[Jim Price]

WEEK/WEEKEND RECAP 5/17/04

RON & ADAM @ BELMAR HOTEL 5/11/04

Again escaping the workplace relatively early this night, I caught the latter stages of the weekly Ronny D and Adam D performance at Altoona’s Belmar Hotel.

This week, it was bare-bones Ron and Adam, as “Big Jim” Ricotta was away, taking a big vacation. But Ron and Adam had the show well in hand, as they entertained the Belmar music fans with their reliable mix of classics, a few newer numbers, and a few surprises. Besides tunes from the Beatles, Jimmy Buffett, Tom Petty, Bad Company, Styx, John Mellencamp, Aerosmith and more, we were treated to Adam’s keyboard lounge recital of Tool’s “Sober,” Adam teasing Steelheart’s “I’ll Never Let You Go,” and Triumph’s “Lay It On The Line” to end the night.

While Ron and Adam were tearing down their gear, though, several audience members at a nearby table commenced the Do-It-Yourself entertainment portion of the show. With guitar on loan from Ron, one member of the group began singalong versions of J. Frank Wilson/Pearl Jam’s “Last Kiss,” Lobo’s “Me and You and a Dog Named Boo” (I don’t know how long it has been since I heard anybody cover Lobo!), Loudon Wainright III’s “Dead Skunk,” America’s “Sandman” and the Eagles’ “Hotel California.” This guy was actually not bad, and it was a fun little singalong. It could have gone longer, but Ron had packed up his gear, and had to take his guitar and split.

SQUARE ONE @ THE HITCHING POST, ALTOONA 5/13/04

This night I decided to check in with Square One, putting in a Thursday appearance at Altoona’s Hitching Post.

Attendance was on the sparse side as I arrived during Square One’s second set. Singer/guitarist Don Osborn, bassist/singer Bill Hunter and drummer Jeff Crownover were rocking out a version of Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend;” Don’s guitarwork was giving this tune a funky edge that sounded very cool! The group continued with the Eagles’ “Hotel California” and Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl,” with Bill singing lead. After a fan playfully yelled out “Slayer!,” Square One continued with Van Morrison’s “Wild Night” and concluded the set with Roy Orbison’s “Oh Pretty Woman.”

Square One sounded in good form thus far; and their sound was clear and distinct, with Don’s rangeful voice and guitarwork sounding crisp and clean. Although Bill was battling back problems and was seated on a stool most of this night, he was still having fun playing, and his basswork likewise sounded lean and precise.

The trio soon resumed their classic rock mixture, kicking back into action with Bad Company’s “Can’t Get Enough.” This was followed by John Mellencamp’s “Hurts So Good,” and the Cream double-shot of “Sunshine of Your Love” and “Crossroads.” The classics continued with Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally,” the Temptations’/Rare Earth’s “Get Ready,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Pink Cadillac” and the Doobie Brothers’ “Long Train Runnin’” to end the night.

These three longtime area music vets played it all cleanly and in the pocket. Their vocals and harmonies were strong, and instrumentally it was tight and on the mark. Square One was in good form, and sounds ready for their upcoming busy summer months of Heritage Plaza shows, Lakemont Park 4th of July and Wing-Off appearances, festivals and more. This night served as a good tune-up.

Square One, rocking and rolling at the Hitching Post.

Don Osborn of Square One.

Jeff Crownover of Square One.

BLU @ GRANATELLI’S, EVERETT 5/14/04

In my never-ending mission to seek out new bands and clubs, I took in both this night. Although the venue has been running bands off and on since at least the late 80’s, I had never checked out a band at Granatelli’s in Everett in any of its incarnations until this night. And the band I traveled there to see was a group I had not yet seen or experienced, Blu.

I had heard that Granatelli’s had acquired a next-door movie theater several years ago and converted it into the main band room. I finally got to see the inside of this part of the venue; it is spacious for a live band venue, and is capable of holding several hundred people easily.

Unfortunately, this night it didn’t. Big rooms can look very empty if nobody shows up, and Blu found themselves playing to a big theater-like room, populated with ten people tops as I arrived shortly after midnight.

Based out of Frostburg, Maryland, Blu’s four members span two generations, featuring the father/daughter combo of Jerry and Rachel Sensbach. Jerry plays guitar and sings backing vocals, Rachel plays bass and sings lead and backing vocals. Randi Blauch provides Blu’s primary lead voice, while Jennifer Brown plays drums. The group’s former lead singer, Erica Genatowski, helped out with additional lead and backing vocals on several tunes this night. So except for dad Jerry, Blu is a mostly female group.

