THE ADAM D, BAD DAZE ROB AND JESS P SHOW @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 12/28/09
It was hoped that since it was the Monday sandwiched between the two holidays, that there might be a big crowd at Pellegrine’s for Monday night wings and music. But snow squalls and high winds diminished the bodies out traveling about. Nonetheless, there were at least enough people at Pellegrine’s at start time to allow the tag team of Adam D, Bad Daze Rob and Jess P. to make their appointed musical rounds.
It was cool to see my pals Jen, Chris and Missy in the house when I first arrived. Wings were soon bestowed upon my table as Adam and Rob were doing their thing, massacring “Free Bird” and mixing a variety of favorites. Most interesting during this initial set was the duo’s lounge regurgitation of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby’s Got Back”…oh, the horror! There was also the pair’s Journey tribute to Pelly’s main lady Natalie (Rob, let us know what you REALLY think!), Rob’s Englebert interlude with “After the Lovin,’” and their set-ending version of Aha’s “Take on Me.”
Jess P. then stepped in with acoustic guitar and performed through much of the rest of the night. She again introduced a few new songs into her repertoire, doing Jimmy Buffett’s “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” and a duet with Rob on Stevie Nicks’ “Leather and Lace.” She also did renditions of Rod Stewart’s “The First Cut Is the Deepest,” Social Distortion’s “Ball and Chain” and Starland Vocal Band’s “Afternoon Delight.”
Rob and Adam both returned to the stage and shared mic duties with Jess on several songs. Recognizing the possible Jewish presence in the house, Rob did Adam Sandler’s “Hannukah Song.” The three performers also did tunes from the Beatles, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi, 4 Non Blondes, Weezer, Styx, Blondie and more.
It was all good clean (?) fun, and provided the happy-go-lucky soundtrack for more wing-eating en masse…
Adam D and Bad Daze Rob in action if you need them…
ADAM D @ PELLEGRINE’S, ALTOONA 12/30/09
Originally, the Beatlemaniacs were to perform this Wednesday New Year’s Eve eve at Pellegrine’s. However, one band member was under the weather, and Adam D got the call to fill in.
With no Bad Daze Rob or Jess P. to mix it up with this night, Adam gave a more straightforward performance that showed that his talents still ride at a high level. Adam mixed up the song selection and honored several audience requests along the way. With a few Beatlemaniacs fans in the house, Adam broke out his own version of “With a Little Help from My Friends,” and closed out the night with his rendition of “Eleanor Rigby.” He also honored audience requests for Foreigner’s “Feel Like the First Time,” Journey’s “Separate Ways,” Meatloaf’s “Paradise By the Dashboard Light” and Don McLean’s “American Pie.” And he did selections from such diverse sources as Mark Cohn, Corey Hart, Billy Idol, Billy Joel, Eagles, Allman Brothers, David Essex, Chicago, U2, Jimi Hendrix and more.
Adam did a decent job through most all of it, giving the tunes his own unique keyboard-generated orchestration and flavor.
No pictures of Adam D were taken this night, but here’s one of the Right Honorable Guv’nor Jesse. After posing as our 44th President the past two Halloweens, now Jesse has a commemorative plate of our current Commander in Chief, received as a Christmas gift this night.
HAIR FORCE ONE @ 30 SOMETHING, ALTOONA 12/31/09
Another year came to a close, and keeping with tradition, I decided to hail in the New Year at 30 Something, with Hair Force One providing the tunes. (Nothing against the other options available this night, but 30 Something is a 5-minute drive/15-minute walk/30-minute crawl from my house. Mix in the midnight buffet and friends usually throwing an after-party at a nearby townhouse, and it’s usually a no-brainer for me.)
A light freezing rain and glaze on the roads didn’t appear to stunt attendance, as a good-sized crowd was in place by the time Hair Force One commenced their first set. Sans guitarist Michael J. Cox, who is taking a leave of absence from the band for a few months, the Hair Force roster of singer Victory Synn, kilted guitarist Jimi Hatt, bassist Iva Biggin and drummer G kicked off the first set with Cinderella’s “Shake Me,” and celebrated the Decade of Decadence with tunes from Ozzy, AC/DC, Twisted Sister, Judas Priest, Brittny Fox, Jackyl and more. Jimi sang a rare lead vocal on the Beastie Boys’ “Fight for Your Right (to Party),” and the group closed out the initial set with a song I hadn’t heard them do before, Dangerous Toys’ “Teas’n, Pleas’n.”
