Torn Curtain - Scotty's Jazz & Cigars
Saturday, February 15th

For the first time since last summer, the wonderful Torn Curtain treated Erie music fans to a rare show and to a taste of the surreal, all within the cozy confines of Scotty’s Cigar Bar. Cigar smoke filled the air and martinis were the drink of choice as the wonderful duo (and sometimes trio…more on that later) meandered dreamily through a set of moody pop.

The haze and din of conversation in the packed bar made for the perfect setting for Torn Curtain. If you missed Torn Curtain this time, shame on you, cause it could be months before you see them again, or if you haven’t experienced them before, think about your favorite David Lynch film, now put a house band in it and voila, there’s Torn Curtain.

Singer Alethea Bodine, one of the strongest front persons in Erie, absolutely captivated the audience with her lush, soulful voice, her theatrical and trance like movements gliding from the comical to the tragic, and grace and elegance. She not only commands the audience’s attention, but also beguiles them; no more like captures them for a trippy journey to both happy and dark places. Try to take your eyes off her while they perform!

The music, centered around strange industrial loops, that sound like metal on metal or raspy machinery, and Rick Dibello’s tasteful minimalist approach to the guitar make for the perfect backdrop. It is refreshing to see a guitar player use minimal effects (no distortion) and still cut through with such authority. Bass player extraordinaire Rob Vance (of many Erie projects), joined Torn Curtain for about a third of each of their three sets, and sampled bass lines make up the rest.

Highlights of the set included an absolutely brilliant interpretation of Thelonius Monk’s Round Midnight, the showstopper, Time (Tom Waits), and originals Heavens Keys and Get Closer. This is one of the rare bands that it seems no matter what song they are playing (covers range from the Pretenders to ABC-yes the 80’s band-to jazz standards) it sounds like Torn Curtain are not far from the almighty Portishead (amen), Torn Curtain has mastered the art of meandering, dreamy, electronic pop.

So Torn Curtain, how bout’ a new CD and some more shows?- photo by Kate McDevitt, review by John Johnston.

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East Avenue - Docksider
Saturday, February 15th

East Avenue played their first show after a self-proclaimed "holiday hiatus". Guitarist/vocalist Pat Vahey said the band was excited to play after the time off and it showed... East Avenue turned in a powerful performance tonight.

Newly incorporated into the lineup were a set of congas which Pat's sister, Elly Vahey, used to great effect throughout the evening. An example of this would be the jamming, groove based instrumental piece "The Awakening". Perhaps this song title hints at the band's evolution which features them stretching out into new, uncharted territory.

In the midst of this new music guitarist Bill Chrisman offered up solo after solo of tasteful and emotional leads. Although Pat Vahey takes more of a rhythm approach he also is no slouch in the lead department. During a poignant cover version of the song "War" Pat pumped out a searing and powerful solo. Holding the bottom end down through all of this was the solid, grooving combination of Doug Russell on bass and Tom Kitchen on drums.

Of course the focal point of the band is the dynamic Elly Vahey, who possess a wonderful balance of soft haunting tones as well as a soulful, powerful delivery with just the right amount of grit. East Avenue performed a beautiful version of "Delirious" with the full band. This tune will be appearing as an acoustic version on the soon to be released PlayErie.com Compilation CD One. You can listen to Delirious on East Avenue's page at the link above.

Opening tonight for East Avenue was Edinboro's Zomo, who are one of the harder working bands in the area. They seem to be playing everywhere, and are continuing work on their upcoming debut CD.

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The Studebakers - TK's Tavern
Saturday, February 15th

The Studebakers played to a standing room only crowd at TK's Tavern in Harborcreek Saturday night. Describing themselves as a Rock 'n Roll tribute band the Studebakers play all of the classics from The Monkees "(I'm not you're) Steppin Stone, to Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf, to Louie Louie by the Kingsmen.

