Another late one this week. I had the Pennsylvania Musician paperboy drill to attend to, so again this is a little late. But better late than never, right? Enjoy…
THURSDAY NIGHT 5/1 – This night turned into a doubleheader for me, kicking off with Boost at City Limits. This was my first look at the current Boost line-up, and I liked what I heard and saw. Now a foursome, Boost plays nonstop upbeat party rock from Cheap Trick, Modern English, Violent Femmes, REM, Deadeye Dick and more. Frontman Bart Hipp and bassman Keith Niedermeier both did solid work sharing vocal duties, and with guitarist Matt Seno all harmonized well. This Boost appears much more confident, happy and upbeat than the early inception of this group that graced Altoona stages a couple of years ago. They kept the mood lighthearted onstage, joking with each other and the audience. Highlights for me included versions of REM’s “It’s The End of the World,” Deadeye Dick’s “New Age Girl,” and the fast-rocking take on John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Roads.” The only downer was that Thursday night attendance was sparse, so the show ended around midnight. But I’m glad to report that the Mach II edition of Boost is a substantial improvement over Mach I; and deserving of your attention if you haven’t seen them in a while.
Boost entertains the four walls at City Limits.
Matt Seno of Boost.
Bart Hipp of Boost.
Again, Matt Seno of Boost.
After Boost finished, I headed to Peter C’s for the nightcap with Felix & the Hurricanes. I’ve said before that one of the things I always like about the Hurricanes is that every show takes a different mood and flavor, often depending on what guest musicians may be in the house and onstage to partake. This night, Ron Novak was jamming with the ‘Canes, and the setlist was decidedly Southern- and blues-geared. Ron and Felix frequently traded off and blended dual guitar leads through the rest of the night; highlights for me included the extended solos on the Allmans’ “Dreams I’ll Never See,” “Statesboro Blues,” and the extended jam edition of the Hurricanes’ own “The Feeling.” Non-musical highlight of the night was Peter C’s birthday celebrant Mary getting drumstick- and guitar-spanked at night’s end, providing cheap thrills to the smallish crowd on hand. Lowlight was the light turnout, but the ‘Canes made it a party regardless, and a good time was had by all who were present.
Ron Novak and Felix Kos hold a guitar-to-guitar conversation onstage at Peter C's.
Peter C's Mary receives an early birthday present from Bob Watters of The Hurricanes. On your scorecards, credit Steve Shiffler of Not Them Guys with the assist.
The ever-resourceful Felix can play slide guitar using just about anything, including Peter C's Mary's posterior. I think they call it 'butt-wipe' slide…
FRIDAY NIGHT 5/2 – This night, I did a tripleheader, starting off at Altoona’s Ground Floor Café to catch an extended look at the “Crazy Fest” Amateur Band division winner from the weekend before, SingNature & the Sound Brigade. A good-sized crowd of young fans (plus a few parents) were on hand as SingNature and several guests performed their blend of modern soul and hip-hop. Anthony “Tone Arrison” Harrison, Chet Denni and Biranda “Honey Brown” Goodman each sang vocals, sounding good as they sang solo, blended and traded off vocal duties with each other through the course of the show. The songs ranged from soulful duets to rap- and hip-hop-geared originals, with positive, socially-conscious lyrics about topics such as individuality, diversity, racial harmony, boy-and-girl issues and more. As is the norm for this vein of music, a lot of it was programmed, but there were a few full band performances which included guitarist Jarrett Bickel and bassist Justin Grimminger. The show mixed band performances with several solo and duo displays, plus a few guest performers such as Crystal Noonan (another “Crazy Fest” participant from the previous weekend), a singer/rapper named Eric (I missed his last name), and guitarist Jarrett, spotting the singers a break with a solo guitar rendition of Mason Williams’ “Classical Gas.” Despite a few problems with the sound system, SingNature drew a very good response from the young audience, and played two extra songs at the end of the performance. Pay attention to this band, as they’re the first group to do this vein of music in the area, and could be a groundbreaking force on area stages as they continue to develop and progress. And if you’re under 21, remember that the Ground Floor Coffeehouse has things going on every weekend, with open mic night on Thursdays, bands and soloists on Fridays and Saturdays.
Chet "Beige" Denny of SingNature & the Sound Brigade.
Rapping and singing, Anthony "Tone Arrison" Harrison, guest Eric and Chet Denny of SingNature.
Justin "Jus Grhymes" Grimminger of SingNature.
Biranda "Honey Brown" Goodman of SingNature.
Anthony Harrison and Chet Denny of SingNature.
Biranda, Chet and Anthony of SingNature.
From the Ground Floor Coffeehouse, I made my way to the Hitching Post to celebrate Cinco De Mayo a few days early with Banditos unplugged. It was Billy Bandito’s birthday, and Wally Bandito became a dad the night before; a large crowd was in the house to help them and the other Banditos celebrate. It was a fun, lighthearted mood as Banditos mixed current and classic rock favorites, with one festive group of fans yelling “Banditos!” and “Ole!” after each song. Highlights were numerous, including Billy finally getting his face on the cover of “Rolling Stone” magazine after the group performed the Dr. Hook classic “Cover of the Rolling Stone,” Billy’s kazoo solo on the Big Jim Bandito-fronted version of Jimmy Buffett’s “Margaritaville;” plus the unplugged Bon Jovi medley and versions of the Allman Brothers’ “Soulshine,” James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” Styx’s “Blue Collar Man” and “Whiskey In The Jar.” Banditos are now The Hitching Post’s ‘house band,’ and based on the festive mood of this show, it’s easy to understand why.
