Jim Price
Moderator
Joined: 07 Dec 2002
Posts: 4817
Location: Altoona, PA
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 Posted: Friday Apr 04, 2003 |
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WEEK/WEEKEND RECAP 4/1/03:
TUESDAY NIGHT 3/25 – I checked out acoustic performer Jeremy Gena during his weekly City Limits appearance. Jeremy was J.P. Hesser’s former bandmate in the duo Acoustifire; as a solo performer this night, Jeremy did a decent job blending unplugged classics from Neil Young, Jim Croce, Poison and more, plus a few original songs. In the night’s latter stages, Jeremy allowed special guest Dustin Burley to get up and perform a few original songs, including “Rising Of The Sun” and “Don’t Cry Little Boy.” Dustin and Jeremy then finished out the night performing as a duet on several of Jeremy’s original songs, including “Winding Road” and “What’s Going On.” Jeremy’s presentation touches on rock, folk and blues, with his original songs incorporating elements of those styles. While not a huge crowd, there were a few people there taking in the show, and I understand Jeremy has been drawing a steady audience since he started doing Tuesdays at City Limits. If you’re looking for something to check out on Tuesdays, Jeremy Gena is a welcome option.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT 3/26 – I decided to get my weekly Hurricaning done a day earlier this week, catching Felix & the Hurricanes at The Hitching Post. It was Hitching Post bartender Ernie’s birthday, and it was a wild time!
The Turkey shots were flying, and thus so were The Hurricanes and the crowd! This made for some interesting highlights, including the ‘Canes rock’n’roll medley of “Wipe Out,” “Barefootin’” (accommodating some dancing ladies who kicked their shoes off) and “Jailhouse Rock;” a rowdy version of Charlie Daniels’ “In America” (sent out to the troops), Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Ala(toona),” and toward’s night’s end, the free-for-all jam-out version of ZZ Top’s “La Grange,” suddenly downshifting into the ‘Canes’ blues original “On The Bottom Again!” And while a broken guitar string might interrupt other bands’ shows, it didn’t for the Hurricanes; Felix kept working the strings he had left, and continued to smoke his solo on “Sweet Home Alabama!” The man is hardcore! Several wildly dancing ladies became willing slides for Felix’s guitar toward’s night’s end; it was a fun and crazy time!
An unidentified female fan prepares to give Felix Kos a "Stone Cold Stunner."
Felix, pleasing the fans at the Hitching Post.
THURSDAY NIGHT 3/27 – With my Hurricanes fix satisfied the night before, I roadtripped to Happy Valley to check in on Spider Kelly at the Phyrst. This band is always a good time, and this night was no exception. Spider Kelly fired through a freewheeling set mixing current and classic rock favorites plus numerous surprises along the way. Highlights were numerous, including the band frequently swapping instruments and playing musical chairs onstage, and primary frontman/guitarist Eric Bishop breaking out the accordion for versions of Rancid’s “Time Bomb,” Todd Rundgren’s “Bang On The Drum,” tunes from Cake and the Buggles too! I also liked the versions of Southern Culture On The Skids’ “Soul City,” The rocking version of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Matthew Sweet’s “Girlfriend,” and for the finale, all four band members swapping instruments in midsong during Social Distortion’s “Ball And Chain!” A good job was done by all the Spiders this night, introduced by Eric as "Jay Leno" on bass, "Sean Connery" on drums and "Windows 95" on guitar. A mid-sized crowd was in the house, including a boisterous contingent of students from the Scranton area who kept yelling for Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer,” and celebrated happily once their request was honored. Spider Kelly plays every Thursday at the Phyrst, and every Saturday at the Darkhorse Tavern in State College; they always deliver a lively, rocking show worth checking out. According to bassist Kevin Stacey, the group has been doing some recording recently, but isn’t yet sure what they will do with the recordings; so it is possible you might see some new Spider Kelly recorded product out soon.
Since I used to play one myself, I always like to glorify usage of the accordion when other musicians play 'em onstage…Eric Bishop of Spider Kelly, demonstrating his accordion prowess…
Spider Kelly, rallying the party animals at the Phyrst.
Chris Hescox of Spider Kelly.
After the accordion was put away for the night, Spider Kelly rocks the Phyrst.
From another angle, Spider Kelly at the Phyrst.
Kevin Stacey of Spider Kelly.
John "Skaterman" McNulty of Spider Kelly.
