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CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY WEEK/WEEKEND RECAP 12/29/03
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Jim Price
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Joined: 07 Dec 2002
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Location: Altoona, PA

 Post Posted: Saturday Feb 07, 2004 
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CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY WEEK/WEEKEND RECAP 12/29/03

POPSHOP @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 12/23/03

During the past few holiday seasons, Pellegrine’s has brought in bands to perform on Christmas Eve “eve,” and this year they brought in a band making their first Pelly’s appearance – PopShop.

PopShop’s most recognizable personality is singer, keyboard and trumpet player Eric Klein. Through his previous stints in UUU and LiQuid A, Eric has established himself as one of this state’s premiere frontmen, and it seems any project he hooks up with usually offers a quality show. PopShop continues that trend; this band was excellent!

As the name might suggest, PopShop is about pop hits; and as the group’s show unfolded, the Pelly’s audience was treated to a high-energy cavalcade of hits from the past four decades. The co-ed fronting duo of Eric and Kelly Daniels, guitarists Dan Franks and Tom Sweeney (Tom ex-He Said She Said), bassist Brian Boettger and drummer Jeph Kravitz cranked out nonstop hits, commencing their first set with the Four Seasons’ “December 1963,” and proceeding through hits from Taste Of Honey, Kenny Loggins, Scandal, R.E.M., Gary Numan, The Outfield, The EMF and more. Eric and Kelly swapped lead vocal duties, and both displayed abundant energy and enthusiasm. Eric broke out his trumpet to contribute touches of brass a few times during the set. Instrumentally the band was tight and crisp-sounding, and kept things moving along at a fast and steady pace.

During the intermission, as more people arrived, Eric told me that he sinks an estimated 60 hours a week into this group, between learning song material, practices, promotional work, the website and more.

PopShop’s second set opened with a current hit, Fountains Of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom.” The group launched into some old-school rap/hip hop that segued into Young MC’s “Bust A Move,” which wound up encasing a freewheeling 80’s medley featuring Yes’ “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” The Knack’s “My Sharona,” Powerstation/T.Rex’s “Get It On (Bang a Gong),” Duran Duran’s “Hungry Like the Wolf,” Police’s “Synchronicity 2,” Van Halen’s “Jump,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer,” INXS’s “What You Need” and Journey’s “Anyway You Want It” before returning to “Bust A Move” to close. The group then dipped into some 70’s funk and disco for Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music” and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” before performing another 80’s medley; this one showcasing the hair-band side of the spectrum by fusing together Europe’s “The Final Countdown,” Cinderella’s “Shake Me,” Judas Priest’s “Living After Midnight,” Quiet Riot/Slade’s “Cum On Feel The Noize,” Warrant’s “Down Boys,” Skid Row’s “Youth Gone Wild” and Poison’s “Fallen Angel.” The hits kept on coming with Pat Benatar’s “Love Is A Battlefield,” The Foundations’ “Build Me Up Buttercup,” Cyndi Lauper’s “She-Bop” and the John Travolta/Olivia Newton-John duet from Grease, “You’re The One That I Want,” to close the set.

While Pellegrine’s dance floor was quiet during the first set, action picked up during the second set; particularly during the two medleys. Pellegrine’s was starting to accumulate a nice-sized crowd, and more people were starting to feed off of PopShop’s energy and upbeat vibe. This was turning into a good party, especially for a Tuesday night!

PopShop resumed the action with the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.” The group again shifted into rap/hip-hop mode with the Beastie Boys’ “Tricky” and Salt’n’Pepa’s “Push It,” with Eric and Kelly rapidly trading off vocal duties from song to song. Eric fronted PopShop on J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold,” which segued into “Auld Lang Syne.” Kelly sang lead on Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69,” before the group shifted into country gear on Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.” Kelly and the group accelerated the pace with Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation 1814,” before she and the group closed the night with Madonna’s “Like A Virgin.”

PopShop demonstrated the knack for establishing the uptempo pace of their party early in each set, and then maintaining that energy level for the duration. This band was constant motion; with Eric and Kelly taking turns working the stagefront crowd out front, while the rest of PopShop kept the instrumental action exciting and nonstop. Even though PopShop had only a few shows under their collective belts at this point; they showed this night that they were a band with a focus, who had their act very together. Eric had told me that PopShop’s schedule was getting busier – based on this show, it was easy for me to understand why.

