[Jim Price]

WEEK/WEEKEND RECAP 6/6/05

GIN & JUICE (UNPLUGGED) @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 5/31/05

With Gin & Juice’s exploding success on area stages in recent weeks, Pellegrine’s has begun having acoustic Gin & Juice – a.k.a. Dustin Burley and Travis Dunn – perform there alternate Tuesdays (opposite karaoke every other week). Hungry for Pelly’s tacos (Tuesday is taco night) and with no horrible karaoke singers to stop me, I headed to Pelly’s to see what Dustin and Travis were up to.

I arrived just as the pair were finishing up their first set, with Dustin ending the set with one of his own original tunes, “Illusions.”

After a short intermission, Rich “Richie Valentine” Piccerillo stepped up to the stage and started strumming out a small instrumental acoustic medley and jam, fusing together interludes from Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Slayer (!), Motorhead and Metallica. Dustin and Travis then returned, and entertained a small audience of friends and fans with the Grateful Dead’s “Franklin’s Tower,” the Moody Blues’ “Nights In White Satin,” the Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer,” Pearl Jam’s “Black,” Phish’s “Possum,” the group’s title tune adaptation of Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” and more. As expected, the two worked well as a duo, and maintained a relaxed, friendly rapport with their audience. Although a few more folks arrived along the way, it was still a quiet night by Gin & Juice standards.

Dustin’s and Travis’ final set featured a similar variety between classic and newer material, including several Phish numbers (sorry, my knowledge of the Phish lexicon isn’t that extensive), Robert Palmer’s “Sneakin’ Sally Through the Alley,” the folk song “Timber (Jerry),” the Beatles’ “Yesterday” and more. Towards night’s end, a few fans began grooving at the front of the stage.

The menu of Pellegrine’s tacos washed down by acoustic Gin & Juice hit the spot this night, and it’s good to see that Tuesdays are again picking back up for live music in the Altoona area.

STRUMMER ACOUSTIC SHOW @ AL’S TAVERN, ALTOONA 6/2/05

If you’re a connoisseur of chicken wings in the Altoona area, you have very likely heard of Al’s Tavern. A number of people swear by their wings. Strangely enough, as long as I’ve heard about Al’s wings over the years, I’ve never been there to try them. Until this night.

Actually, the primary reason I was there was to check in with Strummer Acoustic Show, a.k.a. John Stevens. It would be the first time I had set foot inside Al’s Tavern in something like 15 years! Yes, 15 years! (I know it has been that long, because the last time I was there was with a radio co-worker, current Fat Vinny & the Wiseguys bassist Randy Ketner – and we both tied one on that night, and Randy’s FIRST wife gave me the designated driver trip back home!)

Strummer was playing in Al’s back room down the hall from the main bar. Problem was, most of the crowd was seated at the bar, and were taking in Strummer’s performance via his speaker set up at the end of the hallway. There were less than a handful of folks seated in the area where John was playing. I battled air molecules to procure a table directly in front of Strummer, and took in the end of his set as he played “Rocky Top,” Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Tuesday’s Gone.”

During intermission, I ordered up a batch of Al’s Cajun wings; while the table behind me – the only other folks in the room – called it a night, leaving me as Strummer’s lone audience, at least in the stage area. Strummer and I shot the breeze, before he strapped guitar back on and performed one more set.

Strummer performed an interesting set, as he tried to push the buttons of the folks seated at the bar down the hall. He kicked off with “The Joker,” continued with a tune from his former Thin Ice bandmate, Doug Forshey and an original tune, “Later Is Sooner Than You Think.” After performing “The Hooch,” Strummer introduced a lewder and cruder original for the folks down the hall, “So I Humped Her.” He then broke out Sammy Johns’ biggest claim to fame, “Chevy Van,” before ending the night with two acoustic Pink Floyd numbers, “Wish You Were Here” and “Mother.”

Yes, ‘twas a quiet night at Al’s, but the wings, music and post-show conversation were good. And unlike my last Strummer performance, I didn’t have to fight off any divorcee grandmothers-to-be with domestic issues on the homefront!

The ‘Songsmith’ himself, Strummer Acoustic Show.

