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Celebrating Pennsylvania Music, Present and Past

Archive for the category “Live Events”

30 Apr 2013

The Hooters Appreciation Day

The Hooters perform at the state capitol

A couple of weeks ago, the Pennsylvania State Senate voted on a resolution to declare April 30th “Hooters Music Appreciation Day” in the state. The resolution, sponsored by Senator Daylin Leach, passed unanimously and The Hooters have cemented their place in the PA history books. The band accepted the award today and celebrated the occasion by treating some fans to a lunchtime concert in the Capitol Rotunda in Harrisburg.

Senator Leach introduced the band and presented the framed resolution and explained that despite the many other important matters the senate has to discuss and vote upon, it is important to recognize the arts as well. The senator praised the band’s contributions to the state of Pennsylvania. April 30th marks the band’s “33 1/3rd anniversary” together, with “33 1/3″ also being the title of their upcoming European tour this summer.

The band was set up on the lower level of the rotunda so the crowd was gathered on both levels, when the band stage, the audience greeted them with warm applause. They kicked off with the energetic and uplifting “I’m Alive” from their 2007 album, Time Stand Still. A group of school children were dancing and enjoying the show right alongside the folks in business attire and the fans in Hooters t-shirts. It was almost a bit surreal seeing a rock band getting a crowd going like that in the middle of a work day.

The fun continued with a parade of hits from the late 1980s including “Day by Day”, “All You Zombies”, “Satellite”, “Karla With a K”, “And We Danced”, and “Beat Up Guitar”. This is music with heart and soul and it was inspiring to see such a diverse group enjoying the show.

The Hooters may have made their biggest national splash in the 1980′s, but they are still going strong 33 1/3 years later.

Posted by Karyn in Live Events, Web Log and tagged , , | Leave a Comment
08 Oct 2012

Little Buffalo Festival 2012

October 8, 2012
By Karyn Albano

Jeffery GainesThis past Saturday (October 6th) was the annual Little Buffalo Arts Festival, at the Little Buffalo State Park in a remote area of Perry County, Pennsylvania. Along with art, poetry, kids activities and food, was some great free music on two stages. On the main stage was entertainment by five different acts of diverse music which ranged from a high school marching band to a national recording artist and many degrees in-between. This is the second year we’re covering the music from this festival and the second year it was headlined by Jeffrey Gaines. Last year we did an article at DAMES of PA called Gaines and the Rain at Little Buffalo. Unlike last year, however, the rain held off and the crisp fall day ended with lots of sunshine.

Following the Trinity High School Percussion Ensemble whih started off the entertainment on the main stage, the acoustic quartet Koretzky, Neidig, Gehret & Campbell took the stage. These seasoned musicians with decades of combined experieince, played a pleasant set with a haunting quality in the mixture of acoustic bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo, and various other instruments. Guitarist Kevin Neidig performed lead vocals on the original songs, which had a mild “outlaw country” vibe.

Next came another 4-piece group, The Reese Project, who focused primarily on instrumental jazz with piano, flute, bass, and drums. While all members here were excellent performers, particularly interesting was Laurie Haines Reese on electric cello, who alternated between using her instrument as an acoustic bass and cello.

Central-PA’s princes of power pop/rock, The JellyBricks followed with a high energy performance of original music, drawing from material that spanned their 15 year career. The band has a creative knack for songwriting with straightforward, witty lyrics, lots of guitar hooks and a tight musical performance. The song hooks draw you in and hold onto you until the final notes of their energetic and entertaining live performance.

As a transition to his headlining set, Gaines joined the Jellybricks on stage for an inspired rendition of Elvis Costello’s “Peace Love and Understanding”. Unlike last year, when Gaines played a solo acoustic set, he was backed up by a rhythm section made up of bassist Mike Giblin of Parallax Project and Jellybricks’ drummer Tom Kristich, who stayed on for both sets. Gaines professed his positive outlook on love, happy for every opportunity, happy for every day and that comes across in his music and  live performance. He was very interactive, telling the crowd to “get up, dance and be spontaneous”. Gaines, a Harrisburg native who now lives in Philadelphia, went through a whole bunch of originals, spanning his entire career, which is now into its third decade.

The Little Buffalo Festival had an audience that seemed to appreciate diversity in their music, which was alluded to when Larry Kennedy of the Jellybricks thanked the crowd for accepting their all-original performance and not calling for “Freebird”. A little bit of everything was packed into this autumn afternoon at this normally quiet and remote state park.

