[Jim Price]

WEEK/WEEKEND RECAP 5/10/04

BANDITOS @ THE HITCHING POST, ALTOONA 5/5/04

Okay, Cinco de Mayo isn’t quite as big in stature on the holiday list as St. Patrick’s Day is just yet, but it is growing in popularity as another good excuse to tie one on, and more venues are using Cinco de Mayo as an opportunity to run live music.

In my book at least, one area band seems like a natural choice for doing a Cinco de Mayo show…Banditos. Butch and the Hitching Post must feel the same way, because they were presenting the Banditos this night for the annual Cinco de (hold the) Mayo celebration.

Unfortunately, Wednesday is always my hell night at the day job; with weekly routines this night that usually take me some five or six hours to do after my show ends at 6 PM. Fortunately, I was able to get everything finished by 11 PM, and after a short pizza break at Pellegrine’s, I headed to the Hitching Post to celebrate the last remnants of Cinco de Mayo with Banditos.

A good-sized crowd was already present at The Hitching Post as I arrived. Banditos were on break, and just a few short minutes away from commencing their nightcap set.

The group soon returned to their instruments, and brought two guests with them. The group’s former drummer, Kevin Siegel, and former Xpendable frontman Matt Watson joined the group for versions of Puddle of Mudd’s “Control” and Godsmack’s “Keep Away.” Banditos then returned to the group’s regularly-scheduled drummer, Dave Russell, and proceeded with a mixture of new and classic rock favorites; including tunes from Foo Fighters, Tonic, Wild Cherry, Black Crowes, Hootie & the Blowfish, Steppenwolf and more. Kevin returned to the drum kit for “Play That Funky Music” and “Hard to Handle;” and bassist Bill Nusom soon donned a sombrero to mark the occasion, wearing it as he sang the group’s theme song, The Refreshments’ “Banditos.” Another guest in the house, Duane “Appliance Outlet” Sipe, strapped on the bass and stood in for Banditos’ version of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World,” which segued into Bush’s “Everything Zen.” Duane was soon wearing the sombrero, as Banditos continued the rocking party with Steppenwolf’s “Born to Be Wild,” Grand Funk Railroad’s “Some Kind of Wonderful” and Uriah Heep’s “Stealin.’” Banditos shifted acoustic for Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” before capping their Cinco de Mayo party with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps.”

Banditos kept things rocking, fun and festive. Bassist Bill, drummer Dave, singer/guitarist Wally Archer, guitarists Darrell Ruzzi and Phil Wagner were tight and together on their song selection, and played it all with spirit and enthusiasm. Wally’s and Bill’s voices were on the mark, and their two- and three-part vocal harmonies connected as well. The tunes were delivered with smiles-a-plenty, as the busy Hitching Post cheered their approval. It was a party!

I wished I had arrived sooner, as former Bandito “Big Jim” Ricotta and Back Up Henry frontlady Carol Markel both made cameo appearances with Banditos earlier in the evening. What I saw, though, was a definite good time; and left me satisfied to be able to enjoy at least a little Cinco de Mayo celebrating.

Celebrating Cinco de Mayo, Banditos-style.

With sombrero, Billy Bandito.

With guest Duane Sipe now wearing the sombrero, Billy and Phil Wagner continue the rocking Cinco de Mayo fiesta.

Duane the guest Bandito and Phil Wagner.

Banditos, slamming the lid on Cinco de Mayo.

ALCHEMY @ THE BREWERY, STATE COLLEGE 5/6/04

It was finals week at Penn State, and I decided to roadtrip to Happy Valley to see just how happy the valley was as students completed finals and headed out to the bars to celebrate. I headed to The Brewery to witness the celebration, and a band I had not yet seen, Alchemy.

