Post by jptheprofessor on Jul 29, 2006 13:43:35 GMT -5
On Saturday, July 8, Huntingdon County saw one of its biggest rock concerts in history, when the Harper's Memorial Park Rockfest took place at the Shade Gap Picnic Grounds, featuring national 80's and 90's recording group Warrant, and three regional acts - Sound Of Silence, Scream and Spitshine - opening.
I arrived too late to see Sound Of Silence's set, but understand that they represented well. Scream started right after I arrived, performing 80's hair-band "Concrete Classic" rock from the likes of Krokus, Kix, AC/DC, Kiss, Bulletboys, White Lion, Ozzy, Def Leppard and more. Scream always puts on a powerful and energetic show; I'm always blown away by the dual guitar harmonies generated by Ed Miller and Skip Henry. Good stuff, and it served to warm the crowd up for the remaining acts.
From the Lehigh Valley, Spitshine brought their brand of lively, funk- and punk-infused rock. The group played a mixture of original songs off of their two CD's, along with some new songs, and rocked-up versions of some familiar favorites, such as Elton John's "Rocket Man" and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful." As their set progressed, Spitshine got the crowd fired up and in front of the stage dancing with their energetic tunes, plus solo displays by drummer Steve Berlen and lead guitarist Larry Werner - and by the time the group reached their last song, "Quarter Til Four," the crowd was on the stage and dancing! Spitshine's set provided just the right escalation in energy to get the Shade Gap crowd primed for the main event, Warrant.
Then Warrant took the stage and delivered the goods! Now with former Black'n Blue frontman Jaime St. James singing lead, Warrant played all the favorites, opening with "Down Boys," and doing such songs as "I Saw Red," "Bed of Roses," "The Hole in My Wall," "Sometimes She Cries" into "Heaven," and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to end the set. Also along the way, the group broke out some deeper cuts such as "In The Sticks" (appropriate given the rural location where they were playing), "Mr. Rainmaker" and "So d**n Pretty (Should Be Against the Law);" they also performed a song from Jaime's former band, Black'n Blue, doing "Hold On to 18." And Warrant also introduced two songs from their brand new album, Born Again; doing "Bourbon County Line" during their main set, and opening their encore with "Dirty Jack" from the new album, before sending the night out in glory with the ever-popular "Cherry Pie." The band sounded in good form; Joey Allen was firing off some excellent guitar solo work! Rhythm guitarist Erik Turner, bassist Jerry Dixon and drummer Steven Sweet kept it tight and powerful, and Jaime's voice fits Warrant well, sounding similar but slightly grittier than his predecessor, Jani Lane. Shortly after the show, the members of Warrant came out to meet and greet fans and sign autographs.
Jaime St. James commented about the show later in his "Diary" section of the official Warrant website, www.warrantweb.net. According to Jaime, "...We cranked out our long set and let me tell you the crowd loved it. The thing is that when you play for rockers that live off the beaten path, they are very appreciative. They don't get as many shows as the big cities. We hung around after and signed their C.D.s and photos and of course a few female body parts. Speaking of C.D.s we sold a boatload of the new "BORN AGAIN" disk, which was cool. All in all……….nice (bleep)'n Rock show!"
It was a good time in rural Huntingdon County. Thanks to the Fast Trackers Relay for Life and Shade Gap Fire Company for making the show possible, the bands, and the Q94 listeners who came out to support the event. And on a personal note, thanks to Buck and Sandy for the sodas, backrubs and taking my photo with the band!
Some pictures from the day's festivities:
Scream helps warm things up for Warrant at the Harper's Memorial Park Rockfest.
Skip Henry of Scream.
Ed Miller of Scream.
Spitshine continues the festivities, getting the crowd more fired up.
Steve Berlen of Spitshine.
Bryan Harmony of Spitshine.
Larry Werner of Spitshine.
Spitshine parties down with fans on stage.
One highlight during Warrant's set was when they let a youngster get on stage to tell his mother he loved her.
Jerry Dixon and Joey Allen of Warrant.
Jaime St. James of Warrant.
Joey Allen of Warrant.
Again, Jaime St. James of Warrant.
After the concert ended, we checked out this cool-looking Munstermobile-styled trike (owned by one of the Shade Gap firemen) while we waited for Warrant to come out for autographs.
Yours truly, with 80% of Warrant. Thanks to Buck for taking the shot! (Hey, we'll call that a Buck-shot!)