~

The Reese Project
The Jellybricks
Jeffrey Gaines

Posted by Karyn in Live Events and tagged , , | Leave a Comment
27 Sep 2012

The King Street Coffee House
Kicks Off Their 17th Season

September 27, 2012
By Brenda Brosius
King Street Coffeehouse logoCreated back in January of 1996, a small group of members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Susquehanna Valley gathered at the Priestley Chapel in Northumberland, Pa. They had found that the Central Susquehanna Valley, local musicians and music lovers in the area had a need. This small group comprised of music lovers, musicians and UUCSV members had a possible solution to this need.

They wanted to create a new venue for local musicians and music lovers to gather. Hence…….The birth of The King Street Coffeehouse.

It began with three acts, twice a month for four months. They built a lineup of local performers. In the beginning they found local groups and businesses to host the shows. Now seventeen years later, there are shows every second and fourth Friday of the month. The season runs from September until April and in January there are shows every Friday night. What an achievement to have grown from eight shows a year to eighteen!

Hosting the venue for the past several years has been Townside Garden at 253 Front Street in Northumberland, PA. Cost for each show? $7 at the door. The money collected at the door goes to the performer and the venue for use of the space. The King Street Coffeehouse itself gets no money. It has been manned by a devoted group of volunteers over the years.

The season begins this Friday September 28th at 7pm.

Here is the schedule for the 2012-2012 Season. Doors open at 6pm and there are beverages, deserts and light snacks available to purchase.

September 28, 2012 Alf Bashore, Don Shappelle, & Chicken Tractor
October 12, 2012 Lester Hirsh, Kevin Neidig, & Jim Dandy
October 26, 2012 Phil Brosius and Shirl Harris, Earl Pickens, & Buc Hill Aces
November 9, 2012 Tom Patten, Kimbo and Bryan, & Mid Life Cowboys
November 23, 2012 Tom Fladmark, Degrees of Syncopation, & Michi Eggar
December 14, 2012 Chris Whitmer, Susquehanna String Theory, & Gift Troutman and Gift
January 4, 2013 Dawson, Leo Armbruster, & Lux Bridge
January 11, 2013 * Nate Myers Trio, Ann Kerstetter, & Frank Wicher
January 18, 2013 John Sweeney, Steve Quelet, & Don and ED
January 25, 2013 Garry Gyekis, Bill Eck, & DePortorLand
February 8, 2013 Eric Sundberg, Antonio Andrade, & Lawson and Disorder
February 22, 2013 Gypsy Lizards, Doug and Hannah, & Bruce Barr
March 8, 2013 Juice, Don Mease — Full Circle, & Stained Grass Window
March 22, 2013 Tom Rosencrans, Jack Brunner, & Jeremy DePrisco
April 5, 2013 ** Chris Carithers, KJ, & Van Wagner
April 19, 2013 Quentin Feitner, Mandolin Ensemble, & Rich Ahern

* Anniversary Show
** Change to First Friday
 

Posted by Brenda in Live Events, Web Log and tagged , | Leave a Comment
15 Jun 2012

Darcie Miner Sounds Like Summer

June 15, 2012
By J.D. Cook


Darcie MinerThe sun has been bright and the skies have been blue, but for me it didn’t feel quite like summer until Thursday, June 14th. You see, at the beginning of almost every summer in recent memory I have seen Pennsylvania’s best kept secret, Darcie Miner, perform. So it was not until I saw her on Thursday with guitarist Jimmy Patton on the lawn in front of the Cocoa Beanery coffee shop in Hershey, PA that it really felt like summer had arrived.

This is my first summer in three years in which I am not romantically linked to anyone, and Miner’s songs about heartbreak and broken relationships spoke to me with a fresh voice. Two summers ago when I was on a ‘break’ with my past girlfriend, I thought I completely understood the meanings behind Miner and Patton’s work on their fantastic 2009 album Loneliness Anonymous (read my review of that here). This is a mistake many people make with good music. We’ve all heard a song so much we believe we’ve mastered it, and then we hear it somewhere down the line and new layers of understanding reveal themselves. It is a testament to Miner’s talent that her songs sound better every time I hear them. It also points to the problems with a lot of today’s modern pop music; much of it has little to no depth, while bands such as Rush, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd continue to be revisited, talked about, and discussed. OK, I’ll hop off of my soap box and return to the review at hand.
This was the first time in nearly a year since Darcie Miner performed live and it did show at times, with some hesitations, false starts, and Darcie’s own admittance to using lyric sheets to guide her along. There were also a few technical difficulties during the two-set performance, but none of this really affected my enjoyment of the show and Miner played off the problems with humorous comments and witty banter. She has a naturally good stage presence, which can easily cover up mistakes or instrument malfunctions.