FRIDAY NIGHT 3/28 - The big event this night was The Grimm's CD release party for their long-awaited concept album, "Resurruption," at Peter C's. What an incredible show and night this was! How grandiose was this party for the “Resurruption” disc? How many times have you ever been handed a PROGRAM when you enter the door of a live gig? A huge crowd was already in the house as the night began, including fans, musicians and music press from as far away as Scranton and Harrisburg; including representatives of Bleech, Retroactive, The Marauders, Xpendable, Gunshy, ex-Brok*n, ex-Broken Neck, ex-Saucemonster, ex-Adam Smash, ex-I Enemy and more, also “Resurruption” CD sleeve artist Langdon Foss from Colorado, even my PA Musician cohort Shel Hoachlander made the trip! Balistic heated up the crowd with their powerful set, showcasing their original songs old and new, plus select songs from Judas Priest, Queensryche and Metallica. Highlights here included established Balistic faves such as “Psychic Man,” “Power,” “Lean On Me,” “Land of the Living,” “Through the Gates” and “Get It Right;” another excellent rendition of Queensryche’s “Empire” with new frontman Mark McNelly handling the high-end Geoff Tate vocal and bassist Dave Fox providing the low-end “Empire” growl; and for comic relief, guitarist Mike Bordner’s fiery growl on Balistic’s thunderous treatment of “The Rodeo Song.” Balistic again received a great response in front of the largest audience they’ve played to in this town yet! Then it was time for the hour everyone was waiting for, The Grimm’s multimedia introduction to the world of “Resurruption.” In conjunction with Donnie and Topher of Phantom X Productions, The Grimm performed the “Resurruption” album in its entirety. As the Grimm performed songs from the album (complete with soundbytes and sound effects from the album), Phantom X synchronized Langdon Foss’ artwork and animation images from the album, projecting them on a screen alongside the band onstage. The audience paid close attention as the album’s plot unfolded; and as the story’s protagonist loses his battle with gunshot wounds during “Flatline Pt. I” and “Flatline Pt. II,” Grimm frontman Bob Lee emerged donning a “Grimm”-reaper-like black robe! It was a powerful presentation, with The Grimm giving all onstage, coupled with the video animation. I haven’t seen a show like this since Queensryche played the entire “Operation: Mindcrime” album at the Cambria County War Memorial back in 1991! It was indeed special! After concluding the performance of the “Resurruption” album, Bob Lee took several moments to thank everybody who made the album and this night possible. After an intermission, The Grimm returned onstage for the “tomfoolery” phase of the show, rewarding the audience with goodies from “Bob’s Big Bad Bag o’Stuff” (yes, I wound up with a maxi-pad stuck to my head, I was wondering why my brain felt so “fresh,” lol!), versions of tunes from Alice In Chains, Motley Crue, Tool and Black Sabbath, the naughty audience participation singalong “Suckupon,” a request for the early Grimm instrumental “Beans” and more! Incredible night; again, kick yourself ferociously if you chose to bypass this show, you missed a once-in-a-lifetime happening you won’t likely see on area stages again any time soon!
Brian Kneasel of Balistic.
Balistic, kicking things off at Peter C's.
Dave Fox of Balistic.
Dave Fox and Mark McNelly of Balistic.
John Lohman of Balistic.
Otto from The Grimm pecks new Gunshy bassist Troy Logan on the cheek before the start of The Grimm's festivities. As Troy's better half, Shel Hoachlander, reported: "He made numerous attempts to eat wings, but was constantly interrupted by adoring fans asking for autographs and bands wooing him to join them."
Covering and photographing gigs can be hard, grueling work. Here, PA Musician scribe Shel Hoachlander receives a mid-gig backrub from partner in crime Troy Logan.
Singer Bob Lee and a Grimm introduction to "Resurruption.
Bob Lee of The Grimm.
Once again, robed frontman Bob Lee of The Grimm.
Bob Lee, flipping off the "Grimm" Reaper during "Raise The Line."
During the last set, an eager fan partakes in singer Bob's Big Bad Bag O'Stuff.
Kent Tonkin of The Grimm.
The Grimm, celebrating the successful debut of "Resurruption."
One more time with feeling, singer Bob of The Grimm.
Grimm and Grimmette, during the postgame celebration at Peter C's.
Another happy Grimmette staffs the merchandise table.
