Post by jptheprofessor on Jan 18, 2008 20:24:57 GMT -5
(I know this is a little late, five months after the fact. But as they say, better late than never!)
Two Pittsburgh legends, Joe Grushecky and Donnie Iris, both visited Altoona on August 8 as part of the Railroaders Memorial Museum's "Alive @ Five" Summer Concert Series. And Q94 was in attendance!
As expected, a lot of folks were looking forward to this concert, as a good-sized crowd was already in place by the time Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers were introduced.
With the late afternoion/early evening temperature hovering near the 90-degree mark, Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers commenced the evening with a strong set of blue-collar rock'n'soul. Joe and his Houserockers - guitarist Danny Gochnaur, bassist Art Nardini, keyboardist Joe Pelesky, drummer Joffo Simmons and percussionist Bernie Herr - did several of his best-known songs, such as the Pittsburgh radio hit he sang with Bruce Springsteen, "Code of Silence," as well as "Fingerprints," "Sweat It Out," "Searching for My Soul" and "Down the Road Apiece." He and the Houserockers also did such classics as the Standells' "Dirty Water," the Temptations' "My Girl," and an extended hard-rocking jam edition of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" to close out the set. The band was tough and sturdy throughout it all, and Joe sang his words with ample soul and grit.
Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers begin their Railroaders Museum performance.
Joe Grushecky.
Art Nardini and Joe Grushecky.
Again, Art Nardini and Joe Grushecky.
Danny Gochnaur of Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Once again, Art Nardini and Joe Grushecky.
Again, Joe Grushecky.
Joe Grushecky and Danny Gochnaur.
Some fans groove along to Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Bernie Herr of Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Joe Pelesky of Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Once again, Art Nardini of Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Again, Joe Grushecky and Danny Gochnaur.
Cooling his head from the summer heat, Joe Grushecky.
Art Nardini, Joe Grushecky and Danny Gochnaur.
After the intermission to change over gear, the stage was ready, and Donnie Iris & the Cruisers were set to go. Taking the stage, they opened with a song from Donnie's new Elwood City CD, his hard-rocking remake of Sam & Dave's "Soul Man," before going into "Agnes," another song and "That's the Way It Ought to Be." During this song, though, increasingly cloudy skies opened up, and a close lightning strike and loud blast of thunder signified that a thunderstorm had iarrived. Donnie and band announced they would take a break for the storm to pass, as audience members scurried for shelter. Fortunately, the Railroaders Museum opened their doors and allowed people to wait out the storm in the downstairs lobby. Fortunately, the storm was short in duration, and had moved out of the vicinity within 20 minutes, allowing the concert to resume. Few, if any, of the folks in attendance left during the storm, and the crowd returned to the front of the stage. Donnie and the Cruisers resumed with "I Can't Hear You," proceeded with a funkier number, before Donnie lit up a stogie and commenced his rendition of Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher." Donnie and band continued the hits with "Sweet Merilee," followed by "Love Is Like a Rock," which developed into a crowd singalong. Out of that, guitarist Marty Lee Hoenes and Donnie went into a slow guitar and voice rendition of "Ah! Leah!," which then morphed into an extended full band version of the classic to end the set. Obviously the Altoona crowd wasn't ready for this show to end yet, and demanded an encore. Donnie and the Cruisers soon returned and kicked off their encore with Donnie's first big hit, "The Rapper," from his Jaggerz days. This segued directly into a rendition of Deep Purple's "Hush" to close out the night.
Donnie and the Cruisers smoked! For being 64, Donnie Iris showed he still has an incredible voice that can easily reach the high notes, and he still has plenty of energy, as he jumped around the stage like a teenager! He exuded stage presence, and frequently shook hands and greeted fans at the front of the stage during the course of the show. His band was excellent as well, especially Marty Lee Hoenes' guitar work and Mark Avsec's work on keys and guitar. Donnie Iris and the Cruisers rocked the Museum, and slammed the lid on a night that delivered the goods, even despite Mother Nature's best effort to disrupt it!
Donnie Iris.
Again, Donnie Iris.
Donnie Iris.
Marty Lee Hoenes of Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.
Again, Marty Lee Hoenes.
Once again, Donnie Iris.
Once again, Marty Lee Hoenes.
Lighting up a stogie, Donnie Iris.
Yet again, Marty Lee Hoenes.
With cigar in hand, Donnie observes Marty at work on the guitar.
Rallying waves from the crowd, Donnie Iris.
Putting up his dukes, Donnie Iris.
Again, Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.
Donnie Iris and Mark Avsec.
