[Jim Price]

WEEKEND RECAP 11/6/06

NOTHING SACRED @ ALDO’S, ALTOONA 11/2/06

After logging a late evening doing my monthly Pennsylvania Musician paperboy duties around the Altoona area, I headed to Aldo's to get a cold brew into my thirsty system and partake in some acoustic sounds, courtesy of Nothing Sacred.

I arrived during the second set of the night, and the trio of Cheeze, Tim Mort and Tom Noel was entertaining a mid-sized Aldo's audience. As their set progressed, Nothing Sacred was mixing it up with a wide variety of sounds, quite far removed from what these three musicians do in their respective metalcore and hardcore punk projects, Suicide Switch and Chapter 5. Cheeze was actually doing some bonafide soul crooning on a rendition of Dobie Gray's "Drift Away." The trio also did a Social Distortion number, and unplugged renditions of Tom Petty's "American Girl," Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues" and Rancid's "Ruby Soho" to finish out the set.

I became involved in some conversation at the main bar and wasn't paying close attention to Nothing Sacred's nightcap set; but did hear the group end the night with renditions of Social Distortion's "Ball and Chain" and Dropkick Murphys' "The Torch."

The group delivered a relaxed, casual mood, and bantered with the Aldo's crowd as the set went along. This trio had fun as they stepped outside the box of their harder-edged plugged-in bands and sampled some acoustic avenues. It was an enjoyable show, and a good time.

Nothing Sacred, with a little help from their friends.

Again, Nothing Sacred.

LIES, INC./4 DAYS DIRTY @ THE BAR, ALTOONA 11/3/06

I was curious to get my first look at Lies, Inc., the new band collaboration reuniting Grimm bassman Kent Tonkin with former Grimm drummer Ron Brode, and also featuring former Anything Jane vocalist J.D. Hicks and former Jedi Herdsmen guitarist Jason Berardi (reportedly a hair-band guitarist in another dimension). I would get that first look at them this night at The Bar in Altoona, as they were opening for 4 Days Dirty.

Unfortunately, though, due to day job duties delaying my exit out the door this night, it was only a partial look. I arrived in time to catch the last half of Lies, Inc.'s set, but had missed their original tunes, which were performed early in the set. I did get to see Lies, Inc. perform modern-rocking favorites from Papa Roach, Linkin Park, and Breaking Benjamin. The group also slowed it down with Hinder's "Lips of an Angel," and honored loud audience demands for Buckcherry's "Crazy Bitch" to finish out the set. The group sounded solid on these covers, but I had hoped to catch their original tunes to get a more accurate depiction of their own musical turf. Oh well, day jobs will sometimes do this to my best-laid plans.There would be other opportunities to catch this band soon.

Lies, Inc., rocking down The Bar.

Jason Berardi of Lies, Inc. No goats were harmed in the playing of his guitar.

Kent Tonkin and J.D. Hicks of Lies, Inc.

Ron Brode of Lies, Inc.

Once again, Lies, Inc.

Lies, Inc. was received well by the good-sized crowd packed into The Bar's upper stage level. During the intermission I touched base with Bud Beals, who informed me that his most recent band, Bleech, had reformed with a new name, Private Property. Hopefully I would get to catch this band in action on area stages soon.

I stuck around The Bar to observe a good portion of 4 Days Dirty's first set. Singer/guitarist Steve Danfelt, bassist Paul Greiner, guitarist Joe Neary and drummer Justin Fair mixed bone-jarring original assaults with select covers. Some of the originals the group did early on included "Stone Cold," "Worthy," "Wanted" and "Killbox;" they also did Breaking Benjamin's "Water" and Atreyu's "Shameful." 4 Days Dirty's sound was bristling and in good form, and The Bar audience remained packed in front of the stage to get soundly rocked by them.

After watching 4 Days Dirty's first eight songs, I exited The Bar, as there was another new band playing in town this night that I wanted to check out.

4 Days Dirty delivers their own brand of musical carnage at The Bar.

Paul Greiner and Steve Danfelt of 4 Days Dirty.

Justin Fair of 4 Days Dirty.

Joe Neary of 4 Days Dirty.

Again, 4 Days Dirty.