AMPLIFIED HEET @ THE HITCHING POST, ALTOONA 6/3/05

It was looking very much like one of those “been there done that” Friday nights in the ‘Toona. There were a few out of town options that appealed to me, but it was a rainy and foggy night, and since I didn’t get a lot of sleep the night before, I wasn’t in the mood for a roadtrip. I knew about most of the band happenings in the ‘Toona this night, except for The Hitching Post. So I decided to swing by there and see what was listed on their marquee. Amplified Heet. Cool…I hadn’t seen Jules Bianchini and his cast of crazies in a while, I parked my rig and went inside.

It turned out to be a pick-up version of Amplified Heet, with Jules and guitarist/harmonica man/singer Adam Brown, plus two guests – off duty Silver Sunday guitar man Jason Wechs and acoustic wildman Todd Hinkle. A small audience was in the house as this cast of musicians playfully jammed their way through an interesting selection of classics; indulging each other in solo and jam interludes along the way. Adam and Jules split lead vocal duties; while Jules’, Adam’s and Jason’s guitars provided an interesting balance of acoustic and electric textures. Highlights during this set included adventurous excursions on “All Along the Watchtower,” the Stones’ “Sympathy For the Devil,” the Guess Who’s “No Sugar Tonight/New Mother Nature,” Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See” with its accelerated ending, the Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues,” Marvin Gaye/CCR’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and Social Distortion’s “Ball and Chain” to end the set.

Todd sat out Amplified Heet’s final set of the night. But the group still generated acoustic-meets-electric fun and mischief on renditions of the Black Crowes’ “She Talks to Angels,” Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World,” Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” Led Zeppelin’s “Hey Hey What Can I Do” and Pink Floyd’s “Brain Damage/Eclipse.” Amplified Heet also performed two of Jules’ twisted originals, “Sweet Cheeba” and “Tight Pussy.”

With the small audience in the house, this show took on the atmosphere of a friendly backyard jam session, with none of the musicians taking themselves too seriously. It was an informal, fun show with some decent jams and upbeat vibes.

Having a jovial good time; Jules Bianchini, Jason Wechs (Silver Sunday) and Adam Brown of Amplified Heet.

BACKDRAFT @ THE CANTINA, ALTOONA 6/3/05

This was turning into a strange Friday night for me. I was in the mood to “live on the wild side” this night. After Amplified Heet’s show concluded at The Hitching Post, I headed about 4 blocks away to The Cantina to check in with Backdraft.

I went to The Cantina (formerly the Steel Pier) once before to see a band when the venue first opened under that name last year. Anybody familiar with Altoona can attest that The Cantina is not located in the safest part of town; I’ve heard unconfirmed accounts of people parking on side streets near The Cantina and getting their cars broken into or vandalized. I took no chances; I parked right along 7th Avenue/State Route 764, the heavily-traveled thoroughfare that runs past The Cantina.

Inside The Cantina, it’s not hard to draw comparisons between this Cantina and the identically-titled watering hole in the original Star Wars movie. By the second or third set, you’re likely to see space aliens, guys with their heads encased in fish aquariums, and a lone Yoda or two drunkenly mumbling incoherently to themselves in a corner. And like the Star Wars cantina, you always have to be wary of a sudden light saber battle breaking out.

Backdraft was deep into their third and final set as I arrived and procured a brew. (I do have to say that the staff at The Cantina are cool, it’s just the clientele that worry me.) Singer/guitarist Brian Cupples, keyboard man Harry Young and the group’s current interim drummer (whose name I didn’t catch) were finishing up a Stevie Ray Vaughan number. With Harry singing lead, Backdraft performed Robin Trower’s “Day Of The Eagle,” before finishing out the set with the Cream double-shot of “Sunshine Of Your Love” into “Crossroads.” The smallish Cantina crowd wanted the music to continue and demanded one more, to which Backdraft soon responded with Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxey Lady” to close out the night.

From what I was able to witness, Backdraft was sounding good. Brian’s voice was in good form, and his guitar solo work was fiery and on the mark. Harry’s keyboard bottom end and fills were smooth, and the group’s drummer kept a lean, tight beat.

I wish I could have seen more of Backdraft’s show; but with summer season, the Blair County Community Action Agency’s Summer Concert Series and the Lakemont Park Wing-Off’s on the horizon, I get the feeling I’ll be seeing more of Backdraft soon enough.

Slacking on my journalistic duties this night, I didn’t catch this guy’s name, but he did a good job providing the beat for Backdraft.

Brian Cupples of Backdraft.