Alchemy – singer/guitarist Josh Dominick, guitarist Stanton Custer, keyboardist Paul Rennie, bassist/singer Ben Thonus and drummer Todd Evans – was in the midst of their second set as I arrived at the Brewery. I soon discovered that Alchemy was a jam band that mixed rock, funk, jazz and other influences into freewheeling, extended jam workouts. The group did a number of original jam compositions; due to Josh’s microphone sounding a bit muddy and distorted in the mix, I wasn’t able to decipher any song titles. One jam featured a “Mustang Sally”-like intro, and loosely weaved its way through funk, rock and jazz passages, escalating in intensity until it reached a crescendo, before reprising the “Mustang Sally”-styled intro to finish. Another composition took a lighter funk-rock styled jam direction; yet another piece started out at a fast, funky pace, decelerated into a slower midsong jam, and then segues directly into a rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe.” After congratulating the graduating students in the house, Josh and Alchemy finished the set with a bluesy-flavored jam.

After a brief intermission, Alchemy returned, kicking off with a harder, jam-rocking rendition of Cream’s “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” which soon brought fans back onto the Brewery dance floor area to groove along. The group mixed several more flavors into their remaining three lengthy jam excursions; venturing in a reggae direction on the next number, and a countrified jam on their third original. The group’s final number was a more conventional Grateful Dead/Phish-styled jam exercise.

As jam bands go, Alchemy seemed to lean towards a free-jamming style, improvising each journey as it proceeded along. The group’s original compositions featured a basic central melody, off which the group would venture on their jam adventures. At times the group appeared a little indecisive on where exactly the jam would go next, resulting in a few of the compositions stretching out longer than needed. The grooving stagefront audience didn’t seem to mind, though; as they happily moved and gyrated to the rhythms for the duration.

As players, Alchemy was solid. I was particularly impressed with some of Paul Rennie’s sparkling keyboard runs. On the vocal end, Josh did a satisfactory job, although the distortion and muddiness of his mic mix blunted his clarity and effectiveness.

This night gave me a good representation of what Alchemy was about; and showed me the qualities that have earned this band the weekly Thursday slot here at The Brewery. This is a group that is not afraid to stretch out and experiment with different styles and sounds, and it should be interesting to hear what future creations Alchemy has in store as they continue to become more focused.

Ben Thonus of Alchemy.

Paul Rennie of Alchemy.

Todd Evans of Alchemy.

Alchemy gets the fans grooving at The Brewery.

Josh Dominick of Alchemy.

Alchemy, busting some grooves at The Brewery.

Once again, Ben Thonus of Alchemy.

Once again, Paul Rennie of Alchemy.

Once again, Josh Dominick of Alchemy.

Once again, Alchemy, getting their groove on.

SILVER SUNDAY @ RAMADA INN “GROUSE’S NEST,” ALTOONA 5/7/04

It had been some six months since I had last checked in with Silver Sunday, so I decided to catch their debut at the Ramada Inn “Grouse’s Nest” to see how they had progressed.

The group’s first set was just underway as I arrived, and a sizable crowd was already present – at least sizable enough that it took me a few minutes to spot an unoccupied table. Silver Sunday was performing Maroon Five’s “Harder to Breathe,” and proceeded with the Sheryl Crow take on Led Zeppelin’s “D’yer Maker.” Frontlady Cathie, guitarists Jason Wechs and Buck Dickson, bassist Steve Seymore and drummer Todd Harshbarger mixed femme-fronted favorites with alternative takes on classics, 80’s hits and more. Cathie was Courtney-nasty and Alanis-acidic on “Celebrity Skin” and “You Oughta Know” respectively; and the group’s soundman this night, former Choking Faith frontman Jason Mittan, provided backing vocals on the group’s original song “Cathedral Lights” to end the set.

The first set was relatively quiet, as the Ramada audience didn’t have enough drinks in them yet to want to venture onto the dance floor. The group was doing a respectable job thus far, but were just a tad sluggish early on, and in need of a spark to ignite their onstage party.