Again, Justin Fair of 4 Days Dirty.

ECHOBURN @ 4D’S LOUNGE, ALTOONA 11/3/06

That band was Echoburn, who was partying down onstage at the 4D's Lounge. In my typical fashion, I arrived just as the band was finishing their second set, ending with a rendition of Poison's "Talk Dirty to Me."

Based in Harrisburg, Echoburn's most recognizable face to Altoona audiences is lead guitarist/singer Greg Folsom, who graced local stages most recently in Juiced and Mr. Hand. Joey Dalto sings lead and plays guitar, and Chris Anderson plays drums. Greg informed me that his brother, Doug Folsom, would be coming on board to play bass in the group soon; this night, though, former Velveeta bassman John Matthews was supplying the bottom end.

A mid-sized crowd populated the Dees this night, and it didn't take long for Echoburn to get a good portion of that crowd on the dance floor once their third set commenced. Renditions of Buckcherry's "Crazy Bitch" and Def Leppard's "Pour Some Sugar On Me" quickly drew dancers towards the stage and packed the Dees' dance floor. Echoburn proceeded to mix it up between current and classic rock favorites; on the classic side, the group broke out versions of Ram Jam/Leadbelly's "Black Betty," John Mellencamp's "Jack and Diane," Mr. Big's "To Be with You," Joruney's "Any Way You Want It," Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and the night-finishing rendition of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell." Sprinkled in between these were Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy," Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" and Green Day's "Holiday." And the group also included a medley that fused together Garth Brooks' "Friends In Low Places," Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son" and the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women."

Through it all, Echoburn maintained an energetic pace and a bright, upbeat vibe. Their execution and vocals were on target, and they kept the dance floor crowd content for the duration.

Based on this display, this band is a rising party force likely to win over more local fans with repeated 4D's visits. This night showed that Echoburn is on their way. A good time.

Joey Dalto of Echoburn.

Greg Folsom of Echoburn.

Chris Anderson of Echoburn.

Again, Greg Folsom of Echoburn.

Echoburn, partying it up at the 4D's Lounge.

THE UNDERGROUND TV KICKOFF PARTY @ CITY LIMITS, ALTOONA 11/4/06

"How 'bout that UN-DER-GROOOOUUUUND!!!" – Stacy, Underground Television camera operator and wild man

With The Underground Television's third season kicking off this month, a party was in order. And I was in the mood to hear some original sounds this night, so I headed to City Limits to partake in The Underground's season kickoff party, featuring Altoona's Opposition, Pittsburgh's Loko Phylum and West Virginia's Stuck In Kaos.

A power nap gone awry gave me a late start, and I ended up missing Opposition's opening set. Eyewitness accounts gave Opposition favorable reviews, and a good-sized crowd was present at City Limits to await the next band, Loko Phylum.

Loko Phylum offered something completely different during the course of their set. Featuring singer Skip Douglas, Chris Fuze on lead guitar, Aaron Hreczkosiej on guitar and vocals, Nick Prezioso on bass, Frank Bachurski on drums, and Mike Betzler on keys and sampling; Loko Phylum's original style and sound couldn't be easily pigeonholed, and are best described as diverse and incendiary. Elements of modern metal and hip-hop gave the group a slight Rage Against the Machine flavor, but Loko Phylum's song arrangements were continually busy and gearshifting between various moods and textures, as they performed an entirely original set that included songs from their latest CD, Sex Sells Sex Kills. I didn’t catch much in the way of song titles, except for the closing track “27 Kisses.” Loko Phylum’s set was consistently hard-hitting, and held the attention of much of the City Limits stagefront audience.

Several folks move towards the stage for a closer look at Pittsburgh's Loko Phylum.

Skip Douglas of Loko Phylum.

Frank Bachurski of Loko Phylum.

Loko Phylum, making their City Limits debut.

Again, Skip Douglas of Loko Phylum.

Again, Loko Phylum.

Nick Prezioso and Skip Douglas of Loko Phylum.

One more time, Pittsburgh's Loko Phylum.

