This Past Weekend in PA & NY
Mon., Sep. 14. 2009 12:35am EDT
We gave it the old college try this past weekend, with concerts close to where our favorite local college teams were playing -- Emporium PA (near State College PA, where the Penn State Nittany Lions were hosting the Syracuse Orangemen) and Grand Island NY (near Buffalo, where the Pitt Panthers were playing the Buffalo Bulls).
Both Penn State and Pitt powered their way past their opponents (28-7 and 54-27, respectively) but the electric generator on our bus couldn't power our sound and light system as it usually does. It didn't work until we were on our way home on Sunday night. Thankfully, each venue had sufficient power for us to play.
Speaking of power plays, two fans -- one from Canada and one from the United States -- came to Sunday's show wearing Matthew Barnaby Pittsburgh Penguins jerseys. Barnaby only played for the Penguins from 1999-01, so such jerseys are rare. Thankfully, both fans were guys, not ladies, so they weren't embarrassed that they came to a function wearing the same outfit! :)
Wikipedia sums up Barnaby's career as follows: "Barnaby was generally considered a pest." However, the guys wearing his jerseys in Grand Island were quite the opposite. One of them, Clarence Wray, came all the way from St. Catherine's, Ontario, with his wife and two other friends. Clarence told us he'd been a fan since the mid-1990's, but this was his first ApologetiX concert.
Special thanks to:
Our concert coordinators: Pastor Doug Shaw (Emporium), and Pastor Steve Lamarco (Grand Island)
Our merchandise coordinators: Sheri, Robin, Emileigh, David, and Michelle (Emporium), and Kris and Katherine (Grand Island)
Our guest soundman: Dave Hazlett (Emporium), who also helped us hook up power for that show
Our bus driver: Rich "What's With All the Nicknames" Polick, who attended his record-extending 175th and 176th concerts.
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