PopShop brings the party at Pellegrine’s.

Eric Klein of PopShop.

Eric Klein and Kelly Daniels of PopShop.

Brian Boettger and Dan Franks of PopShop.

Tom Sweeney and Eric Klein of PopShop.

Jeph Kravitz of PopShop.

Kelly Daniels of PopShop.

Dan Franks of PopShop.

Once again, Eric Klein of PopShop.

Once again, Kelly Daniels of PopShop.

Eric Klein and PopShop fire up the party at Pellegrine’s.

DRIVEN @ PETER C’S, ALTOONA 12/26/03

Memo to the members of Driven: Be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it!

Case in point: The previous Friday, after I had missed Driven opening up for Wake Up Screaming, one member of Driven – a bit affected by some house alcohol at Peter C’s – lobbied long and hard to get me to agree to come check out his band the following Friday at Peter C’s, pleading that even if I only stuck around for one song, he’d appreciate it. That was a reasonable request, and I soon agreed to come out and see what Driven had to offer this night.

Except that between the two Fridays, Driven had picked up an unwanted sixth member, the flu bug. And as I arrived late at Peter C’s this night, the bug had bitten…hard! Singer James Musselman was having big difficulty just trying to stay in the same key, and the group had enlisted the services of some close accomplices to help out on the vocal end. At this point, the night was a flu-ravaged train wreck.

But alas, I am a compassionate critic. I have been in the affected band members’ shoes and have had to try to perform into a mic with the flu and laryngitis, so I understood what they were going through. It would be unfair to Driven to assess them on a night when their members are stricken with the flu. I give them credit for getting up onstage this night and gutting it out. Driven understands…the show must go on.

I watched as the band struggled to make it through their final song of the night. They were instrumentally on target on tunes from Nickelback, Disturbed/Tears for Fears, Chevelle and more, but the flu bug wouldn’t let their voices keep pace. Although not a huge crowd inside Peter C’s at this late stage of the night, it appeared that most of the folks who were present appreciated the situation Driven was enduring onstage, and either politely applauded or at least didn’t boo their efforts.

Tough break for Driven this night; but there will be other nights, and I’ll make a point to catch this group when they are back to full strength and healthy.

STEPT ON @ CITY LIMITS, ALTOONA 12/27/03

Sometimes I ought to follow my own advice. Case in point: When planning a roadtrip to see a band, call ahead to see that the show is still on…

I drove up the mountain to Ebensburg in the hopes of seeing Friday’s Child at the Castle Pub, but upon arriving saw the dreaded letters listed under Saturday night on the Castle’s outside marquee: DJ! I confirmed with the Castle door guy that indeed, Friday’s Child was not in the house this night (their show apparently postponed until the following Saturday). In search of live music in the Cambria County county seat, I then proceeded over to Yesterday’s Party to see what was up there. Sauce was performing. Decent band, but I had just seen Sauce twice in the course of the past few weeks, and just wasn’t in the mood to see them this night. So I made the trek back down the mountain to Altoona, and arrived at City Limits to catch Stept On’s final set of the night.

I arrived as Stept On was just into their third set. A mid-sized crowd was on hand As Stept On was in the midst of a Korn tune. The group played heavy favorites from Disturbed and Rage Against the Machine, before singer Chuck Budzina introduced some “old-school Nirvana.” (!?) Stept On then broke out Pantera’s “This Love,” before delivering what was – at least for me – the highlight of the set. After acknowledging and thanking the fans in attendance this night, Stept On started into Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” This turned into an extended jam display, with guitarist Matt Day trading off heated licks with bassist Art Armani, while Chuck took up position on congas and provided additional percussion alongside drummer Josh Hetrick’s beats. This became a funky display that captivated the City Limits stagefront audience. Stept On then finished out the night with Rage Against the Machine’s “Freedom.”

