[Jim Price]

WEEK/WEEKEND RECAP 7/16/07 (Pt. 2)

CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS, STATE COLLEGE 7/14/07

I returned to Happy Valley this day for another go-round at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. Again, there was an interesting and eclectic slate of local and national musical talent to discover.

Upon stepping off the shuttle bus along Beaver Avenue, my first destination was the Allen Street Stage to take in local favorites the JR & Natalie Band. JR is longtime State College music scene fixture JR Mangan, and Natalie is singer Natalie Berrena. The rest of the band is bassist James Miller (ex-Dogtown Road), lead guitarist Mark Toci (ex-Slammer), and Dana Hawk on drums. The JR & Natalie Band entertained the large Allen Street crowd with a wide range of current and classic rock and pop favorites. As I arrived, JR & Natalie were dueting on Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks' "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around," before the group did Queen's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." JR then sang one of his own original songs, "Riptide." The group continued with a country song and James' "Laid," before Natalie sang a rendition of "Killing Me Softly with His Song" which started slow during the first verse, before kicking into a funky take on the pop/soul classic. Next was Blind Melon's "No Rain," a Disney movie song, and some country with Sugarland's "Baby Girl." The party steadily escalated, with some ladies from the audience dancing at stagefront as the group proceeded with Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" into Tommy James' "I Think We're Alone Now." The group then finished their set - and this street party - with Journey's "Don't Stop Believin.'" Both JR and Natalie were strong on the vocal end, and the band behind them was tight. And this band was having fun, fed by the crowd energy, and both band and audience elevated each other to make this a good summer afternoon fun time.

The JR & Natalie Band.

JR Mangan of the JR & Natalie Band.

JR Mangan and Natalie Berrena, the namesakes of the JR & Natalie Band.

Mark Toci of The JR & Natalie Band. This is the first time I had seen Mark perform since the Slammer days!

The JR & Natalie Band inspire some stagefront dancing.

This gent with the interesting-looking hat joined in the dance fun during the JR & Natalie Band’s set.

Some youngsters cool off in the splash area on Allen Street during the Arts Festival.

I headed up Allen Street to the food area to grab a bite to eat, and – burning a little bit of time before the next band I wanted to see – followed the JR & Natalie Band's good time set by going inside the State College Municipal Building to look at – an exhibit about Nagasaki and Hiroshima! After taking in this exhibit, I returned to the Allen Street Stage area, and after running into and exchanging observations about the local "scenery" with the Grimm Brothers Tonkin, proceeded to take in the performance of local State College jam-rockers Lemonsoul. Five members strong, Lemonsoul mixed original jam-flavored compositions with select classics. This day featuring Dan Vidmar on vocals and guitars, Ingmar Carlson on guitars, Lee Parfitt on drums, Austin Arrington on bass and Greg Johnson on sax; Lemonsoul did original numbers such as (if the titles are correct) "Knock on Your Door" and "Stone Me Alive" (which featured a drum solo); they also did versions of the Allman Brothers' "Blue Skys," the Beatles' "Ob-La-Di-Ob-La-Da," Rusted Root's "Send Me On My Way" and more. These guys locked tightly into their grooves, which mixed elements of rock, blues, funk and more. My first look at them, I enjoyed what I witnessed from Lemonsoul; and as frequent flyers on State College stages, I'm sure I'll encounter this name again in the not-too-distant future.

Here is some footage from Lemonsoul's performance:

http://www.rockpage.net/users/jprice/video/MOV09776.MPG


Lemonsoul.

Again, State College’s Lemonsoul.

Greg Johnson of Lemonsoul.

Dan Vidmar of Lemonsoul.

Once again, Lemonsoul.

Ingmar Carlson of Lemonsoul.

Lemonsoul continues to light it up at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts.

Interesting facial expression from Ingmar Carlson of Lemonsoul, with Austin Arrington behind him.

Allen Street is packed during a sunny late Saturday afternoon to take in Lemonsoul’s performance.

One more time, Lemonsoul.

The corner of College Avenue and Allen Street is one of the busiest in town during Arts Festival weekend in State College.

I next headed to the Old Main lawn stage to catch the last few songs of the performance by E.G. Kight and her band. From Georgia, E.G. Kight sings the blues, and this day she and her band were performing a boisterous brand of blues rock to a receptive Arts Festival audience. Playing guitar and singing, and flanked by guitarist Sean Farley, bassist Andy Seal and drummer Jeremy Jaffe; E.G. played original songs and select remakes. As I arrived, they were doing a version of Bonnie Raitt's "Angel from Montgomery," followed by the title track from one of E.G.'s albums, and her song "Trouble with a Capital T" to end the performance. What I heard sounded good; E.G. definitely has a quality bluesy singing voice, and her band showed some dazzling skills during the songs I witnessed.