Lest you think that these guys are just another oldies band, think again. Front man Joey Glassman comes from a background of punk rock (hanging out with the likes of The Ramones) and brings the look and the energy of that genre to this band. He captivates the audience with his off the wall antics and stage presence, but with a completely professional manner.

Backing up Glassman are some of Erie's most seasoned professionals. On lead guitar is Henry T. who has played with The Graduates, Younger Brothers, and the City Slicker band among others. Also in the band are former Graduates John Carroll on keys and Gary the Mod on drums. These three musicians have been playing songs like these since the WJET 1400 AM days.

Johnny Pelinsky rounds out the band having played in Finn and Character (with Robin Burick).

If you want to go out and forget about your daily troubles, don't miss this band. P.S. don't forget your dancin' shoes! - photo and review by Gary Tomporowski

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Anything But Chester - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 12th

Our sincere apologies to Anything But Chester... due to furnace trouble at PlayErie central, coupled with rapidly dropping temperatures, we found ourselves in the basement fixing a blower motor while the band played their set. When we finally arrived at the show we spoke with several people who told us that Anything but Chester was excellent.

Paper Street - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 12th

After a rather lengthy set up Paper Street took the stage. This band rocks hard featuring a lead vocalist with a very powerful voice. Paper Street played several originals from their new release, with most being straight ahead, no frills rockers. These guys used the opportunity in front of large crowd to toss Paper Street CDs and T-shirts into the audience. It's a marketing strategy that works for Budweiser, so why not apply it to band merchandise as well.

Super No. 7 - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 12th

Super No. 7 set up quickly and then left the stage, leaving the audience to ponder the the drum kit bathed in soft red light. This tactic helped to raise the audience's anticipation of the band's performance. When Super No. 7 hit the stage they came on strong and never let up. Front man Keith Hayes has an intense stage presence with lots of odd movements and gestures. It seemed the band brought many of their fans along, as the audience reaction was extremely enthusiastic.

The standings after week 4 of Battle of the Bands are:

1st Place - Ded Loft
2nd - Ron Yarosz
3rd - Super no. 7

So, after week 4, Ded Loft remains on top with the highest score so far, Ron Yarosz holds on to 2nd place and Super no. 7 moves into 3rd place overall after last night's show

PlayErie.com will be continuing to cover this event each Wednesday for the next two weeks as well as the Finals on March 5th.

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Gravity Hill - Scorchers
Saturday, February 8th

After over three years on the local music scene, Gravity Hill played their final show tonight at Scorchers. The band featured Kevin Hultberg on lead vocals & guitar, Rich Grisier on lead guitar & vocals, Dennis Hultberg on bass & vocals and Chris Rodler on drums.

One of band's specialties was classic 80's new wave. Tonight we heard tunes by The Fixx, A Flock Of Seagulls, The Cars, Gary Numan and The Romantics among others. Gravity Hill pulled off their repertoire with exceptional accuracy. The musical parts as well as the sounds were authentic. Rich Grisier has an uncanny control of his guitar rig and manages to pull all manner of keyboard sounds out of the instrument. The impressive part is that he does so without the aid of a guitar synth or midi... it is all done with a standard guitar, an amp and an arsenal of pedals.

PlayErie spoke with the band on a break and learned that Rich Grisier and Dennis Hultberg will be joining forces with Jim Watkins and Terry Wood from Chunk to form a new group known as the Mulletones. Watch our calendar for upcoming shows.

Kevin Hultberg plans to focus his musical energies on songwriting in his personal studio. Apparently he has an album's worth of material ready to be recorded. We will keep you posted as to when his CD will be available to the public.

Meanwhile, Chris Rodler will be continuing to release music on his Progressive Music Management (PMM) label. In the works is a debut release from MythoLogic with Chris on bass along with Brett Rodler on drums, Melissa Blair on vocals and Steve Matusik on guitar. Chris is also working on a new Gratto CD as well as re-releasing the first two Leger de Main albums, which are being remixed and remastered.