Undeniably, the bass drum head of Donnie Iris and the Cruisers!
Two Pittsburgh legends, Joe Grushecky and Donnie Iris, both visited Altoona on August 8 as part of the Railroaders Memorial Museum's "Alive @ Five" Summer Concert Series. And Q94 was in attendance!
As expected, a lot of folks were looking forward to this concert, as a good-sized crowd was already in place by the time Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers were introduced.
With the late afternoion/early evening temperature hovering near the 90-degree mark, Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers commenced the evening with a strong set of blue-collar rock'n'soul. Joe and his Houserockers - guitarist Danny Gochnaur, bassist Art Nardini, keyboardist Joe Pelesky, drummer Joffo Simmons and percussionist Bernie Herr - did several of his best-known songs, such as the Pittsburgh radio hit he sang with Bruce Springsteen, "Code of Silence," as well as "Fingerprints," "Sweat It Out," "Searching for My Soul" and "Down the Road Apiece." He and the Houserockers also did such classics as the Standells' "Dirty Water," the Temptations' "My Girl," and an extended hard-rocking jam edition of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" to close out the set. The band was tough and sturdy throughout it all, and Joe sang his words with ample soul and grit.
Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers begin their Railroaders Museum performance.
Joe Grushecky.
Art Nardini and Joe Grushecky.
Again, Art Nardini and Joe Grushecky.
Danny Gochnaur of Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Once again, Art Nardini and Joe Grushecky.
Again, Joe Grushecky.
Joe Grushecky and Danny Gochnaur.
Some fans groove along to Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Bernie Herr of Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Joe Pelesky of Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Once again, Art Nardini of Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers.
Again, Joe Grushecky and Danny Gochnaur.
Cooling his head from the summer heat, Joe Grushecky.
Art Nardini, Joe Grushecky and Danny Gochnaur.
After the intermission to change over gear, the stage was ready, and Donnie Iris & the Cruisers were set to go. Taking the stage, they opened with a song from Donnie's new Elwood City CD, his hard-rocking remake of Sam & Dave's "Soul Man," before going into "Agnes," another song and "That's the Way It Ought to Be." During this song, though, increasingly cloudy skies opened up, and a close lightning strike and loud blast of thunder signified that a thunderstorm had iarrived. Donnie and band announced they would take a break for the storm to pass, as audience members scurried for shelter. Fortunately, the Railroaders Museum opened their doors and allowed people to wait out the storm in the downstairs lobby. Fortunately, the storm was short in duration, and had moved out of the vicinity within 20 minutes, allowing the concert to resume. Few, if any, of the folks in attendance left during the storm, and the crowd returned to the front of the stage. Donnie and the Cruisers resumed with "I Can't Hear You," proceeded with a funkier number, before Donnie lit up a stogie and commenced his rendition of Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher." Donnie and band continued the hits with "Sweet Merilee," followed by "Love Is Like a Rock," which developed into a crowd singalong. Out of that, guitarist Marty Lee Hoenes and Donnie went into a slow guitar and voice rendition of "Ah! Leah!," which then morphed into an extended full band version of the classic to end the set. Obviously the Altoona crowd wasn't ready for this show to end yet, and demanded an encore. Donnie and the Cruisers soon returned and kicked off their encore with Donnie's first big hit, "The Rapper," from his Jaggerz days. This segued directly into a rendition of Deep Purple's "Hush" to close out the night.
Donnie and the Cruisers smoked! For being 64, Donnie Iris showed he still has an incredible voice that can easily reach the high notes, and he still has plenty of energy, as he jumped around the stage like a teenager! He exuded stage presence, and frequently shook hands and greeted fans at the front of the stage during the course of the show. His band was excellent as well, especially Marty Lee Hoenes' guitar work and Mark Avsec's work on keys and guitar. Donnie Iris and the Cruisers rocked the Museum, and slammed the lid on a night that delivered the goods, even despite Mother Nature's best effort to disrupt it!
Donnie Iris.
Again, Donnie Iris.
Donnie Iris.
Marty Lee Hoenes of Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.
Again, Marty Lee Hoenes.
Once again, Donnie Iris.
Once again, Marty Lee Hoenes.
Lighting up a stogie, Donnie Iris.
Yet again, Marty Lee Hoenes.
With cigar in hand, Donnie observes Marty at work on the guitar.
Rallying waves from the crowd, Donnie Iris.
Putting up his dukes, Donnie Iris.
Again, Donnie Iris and the Cruisers.
Donnie Iris and Mark Avsec.
Undeniably, the bass drum head of Donnie Iris and the Cruisers!