Lehigh Valley InSite

Lehigh Valley: Ground Zero for the 2009 World Series

With the Phillies already in the World Series and the Yankees well on their way, we are sitting at Ground Zero for the World Series. Lehigh Valley is located just over an hour from Philly and about an hour and a half from NYC. (Of course those driving times are without traffic figured in; you could be 3 hours away from either of them depending on driving conditions.)

Lehigh Valley is where oil and vinegar mix because there is a very strong fan base for both teams here. In fact The Lehigh Valley Yankee Fan Club is the largest in the country. I have no allegiance to either of these teams - I'm a Mets fan (please take a few seconds to compose yourself after all the laughing you just did before continuing). I actually have a deep hatred for both the Phillies and the Yankees. But as a baseball fan in Lehigh Valley, you couldn't ask for a better World Series. If you had the time and money to do so, you could probably go to every game. Lehigh Valley also gets Philly and NYC local news coverage. It should be interesting to observe both sides.

I am planning on going out to a local sports bar (Rookies, Starters, PigPen's) during this series just to see how the fans behave. I've seen Eagles and Giants fans together and that isn’t a pretty sight. I'm thinking the interaction between the Phillies and Yankees fans could be better than the games themselves. 

Only in Lehigh Valley: the Martin Guitar Factory Tour

My boss is a huge fan of Martin Guitars. He owns at least five of them and he's been on the free factory tour numerous times (he says it never gets old). So on Friday, he took me to the Martin Guitar factory over in Nazareth to help me fulfill one of my last remaining New Year's resolutions for 2009: Take a factory tour of Martin Guitar.

Our tour guide handed out individual headphones and battery packs for all of us in the group to wear, that way no matter where we were in the tour we could hear what he was telling us, and we were off.

To start, we got to see samples of all the beautiful woods used to create the guitars. Our guide proceeded to explain each step of the guitar-making process to us as we came across that area of the factory. From the bending of the side woods to the different bracing patterns used to enhance the sound to the intricate mother-of-pearl inlay carving. After seeing first-hand the time and attention to detail the Martin employees put into each guitar, it's no wonder they're called artisans.

The tour took about an hour, although I would've liked it to have been a bit longer. Our group was a bit large, so I couldn't always see what the guide was talking about until we were on our way to the next stop on the tour but I didn't want to miss that part either.

Afterward, I received my special factory tour "gift" and headed toward the Martin Guitar museum. Even though I'm not a guitar player, I still appreciated Martin's rich history and beautiful craftsmanship, both perfectly illustrated by looking at the 1,000,000th Martin ever made, which happens to be on display.

Guided tours of the Martin Guitar factory are held Monday through Friday between 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., which is why it took me almost an entire year to fit it into my work schedule. But if you are visiting the area, have the day off or can take a long lunch, the tour is certainly worth it. Just ask my boss!

Lehigh Valley ... a music mecca?

No matter how long you live in an area like Lehigh Valley, you can never know everything about it. For example, I was recently doing a little web surfing and came across this Web site. I had no idea there are over 195 clubs and venues that feature live music in Lehigh Valley. I knew there were some - like Mezza Luna and Penn's Peak - but not that many! 

Also during my surf session, I found another Web site that touted Lehigh Valley musicians. They even have a two-disc CD compilation of some of the local bands for sale. And every year those bands vie for one or more of the Lehigh Valley Music Awards (voting for the LVMAs is going on now until October 25; the ceremony will be December 1 at Allentown Symphony Hall).

It would be neat if someone put together a list of all of the famous bands that have played in Lehigh Valley over the years. I know I have seen a few. I am sure the list would be enormous with such great venues from The Great Allentown Fair, State Theatre and Godfrey Daniels to some of the old venues that don't exist anymore like Bill Daniel's Rock Palace and Castle Gardens.

I would have to say that next time you don't think there is anything going on in Lehigh Valley, think again! No matter what type of music you like - folk, rock, country, metal, jazz, blues, hip-hop or punk - I am sure you will find it right here in Lehigh Valley.

Which bands have you seen play in the area? And, what is your favorite venue to see someone play?

My Top 5 Posts on Lehigh Valley InSite

The month of October marks the one year anniversary of Lehigh Valley InSite. In honor of this momentous occasion, I went back and picked out my Top 5 posts from the past year. This will be a countdown, so first on the list will be Number 5.