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Ron Yarosz - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 5th

Ron Yarosz and his band turned a seeming disadvantage into an advantage tonight at the third week of the Battle of the Bands. Being the "opener" of the evening is usually not desired, but without the time constraints of following another band Ron was able to drape colorful, earthy material all around the stage. This simple act, along with the stage being hidden until show time with Sherlock's large video screen, transformed the stage into Ron's personal world.

The band played extremely well tonight, the best that I have heard them. An added surprise occurred when Ron incorporated two female vocalists on a couple of tunes.

Dirt Farmer - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 5th

Arriving on stage in the number two slot tonight were Dirt Farmer. This band rocks hard with dual guitarists both on Les Pauls, both playing rhythm or lead as needed. The guitarists as well as the bass player all sing, and some of Dirt Farmer's songs feature three-part vocals.

Stylistically the band at times reminded me of Nirvana, at other times of Black Sabbath and during a slower piece there was an implied Spanish flavor.

General Noreaga - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 5th

Before General Noreaga took the stage the audience was instructed not to bring any beer bottles near the stage. This was announced several times, giving the impression that this band might incite the crowd to riot. When the band first appeared on stage the most noticeable thing was the guitarist and vocalist: both were sporting skinheads, bare backs, and an assortment of tattoos. Ah yes, we know what this band is all about... or do we?

Scanning the stage a bit more revealed the bass player and drummer looking basically grunge. And who's that? ...it's a female background vocalist. Very interesting.

Once the band began to play, their unique style became apparent. They do have a hardcore edge to them, but their style placed more emphasis on technical proficiency. For example the guitarist wailed through burning solos with great tone and interesting effects. The lead vocalist sang in a more standard, pitched fashion than the usual white noise, rip-your-throat-out style of the typical hardcore band. And as mentioned above, some of the songs utilized the female singer harmonizing with the lead vocalist. Rounding things out was a powerful rhythm section that incorporated several clever twists and turns.

The standings after week 3 of Battle of the Bands are:

1st Place - Ded Loft
2nd - Ron Yarosz
3rd - Craw

The contest is scored on an overall point system so there won't be a weekly winner but rather bands trying to score high enough to get in the top 3 spots and make it to the finals. So, after week 3, Ded Loft remains on top with the highest score so far, Ron Yarosz moves into second after last night's show and Crawl slides to 3rd place overall

PlayErie.com will be continuing to cover this event each Wednesday for the next five weeks as well as the Finals on March 5th.

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JD & the Sons Of Rhythm - Forward Hall
Friday, January 31st

Once again JD Hopkins commandeered Forward Hall to bring spontaneous improvised music to the Erie area. Operating under the heading of JD & the Sons of Rhythm, Hopkins and sons Ricky & Jason form a foundation of acoustic drums and electronic percussion. Over this is a unique and ever changing collection of many of Erie's finest players. Tonight the band blossomed into a nine piece unit featuring four percussionists, two bass players and three guitarists.

The all star line up this evening consisted of JD and Jayson Hopkins on electronic percussion, Ricky Hopkins on acoustic drums, Joel Polacci on congas, Tony Stefanelli and Ken Cornelius on bass and guitarists Scott Cravener, Frank Singer and Mike Ohm. Ricky Hopkins and Polacci also play in Mambo, Jayson Hopkins works with Skudd, Stefanelli and Singer play in Cat's A Bear, Cravener and Cornelius are in Starfish and Ohm works with Potato Battery. OK... now that we are straight on who's who lets get down to the music.

We spoke with Mike Ohm during a break and he confirmed that the music was totally improvised (except for one case where the theme from "Barney Miller" was used as a launch pad for an extended improvisation). Ohm said that the only thing decided in advance was what key or mode a particular piece was in. Throughout the evening one could watch the musicians making changes to the pieces via gestures, eye contact and also by simply walking over and talking to one another while in the midst of playing.