Jimmy Patton and Darcie MinerSince this performance did not include a full band one would naturally think some of the songs from Loneliness Anonymous would not sound quite as textured. On the contrary, one of my favorite songs from that album, “Rollerskating Song” sounded great despite the lack of synthesizers and other instruments that make up its bulk. All of the songs sounded pretty good bare bones with her on acoustic and Patton on electric or steel guitar. There were also a few fun covers such as “Breakdown” by Tom Petty in which Miner’s soulful voice added a new layer to the classic. Before that, “Found Out About You” by the Gin Blossoms was a happy surprise that brought the audience back to the nineties with a steel guitar twist. A “Life Lion” helicopter disrupted the wonderful song “24”, but it was still a great listen and just a minor bump in the overall great ride. Another of these bumps was quickly fixed thanks to Mr. Patton who saved the fantastic tune “Somerset” when he jumped from behind his steel guitar to fix some wires. The true gem of the evening was a song that I believe was called “Westward Bound”, a track that did not make it onto Loneliness Anonymous but after one listen it was clear that the song could have fit perfectly well on the album.

Besides being a great multi-instrumentalist and performer, Jimmy Patton (“JP”) is a top notch producer. This is immediately evident upon listening to Loneliness Anonymous, which has a sound as good as (or better than) any major label release. Since that album in 2009, Patton has built a brand new studio of his own design in Mount Joy, PA and new material by Patton and Miner is greatly anticipated.

Farmers Market In HersheyThe show itself was put on by The Hershey Center for Applied Research, who have scheduled talented musical acts in conjunction with the weekly Farmer’s Market in Hershey every Thursday night during the summer. These performances will raise awareness for the H.C.A.R. which is working to further study in the fields of life sciences, cancer, medical devices, green technology, and nanotechnology. As always seeing Miner and Patton play was a complete joy and put me in the mood for the upcoming summer.

~
J.D. Cook
 
Darcie Miner website


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Posted by Key Rock Review in Artist Profiles, Live Events and tagged , , | Leave a Comment
31 May 2012

Summer Festival Season

May 31, 2012
By Karyn Albano


Outdoor ConcertsSummer festival season is here! This is the time of year that live music is released from the dark, late-night confines of nightclubs and bars and flows into the great outdoors. Pennsylvania is a great place for outdoor summertime music. We have blues festivals happening in rural cornfields, folk music under the stars at wineries, and multi-genre festivals in the hearts of our cities and towns.

This past weekend, the city of Harrisburg forgot about its fiscal crisis for a few days as it hosted the annual Artsfest in the scenic Riverfront Park. This festival kicked off the season in the state capital. Next up will be a wine festival to be held at Fort Hunter Park which will include live music as well. you will find events like these all over the state so you should have no trouble finding an event that suits your musical taste and budget. My personal favorite is the Briggs Farm Blues Festival near Nescopeck, PA which usually falls on or around my birthday in early July.

There is something great about kicking back in a grassy field at an outdoor concert with your friends and family. Hearing live music is always a worthwhile activity, but outdoor festivals really capture the vibe perfectly and can be a wonderful family activity. While many folks associate live music with the late night bar scene, which is fun but not really family friendly, these outdoor venues allow you to spread out a blanket, bring some snacks and let the kids enjoy the show too. Lots of times the kids are the most enthusiastic dancers in the audience. these events are a great way to expose kids how to good music as well as create priceless family memories. Of course, there is always the risk of inclement weather, but this is a small risk for the reward of music under the sky.

~
Karyn Albano


Posted by Karyn in Editorial, Live Events, Web Log and tagged , | Leave a Comment
23 May 2012

Wired Live

May 23, 2012
By Ric Albano


Wired on 05/18/12With a playlist that transcends many rock sub-genres, a lead vocalist role that is ever-revolving throughout the show, and a solid edge of melodic rock, Wired performs a solid and entertaining live act. The band performs covers from Elvis Presley to Kid Rock, from Lynard Skynard to Smash Mouth and various acts along the rock pantheon in between.