The action would pick up in the second and third sets, though. Opening with Smashing Pumpkins’ “Today,” Silver Sunday mixed things up more in the second set, breaking out forgotten 80’s gems like Nick Lowe’s “Cruel to be Kind” and Scandal’s “The Warrior;” and Tracy Bonham’s breakthrough mid-90’s hit “Mother Mother.” The group launched into an 80’s hit medley fusing together songs by the GoGo’s, Pat Benatar, John Mellencamp, Romantics and Billy Idol. Buck fronted the band with his unique gruff-voiced take on REO Speedwagon’s “Take It On the Run, before Cathie belted the voice on Veruca Salt’s “Volcano Girls,” and a unique ska/reggae-flavored take on The Outfield’s “Your Love” finished the set.

Both band and crowd showed more life in this set. Now warmed up, Silver Sunday stepped up the energy level a notch; and singer Cathie started to work her charm and magic on the audience more, venturing out on the floor to sing to audience members. The dance floor began to see some action during the second set, as Silver Sunday’s party heated up.

Silver Sunday’s third set picked up where the second left off, as the dance floor became busy the instant the music resumed. Cathie let her voice soar on favorites like Madonna/Kelly Osbourne’s “Papa Don’t Preach,” Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” Blondie’s “One Way or Another” and more; and Buck spotted her periodic breaks with his unique vocal stylings on The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend.” This set became a full-fledged dancefloor party, with both band and crowd fueling each other’s energy. Eventually, the night rocked to a close with an uptempo rocking take on Dexy’s Midnight Runners’ “Come On Eileen,” Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8ter Boi” and Guns’n’Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” to end the show.

Once they got up to speed, Silver Sunday again demonstrated why they are one of this region’s freshest onstage parties. Their setlist contained a few established favorites, but also a lot of forgotten gems not ordinarily heard on area stages. Cathie continues to be a fun performer whose personality comes off as shy and demure at first, and then bolder as she takes her game to the audience and rallies the dancefloor action. Buck and Steve keep the mood lighthearted with their goofball demeanor; but as an instrumental unit, their execution is driving and energetic. Guitarist Jason is the finesse player who flashes tasty guitarwork throughout the show; and drummer Todd keeps the beats steady and driving.

Silver Sunday’s Ramada debut turned out to be a fun one, with a pleasant vibe and a packed dance floor by night’s end. This band throws a different flavor of party; if you’re looking for a diversion from the same 20-song Blink/Rage/Bizkit/Nickelback setlist, treat yourself to Silver Sunday and their fresh good-time vibe.

Cathie of Silver Sunday.

Todd Harshbarger of Silver Sunday.

Jason Wechs of Silver Sunday.

Again, Cathie of Silver Sunday.

With guest Jason Mittan (behind right speaker bin), Silver Sunday performs their original tune “Cathedral Lights.

There she is again, Cathie of Silver Sunday.

Steve Seymore of Silver Sunday.

As their party continues to heat up, Silver Sunday.

Once again, Todd Harshbarger of Silver Sunday.

Once again, Jason Wechs of Silver Sunday.

BILL FILER @ U.S. HOTEL, HOLLIDAYSBURG 5/8/04

I decided to make this Saturday night a doubleheader, and kicked things off by taking in some of Bill Filer’s performance at the U.S. Hotel in Hollidaysburg.

For as long as I’ve heard bands and musicians sing the praises of Bill Filer and his recording facility, Audible Images in Stormstown (near Port Matilda/State College), I had never once seen Bill’s live performance yet – until tonight. Bill was finishing up a set as I arrived. Singing and playing electric guitar against a programmed backdrop, Bill concluded the set with Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana,” followed by Billy Joel’s “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant.”

Bill and I spoke briefly during the intermission, about his live show and Audible Images. Bill was quick to praise the caliber of musical talent that comes through his studio; mentioning Deviance and Roadkill among the bands he has had fun working with. He mentioned that the live show helps pay the bills and gets him out of the studio, and he likes to mix it up onstage on a given night and make the audience happy. Bill has become somewhat of an institution in State College; where he performs most Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at the Allen Street Grill.

