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This Past Weekend Near Philly & Erie
Mon., Mar. 19. 2007 12:41am EDT
With concerts this past weekend near Philadelphia (Souderton PA on Friday) and Erie (Albion PA on Sunday), we might have expected wintery weather at the latter locale near the large lake in the northwestern part of the state. But the trip to and from Albion was remarkably clear.
Friday's concert in southeastern Pennsylvania, however, was another story. Our Souderton show was sold out, but it was also almost snowed out. The message on the marquee outside the venue said it all: "ApologetiX Still Playing at 7:30 p.m."
Ordinarily, we don't need to offer such reassurances, but on Friday the Pennsylvania Turnpike got hit with a late blast of winter weather. Snow and sleet slowed turnpike traffic to a school-zone pace, nearly doubling our travel time from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.
Even with the reduced speed, the slippery conditions caused plenty of accidents. At one point, the Brothers Gross (Brandon and Evan), who followed us for much of the journey in Evan's newly purchased 2001 Cavalier, spun out on an icy patch and suddenly found themselves facing the wrong direction on the turnpike. Miraculously, they and the vehicle were unharmed.
God not only protected us from accidents, He also enabled us to set up and sound check our entire system in a record 42 minutes. Although we arrived almost four hours later than we'd intended, the show started only 45 minutes late.
Unfortunately, weather did prevent some of our fans from attending. We were especially looking forward to seeing Aaron Rosene, who had planned to celebrate his 12th birthday at the concert. Happy birthday, Aaron! We missed you.
Another couple drove five and a half hours from Chambersburg PA (that's twice as long as it usually takes) only to see us play our encore. At least we got to talk to them a little bit after the show.
Here's a nice comment from a fan named Michael from Bethlehem PA:
Great show in the snow. You guys are great musicians (one to another) and your teachings are incredible. May the Word just be placed upon the ears of those who do not know Him, and to edify those who do. Hope to either see, or promote if necessary, you guys up in the Lehigh Valley.
We had planned to return to Pittsburgh after Friday's show, but conditions were too treacherous, so we stopped off in Denver. Yeah, usually if you want to avoid winter storms, you probably don't want to spend the night in Denver, but this was Denver PA. Thankfully, the roads were clear by Saturday morning.
We don't have as much news to report on our concert in Albion, but the local NBC television affiliate apparently did. Their news crew stopped by and filmed part of the concert. Too bad the Weather Channel didn't stop by in Souderton.
Special thanks to:
Our concert coordinators: Steve Schrang (Souderton) and Bob Klinger (Albion).
Our merchandise coordinators: Jenn and Mary Beth (Souderton) and Marie, Brandon Julie, Larry, and Eve (Albion).
Our sound man: Micah (Souderton and Albion).
Our roadies: Brandon and Evan (Souderton and Albion), John (Souderton), Larry (Albion), and Rich (Albion).
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