Harry Young of Backdraft.

Once again, Brian Cupples of Backdraft.

LOVE STOMP @ CITY LIMITS, ALTOONA 6/3/05

With still some time left to see some more music, I decided to go for the trifecta this night, and headed to City Limits to close out the night with Harrisburg’s Love Stomp.

Love Stomp wasn’t faring much better than the other two venues I had been to earlier; City Limits was pretty much a ghost town as well. The group was into their second intermission. Almost immediately, I noticed that a familiar face was back in the group – bassist Milhouse had rejoined Love Stomp after a brief hiatus.

With the clock pushing 1:15 AM; Milhouse, singer Amy K, guitarist Willy G and former Juiced drummer Ray Ray returned to the stage to try to fire up the few folks who were in the house. Love Stomp started off their last set in the rap vein with Tone-Loc’s “Wild Thing,” followed by Pink’s “Get This Party Started.” Love Stomp then took things into a funkier vein with Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music,” in the process drawing a portion of City Limits’ small crowd onto the dance floor. The group kept the dancers in place on the floor with K.C. & the Sunshine Band’s “Shake Your Booty” and Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff;” with Amy, Milhouse and Willy bringing the party onto the dance floor and mixing it up with the dancers. An unexpected technical snafu forced a break at this point; and with less than 10 minutes before the show had to end, it was decided to just call it a night.

Although a dead night by Love Stomp and City Limits standards, the group still managed to get at least some of this sparse crowd up and moving. With more Saturday City Limits and Sunday Pellegrine’s shows planned, hopefully slow Altoona nights like this for Love Stomp will soon become a thing of the past.

Back after a brief absence, Milhouse of Love Stomp.

Amy and Willy of Love Stomp.

Ray Ray of Love Stomp.

Milhouse of Love Stomp, doing the “Bertha Butt Boogie” with a dance floor participant.

BLIND JONNY DEATH @ THE R-BAR, HYDE 6/4/05

My day and night jobs collided head on this afternoon. I was doing a Q94 live Harley remote broadcast at the R-Bar in Hyde (near Clearfield), and Blind Jonny Death was providing the musical entertainment inside during the remote.

Harleys, riders and passengers were in abundance both outside and inside the R-Bar as Blind Jonny Death commenced their festivities. (Just the riders and passengers were inside, it’s kinda hard to fit bikes indoors.) And Blind Jonny Death was in a festive mood, as they were unveiling their first CD, Git Down On The Farm, this weekend. Singer/guitarist L.C. Slim, Red on his longhorn upright bass and T. Orris Hipps on the snare drum got their Americana party started with their rural read of Social Distortion’s “Ball and Chain.” The trio continued with more roots rock, folk and country during this first set, including renditions of Hank Williams Sr.’s “Honky Tonk Blues,” Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue,” “See See Rider,” Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” and more. The R-Bar crowd cheered more and more as Blind Jonny Death proceeded, with a few folks even cutting the rug at stagefront before the end of the set.

The second set featured more of Blind Jonny Death’s Americana mix as the trio performed spirited renditions of Hank Sr.’s “Move It On Over” and “Cold, Cold Heart,” the Traveling Wilburys’ “End Of The Line,” Dr. Hook’s “Cover Of The Rolling Stone,” the Statler Brothers’ “Writing On The Wall” and more. The group also introduced one song from the new CD, the Rick Nelson-flavored “The Girl Is Hot.”

While Blind Jonny Death stoked the party indoors, it was a party in the outside parking lot too, as two different bikers revved their engines and did rear tire burnouts; flavoring the outside and inside with the smell of burning rubber.

Blind Jonny Death would perform one more set; but with my remote broadcast duties complete, I departed the R-Bar as this set was getting under way. But Blind Jonny Death had this party well in hand, and with CD release parties pending at this venue during Chrome At The Dome the following weekend, more festive times would be ahead for this Hellbound Hayride.

Blind Jonny Death and the Hellbound Hayride visits the R-Bar.

Again, Blind Jonny Death.

A happy couple cuts the rug to Blind Jonny Death’s Hellbound Hayride.

Red of Blind Jonny Death, jamming on his horny upright bass.

Outside the R-Bar it was busy as well, with lots of Harleys and their riders.

Although Guv’nor Jesse experienced some difficulty getting his “Classic Car” New Yorker going this afternoon, he and cohort Shawn made the roadtrip to the R-Bar.

