicted their horror and viciousness clearly enough without the overkill of adjectives. Otherwise, an interesting and educational portrayal of one of modern history’s most brutal despots; not a bad book for a buck.

GREAT GOD A’MIGHTY! THE DIXIE HUMMINGBIRDS; CELEBRATING THE RISE OF SOUL GOSPEL MUSIC by Jerry Zolten (2003, Oxford University Press) On to much brighter and positive subject matter…Area musician and educator Jerry Zolten first became enamored with roots soul and gospel music as a child, while listening to WAMO on the radio in his native Pittsburgh. He became involved with music and explored roots music to great depths, working with the Fairfield Four, the Dixie Hummingbirds and others. Great God A’Mighty documents the story of the Dixie Hummingbirds, from their beginnings in South Carolina, their slow rise from regional gospel group to eventual national prominence. Zolten documents their story in fine detail, describing their music, their world, their struggles with segregation and racism, their gospel music contemporaries, personnel changes, recordings and record company arrangements, musical evolutions and developments, and their eventual appearance on Paul Simon’s hit “Loves Me Like A Rock” and more. This book doesn’t just tell the story of the Dixie Hummingbirds, but also sets the context of the music world as a whole, and the Hummingbirds’ position and role in it. From reading the book, I gained a respect for the Dixie Hummingbirds as survivors in the music industry, and a group that didn’t compromise their principles to achieve what they did. This was an informative, insightful, and in terms of in-depth information about the life and times of the Dixie Hummingbirds, an exhaustive read. Fans of music history and influences need to check this book out!

GIANTS OF SCIENCE @ 4D’S LOUNGE, ALTOONA 8/7/10

(WARNING: PHOTOS IN THE RECAP BELOW CONTAIN “LA_ZERS AND EN-ER-GY!” PROPER EYE PROTECTION ADVISED…)

Although vacation was great, I was getting antsy about getting back and seeing live music again. And it didn’t take me long to address that jones upon my return. Within an hour of my arrival back in the ‘Toona, I was in the Professor-mobile and en route to catch a band on this Saturday night. Upon seeing the Giants Of Science scroll on the 4D’s Lounge’s rolling marquee, I decided to park here and see what Mick and his Poconos party gang were up to.

Once I entered, I quickly noticed that the Giants had undergone another lineup upheaval, displaying a new rhythm section this night. Bassist/singer Crow and drummer Jamie were gone, replaced by Matt and Steve respectively. This band is like the proverbial hydra; when they lose a head, they instantly grow another one!

Although not heavily packed by 4D’s Saturday night standards, a decent-sized crowd was present, and much of it was on the dance floor as the Giants fired through their ‘80s-centric mixture. This set included versions of Gary Numan’s “Cars,” Dead Or Alive’s “You Spin Me (Like a Record),” the GoGo’s “We Got the Beat,” Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” Violent Femmes’ “Blister In the Sun,” Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance” and more, with the occasional modern Green Day or Sublime number thrown in.

They sounded solid, with founder/guitarist Mick now handling nearly all the lead singing duties. The new blood seemed to gel well with the old blood, and the Giants again were showing that despite personnel changes, they don’t miss a beat.

The nightcap set featured more ‘80s favorites from Black Crowes, John Mellencamp, Bryan Adams, Aha, The Bangles, Outfield, Tom Petty and more. The Giants kept the Dees’ dance floor busy clear until the stroke of 2 AM, and sent the folks home with another good time under their belts.

Some of the Giants Of Science’s lazer-like lighting created some interesting effects on the 4D’s dance floor crowd.

Giants Of Science ringleader Mick.

The Giants Of Science and the 4D’s dance floor crowd.

New guy Matt B of the Giants Of Science.

Again, Mick of the Giants Of Science.

La_zers and EN-er-GEE!

New drummer Steve of the Giants Of Science.

More Giants Of Science and the dance floor crowd.

The party continues.

More la_zers and EN-er-GEE!

