Saturday, May 18, 2013

Penn's Peak

Monday, September 13, 2010

Cable music channel VH-1 broadcast a series called "The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time" last week.

Topping the list, as they have on past occasions, were The Beatles.

While that might not seem surprising, it is worth noting that the list was compiled from a poll of about 200 current musical artists, most of whom weren't even alive when The Beatles broke up 40 years ago.

To this day, the impact the Fab Four had on modern music and culture is immense, which is why they keep popping up at the top of such "Best of" lists.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Blondie has stylistic bases covered

Debbie Harry smiles for the Penn's Peak crowd during Blondie's performance Wednesday night. JOE PLASKO/TIMES NEWS

Blondie rode the new wave of the late 1970s to the top of the record charts and into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The question is, where do Debbie Harry and company go from there?

Blondie's lively performance at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe Wednesday night revealed some answers for those who caught this recent edition of the band in action.

The 2010 model includes original members Harry, Chris Stein and Clem Burke along with a trio of cohorts who were able to summon up whatever musical whims the band conjured up.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Blondie headed to Penn's Peak

Blondie will perform at Penn's Peak on Wednesday, Sept. 1.

Blondie, a mainstay of the new wave music scene of the late 1970's that made it big on the pop charts, has survived beyond most of the bands from that movement.

The band fronted by singer Debbie Harry has been active in its latest phase since reforming in 1997 and is set to release a new album later this year, with the title "Panic of Girls."

Friday, August 20, 2010

Saving Abel leads new Southern rock wave

Singer Jared Weeks and bassist Eric Taylor of Saving Abel are out front during their Penn's Peak performance Thursday night. JOE PLASKO/TIMES NEWS

The mantle of southern rock is large enough to encompass a variety of sounds.

Take Thursday evening's bill of hard rocking bands at Penn's Peak, three of which hail from south of the Mason-Dixon line, as an example.

Saving Abel, a quintet from Cornith, Mississippi, headlined the bill, which also included American Bang from Nashville, Tennessee and Taddy Porter from Stillwater, Oklahoma. While each have Southern roots, they showcased their own approaches to being part of the latest wave of Southern rock bands without having to hoist Confederate flags.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Live Wire AC/DC tribute at Penn's Peak Fri.

Vocalist Chris Antos of Live Wire, shown here during a 2009 performance at Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe, returns to The Peak on Friday night with Live Wire's Ultimate AC/DC Tribute show. The band plays songs from all phases of AC/DC's career. Opening the evening will be special guest Bad Medicine, performing a Bon Jovi tribute. Show time is 8 p.m. Tickets for Live Wire and Bad Medicine are $19 in advance and $24 the day of the show for general admission seating.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Taddy Porter: birds, brews and baseball, with a rock'n'roll attitude

Taddy Porter will perform at Penn's Peak on Thursday night as part of a bill with Saving Abel, American Bang and Sugar Red Drive.

Taddy Porter is named after a beer and has a lead singer whose family has a background in baseball.

So what is the deal with the bird perched on the amplifier on the band's self-titled debut album, which has just been released?

"That's the scissored-tailed flycatcher, which is the state bird of Oklahoma," explained Taddy Porter's Andy Brewer, in a phone interview while on the road in North Carolina this week.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Saving Abel is back at the Peak

Saving Abel makes a return visit to Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe on Thursday, Aug. 19. Opening for them will be We Are The Fallen, American Bang, and Taddy Porter.

Saving Abel have achieved another milestone in their notable career. The quintet's follow up to their gold-certified self-titled debut "Miss America" entered the Billboard album chart at 24. This is the highest position the band has held with any album on the Top 200.

The lead single "Stupid Girl (Only In Hollywood)" is flying up the rock charts, currently bulleted at 12, while the accompanying video is in rotation on MTV2.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Beatles, Journey tribute bands

Two more shows have been announced for Penn's Peak in Jim Thorpe.

Beatlemania Now, a tribute to Liverpool's Fab 4, will be coming back to Carbon County's largest concert venue on Saturday, Sept. 11.

The group goes through several costume changes including one in which they wear apparel from the band's "Yellow Submarine" tour.

Besides sounding like The Beatles, Beatlemania Now also looks like the original John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

A Journey Tribute with Voyage will be staged at Penn's Peak on Saturday, Nov. 13. Featured will be Hugo, formerly of Evolution.

Monday, August 9, 2010

Umphrey's McGee dazzles with light and sound

JOE PLASKO/TIMES NEWS Brendan Bayliss of Umphrey's McGee sings and plays in the midst of the band's dazzling light show at Penn's Peak Friday night.

Umphrey's McGee is a band that dwells in different musical realms.

There has even been a term coined for what the Chicago-based sextet does - "improg", a combination of improvisational and progressive rock music.

The improvisational part appeals to fans of the jam band circuit, to which Umphrey's McGee (the band took its name from a relative of guitarist Brendan Bayliss) is often linked. The band demonstrated its stamina Friday night at Penn's Peak with a three-hour performance, including two sets and an encore.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Asia charts its own place on the musical map

JOE PLASKO/TIMES NEWS Carl Palmer drives the beat for Asia at Penn's Peak Thursday evening.

Asia has been defined as a supergroup, since it is comprised of members from other British progressive rock bands.

Fans of the genre sometimes don't reserve the reverence for Asia that they do for Yes, King Crimson, Roxy Music and other bands that preceded it, but Asia continues to chart its own path and shouldn't take a backseat to anyone.

The secret to Asia's commercial success, upon the release of its multiplatinum debut album in 1982, is that the quartet create a whole even greater than it's the sum of its formidable parts.

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