Here's another Buck-shot, of yours truly with Spitshine. Since these guys are currently working with noted producer David Ivory (who helped get Halestorm signed), they could be a national band by the next time I get to see them!
I arrived too late to see Sound Of Silence's set, but understand that they represented well. Scream started right after I arrived, performing 80's hair-band "Concrete Classic" rock from the likes of Krokus, Kix, AC/DC, Kiss, Bulletboys, White Lion, Ozzy, Def Leppard and more. Scream always puts on a powerful and energetic show; I'm always blown away by the dual guitar harmonies generated by Ed Miller and Skip Henry. Good stuff, and it served to warm the crowd up for the remaining acts.
From the Lehigh Valley, Spitshine brought their brand of lively, funk- and punk-infused rock. The group played a mixture of original songs off of their two CD's, along with some new songs, and rocked-up versions of some familiar favorites, such as Elton John's "Rocket Man" and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful." As their set progressed, Spitshine got the crowd fired up and in front of the stage dancing with their energetic tunes, plus solo displays by drummer Steve Berlen and lead guitarist Larry Werner - and by the time the group reached their last song, "Quarter Til Four," the crowd was on the stage and dancing! Spitshine's set provided just the right escalation in energy to get the Shade Gap crowd primed for the main event, Warrant.
Then Warrant took the stage and delivered the goods! Now with former Black'n Blue frontman Jaime St. James singing lead, Warrant played all the favorites, opening with "Down Boys," and doing such songs as "I Saw Red," "Bed of Roses," "The Hole in My Wall," "Sometimes She Cries" into "Heaven," and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" to end the set. Also along the way, the group broke out some deeper cuts such as "In The Sticks" (appropriate given the rural location where they were playing), "Mr. Rainmaker" and "So d**n Pretty (Should Be Against the Law);" they also performed a song from Jaime's former band, Black'n Blue, doing "Hold On to 18." And Warrant also introduced two songs from their brand new album, Born Again; doing "Bourbon County Line" during their main set, and opening their encore with "Dirty Jack" from the new album, before sending the night out in glory with the ever-popular "Cherry Pie." The band sounded in good form; Joey Allen was firing off some excellent guitar solo work! Rhythm guitarist Erik Turner, bassist Jerry Dixon and drummer Steven Sweet kept it tight and powerful, and Jaime's voice fits Warrant well, sounding similar but slightly grittier than his predecessor, Jani Lane. Shortly after the show, the members of Warrant came out to meet and greet fans and sign autographs.
Jaime St. James commented about the show later in his "Diary" section of the official Warrant website, www.warrantweb.net. According to Jaime, "...We cranked out our long set and let me tell you the crowd loved it. The thing is that when you play for rockers that live off the beaten path, they are very appreciative. They don't get as many shows as the big cities. We hung around after and signed their C.D.s and photos and of course a few female body parts. Speaking of C.D.s we sold a boatload of the new "BORN AGAIN" disk, which was cool. All in all……….nice (bleep)'n Rock show!"
It was a good time in rural Huntingdon County. Thanks to the Fast Trackers Relay for Life and Shade Gap Fire Company for making the show possible, the bands, and the Q94 listeners who came out to support the event. And on a personal note, thanks to Buck and Sandy for the sodas, backrubs and taking my photo with the band!
Some pictures from the day's festivities:
Scream helps warm things up for Warrant at the Harper's Memorial Park Rockfest.
Skip Henry of Scream.
Ed Miller of Scream.
Spitshine continues the festivities, getting the crowd more fired up.
Steve Berlen of Spitshine.
Bryan Harmony of Spitshine.
Larry Werner of Spitshine.
Spitshine parties down with fans on stage.
One highlight during Warrant's set was when they let a youngster get on stage to tell his mother he loved her.
Jerry Dixon and Joey Allen of Warrant.
Jaime St. James of Warrant.
Joey Allen of Warrant.
Again, Jaime St. James of Warrant.
After the concert ended, we checked out this cool-looking Munstermobile-styled trike (owned by one of the Shade Gap firemen) while we waited for Warrant to come out for autographs.
Yours truly, with 80% of Warrant. Thanks to Buck for taking the shot! (Hey, we'll call that a Buck-shot!)
Here's another Buck-shot, of yours truly with Spitshine. Since these guys are currently working with noted producer David Ivory (who helped get Halestorm signed), they could be a national band by the next time I get to see them!