The E.G. Kight Band.

Again, The E.G. Kight Band.

E.G. Kight. If you visit E.G.’s Myspace site, you will find that one of her top friends is none other than former Altoona (and now Atlanta session) drummer John McKnight!

Once again, the E.G. Kight Band.

Sean Farley and Jeremy Jaffe of the E.G. Kight Band.

Again, Sean Farley of the E.G. Kight Band.

Once again, Sean Farley of the E.G. Kight Band.

One more time, E.G. Kight.

I then made my way to the State College High School football field stage to check in with a familiar band, Ricky Lee & the Mustangs. I had seen Ricky perform his country sounds before Altoona area audiences; I wanted to see how Happy Valley responded to him. Although there wasn't a huge crowd on hand to take in the show, it was a receptive audience as Ricky, flanked by Rick Wertz and Randy Rutherford on guitars, Fritz Wyland on bass, Mary Villani on keys and Clint Carothers on drums, performed his selection of country original songs and favorites, mixed with some good time rock'n'roll. Opening with "Barbecue Snake and Apple Pie," Ricky and his band performed original numbers such as "Who's Countin,'" "Living in the House that Jack Built," "When the Sun Goes Down," the ballad "Magic Lessons," "Give the Devil a Ride," his hit "My Kind of Girl" and more. The group also did upbeat favorites such as Loggins & Messina's "Your Mama Don't Dance," Big & Rich's "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" and John Mellencamp's "Pink Houses." In all it was an enjoyable performance.

Ricky Lee.

Ricky Lee and the Mustangs.

Again, Ricky Lee and the Mustangs.

Fritz Wyland and Randy Rutherford of Ricky Lee and the Mustangs.

Randy “Jackson” Rutherford of Ricky Lee and the Mustangs.

Again, Ricky Lee.

Rick Wertz of Ricky Lee and the Mustangs.

Mary Villani of Ricky Lee and the Mustangs.

Once again, Ricky Lee.

Fritz Wyland of Ricky Lee and the Mustangs.

Once again, Randy Rutherford of Ricky Lee and the Mustangs.

I departed about an hour into Ricky's performance to satisfy my curiosity about another band that was entertaining at the Allen Street Stage, Philadelphia's Fooling April. A four-piece, Fooling April's focal point is singer/keyboardist Brian Kenneth. Tommy Kay plays guitar, Kevin emery plays bass, and Kevin Hill plays drums. Fooling April played keyboard-driven rock, funk and pop, including original songs and select favorites. As I arrived, the group was doing a rendition of Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go for That." Brian offered thoughts on the group's original songs as he introduced them, and soon introduced a song that was featured on the ABC soap opera All My Children, "The Way Back Down." Brian and Fooling April did other songs such as "Chick Flix," "Chuckie & the Bone," "Breaking the Skin," "Second Chair" and more. They also broke out a version of the Doors' "Love Me Two Times." Fooling April clearly had the gift for pop hooks; each of their originals was catchy and stood on its own. Brian was skilled on the keyboards, and showed his Elton John influence at one point by tickling the ivories from underneath the keyboard (like Elton does in concert). I was impressed enough with Fooling April that I bought their latest CD, In the Now, at the end of their performance.

Fooling April.

Brian Kenneth of Fooling April.

Once again, Brian Kenneth of Fooling April.

One more time, Philadelphia’s Fooling April.

Although I could have stuck around to see the nightcap acts at the Arts Festival, my travel itinerary took me to Hastings for a birthday party, and I needed to depart Happy Valley to arrive in time for the birthday cake.

BAD DAZE @ DAVEY’S, HASTINGS 7/14/07

The birthday party was for Rockpager Bag's better half, who was celebrating her birthday with hubby at Davey's in Hastings, where Bad Daze was providing the tunes. A special T-shirt and a piece of cake were in it for me, as well as the chance to log some dance floor time with Bad Daze party gals Deb and Alexis.I was there!

I arrived early, before the start of Bad Daze's first set, and the party was getting into full gear! The cake was being distributed, special party occasion T-shirts were being handed out, and people were arriving to partake in the rocking party about to happen.

Soon, the contingent of singer Rob Carolus, guitarist Kenny Murdick, bassist Paul Rainey and drummer Randy Wilson took their positions on Davey's stage and convened the musical proceedings. The first set started with Lit's "My Own Worst Enemy," and continued with rocking favorites from Eve 6, GTreenday, Hinder, Ozzy, Poison, Godsmack, AC/DC, Drowning Pool, Static X, Disturbed and more. It didn't take long for the first dancers to hit the floor, and the floor stayed busy during much of Bad Daze's lengthy first set, which clocked in at well over an hour and didn't end until just shy of midnight!