Guest Mike Fox sings lead on a number.

More Giants Of Science.

Scotty B of Giants Of Science.

Again, new drummer Steve.

Scotty B and Steve.

Mick and Matt.

More Giants and dancers.

Raise your hands!

More celebration with the Giants Of Science.

More lazers!

More EN-er-GEE!

FLOOD CITY MUSIC FESTIVAL, JOHNSTOWN 8/8/10

It seemed that after Sparky had booked the beach house for the first week in August, that everybody and his brother decided to book their concert series, music festivals and other events during that same week as well, so I would miss nearly all of it. Altoona’s Railroaders Museum brought both The Clarks and Foghat in during the week we were away. The Clearfield County Fair announced ZZ Top for that week. Local punk legends The Insignificant announced their reunion show for that week. And the Johnstown Area Heritage Association announced that their second Flood City Music Festival would mostly eclipse our vacation week as well. The Friday and Saturday slates, including Los Lobos, Cyril Neville and Galactic, Billy Price Band, Eric Tessmer Band, Los Straitjackets and more, would happen while we were away.

Fortunately, there was still Sunday, and the performer I most wanted to see at this year’s Festival, the Robert Cray Band, was on the bill this day. So I would be able to salvage at least part of this year’s Flood City Music Festival.

I arrived in mid-afternoon and found a quick parking space, and hoofed my way to the Festival grounds. I approached the first music I heard, and the source of that music was Pittsburgh blues guitar great Jimmy Adler and his band. Led by Jimmy’s bold voice and sizzling guitar work, this group entertained with rousing swing- and jump-flavored blues, including songs from his latest CD Swing It Around and more. Some of Jimmy’s song selection in the latter part of the performance included “Liquor Got Loose,” “I Only Have Eyes for You,” an audience request for “Smoke Signals” and the closing ode to T-Bone Walker, “T-Bone Jumps Again.” Jimmy’s guitar work was fantastic, and keyboard man John Burgh was feeling it as well, running amok on the ivories and generating some rolling runs of his own.

Jimmy Adler and his band.

Jimmy Adler’s keyboard player, John Burgh. He was feeling it this afternoon!

Jimmy Adler.

Again, Jimmy Adler.

Again, Jimmy Adler and his band.

Jimmy Adler and Mike Sweeney.

Jimmy Adler goes to town on the guitar.

One more time, Jimmy Adler.

Once Jimmy finished, I made away to the next stage I heard music originating from, and took in another Pittsburgh group, the Mon River Ramblers. This group demonstrated bluegrass-rooted flavors as they performed original songs, bluegrass and folk standards, a grassy rendition of Guns N’Roses’ “Sweet Child O’Mine” and more. They performed both as a full group and as a duet during their set, and their repertoire included bluegrass, folk, Celtic flavors and more.

The Mon River Ramblers.

Again, the Mon River Ramblers.

Paul Dvorchak and Luke Stamper of the Mon River Ramblers.

I then proceeded to another stage to check out New Orleans’ Anders Osborne, whose band fired up the Festival crowd with an intense style of blues-geared rock. Anders was an intriguing performer, who could slowly intensify his performance; he and his group escalated their songs into passionate and fiery crescendos during several numbers, drawing the audience in and firing it into boisterous cheers. I got to witness five songs in all from Osborne and his band: “Coming Down,” the hard-rocking “Killing Each Other,” “Stoned, Drunk and Naked,” “Echoes of My Sins” and “Love Is Taking Its Toll.” Anders Osborne was clearly a unique performer, and this set intrigued me enough that I might have to look into his catalog a little more closely.

Anders Osborne and his band rock the Flood City Music Festival crowd.

Again, Anders Osborne and his band.

Again, Anders Osborne.

Anders Osborne’s drummer.

Anders Osborne’s bassist.

Again, Anders Osborne.

Once again, Anders Osborne.

Anders Osborne dons a local baseball T-shirt an audience member handed up to him.