5. Lehigh Valley Wedding- This was the first "real" post on Lehigh Valley InSite and actually my first ever blog post although I'm sure everyone who read that post thought I was a forefather of the blog.

4. Cloud Cult at Zoellner - An awesome band and a fun night. If we're going to compete with Philly, Lehigh Valley needs to get their Indie music act together.

3. Girls Night Out: Martinis and Manicures- This one gets the Number 3 spot because I didn’t have to write it. Instead, my fiancé Casey wrote about one of her experiences in Lehigh Valley, which has turned out to be a pretty big hit in the area.

2. This Freddy is One of a Kind- I just really like this post about the State Theatre's Freddy Awards.

1. Lehigh Valley’s Combo Meal to Beat All Combo Meals - This is by far my favorite - the Five Guys/Friendly's dinner on the run. It's like trying to get fast food in a Die Hard movie.

Do you have a favorite Lehigh Valley InSite blog post?
 

"It Might Get Loud" at Civic Theatre

We just got the Civic Theatre's Spotlight Magazine at our office.

Before I go on, let me say that I am not a big "go out and see a movie as soon as it comes out" person. The number one reason for that is price. Thirty bucks for Casey and I to get 2 tickets, popcorn and two sodas is ridiculous.

But when I saw that Civic was getting the documentary "It Might Get Loud", I immediately called to find out when it was playing. Unfortunately, as of today, they aren’t sure when it is playing. Fortunately, that doesn’t matter to me - I am just extremely happy they're getting this film. (My original plan was to go up to NYC and see it the night it came out back in mid-August but circumstances got in the way of that.)

"It Might Get Loud" is documentary about three rock 'n' roll guitar icons: Jimmy Paige (Led Zeppelin), the Edge (U2) and Jack White (The White Stripes, Raconteurs, and Dead Weather). They share stories about music they wrote, what kind of guitars they play, and who actually influenced them.

A rock 'n' roll movie like this is not meant to be viewed in the comfort of your own home on a couch. It is meant to be seen at place like the Historic Civic Theatre - an old school theatre for an old school jam session. I'm looking forward to being surrounded by a bunch of other people who love music and who want to sing, clap, stand, or scream.

Will you go see "It Might Get Loud" when it comes to Lehigh Valley?

Date night at Mezza Luna Sports Bar & Grill

This past Saturday night ended up being a much overdue date night with my fiance. He is an avid drum player and has been watching for some local bands so we could go out and see them. We chose to go see New Amsterdam, a Jake Kaligis band, which were playing at Mezza Luna Sports Bar & Grill. The drummer in this band, Scott Williams, is Michael's drum instructor so this was the perfect band to go see. 

We started off having dinner in the restaurant section of Mezza Luna. The service was quick and the food was very good too.  I had the fish and chips with a salad and Michael chose a chicken dish with a vodka sauce over penne pasta. Before we knew it, it was time for the band to start. 

New Amsterdam played a variety of rock and roll classics from Led Zeppelin to U2 and Black Sabbath to The Talking Heads. This group is made up of several different bands combined, The Dynamic Duo, The Skulldiggers, The New Constitution and Jake Solo. Jake did a fantastic job on the vocals as did Michael Rauscher for a few songs. And, I can't leave out the keyboardist, Brenden Hackett. Brenden seemed to have some smooth fingers.   

As for Michael's take on Scott's drumming ... a massive drumming vocabulary and sound!  Absolutely phenomenal. He was totally blown away by the band's rendition of "Ramble On" by Led Zeppelin. Scott's ability to play so many styles of music such as Jazz, straight forward rock, samba-style and others made Michael really think about his own style.

The whole band seemed to have a great time on stage. And, what was really nice was the fact that in between sets all the band members ventured out into the crowd and chatted! I would definitely go see them again and I wouldn't mind seeing one of the other bands as well. Have you ever seen any of Jake's bands? 

My Musikfest "First"

Last Friday night I experienced a first: I attended my first paid concert at Lehigh Valley's famous Musikfest.

Don't get me wrong...I've been enjoying the 10-day festival since the first one in 1984 and I have the original plastic beer pitcher and a Franklin Hill Musikfest wine bottle to prove it. I just never felt the need to go to any of the big named acts, until this year.