Based in Newport, PA, the band is anchored by a husband and wife team of guitarist John Miller and keyboardist Sandy Miller. The band was formed about four years ago and consisted as the same five-piece group until last July (2011) when Phil Brosius took over as lead guitarist. Brosius, has performed in a variety of Central Pennsylvania bands throughout the years, including Silver Creek, China White, No Way Out, Shovel Head, Spent, Jezebel Sons, and The Resonators. He is currently composing some original songs for a future project.

Bassist Eric Spotts performs lead singer duties on a couple of songs and provides a solid rhythm throughout the show, especially on the centerpiece “I’m Your Captain/Closer to Home”, originally written by Grand Funk. Spotts also currently performs in the power trio B.B Rock & The Ringers as well as the hard rock outfit Iroquois Confederacy. Drummer Tom Sikorsky rounds off the lineup, providing a solid backbone to the band’s sound.

In all, the band puts on an entertaining performance with enough familiar material to get you dancing along with enough unusual material to keep things interesting. Look for Wired performing through Central PA in the near future.

Wired Logo, 2008

~
R.A.


Posted by Key Rock Review in Artist Profiles, Live Events and tagged , , | Leave a Comment
16 May 2012

Sound Off for Vets 2012

May 16, 2012
By Ric Albano


Sound Off For VetsWith injury reports from the Middle East no longer prominent in the news, wounded service members may feel like they have been forgotten. But the Wounded Warrior Project has been established to make sure America’s finest are never forgotten. Lebanon musician Chris Nelson has been doing his part by organizing the concert series Sound Off for Vets to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project and keep these fine men and women in the public arena, all while providing an entertaining showcase of Pennsylvania musical artists.

This year’s show will be held Saturday, May 19th at City Island in Harrisburg in conjunction with Armed Forces Day. The show will feature four performers starting with Nelson himself, followed by Rhyne McCormick, Michael Anthony Smith & the Dirty Thieving Gypsies, and Shift Seven, with each act starting on the hour from Noon through 3:00 pm. Fittingly, each act in this year’s show possess strong ties to U.S. Military service. McCormick served in the U.S. Air Force from 1987 to 1996 before launching his successful career as a performer and recording artist. Shift Seven played the first two Sound Off concerts in June 2010 and May 2011, and Michael Anthony Smith and the Dirty Thieving Gypsies played last year. Both of these bands have relatives serving in the military. Nelson himself is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, having served from 1983 until 2004. This is the fourth overall Sound Off concert and third to be held on City Island. The last show was held on Veteran’s Day last year (11/11/11) at Champions Sports Bar in Highspire, PA.

More Information on Past and Present Sound Off Performers

Chris NelsonNelson, who has been writing and recording music for over 25 years and labels his own music “dark folk”, released his second full-length solo album last summer called The Invisible Man. He is currently working on a compilation of his some of his older music which we be called Fish Stories, 1986-2005. The tight-riffed rock trio Shift Seven also released their second album last year called Love Lust, while the bluesy Michael Anthony Smith and the Dirty Thieving Gypsies have been writing and recording original material for the past few years. Rhyne McCormick has toured extensively and released several albums through the years, with his latest effort being 2010′s Live At the Capitol Theatre.

2012 Armed Forces DayArmed Forces Day transforms City Island into a bustling military base for one day, with great food and over 100 displays and equipment from all services and service-related groups including aviation, artillery, construction, employment information and recruiting booths, veterans’ resources, living history demonstrations and a wide variety of family and children’s activities and fitness challenges. This year’s concert will have an MC, Mike Randazzo, who coordinates media for Armed Services Day. Video will be provided by Tim Dyer of Dyer’s World Video, with professional sound by Chris Hicks of Voyager Music, and drums donated by Dale’s Drum Shop. Nelson’s goal is to raise $1000 for Wounded Warriors and he says they are off to a good start due to the generosity of local businesses and donors who have already made contributions.

List of 2012 Contributors and Contributions

Since it is a free concert, funds will be raised at the show through raffles and voluntary cash contributions by attendees. Nelson said he would like to eventually “franchise” the event by holding multiple Sound Off for Vets concerts at multiple locations each year with the help of various promoters. But he realizes he can’t do it all alone, as one event is quite enough work each year.

Sound Off for Vets Website

~
R.A.


Posted by Key Rock Review in Live Events and tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment

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