Blu played a variety of rock’n’roll spanning the 70’s to present; from names like Led Zeppelin, Romantics, Aerosmith, Three Doors Down, Pink, Meredith Brooks, Wild Cherry, Janis Joplin, Sugar Ray and more. The highlights of what I witnessed were the group’s final two songs of the night, Sugar Ray’s “Fly” and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll;” bridged by a powerful and feisty drum solo display from Jennifer.

Instrumentally, Blu was solid and consistent. Jerry’s guitarwork was smooth and fiery; and Jennifer’s drumwork was steady and powerful; the room acoustics made her beats boom out prominently throughout the set. Rachel’s bass work was smooth and consistent, although slightly undermixed. But as players, Blu was together and on target.

Vocally, Blu was satisfactory. Randi showed good voice for the most part; she was on key and had some power behind her voice. Singing with Blu for four months, Randi seems to be a developing talent. She appeared a little bit shy and nervous this night; something that more onstage experience (and an enthusiastic crowd to sing to, something she didn’t have this night) should solve. The group’s former singer, Erica, fronted Blu on Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” and teamed with Randi to sing Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music.”

Overall, given the circumstance of an empty room, Blu did a satisfactory job. The ladies appear to be a young band still gaining onstage experience and developing their chops; but seem to be well on their way. They should continue to improve, gain confidence and build a fan base as they gain more onstage experience. Hopefully empty rooms like Granatelli’s this night won’t deter their efforts.

Blu, making their Granatelli’s debut.

Jennifer Brown of Blu.

BOOST @ 4D’S LOUNGE, ALTOONA 5/15/04

A good example of why a band like Blu above should hopefully keep working on developing their show and skills is the band I’m about to write about here. Four years ago in the Altoona area, Boost was like Blu – a young band trying to gain a foothold on area stages. At that point in time, Boost was young and timid; they didn’t sound bad, but didn’t have that confidence and swagger that seasoned bands display. The group struggled, and at times I expected they might just give it up and fade from the scene.

To their credit, though, Boost didn’t give up. On the contrary, they put their noses to the grindstone, and worked on ways to improve. Founding members Jim Logrando and guitarist Matt Seno soon hooked up with their old Tripwire bandmate, Bart Hipp, and school life prompted the group’s relocation to Happy Valley. Jim soon discovered his marketing professor at Penn State, Keith Niedermeier, was himself a musician, and a veteran of several bands from his hometown of Toledo, Ohio. Keith started working with Boost, and soon became the group’s bass player and singer. Keith showed Boost the ropes, guiding them on the do’s and don’t’s of how to become a successful band. The group studied the success formulas of established bands, such as Emily’s Toybox and Green Eggs, and asked for advice from those and other bands. Eventually, Boost landed a weekly Friday night show at State College’s Brewery, which enabled them to further hone their skills and fine-tune their show into a happening onstage party.

Boost had played a few shows in the Altoona area last year, at City Limits, but still couldn’t get a consistent crowd at that venue. Recently, the group opened a show for the Giants of Science at the 4D’s Lounge, and received a good response that night. Eventually, opportunity knocked for Boost, and they landed their own Saturday night gig at the 4D’s. I was there this night to see how this homecoming show would fare.

A good-sized crowd was already present as I arrived and procured a table. Boost was into Weezer’s “Buddy Holly,” and the group would proceed to mix it up between favorites from the 60’s to present, with an emphasis on the 80’s and 90’s. Keith and Bart swapped lead vocal duties, with each doing a series of songs before the other would take over. The group implemented crisp two- and three-part vocal harmonies along the way, which especially sounded good on “If I Had a Million Dollars.” The group’s presentation was crisp on tunes from Better Than Ezra, Blur, the Monkees, Eve 6, Deadeye Dick, Tom Petty, Sugar Ray, Tommy James, Modern English, R.E.M. and the Buggles.

The 4D’s audience was quiet in the early going, but the number of people in the house indicated that this would probably not last for long, once the alcohol flow started taking effect and the band continued to break the ice with the audience.

Sure enough, the dance floor started to get busy shortly into Boost’s second set, as the set-opening rendition of Jimmy Eats World’s “The Middle” attracted the night’s first dance floor participants. Following Van Morrison’s “Brown-Eyed Girl,” Bart put his voice to the test, taking on the falsettos of The Darkness’ “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” and doing a respectable job. The party intensified with Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl,” and the group again demonstrated great-sounding harmonies on Bad Company’s “Feel Like Making Love.” Boost kept the dance floor busy with more favorites from Violent Femmes, Poison, Soft Cell, James, George Michael’s “Faith” (Boost does the Michael version, not the Limp Bizkit version), Joan Jett, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Good Charlotte; before wrapping up the set with a funk/disco medley that segued together Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” Ohio Players’ “Love Rollercoaster,” Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing” and KC & the Sunshine Band’s “Get Down Tonight.”