It is a rare treat to see these players in a purely improvised setting working with extended pieces. Actually, extended is an understatement - most of the sets this evening consisted of two or even one "song". Of course with this kind of chance taking there are times when things aren't gelling, or fall into a lull. However, the flip side is that at other times both the band and the audience get to experience something brilliant, some true creativity. Music is always waiting just outside the door for a musician, but the trick is to figure out how to open the door and let Music in. To quote Robert Fripp "when we know what we are doing, we do what we know." Many times tonight the musicians did not know what they were doing, and therefore in not playing by rote they were actually able to open the door and let Music enter.

Each player had a good deal of brilliant moments and all of the guitarists and bassists took several outstanding solos. Meanwhile, the approach of the four percussionists was to simply lay down the groove, which was non-stop and very dense. With this backdrop the other five musicians were quite free to roam around musically.

Of particular interest was the line up of two bassists. (About the only other application of this that comes to mind would be one of Frank Zappa's bands.) Both Stefanelli and Cornelius are top notch players and the combination of Tony's fretless Alembic bass and Ken's venerable Fender made for a beautiful blend. Because of both player's sense of space the dual bass idea worked well, were lesser players might have turned things to mud.

The only disappointment was the small attendance of listeners. It is sad that such an array of dazzling talent, performing in a club as technically and aesthetically pleasing as Forward Hall can not attract more of an audience. It would seem that even if the crowd was mostly made up of other musicians, surely more people would have been present than were here tonight.

Erie has the talent, it has the venues and it has the potential. Apparently it does not yet have the local support that it needs to truly become a music city.

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Organic Voodoo Machine - Sherlock's
Wednesday, January 29th

They started off the night with their brand of funk/jam/hard rock and had the whole entire crowd rocking and dancing. The place was packed from the start and OVM, who rival the mighty Human Being Lawnmower in cool band names didn’t disappoint. Their music is marked by supreme musicianship and funky grooves, although they seemed heavier then previous times I have seen them…possibly Sherlock’s brain rattling sound system? - review by John Johnston

Warrior Frenzy - Sherlock's
Wednesday, January 29th

Hailing from a distant land, Warrior Frenzy dress the part with Viking horns, battle-axes, faux animal skins, shoulder pads (?), and cardboard castles. While the dress is GWAR (albeit on a tiny budget), the music Iron Maiden, the attitude is all Spinal Tap. I mean who wouldn’t like these cats. The tongue-in-cheek, approach to their image, all while paying homage to cheese metal of the 80’s (no Nickelback or Jimmy Eat World are not an influence…thank god!) make them a fun band and the music isn’t so bad either.

If it was 1989, this would have been terrible, but in 2003 it has a cool, almost retro feel to it…kind of like seeing a great 60’s garage band or a 70’s psychedelic type of thing. Well maybe not…but it’s funny and enjoyable. Besides, these guys are heroes, protecting their village (Erie I imagine) from evil invaders who want to steal our woman and drink our ale…maybe they should write our war-mongering President about true homeland security! - photo & review by John Johnston

Crawl - Sherlock's
Wednesday, January 29th

Crawl delivered the goods. Thunderous bass, pounding, breakneck rhythms, lightening quick leads, throaty vocals and classic posturing all while playing as tight as the pair of jeans on that gal who used to sit next to you in chemistry class…(oh, this isn’t Penthouse forum). Simply put, they are as good as any thrash metal band out there today and while the cards may never fall and deliver them fame and fortune, I say metalheads, punkers, yuppies, freaks and hippies enjoy them while they are still Erie’s own! - photo & review by John Johnston


The standings after week 2 of Battle of the Bands are:

1st Place - Ded Loft
2nd - Crawl
3rd - Occam's Razor

The contest is scored on an overall point system so there won't be a weekly winner but rather bands trying to score high enough to get in the top 3 spots and make it to the finals. So, after this week, Ded Loft remains on top with the highest score so far, Crawl moves into second after last night's performance and Occam's Razor hangs onto third place.

PlayErie.com will be continuing to cover this event each Wednesday for the next five weeks as well as the Finals on March 5th.

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