After an 18-minute break, Bad Daze was back to do it some more. The group reignited the action with Rob Zombie's "Dragula," and dished out the rock with tunes from Saliva, AC/DC, Puddle Of Mudd and Seether, before arriving at their recently-introduced first original tune, "Lost." Tunes followed from Linkin Park, Nickelback, some hip-hop, a Motley Crue medley, and more, with Pantera's "Walk" closing the set. Along the way, the birthday celebrant, Mrs. Bag, was honored, and even given a cowboy hat and broomstick horse to ride during the group's performance of Big & Rich's "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy."

Bad Daze was giving the Davey's crowd their money's worth, with maximum music and minimal breaks.After just a SEVEN-MINUTE intermission, the group was back to close out the night, this time rocking the house with songs from Def Leppard, Beastie Boys, Rage, more Nickelback, and more songs I didn't get to write down because I was occupied on the dance floor. Hell, JP's gotta party once in a while, too!

The Davey's crowd was having enough fun that they didn't want this party to end at the end of the third set. Bad Daze quickly answered the crowd's demands for an encore with.an Overkill song, doing "Old School" to finish out the night.

Mr. and Mrs. Bag had a good time, and so did the rest of the inhabitants of Davey's Lounge this night! Bottom line, it was a hella rowdy good time (save for Davey's broken men's room urinal overflowing and briefly flooding part of the pool room, yecch.conjuring memories of Huntingdon's William Penn Inn!). Thanks to Deb and Alexis for the invite, the T-shirt and the cake!

Bad Daze brings the rock to Davey’s Lounge.

Kenny Murdick of Bad Daze.

Randy Wilson of Bad Daze.

Rob Carolus and Paul Rainey of Bad Daze.

Kenny Murdick and Rob Carolus of Bad Daze.

Again, BadDazeRob.

Again, Kenny Murdick of Bad Daze.

Bad Daze launches action on Davey’s dance floor.

Paul Rainey of Bad Daze.

Bad Daze keeps ‘em dancing.

The party continues.

Again, Rob and Paul of Bad Daze.

Deb and Alexis partying down with BadDazeRob.

Rockpager Bert/Brett rocks along with Bad Daze’s Paul Rainey.

It’s a triple-threat old-school pose with Kenny, Rob and Paul of Bad Daze.

Bad Daze and Bert/Brett rocking out.

The Bad Daze party continues.

BadDazeRob takes the party to Davey’s dance floor.

Rob, Paul, Kenny and Bert/Brett.

BadDazeRob saves a horse and rides a broomstick.

The party mayhem continues.

Again, Kenny and Paul from Bad Daze.

Again, Rob, Kenny and Paul from Bad Daze.

One more time, Kenny Murdick of Bad Daze.

One more time, Randy Wilson of Bad Daze.

Yours truly, clearly having a good time with party gals Deb and Alexis.

Mrs. Bag (left) having a good time at her birthday party, while Bag (left) looks on.

Mrs. Bag receives a horse during her birthday celebration.

It’s an unforgettable birthday party for Mrs. Bag at Davey’s.

One more time, a happy birthday gal!

FELIX & THE HURRICANES BLUES CRUISE, LAKE RAYSTOWN 7/15/07

Another eagerly-anticipated highlight of the summer season had arrived.Felix & the Hurricanes' Bikini Blues Cruise!

I made it a point to arrive fairly early, in order to fully enjoy the pre-Cruise picnic cuisine offered up by maitre'D Brian. The vittles were good, and a large crowd of Hurricaniacs and fans steadily arrived, including a number of first-time Blues Cruisers. The Right Honorable Guv'nor Jesse soon arrived, accompanied by his father and his father's girlfriend, up visiting from Florida! Soon the procession of Hurricaniacs and fans made their way down to the boat, and the Cruise was nearly ready to begin.

Not unexpectedly given the sunny skies and warm temperatures, the top deck of the Proud Mary was nearly standing room only as folks took in their maximum share of sun, fun, food, drink and Hurricanes. The two-hour journey out onto Lake Raystown was a rowdy good time all the way, with the 'Canes playing their reliable mixture of original tunes and classic, Southern and blues-rocking favorites. The small dance area in front of the band was steadily busy, and the dance mayhem continued hot and heavy through the duration; with bikini-clad ladies even dancing on chairs and table tops in the Cruise's waning moments! An additional highlight was Fred Garvin Project frontman Artie Burtnett singing lead on the 'Canes' rendition of John Mellencamp's "Hurts So Good."