More afternoon thrills were provided by Q94 Harley hopeful Shorty, executing this near-flawless burnout in the R-Bar parking lot. Shorty has burnouts like these down to an art form!

Shorty continues to lay down the rubber…

Obviously the cost of rear tires is of no concern to this man…

More evidence of a good Shorty burnout…

LOUDMOUTH @ WILDWOOD INN, GRAMPIAN 6/4/05

With the price of gasoline as high as it is, I try to think economically when I do my weekly band watching. And if I have an opportunity to catch more than one show when I do a road trip, I take advantage of the opportunity and do so.

Case in point – since I was already in Clearfield County to do the R-Bar remote, and it was already early evening as the remote finished, I decided to stick around Clearfield County for a little while. Since the Right Honorable Guv’nor Jesse had driven up to the R-Bar for the remote; we headed over to Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub to do dinner. Denny’s, as you may recall, is the home of the 6-pound hamburger (and now the 15-pounder!) No, we didn’t attempt the 6-pounder this day, but we did observe a family of five order up the 6-pounder for their evening meal. The 6-pounder costs $23.95 – not a bad price to feed a family of five!

After stuffing myself with Denny’s Cajun wings and a Paterno burger (Denny’s wings and burgers all kick ass!), I decided to head towards the Wildwood Inn near Grampian to see Loudmouth. But first, I had forgotten that Clearfield’s Riverfest celebration was this weekend, until I encountered the gridlock in Clearfield as locals crowded into town to catch the evening fireworks display. Using my knowledge of Clearfield thoroughfares accrued through my deliveries of Pennsylvania Musician over the years (I learn lots of shortcuts through and around towns doing this stuff!), I soon escaped the gridlock and proceeded to the Wildwood.

I arrived early enough to procure a seat directly in front of the dance floor and stage, as Loudmouth was completing their sound check and set up. Singer/bassist John Cimino, singer/guitarist Brandon Giuffre and drummer Michael Hughes were surprised to see me show up this night (as was Wildwood main lady Tammy). The Wildwood was relatively empty at this early stage, and Tammy speculated that it could be a slower Saturday night due to the Clearfield Riverfest activities.

Soon Loudmouth launched their first set, with Brandon singing lead on a Red Hot Chili Peppers number. John then handled singing duties on the Foo Fighters’ “Times Like These,” before lead mic duties reverted back to Brandon for U2’s “Vertigo.” Loudmouth was off and running with a set that mixed current and recent favorites with select 80’s rock, with the emphasis on 80’s new wave. The group continued with tunes from Beck, Ramones, Green Day, Weezer and The Ataris/Don Henley’s “Boys Of Summer,” during which several ladies intiated the dance floor. Technical assistant Billy Moore was invited up to the stage, and made the first of several guest appearances behind Loudmouth’s keyboards for U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name.” The group then closed out their first set in 80’s mode, with Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” Gary Numan’s “Cars” and the GoGos’ “Our Lips Are Sealed.”

A few more people had filtered into the Wildwood; and although it was not a full house, it was at least a little bit busy. Area music vet Nick Socoski and his wife stopped by and chatted with me briefly; again hinting that a reunion of his popular late 80’s/early 90’s band, Barfly, might be in the works.

Soon Loudmouth was back for the second round, with Billy Moore singing lead on Deadeye Dick’s “New Age Girl” to get things re-started. Instantly the ladies from the first set were back on the Wildwood dance floor, helping fuel the party as Loudmouth played favorites from Green Day, Weezer, Eve 6, Seven Mary Three and more. The group dug back before the 80’s twice during the set with renditions of Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson;” and ended the set strong with versions of Phish’s “Down With Disease” and Cake’s “The Distance.”

Thus far Loudmouth was putting in a strong performance. John, Brandon and guest Billy each did decent jobs on voice, and were solid on their respective instruments. Mike remains one of this area’s unsung talents behind the drum kit; his beats are powerful, steady and efficient; this man does not waste a drum stroke, every beat has purpose.