He proceeded to do that during the next set. Bill’s opening rendition of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” instantly drew some patrons onto the narrow bar walkway to bust some dance moves. Bill mixed a diverse selection of classics, following with Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” and Marc Cohn’s “Walking In Memphis,” and honoring a request for Hall and Oates’ “Rich Girl.” His set then ventured bluesy for Eric Clapton’s “Layla,” and country for Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler.” Back to rock’n’roll for the Eagles’ “Take It Easy,” before Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” drew an older couple onto the floor to cut the rug. Bill then broke out Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill,” and continued with more Santana, tunes from the Doors, Johnny Cash, and Don Henley, and without the programmed music behind him, a curious solo guitar version of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.” Bill then picked up the tempo and drew more dancers onto the floor with his jovial rendering of the B-52’s “Love Shack;” obviously, Bill likes to mix it up!

Bill’s mild-mannered presentation and varied songlist kept things entertaining and upbeat, and the mid-sized U.S. Hotel audience was taking it all in and having a good time. Content that Bill had this party well in hand, I decided to venture out to catch the second half of my planned Saturday doubleheader.

In action at the U.S. Hotel, Bill Filer.

STRONGHOLD @ ALDO’S, ALTOONA 5/8/04

As blown away as I was after seeing this band the first time at Aldo’s, I knew I needed to make a return visit for Stronghold’s return visit to Aldo’s.

I was a little apprehensive, hoping that at least some sort of crowd would be at Aldo’s to see this band. Less than 20 people populated Aldo’s for Stronghold’s first visit; and this night, the in-town competition included dance/party crowd magnet juggernauts Vs. the Earth (formerly Nevermoure) and The Collective, plus rising local metal force Wake Up Screaming, along with Deviance’s official first CD-release party for their new CD, Contagion, over in Johnstown. So the odds were not in favor of Stronghold pulling any decent numbers this night.

The good news – while the attendance wasn’t huge, it was still clearly an improvement over Stronghold’s first visit. World was apparently spreading about this band and what they brought to the stage. In the audience and checking Stronghold out this night were a few members of Hair Force One, off-duty this night.

Stronghold was into their second set as I arrived, and was pumping out a version of The Cult’s “Fire Woman.” The group then launched into an extended 10-minute version of Van Halen’s “Everybody Wants Some,” during which lead guitarist Alex Demos unleashed a full-shred meltdown display on his instrument, and singer Kevin Rasel introduced the band members. Stronghold then kicked into a Motley Crue medley, with guest and former Burning Image/Freek singer Rob Perrone fronting the group on “Live Wire;” the group continued with “Too Young to Fall in Love” and “Looks That Kill,” with Hair Force One frontman Victor Synn contributing backing vocals from stagefront. Stronghold then sent the show to intermission with Russ Ballard/Rainbow’s “Since You’ve Been Gone.”

Stronghold soon resumed the action with Rob Perrone again singing lead, this time on Godsmack’s “Bad Religion.” A Metallica double-shot featuring “Creeping Death” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” then followed, along with a Black Sabbath pairing of “Paranoid” and “Children of the Grave.” Stronghold then introduced a classic metal-geared original song from their recently-released CD, Portal of Illusion, before arriving at one of the moments I had been waiting for – the set-ending finale rendition of Queensryche’s “Queen of the Reich.” Once again, Kevin Rasel nailed the Geoff Tate vocals near perfectly. The Aldo’s audience wanted one more, and Stronghold delivered with an encore version of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll,” during which a number of ladies from the audience joined the group to dance onstage.

Once again, Stronghold put on a dazzling display. Singer Kevin again demonstrated a clear, rangeful and powerful voice, and Alex Demos tore things up frequently with fast and fiery precision guitar leads. Chris Batton’s drumbeats were again hefty and thunderous, and the brotherly duo of Dan and Dave Climo cemented it all together with beefy bass and rhythm guitarwork respectively. Unlike their last visit, Stronghold had some audience to play to this night, and those people appreciated the display and cheered approval.