As with their first set, Hair Force One kicked off their second set with another Cinderella number, “Somebody Save Me,” and played tunes from Quiet Riot, Whitesnake and Kiss to lead up to midnight and the cacophony of noisemakers to usher in New Year 2010. Hair Force One’s first song of the New Year was Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock,” and the group continued through tunes from Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Motley Crue and Ugly Kid Joe as 30 Something served up their traditional midnight buffet of hot dogs and sauerkraut, Swedish meatballs, cold cuts, cheeses, veggies and more.
Hair Force One was sounding good as a four-piece this night. I was impressed with Jimi Hatt’s ability to nail the important guitar solo parts in the songs against the tight rhythms of Iva and G. Victor’s voice was in good form as always, and soundman Zilly kept it all pounding with abundant thunder.
Hair Force One’s final chapter of the night launched with Ratt’s “Round and Round,” and followed with another song I hadn’t heard the Force do yet, Great White’s “Mista Bone.” Tunes from Poison, Def Leppard, AC/DC, Van Halen, Guns N’Roses and Bon Jovi kept the dance floor busy for the duration. The New Year’s celebrants didn’t want the party to end yet, and demanded two encores at the end of the night. Hair Force One responded with Guns N’Roses “Rocket Queen” and Quiet Riot’s “Metal Health (Bang Your Head)” respectively.
The combination of Hair Force One’s ‘80s tunage, the happy crowd, the midnight buffet, the company of comrades Big Jim, Guv’nor Jesse and Pat, and that wicked shot served up to me by members of the ‘Hair Bears’ contingent all made for a successful and fun transition from 2009 into 2010.
Taking his show to the back of the room, Iva Biggin of Hair Force One.
Hailing in yet another New Year in 80’s hair band style, Hair Force One.
G of Hair Force One.
More Hair Force One.
A good-sized crowd looks on as Hair Force One rocks 30 Something into the New Year.
Again, Iva Biggin of Hair Force One.
Again, G of Hair Force One.
Victor Synn of Hair Force One.
My off-target midnight toast shot…Left to right, Guv’nor Jesse, my hand with beer, Big Jim and Pat.
First pic of Yours Truly in the New Year, hanging out with Bev Nardozza (the organizer of the annual Mya’s Miracle Autism Benefit).
Big Jim looks on as Guv’nor Jesse stuffs his face from the 30 Something midnight buffet.
Again making his rounds to the back of the room, Iva Biggin of Hair Force One.
Jimi Hatt of Hair Force One.
Again, Victor Synn of Hair Force One.
Victor Synn and Jimi Hatt.
G gets some moral support behind the drum kit.
Once again, Iva Biggin.
Once again, Victor Synn and Jimi Hatt.
BAD DAZE @ 30 SOMETHING, ALTOONA 1/2/10
My initial game plan this night targeted some out-of-town locations, but the wintry weather, winds and blowing snow put the kibosh on that plan. I stayed in the ‘Toona instead, and decided to partake in the latest festivus offered up by Bad Daze at 30 Something. This would also be a chance for me to see Bad Daze one more time before bassist Paul Rainey departed the group to pursue his career path to North Carolina.
With wintry conditions as they were, I didn’t anticipate a huge crowd, and there wasn’t one. But at least there were some people there, and they were in party mode. There were two birthdays in the house, including a young lady named Amber celebrating her 21st, and 30 Something frequent flyer Tina celebrating one as well.
Fueled in part by those birthdays, Bad Daze delivered a charged performance from start to finish; hammering out hard-hitting favorites from Cavo, Disturbed, Linkin Park, Green Day, Ozzy Osbourne, Buckcherry, Megadeth, Staind and more over the course of their three sets. There were multiple highlights along the way; including Kenny Murdick’s precision guitar solo display on Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy” to close the first set, a rendition of Pantera’s “Walk” dedicated in memory to the recently-deceased Jim “Voodoo Daddy” Pettiford, the group’s powerful spin on Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” the night-ending rendition of their original song “Lost” and more. Singer Rob Carolus constantly took the party to the crowd and made them part of the show; he had fun with the birthday celebrants, even carrying the birthday cake back to one of them in the rear of the room. When the crowd demanded an encore at night’s end, Bad Daze gladly accommodated the request with Disturbed’s “Stupified” to end the night.