Based on what I witnessed, this was generally a routine Stept On show typical of the last few I had seen at City Limits. Attendance was respectable, but a little off by Stept On standards. And I apparently arrived too late to hear any new original songs the group might have introduced earlier on. But the Aerosmith funk jam display was a nice change-up for the group, and further signified the group’s comfort with new bassist Art Armani. That moment showed a looser, more relaxed Stept On that was into having a little bit of fun alongside their prominent heavy sound; and was perhaps an indication of a possible future musical direction for the group.

In all, a good display, which made me wish I had checked ahead before making the Ebensburg roadtrip, so that I might have arrived earlier and caught more of Stept On’s presentation this evening.

Matt Day of Stept On.

Chuck Budzina of Stept On.

Josh Hetrick of Stept On.

Again, Matt Day of Stept On.

Art Armani of Stept On.

Once again, Chuck Budzina of Stept On.

Once again, Art Armani of Stept On.

GREEN EGGS @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 12/28/03

This particular Sunday night at Pellegrine’s had massive crowd and party written all over it! You KNEW that on the Sunday between the holidays, with Green Eggs on the stage, that there were going to be people en masse in attendance, and that this was going to be one wild night! And it was…

I arrived as the band was starting into their second set. Quickly Green Eggs had Pelly’s packed dance floor happily moving to the group’s kitchen sink mix of tunes, spanning modern rock to hip-hop to country to 80’s rock, rap, and even Motown. Keyboard man Brian Nicarry, bassist Brad Nicarry and guitarist Steve Nelson swapped lead vocal duties back and forth, while drummer Doug Black maintained the steady beat through it all. The group smoothly segued from modern rock from Lit and Blink 182 to country to rap from Vanilla Ice and Juvenile, Blur’s “Song 2”, and “from the mullet rack,” tunes from Whitesnake and Guns’n’Roses to close the set.

Green Eggs’ third set was even more wide open, and featured even more surprises and unexpected twists and turns. Current rock favorites from Linkin Park and Kid Rock resumed the action, before the group dipped back into the 80’s for Billy Idol’s “Dancing with Myself” and the Bon Jovi double-shot of “Living on a Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name.” After Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun,” Steve Nelson fronted the group on Stroke 9’s “Little Black Backpack,” before the group suddenly switched to early 70’s Motown and the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back,” with Brian handling the high and youthful Michael Jackson lead voice. In a rare sighting, drummer Doug sang lead on Soft Cell’s “Tainted Love,” before Green Eggs gearshifted into rap and hip-hop mode for several songs. Eventually the group strung together an 80’s medley with tunes from Bryan Adams, The Outfield, Buggles, Rick Springfield and Tom Petty; they threw in an unexpected treatment of AC/DC’s “Big Balls,” and finished the set with Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian.” After this freewheeling and fun set, the Pelly’s crowd wanted more, and Green Eggs answered with the Beastie Boys’ “Brass Monkey” to end the night.

Again, Green Eggs showed what they have excelled at over the years – being able to take a wide assortment of tunage, and weave it all together into airtight, action-packed grooves that instantly pack dance floors at the onset, and never give dancefloor participants any reason to want to sit down. Brian, Brad and Steve are constant motion, continually handing off lead vocal duties to one another, hopping atop speaker cabinets and constantly engaging the dancefloor crowd and keeping them involved in the show. Green Eggs musically never stays in one spot too long, keeping their grooves fresh with constant change-ups and gearshifting between the various flavors of their show.

Green Eggs demonstrated again that they are a seasoned party machine, and provided the perfect musical backdrop to Pelly’s between-holidays blowout this night. The near-packed house partook in their party and was happy, providing a fitting close to another weekend.

Brad Nicarry of Green Eggs.

Green Eggs, firing up the party at Pellegrine’s.

Again, Brad Nicarry of Green Eggs.

Steve Nelson of Green Eggs.

Doug Black of Green Eggs.

Brian Nicarry of Green Eggs, discovering he has company behind the keyboard.

”Can you hear me now?” Brian Nicarry of Green Eggs.

Once again, Brian Nicarry and Green Eggs fire up the Pelly’s fans.

Green Eggs continues to bring the party…

Once again, Brad Nicarry of Green Eggs.
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