Loudmouth’s third set featured a few more interesting twists and turns, including two medleys, another musical guest and more. One interesting medley kicked off with Pearl Jam’s “Evenflow,” before shifting into Ozzy Osbourne’s “No More Tears,” which then converted into Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall” midway through, while still riding along the “No More Tears” riff! After this, a guest from the audience made an appearance – former Simon Sez (western PA) drummer/singer Mark Neiswonger stepped up to the lead mic to sing Guns’N’Roses’ “Sweet Child Of Mine.” Loudmouth then commenced another medley, this one stringing together Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” Bush’s “Comedown,” Bon Jovi’s “You Give Love a Bad Name” and “Livin’ On A Prayer,” and AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long.” The group stretched the AC/DC into a triple shot to end the night, performing “Back In Black” (the only obvious miscue of the night, Brandon is not Brian Johnson!) and “Sin City.”

Although the Wildwood Inn didn’t see a booming turnout this night, this was still a decent Saturday night party, as Loudmouth kept the dance floor fairly busy and mixed things up enough on the musical end to keep the night interesting. The group’s focus on 80’s new wave and pop is again one of the more interesting party band twists on area stages; and their overall strong performance and energy makes Loudmouth a band well worth checking out.

Loudmouth, rocking the Wildwood Inn.

Behind the keys, Loudmouth’s special guest, Billy Moore.

Again, Loudmouth.

Once again, Loudmouth.

John Cimino of Loudmouth.

Michael Hughes of Loudmouth.

Brandon Giuffre of Loudmouth.

Once again, Brandon Giuffre of Loudmouth.

BAD DAZE @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 6/5/05

After performing my weekly “Backyard Rocker” duties this night, I soon headed to Pellegrine’s to wrap up the weekend, with Bad Daze providing the soundtrack. Bad Daze made a favorable first impression with the Pelly’s crowd during their debut there several weeks before; would they be able to capitalize on it this night and continue to expand their Altoona fan base?

Things looked encouraging as I arrived early in Bad Daze’s second set. Singer Rob Carolus was again pulling all stops to encourage the Pelly’s crowd to leave their seats and dance; a few of them were heeding his call. Guitarist Ken Murdick, bassist Paul Rainey and drummer Randy Wilson provided the hard-driving backdrop as Bad Daze fired through favorites from Rage Against the Machine, Staind, Weezer, Billy Idol, AC/DC, Puddle Of Mudd, Bon Jovi, Bowling For Soup, Poison, Guns’N’Roses and Lit.

For the third set, Bad Daze broke out their Motley Crue medley, as they strung together excerpts from “Shout At The Devil,” “Looks That Kill,” “Wild Side,” “Kickstart My Heart,” “Girls Girls Girls,” “Dr. Feelgood,” “Home Sweet Home” and “Live Wire.” The group kept it in the heavier rocking vein with Danzig’s “Mother,” before shifting into a brief hip-hop segment that increased the dance floor population; including some ladies stepping onstage to dance, bump and grind with the band. This set the stage well for the finish, as the dancers remained on the floor for Rob Zombie’s “Dragula,” Static X’s “Push It” and Disturbed’s “Sickness” to close the set. With the dance floor crowd excited and stoked, calls for an encore quickly surfaced, including one woman who shrieked and screamed for one more song. Heeding the requests (and probably to get ‘Screaming Girl’ to just shut up!), Bad Daze delivered Pantera’s “Walk” to finish the night.

It was another strong Bad Daze party, with the band instrumentally kicking it on all cylinders, and frontman Rob continually taking his game into the faces of the crowd and getting the people fired up. It was another solid performance that should only strengthen Bad Daze’s foothold on the Sunday night Altoona market.

Bad Daze, rocking down Pellegrine’s.

Rob Carolus of Bad Daze.

Kenny Murdick of Bad Daze.

Randy Wilson of Bad Daze.

Again, Rob Carolus of Bad Daze.

Paul Rainey of Bad Daze.

Bad Daze guitarist Kenny Murdick enjoys a little company onstage.

A fan gets into it as Rob Carolus and Bad Daze bring the party.

Some ladies provide a show of their own as Bad Daze continues the party.

This lady is clearly enjoying Bad Daze’s party.

With several dancing ladies adorning the stage, Rob Carolus and Bad Daze.

Once again with several female guests onstage, Bad Daze.

Again, Bad Daze guitarist Kenny Murdick enjoys a little company onstage.

These ladies give Bad Daze drummer Randy Wilson a show.

Once again, Rob Carolus of Bad Daze.

Bad Daze and their onstage guests keep the party going.
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