Once again, Anders Osborne and his band.

Anders and his band intensify their attack.

Anders Osborne, pushing it to the max.

One more time, Anders Osborne and his band.

Next, Pittsburgh multicultural folk-rock band Corned Beef & Curry presented their diverse musical mixture. Multi-instrumentalist Bob Banerjee performed here last year as a solo act, and impressed with a wide variety of instrumental talents and his own pleasant wit. Now teamed with guitarist John McCann, Banerjee again showed a wide range of instrumental skills, ranging from acoustic guitar to fiddle to mandolin and more. Corned Beef & Curry offered a colorful range of musical styles, spanning rock’n’roll to Celtic folk, country, tropical flavors and more. A native of India, Banerjee often joked about his heritage, how he came to be part of the Celtic rock band Gaelic Storm, spent part of his life living in Barnesboro and more. Some of the group’s wide-ranging set list included Van Morrison’s “I’m In Heaven (When You Smile),” Gaelic Storm’s “Tell Me Ma,” Del Shannon’s “Runaway,” The Proclaimers’ “(I’m Gonna Be) 500 Miles” and more. During one traditional Irish jig number, the group welcomed two Irish step-dancing ladies from Bishop McCort High School up to the stage to demonstrate their footwork to the cheers of the crowd. During another number, Bob jumped off the stage and led a ‘train’ of audience members, pied-piper style, through the crowd. Corned Beef & Curry was clearly a crowd-pleaser, and their performance was a fun time.

Corned Beef & Curry welcome two guest step-dancers from Bishop McCort High School to do their thing on a jig number.

Bob Banerjee of Corned Beef & Curry.

Again, Corned Beef & Curry and their guest dancers.

John McCann of Corned Beef & Curry.

More step-dancing action with Corned Beef & Curry.

Again, Bob Banerjee.

Again, John McCann.

Once again, Bob Banerjee…an amazing musician!

Once again, Corned Beef & Curry.

With mandolin in hand, Bob Banerjee leads a procession of audience members through the crowd.

Next was my first look at sacred steel ensemble The Lee Boys, who performed pedal steel guitar-driven gospel, blues and funk. My frequent flyer “Homegrown Rocker” guest Sterling Koch often cited the Lee Boys as an influence in his own development in playing steel guitar, so I was intrigued to see what they were about. Up front was steel player Roosevelt Collier, who often showed his mastery with extended solo work on several numbers, including the funky original “Testify,” a funk medley of Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition” into Parliament’s “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker),” and the group’s set-closing version of the Blues Brothers’ “Everybody Needs Somebody.” The rest of The Lee Boys were talented as well, including guitarist Alvin Lee, 7-string bass player Alvin Lee, Jr., singers Derrick Lee and Keith Lee, and Earl Walker on drums. It was interesting to witness how The Lee Boys ventured into blues and funk, but kept it rooted in the “sacred” and gospel foundation they started from.

The Lee Boys.

Steel player Roosevelt Collier of the Lee Boys.

Again, Roosevelt Collier.

Playing 7-string bass, Alvin Lee, Jr. of the Lee Boys.

Again, the Lee Boys.

Derrick Lee and Alvin Lee, Jr. of the Lee Boys.

I then made my way back to the Bud Light stage for the Festival’s finale, provided by the Robert Cray Band. Flanked by keyboardist Jim Pugh, bassist Richard Cousins and drummer Tony Braunagel, Cray displayed a smooth, soulful voice and amazing guitar skills throughout the performance, as he played numbers from throughout his catalog. He was an engaging entertainer as well, who often quipped with his bandmates and had fun with the audience along the way. Some of the songs Cray and his band performed included “Poor Johnny,” “Bad Influence,” “Sittin’ On Top of the World,” “Leave Well Enough Alone,” “Right Next Door,” the gospel-flavored “The One in the Middle,” and the song everybody was yelling for, his hit “Smoking Gun,” which closed his primary set. When the Music Festival crowd demanded more, Cray and his band returned to perform two more songs, “Lotta Lovin’” and “Chicken in the Kitchen.” I liked Cray’s expressive style, not just with his soulful voice, but his ability to express his emotions on the guitar; using the instrument to extend his personality. After hearing others praise his talents, I came away a Cray believer this night.