Billy Bandito finally gets his picture on the cover of the Rolling Stone.
Banditos party down the Hitching Post.
Billy, the Birthday Bandito.
Big Jim Bandito.
Wally, Billy and Big Jim Bandito.
Now a dad, Wally Bandito.
I then finished the night at Peter C’s, catching the last set of Silver Sunday’s debut. (I arrived too late to catch openers No Dice.) Featuring former members of Edison, Tukker, DD & the Swinghounds/Electric Mayhem and more, Silver Sunday performed an interesting blend of mostly female-fronted alternative and pop, mixed with modern-ish takes on new wave and classics, originals and more. The musicianship was solid, and Singer Cathie’s higher-ranged voice worked well on tunes from No Doubt, Kellie Osborne, Veruca Salt and more. Silver Sunday played an uptempo show, keeping the pacing tight and nearly nonstop. Highlights for me included the high-octane version of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl,” the Buck Dickson-fronted version of Loverboy’s “Workin’ for the Weekend,” and the night-closing version of Veruca Salt’s “Volcano Girls.” A good-sized crowd was on hand to take in Silver Sunday’s maiden voyage, and the group received good response. Silver Sunday brings a fresh sound to area stages, definitely check them out!
Silver Sunday, making their debut at Peter C's.
Cathie of Silver Sunday.
Steve and P.J. of Silver Sunday.
Todd Harshbarger of Silver Sunday.
Once again, Silver Sunday rocks Peter C's.
Once again, Cathie of Silver Sunday.
Buck Dickson of Silver Sunday.
Buck and Cathie of Silver Sunday.
SATURDAY NIGHT 5/3 – I checked in with Flord at Aldo’s. I just barely missed openers Suicide Switch, but eyewitness accounts reported that Cheeze and co. tore it up. Over a year after the release of their debut CD last year, Flord is only now starting to hit the nightspot stages on a steady basis. A good crowd was in the house, including lots of Blandburg Nation down from up the mountain to catch guitarist Phil Keith’s and bassist Tom Yannitelli’s latest exploits. Flord played many of the darkish, metallic originals from the CD, including “No Compromise,” “Misery,” “My Pain,” “Break Me Down,” “4 Walls” and more; they also introduced a number of aggressive new originals, such as “Next Level,” “Why You Hate Me” and others; and mixed in a few select covers from Pantera, White Zombie, Godsmack, and even a metallic version of the Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun.” Flord was instrumentally strong all around; drummer Rick Fisher and bassist Tom Yannitelli were hard-hitting and powerful on the rhythms, and Phil Keith was constant action on the frets with heated soloing and rigid chords. They effectively set the stage for frontman Butch Woodward to demonstrate his tightly-wound, tension-and-release vocal style on songs that slowly built to explosive choruses and finales. I liked the faster and more aggressive direction of Flord's new original material. Overall a strong presentation, and further evidence that Altoona's original metal scene is very much alive and well…
Phil Keith of Flord.
Butch Woodward of Flord.
Tom Yannitelli of Flord.
Rick Fisher of Flord.
Rick Fisher and Tom Yannitelli of Flord.
Flord puts pedal to the metal at Aldo's.
More Flord fireworks at Aldo's.
Once again, Butch Woodward of Flord.
Going full vent, Butch Woodward of Flord.
Once again, Phil Keith of Flord.
Once again, Rick Fisher of Flord.
SUNDAY NIGHT 5/4 - The last time UUU was at Pellegrine's several weeks ago, as you may recall (if you don't recall, see "Weekend Recap 4/9/03"), the group brought several fans and their tables, chairs and beer pitchers onstage to help break the ice with the shy and sluggish 'Toona crowd. It might have started a new tradition, as the tables and fans were again onstage this night for another rip-roaring good time UUU party. Various fans were platooning on and off of the stage to partake in this community rock show and party, as UUU kept the dance floor active with their anything-including-the-kitchen-sink mix of tunes; including tunes from "Grease," songs from Eric Clapton, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Daniels, Beastie Boys, Vanilla Ice, Aerosmith, Diana Ross and much much more. My favorite highlight had to be the Right Honorable Guv'nor Jesse demonstrating his fancy footwork onstage during "Devil Went Down to Georgia" (and then huffing and puffing for dear life afterward). It was a wild and crazy time; and for UUU, they seem to have finally discovered an effective way to connect with the fickle fans in this town.
Doug of UUU, alongside some festive fans (including former Broken Neck/future Uncle Slam guitarist Phil Wagner).
Jason of UUU.
A festive Guv'nor Jesse celebrates onstage with UUU.
Taking the party to the fans and the fans to the party, UUU at Pellegrine's.
Guv'nor Jesse demonstrates his fancy footwork onstage at Pellegrine's.
Look at that Guv'nor go!
Get that man an oxygen mask!
Jason and Aaron of UUU.
Guido, Jason and Aaron of UUU.
Sean Banks and friends keep the UUU party going at Pellegrine's.
"Take our picture!" (Part I)
"Take our picture!" (Part II)
And this shot, just to let you know that Sis and her friend are alive and partying down at Pelly's.