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This Past Weekend in Wilmington, Philly & Pittsburgh
Tue., Sep. 19. 2006 12:37am EDT
On December 7 and 12, 1787, Delaware and Pennsylvania became the first and second states to enter the Union. On September 15 and 16, 2006, they became the first and second states we played for the weekend. Sure, that's not quite as momentous, but we still had a great time this past weekend, with concerts in Wilmington DE (Friday), Souderton PA (Saturday), and Aliquippa PA (Sunday).
Although the order of the states was similar to that of 219 years ago, the attendance at the shows was similar to that of a week ago. Like the previous weekend's concerts in Bronson MI, Toledo OH, and Butler PA, our concerts this past Friday and Sunday were full houses, with Saturday's concert being an outdoor affair.
Saturday's concert also featured John Schlitt, the lead singer for the legendary Christian rock band Petra. Having first found fame as the lead singer for the secular band "Head East" (best known for their hit "Never Been Any Reason"), John became a born-again Christian and joined Petra a decade into their career, first appearing on their "Back to the Street" album in 1986, and has been with them ever since. Before going on stage, John complimented us on our performance and said, "Now how am I supposed to follow that?"
For more info on John and Petra, please make sure you read the opening section in this week's newsletter.
Following Saturday's concert, we got to drive home and actually sleep in our own beds and go to our own churches Sunday morning, because Sunday night's concert was only about half an hour from our homes. During that Saturday-night drive, our keyboardist, Bill "Wild Thing" Hubauer, uttered one of the best quotes of the weekend, while we were looking for a place to stop for dinner on a particularly barren section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike: "Doesn't anybody eat in this section of the country?"
Sunday's concert also featured a surprise rendition of one of our most-requested and least-performed songs, "Meshach," the parody of "Love Shack" by the B-52's. The group Everlife recorded that song with us on our "Adam Up" CD in 2003, but we've only performed it live with them twice -- once in El Cajon CA and once in Greensburg PA -- both back in 2004. This time around, our female singers were Julie Tanner, daughter of ApologetiX drummer Jimmy "Vegas" Tanner, and her friend Destiny. Destiny's last name escapes us at the moment, but she also answers to the name "Dynasty," at least since one of our band members (who shall himself remain nameless) got her name wrong at the concert.
Special thanks to:
Our concert coordinators: Tony McLellan (Wilmington), Bob Coffey (Souderton), and KathyLee Tolfa (Aliquippa).
Our merchandise coordinators: Jenn "Superchick" Kipp (Wilmington and Souderton); and Marie and Destiny (Aliquippa).
Our roadies: Brandon and Evan (Wilmington and Souderton); and Rich, Larry, and Greg (Aliquippa).
Our soundman: Greg (Aliquippa).
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