Simply put, it was good, hard-rocking fun.
Bad Daze shouldn’t miss a beat during their bass player transition, as Kent Tonkin of the currently dormant Lies Inc. will fill in on bass while Bad Daze seeks a permanent replacement.
Bad Daze Rob serves up the candlelit cake to birthday gal Tina, while Zilly the soundman looks on.
Ladies dance on and off the stage as Bad Daze rocks 30 Something.
Audience member Melissa observes Kenny Murdick’s fretboard technique.
Melissa also studies audience response as Bad Daze Rob strikes up the party.
Again, Melissa busts some stage dancing moves alongside Kenny Murdick of Bad Daze.
One of the final times we’ll see this trio together on a stage: Kenny Murdick, Jim Bagrosky and Paul Rainey of Bad Daze.
The Bad Daze party continues.
Jim Bagrosky of Bad Daze.
Rob Carolus and Paul Rainey of Bad Daze.
Again, Kenny Murdick of Bad Daze.
More of Bad Daze.
“Future Bobby” becomes future CIA operative? Paul Rainey, playing one of his final gigs with Bad Daze.
Again, Bad Daze Rob and Paul Rainey.
Once again, Bad Daze Rob.
Bad Daze kept things busy on 30 Something’s dance floor throughout the night.
Again, Kenny Murdick and Bad Daze Rob.
Once again slicing and dicing on the guitar, Kenny Murdick of Bad Daze.
FELIX & THE HURRICANES @ SHAW’S BAR, ALTOONA 1/3/10
Having seen Pellegrine’s band this night, Bad Daze, the night before at 30 Something, I opted for the Hurricanes option at Shaw’s to close out my weekend.
I’m glad I did, this was a blast! It turned into one of those nights where both band and crowd were totally tuned in to each other and on each other’s wavelength, which resulted in nonstop fun!
Bassist Pat McGinnis was fronting the band on a version of “Wagon Wheels” as I first arrived and procured first foamy adult beverage from barkeep Erica. The group, with special guest Harold Hayford sitting in on keys, continued with Eric Clapton’s “I’ve Got a Rock’n’Roll Heart,” before embarking on an extended version of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man,” which drew several slow-dancing couples onto the dance floor. Lead ‘Cane Felix Kos went to town on this number, scorching out some wild guitar histrionics that extended the song; the guy is such a master that the guitar continued to play itself while he took care of business in the men’s room! Seriously, it was a little ‘Canes chicanery that had the crowd laughing as they came to the realization of what was going on, and Felix picked his guitar back up and finished out the tune live and manually.
The crowd was festive and having a good time. It was cool to see Yankee Rose in the house this night, with her daughter in tow. Priscilla the Tambourine Lady was also present, with her own tip bag on the table for people to donate (and at least one lady did!).
After a brief intermission, the Hurricanes kicked into their final set of the night with the Zac Brown Band’s “Sic’m on a Chicken” by request, before dedicating “Happy Birthday” to Shaw’s Nikki. This extended into “Rocky Top” and “Dueling Banjos,” both launching the Shaw’s audience in a hootin,’ hollerin,’ footstompin’ frenzy. After the group triggered slow dance action with the Pat-fronted “Jelly Roll,” the Hurricanes launched into an impromptu version of “Surfin’ Bird” by the Trashmen, and an audience request for Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” which drew a group of young ladies up to the stage to dance and sing the choruses. As last call for alcohol was called, the Hurricanes closed out the night with Chuck Berry’s “No Particular Place to Go.”
As I stated earlier, this was one of those Hurricanes nights when both band and crowd were totally in sync with one another. The Hurricanes were the people’s band this night, improvising and channeling their set toward the crowd’s mood and what people wanted to hear. It worked, as band and crowd fed off each other’s happy vibes, energy and impulses; making for a happy-go-lucky and fun night!
Priscilla the Tambourine Lady now accepts tips for her tambourine-banging services. Be kind and tip your bartenders, wait staff and tambourine ladies!
Priscilla, earning her tips and dancing to Felix & the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes with guest Harold Hayford on keys, striking up the party at Shaw’s.
Pat McGinnis gets some audience assistance singing “Brown Eyed Girl.”