Robert Cray.

Again, Robert Cray.

The Robert Cray Band.

Once again, Robert Cray.

Jim Pugh of the Robert Cray Band.

Richard Cousins of the Robert Cray Band.

Again, Richard Cousins.

More Robert Cray.

Again, the Robert Cray Band.

Once again, Richard Cousins.

Again, Jim Pugh.

Jim Pugh’s shoes, which received almost as much attention as Jim himself!

Richard Cousins and Jim Pugh.

This wrapped up my Flood City Music Festival experience for this year. I was disappointed that I couldn’t make it over to see some of the previous days’ marquee acts, but hopefully the dates for next year’s Festival won’t again conflict with my vacation schedule.

THE PANIC SWITCH @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 8/8/10

After the Flood City Music Festival concluded, I headed back over the mountain to the ‘Toona to close out my weekend at Pellegrine’s, where The Panic Switch was performing.

It was an interesting night for The Panic Switch, as Eric Wertz was relinquishing bass duties with the group and playing his final show; he was moving on to devote more attention to his new drumming position with Acalasia. Although Pellegrine’s was not crowded, some family, friends and fans were in the house to witness Eric’s final chapter with The Panic Switch.

I followed much of the show from afar, as I got hooked into viewing Pelly’s security man Forrest’s DVD movie of the week, the faux-superhero comedy/drama Kick Ass. (Good flick!) But I kept an ear toward the main band room as Eric, singer Nick Coyle, guitarists Gibson and Pesci, and drummer Rob Hampton played a volatile mixture of ‘80s, ‘90s and current rock favorites. The initial two sets featured a hard-rocking take on Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game,” plus numbers from Billy Idol, White Stripes, Lenny Kravitz, Duran Duran, Weezer, Kings Of Leon, Toadies and more.

After the movie concluded, I made my way out front during the group’s last set. The Panic Switch kept the audience engaged and fired up with tunes from The Ramones, Nine Inch Nails, Jimmy Eat World, Deftones and more. Highlights during this set included the group going old-school for a version of Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” which veered into Run DMC’s “It’s Tricky,” Slacker Theory frontman Steve Danfelt lending his vocals on a version of Filter’s “Hey Man Nice Shot, and Bishop’s distortion effects-laden histrionics on the night-ending rendition of Tool’s “Sober.”

This was a strong show, with The Panic Switch clicking on all cylinders. They kept it tight and action-packed, with each member contributing little nuances along the way that kept the presentation invigorating. Pesci and Bishop especially mixed it up with their various guitar sounds and effects, while Nick varied the intensity of his vocal presentation to keep things charged.

I look forward to seeing Eric behind the Acalasia drum kit soon, and hopefully The Panic Switch won’t become strangers to Altoona area stages now that the hometown area connection has parted ways.

The Panic Switch.

Again, the Panic Switch.

Pesci of the Panic Switch.

Bishop and Eric Wertz of the Panic Switch.

Bishop of the Panic Switch.

Once again, the Panic Switch.

Rob Hampton and Nick Coyle of the Panic Switch.

Eric Wertz of the Panic Switch.

More of the Panic Switch.

Yet more of the Panic Switch.

Bishop, working the distortion and effects.

Slacker Theory’s Steve Danfelt contributes backing vocals to the Panic Switch.

Again, the Panic Switch with Slacker Steve.

Trying his hand at bass, Nick Coyle of the Panic Switch.

Nick Coyle and Eric Wertz of the Panic Switch.

One more time, Nick Coyle of the Panic Switch.
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http://pamusician.net

[Jim Price]

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http://pamusician.net