SATURDAY NIGHT 3/29 – I did a doubleheader this night, starting with Fat Vinny & the Wiseguys at The Hitching Post. This was actually the first time I’ve been able to catch this trio’s unplugged show. A near-packed house was in attendance as the trio mixed acoustic blues-geared original tunes with a selection of classic rock and blues favorites. It was interesting to hear how some of the Wiseguys' originals translated to the acoustic format, such as "The River," "About Time For a Love Song," "Picked the Wrong Day," their version of Tom Waits' "Jockey Full of Bourbon," new tunes like "Like a Mule" and "Ten Bar Blues," and more. Songs like "Bad To The Bone" and the Wiseguys' bluesy take on AC/DC's "The Jack" received good response, and at least one audience member was requesting classic blues from John Lee Hooker and more. Unplugged, Fat Vinny & the Wiseguys still played their blues with a passion, and sounded tight and seasoned as a unit. A friendly, laid-back good time; the Wiseguys are back at the Hitching Post Apr. 25.
Fat Vinny & the Wiseguys at The Hitching Post.
Mark Panek and Randy Ketner of Fat Vinny & the Wiseguys.
After Fat Vinny’s second set, I headed up the mountain to catch my second band of the evening, Inside Out at Davey’s in Hastings. I can scratch another name from the list, this was the first time I’ve seen a show at Davey’s! Things were definitely going better for Inside Out this night than the night before at Aldo’s (where they played one set for an audience of five people before some drunken teenager sideswiped their equipment trailer along 4th Avenue). A festive, mid-sized crowd was on hand, and a number of folks populated the dance floor while Inside Out mixed rocking current favorites with select 80's and 90's classics, plus a few originals. This was the first I've seen IO since the addition of new guitarist Dan Kusher; he seemed to fit in well, contributing a few leads along the way. The group's only remaining founding member, guitarist Tim Frick, and bassist Larry "Larz" Philip swapped lead vocal duties throughout the show. The group did a few hard-rocking melody-geared original tunes such as "Inside Of Me" and "Devil In Your Soul," plus songs from Jimmy Eats World, Puddle of Mud, Disturbed, Godsmack, Rage, Nickelback and more. Highlights for me included the version of Ozzy's "No More Tears," plus Larz' high-ranged Kevin DuBrow howl on Quiet Riot's "Metal Health." It's not your parents' Inside Out (just kidding, IO hasn't been out there THAT long), but Tim has kept things going, and judging by this show, might finally have the lineup in place to return Inside Out to the type of prominence they had on this area's music scene through much of the '90's.
Tim Frick of Inside Out.
Larz Philip of Inside Out.
Larz and Tim of Inside Out.
In the middle of a guitar solo, Tim Frick of Inside Out.
The new guy in the band, Dan Kusher of Inside Out.
Once again, Larz and Tim of Inside Out.
Blazing another hot guitar solo, Tim Frick of Inside Out.
SUNDAY NIGHT 3/30 – My initial game plan was to head up to Ebensburg to catch the area debut of Rhymes With Orange at the Castle Pub, but when I saw a dusting of snow on my car, I decided not to chance it, instead heading to Pellegrine’s to finish my weekend with Juiced. (Glad I decided as I did, it was snowing briskly when I left Pelly’s at the end of the night, it was probably worse up the mountain!) As expected, Juiced had a decent-sized crowd in the house, and had a pretty good party under way as I arrived. A few surprises this night included versions of Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and Dion's "Runaround Sue," plus the Miami Sound Machine midsection to Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag." And then there was the Neil Diamond cover, as multitudes of Pelly's women populated the stage while keyboard man Doug Buch crooned "Sweet Caroline." A good rowdy party was happening during the third set, including at least some partial male nudity. Guv'nor Jesse in the house and dancing wildly, Elvis in the house and NOT singing, postgame backrubs (even Natalie participated!), it was all good… Not the party I had planned to see, but a good party nonetheless…
Norm Marks of Juiced.
Carrie Rapaport of Juiced.
Norm Marks of Juiced, joined by a multitude of wild women onstage.
More wild women highjinks onstage at Pellegrine's.
Once again, Carrie from Juiced.
An onstage summit between drummer Don Carr, keyboardist Doug Buch and singer Carrie of Juiced.
Several former members of the G-Man bar staff were happily in attendance this night.
If you saw Carrie from Juiced blushing at the end of the night, this was probably why... |
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