Martinsburg, West Virginia heavy hitters Stuck In Kaos then finished the night with their volatile set of metalcore-geared sounds. Frontman Jeff Deeds, guitarist Jeremy Dove, drummer Chris Faircloth, bassist Bryan Jackson and Mike Cloud on samples ignited the City Limits crowd with aggressive, socially-charged tunes, including several from their latest CD Society and a number of new assaults as well. Instrumentally the group was continually on the attack, and frontman Jeff took his presentation out and into the audience’s faces. It was aggressive and agitated, and the City Limits audience dug it, with a good-sized contingent of fans in front of the stage by the time all was said and done.

It was another successful Underground Television event that introduced a good-sized crowd of people to original live music. All three bands represented well and likely expanded their fan bases this night.

Jeff Deeds of Stuck In Kaos takes his fire-and-brimstone vocal assault into the audience.

Again, Jeff Deeds of Stuck In Kaos.

Stuck In Kaos shakes the rafters at City Limits.

Chris Faircloth of Stuck In Kaos.

Mike Cloud of Stuck In Kaos.

Jeremy Dove of Stuck In Kaos.

Again, Stuck In Kaos.

Giving the fans some maximum rage, Stuck In Kaos.

Once again, Jeff Deeds of Stuck In Kaos takes it to the City Limits audience.

Again, Chris Faircloth of of Stuck In Kaos.

Once again, Chris Faircloth of Stuck In Kaos.

Yet again, Jeff Deeds of Stuck In Kaos.

Stuck In Kaos takes the maelstrom atop City Limits' rear bar.

Yours truly gets caught up in the excitement.

These two ladies were enjoying the musical smackdown being delivered by Stuck In Kaos.

THE NIGHTCRAWLERS @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 11/5/06

My Sunday night destination this weekend was again Pellegrine's, to catch a long-overdue Altoona visitation by Happy Valley musical adventurers The Nightcrawlers.

After working with several bass players over the past year, it appears that the Nightcrawlers have found their new bassist, Peter Jogo, who used to hold down bottom end for Sideshow Bob a few years back. Peter, singer/guitarist Noah Figlin, keyboardist/flutist/singer Aeb Byrne and drummer Steve Arnold were just into their second set as I arrived, performing their tasty mixture of intriguing classics and multi-flavored original songs. Highlights during this set included Noah's and Aeb's duet on Stevie Nicks/Tom Petty's "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," Noah's explosive Robert Plant/Jimmy Page voice/guitar display on Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On," Peter's convincing lowdown Man-In-Black vocals on Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire, and the group's deft coupling of the Grateful Dead's "Shakedown Street" with "When the Saints Go Marching In." The 'Crawlers also did a few of their own, including the southwestern rockabilly-flavored "Desert Sun" and some new originals such as "On My Way," which ended the set.

Thus far, the Nightcrawlers' musicianship was impeccable as usual. All four 'Crawlers were showing skill and style, merging both into a captivating display. As attendance was on the light side, it was too bad there weren't more people at Pellegrine's this night to enjoy it, but the ones that were present seemed to be appreciating the Nightcrawlers' efforts so far.

Soon the group started into their nightcap set, opening with Coldplay's "Clocks." The group did a Bob Marley number, before introducing a new original song called "Somebody," a pop/blues-flavored number with Aeb singing lead. The group continued with Tom Petty's "Learning to Fly," Southern Culture on the Skids' "Camel Walk" and "Calling Graceland," before finishing the night with "Grasslands." Although Pellegrine's dance floor never got too busy, the seated audience was attentive and cheered the Nightcrawlers after each song.

Anyway, it was good to see The Nightcrawlers again playing in the 'Toona; hopefully their persistance will soon pay off, and more people in this town will discover and appreciate this band and the unique style and sound they bring to area stages.

The Nightcrawlers.

With Bad Daze's Paul Rainey sitting in on bass, The Nightcrawlers.

Again, The Nightcrawlers.

Noah Figlin of The Nightcrawlers.

The new bass player of The Nightcrawlers, Peter Jogo.

Aeb Byrne of The Nightcrawlers.

Once again, Noah Figlin of The Nightcrawlers.

JP's HAIKU

Underground party
Three bands came and rocked the house
Volatile good time
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http://pamusician.net

[Jim Price]

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http://pamusician.net