A little-known factoid about this particular Blues Cruise that few of the revelers on deck knew about, except for Guv'nor Jesse, who was hanging with the boat's captain during most of the journey: One of the Proud Mary's engines gave out late in the journey, and the boat had to maneuver back to the dock with just one of its paddle wheels operational! But the skillful captain handled it well, and got the boat back into dock safely, with most of the passengers oblivious to the situation!

After the Cruise, the post-Cruise cuisine of hamburgers, hot dogs and other vittles gave the revelers an opportunity to kick back, rest up and sober up before their respective trips back home.

The Hurricanes' Summer Blues Cruise 2007 was an exhaustive, blow-out good time…Thanks again the Felix, Bob and Jeff for throwing these parties for their fans on Lake Raystown! I'm looking forward to more!

Here are two videos from Felix & the Hurricanes’ Bikini Blues Cruise (the second one is longer and takes more time to upload):

http://www.rockpage.net/users/jprice/video/MOV09779.MPG

http://www.rockpage.net/users/jprice/video/MOV09780.MPG


The afternoon opened with a pre-cruise picnic under a nearby pavilion. Thanks to maitre D' Brian for the great vittles, including West Virginia corn with kernels missing!

It's another party on the deck of the Proud Mary at Lake Raystown!

High-fiving another Hurricanes Bikini Blues Cruise!

The Hurricanes immediately trigger dancing on the deck!

Hurricane Felix and some Hurricaniacs having a good time!

Hurricane Felix.

The party continues to head up!

"Take our picture!" Okay!

Hurricanes and Hurricaniacs having a good time!

Even some bikinis showed up to dance in front of the Hurricanes!

More Blues Cruise party mayhem!

More Blues Cruisin!'

Some bikinis were in attendance on the top deck of the Proud Mary.

Guest Artie Burtnett belts out some voice with Felix & the Hurricanes.

Again, Artie sings with the Hurricanes.

It's a party with Artie and the Hurricanes!

Once again, Artie with an adoring fan.

The nonstop dance and drink action continues.

It's a full house on the top deck of the Proud Mary!

Some ladies partying down to Felix & the Hurricanes.

"Take our picture!" Gladly!

Dancing on the tables!

Yours truly, obviously enjoying the festivities!

Drunken debauchery, ladies in bikinis dancing atop tables, beer flowing freely, just who the hell is in charge of this boat anyway? Uh-oh, Guv'nor Jesse is in the captain's chair!

It was rock ‘em, sock ‘em excitement at the Hurricanes’ post-Cruise picnic as well!

THE AMY K BAND @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 7/15/07

After resting up from my Hurricanes Blues Cruise experience and getting a few tasks done at my workplace, I finished out my weekend at Pellegrine's, where The Amy K Band from Harrisburg was slamming the lid on the weekend.

I arrived during the second intermission prior to the group's nightcap set, and as the clock reached the 1 AM mark, the group returned to the stage to party down with a modest-sized Pelly's crowd.

Ever-effervescent singer/namesake Amy K and her bandmates - guitarist Rick Johns, drummer Jason Betz and a new bass player whose name I didn’t catch – commenced their last set with Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Gimme Three Steps," and proceeded with a set of charged favorites, mostly classic rock with a few more recent favorites thrown in. The group continued with numbers from ZZ Top, Violent Femmes, Cheap Trick, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jet, All-American Rejects, Divinyls, Scandal, Big & Rich, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and more. Amy and her band maintained a high-octane presentation and pace, and although Pelly's was under-populated this night, a good-sized dance crowd was soon on the floor to party along – including a 21st birthday celebrant and her friends. By the end, the Amy K Band was rocking out with The Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz" (with a Golden Earring "Radar Love" midsection), before the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right (to Party)" to close out the night.

It takes a while for new bands to catch on in this town, and it will probably take the Amy K Band a few more visits before Altoona accepts them into the area party band lexicon. But this night made a little bit of headway, and the group likely won at least a few more Altoona area fans.

The Amy K Band brings the party to Pellegrine’s.

Band namesake and lead singer Amy K.

Rick Johns of the Amy K Band.

Again, the Amy K Band.

Again, Amy K.

The Amy K Band triggers some dance floor action.

The Amy K Band’s new bass player.

One more time, the Amy K Band.

JP’s HAIKU

Hurricanes Blues Cruise
Fun and sun on Lake Raystown
Bikinis and blues!
_________________

http://pamusician.net

[Jim Price]

...
_________________

http://pamusician.net