For Boost, this was turning into a victorious night. The hometown where they played to empty rooms four years before was now packing the dance floor for Boost’s party; and much of that dance floor crowd was female! The band was visibly stoked by the way the night was proceeding, and you could tell by the smiles onstage that this group was clearly enjoying life this night.

And the party would only grow crazier during the third set. The dance floor instantly filled back up as Boost launched into their third set with Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me;” and as the group proceeded through favorites by the Georgia Satellites, Bryan Adams and Fountains of Wayne, various ladies from the dance floor began platooning onstage to bump and grind with the band. Eventually, the 4D’s instructed Boost to escort the ladies off the stage, as they were worried about too much weight on the stage floor! The party nonetheless continued with tunes from Wheatus, Sublime, a repeat performance of Tom Petty’s “American Girl” (by request for Kelly, celebrating her 22nd birthday this night), Duran Duran, the Steve Miller Band and more. It quickly became apparent at set’s end that the 4D’s didn’t want this party to end, so Boost encored with Blink 182’s “All the Small Things.”

Boost delivered a kickass party, and through it all sounded tight and on the money. Instrumentally the group was very together, with Jim’s explosive beats, Keith’s sturdy basswork and Bart’s rhythm guitarwork providing the taut backdrop against which the group would launch their impressive vocal harmonies, and Matt would execute clean and precise guitar solowork. Boost displayed skill and abundant energy, but kept their onstage presentation pleasant and unimposing, offering friendly and humorous banter between themselves and the audience. Augmented by Tony Taylor’s masterful job behind the sound board, Boost provided a sharp performance, ample energy, and a lot of fun onstage this night. It was a party!

“They have come a LONG way,” one observer remarked to me in the midst of the third set dancefloor crush. Indeed they have. This evening was proof positive that the band that sticks together, works hard, sweats the details, and keeps the faith eventually gets rewarded. Boost achieved a victorious homecoming this night, and in the process set themselves up to be a future Saturday night crowd magnet band in this town. If any 4D’s patrons saw a beaten and battered monkey cowering in a corner this night, it was the one that Boost soundly threw from their backs and stomped to a pulp as they conquered the 4D’s this night.

With ladies onstage, Boost having fun at the 4D’s Lounge.

Keith Niedermeier of Boost, enjoying the onstage accompaniment.

Girls just wanna have fun onstage with Boost.

Keith Niedermeier of Boost senses a presence behind him onstage.

Bart Hipp of Boost.

It’s a party on and off the stage with Boost at the 4D’s Lounge.

Going airborne behind the kit, Jim Logrando of Boost.

Once again, Keith Niedermeier of Boost.

Once again, Jim Logrando of Boost.

Keith Niedermeier of Boost again has company onstage.

Once again, Jim Logrando of Boost.

Matt Seno and Bart Hipp of Boost.

POPSHOP @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 5/16/04

For me, this weekend drew to a close at Pellegrine’s, where PopShop paid their latest visit.

I arrived late during the group’s second set, and for a little while, the real popshop was happening back by the rear door entrance, where Pelly’s hostess Jennifer was serving up delicious shooters to me and the ‘back-room’ gang by the door. I soon pried myself away from the back room to see what PopShop was doing onstage, and was promptly blown away by the group’s second-set finale, as they broke out Meatloaf’s “Paradise By the Dashboard Light,” with singers Eric Klein and Kelly Daniels nailing the singing and dialogue portions of this epic dead-on!

A good-sized Pellegrine’s crowd quickly populated the dance floor as PopShop resumed their celebration of rock’n’roll hits. The beginning of the set focused on current hits, including recent hits from Britney Spears, Kelis and more. The group then shifted into a rocking vein with AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock’n’Roll,” and Divinyls’ almost-forgotten hit “I Touch Myself.” PopShop shifted country for Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places,” featuring a Neil Diamond “Sweet Caroline” midsection; before Kelly and the group closed the night with Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life.”

Again, PopShop did what they did very well. Eric and Kelly both demonstrated good voices this night, while both rallying the festive dancefloor masses. Their instrumental corps of guitarists Dan Franks and Tom Sweeney, bassist Brian Boettger and drummer Jeff Kravitz kept things airtight and uptempo. Soundman Brian McConnell had a good mix going, with the beats thumping and the vocals sounding clear and concise.

This show provided further proof that PopShop has arrived as one of this state’s premiere onstage parties, and their mix of hits and nostalgic surprises should assure no slowdown to this band’s growth in popularity.

Eric Klein of PopShop.

Kelly Daniels of PopShop, singing and dancing.

Girls just wanna have fun with Kelly Daniels and PopShop.

It’s a PopShop party!

Dan Franks of PopShop.

The PopShop party continues.

Again, Kelly Daniels of PopShop.

More good times ensue with PopShop at Pellegrine’s.
_________________

http://pamusician.net