Stronghold kicked ass and took names. This time, they had some names to take via the new fans in the house. And hopefully, more new fans will be in attendance for this group’s next visit, as word continues to spread about Stronghold and their explosive brand of classic metal.

Guest Rob Perrone sings with Stronghold.

Kevin Rasel of Stronghold.

Executing one of many dazzling solos this night, Alex Demos of Stronghold.

Chris Batton of Stronghold.

Several ladies join the Stronghold party onstage.

Once again, Rob Perrone singing lead with Stronghold.

With more ladies onstage and Rob Perrone singing lead, Stronghold’s metal party continues.

Again, Kevin Rasel of Stronghold.

Once again, Alex Demos of Stronghold.

Alex Demos and Kevin Rasel of Stronghold.

One more time, Kevin Rasel of Stronghold.

Having another chair-dancing good time, Chell (on right, in black).

Three happy ladies celebrate after Stronghold’s kickass performance.

BACKSTREET LAW @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 5/9/04

As another weekend drew to a close, I headed to Pellegrine’s to close the book on my weekend with the latest chapter from Backstreet Law.

The big news in camp Backstreet Law this night was the arrival and release of their new 3-song EP, sponsored by Jagermeister. The group was selling the EP at this show, and even offered deals on free T-shirts and other merchandise to people purchasing the EP.

A good-sized Pelly’s crowd was on hand as I arrived, and the group was in the midst of their second set. After they finished the song they were doing, drummer Choke commenced the familiar beat that signified one thing – the group’s explicit rap-metal shout-along favorite, “Seatbelt.” Although the group isn’t permitted to perform this song in some of the places they play, it has become a favorite at Pelly’s, and the stagefront mass of humanity was soon jumping up and down and shouting along with the song’s chorus. The group also broke out another original tune, “Sharks,” from their Hollow CD, before firing off a three-song Metallica medley of “Enter Sandman,” “Master of Puppets” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls” to end the set.

With the release of the new EP, Backstreet Law was clearly stoked this night, and seemed to execute onstage with an extra spring in their step, and for frontman Goody, some extra sass in his voice. While Backstreet Law is usually fired up on a given night, there appeared to be more excitement in what they were doing this night.

Shortly after Backstreet Law began their final set, there was another obvious reason for the group to be fired up – ladies en masse onstage! After the group opened the set with the title track from Hollow and commenced their classic rock medley with Steve Miller Band’s “The Joker,” Pellegrine’s ladydom stepped onstage to groove with the band. The classic rock medley wound its way through Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Ala(toona)” and George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone” (Goody’s barrelhouse growl fits this song perfectly), before the band gearshifted into a funkier vein with Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” This actually started another medley, as the group went directly into Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby” and Tone Loc’s “Funky Cold Medina.” This medley finished with a “Wild Thing” double-shot, as the group did the rap and classic versions of the song back-to-back. Backstreet Law’s party must have been using too much energy, though, as a sudden onstage power outage brought the festivities to a standstill. After a few moments, when it became apparent that the power onstage wasn’t being returned to full strength, Backstreet Law finished the show with something a bit different – Guitarist Jeremy Edge broke out an acoustic guitar, and he and Goody finished the night with an unplugged rendition of Alice In Chains’ “Rooster.”

In all, another strong Backstreet Law performance, with an unintended surprise ending. Based on the past few shows I’ve seen from them, Backstreet Law seems to be hitting their stride at just the right time; as the group builds momentum heading into a summer that will see them release their next full-length CD and perform on the second stage at the Rolling Rock Town Fair in July. Everything may be coming together just at the right time for Backstreet Law, and more exciting times could be ahead for them in the months ahead.

Backstreet Law with those wild and crazy Pellegrine’s fans.

Jamie and Goody of Backstreet Law.

Jamie Morral of Backstreet Law.
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