Back in March when I heard two of my all time favorites, Pat Benatar and Blondie, were appearing together I just knew I had to go. I purchased our tickets online on March 27 and was like an anxious kid waiting four months for Christmas.

This show was worth every penny! If you had told me 30 years ago that these two powerhouses would still be belting out tunes in 2009, I wouldn't have believed you, but they both were as strong as ever. As soon as Pat hit the stage I was transformed back to a 20-something and that feeling continued when it was Deborah Harry's turn.

Both groups have about a zillion #1 hits between them so every song performed was like hearing from an old friend. I did find it interesting that Pat Benatar won't sing one famous line in "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" - I guess as a married mother of two she just prefers the crowd sing "before I put another notch in my lipstick case" and we were happy to do so.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Blondie closed the show with an unspoken tribute to the late Michael Jackson by singing a cover of "Don't Stop'Till You Get Enough". Keep singing, Debbie...I'll never get enough.

Did you see the show?

Surviving the crowds at Musikfest

It's been nearly 10 years since I've last set foot at Musikfest because I'm not a big fan of crowds. But this year, I gave it another shot by going with two Musikfest vets, Kate and Kelly.

My main reason for going to Musikfest was the food. Right away I got $20 worth of food tickets and headed to the nearest Aw Shucks stand (there's one in Handwerkplatz and one in Plaza Tropical) for a steaming roasted ear of corn with all the seasonings. Yum. 

Side note: I recently heard that Aw Shucks corn is now on the menu at Bethlehem Brew Works.

Corn in hand, we headed toward the nearest Take a Taco (the one in Volksplatz, but there's also one on Main Street). By the time we maneuvered through the crowd, I was finished with my corn and ready to plop down 12 tickets for a crispy-yet-soft tortilla shell filled with ground beef, lettuce and a fantastic shredded-cheese blend. Heaven!

We mostly wandered around after that, covering the majority of the platzes. I was so impressed by the variety of food available at Musikfest. Aside from traditional "fair" food, I found things like kielbasa sandwiches, potato pancakes and scrapple on a stick.

On our way up to Main Street, after getting a drafty Kutztown Soda Works birch beer at Handwerkplatz), some very dramatic music caught my ear. It was Cast in Bronze (pictured). Imagine a guy playing a four-ton pipe organ, but instead of pipes they're bells. Considering he's good enough to earn an audience with the Pope, I'd highly recommend catching this guy if you head to Musikfest - he performs every day on the hour from 5:30pm - 9:30pm.

It was a beautiful night, so the crowds grew to a size that I could no longer handle by 9pm, so we left. As we walked to the car, I sang along to the sounds of Puddle of Mudd playing at Sands River Place and thought to myself "I'm glad I went."

Anyone else wanna share a Musikfest experience? I'm all ears.

Monday Night at Musikfest

As I mentioned last week, I was looking forward to seeing Dr. Dog and Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam at Musikfest.

On Monday night, my brother, my friend John from Philly and I headed over to Bethlehem around 8. It was perfect timing; by the time we parked and grabbed a beer, Dr. Dog was hitting the stage.

John and I have heard of them and know a few of their songs. My brother had no idea who they were, but as soon as they started playing he was into it. They can be a very harmonizing Beach Boy-esque band on one song, then for the next song, keep the harmony but break into a thrashing jam with the bassist and two guitar players bouncing and jumping around the stage. The three of us had a great time watching them.

10:20 rolled around and we decided to try to catch the end of Back Door Slam. Unfortunately, John and I got side-tracked by The Melting Pot stand operated by Holy Infancy Church. (This is hard for me to admit, but they had better tacos than Take-a-Taco.)

So while we were wolfing down tacos, my brothercaught the end of BDS's set. He said they were better than Dr. Dog, but enjoyed them both. It really is unfortunate they had to play on the same night at the same time, but a Lehigh ValleyIndie Rock beggar can’t be choosy.

Indie Rock at Musikfest

Bethlehem’s 10-day-long Musikfest is made up of three essential things:

A. Music - They have around 200 performers from around world and most performances are free.
B. Food - Tons of different types of food. Take a Taco and Aw Shucks are fan favorites.
C. Beer– Grab a Musikfest souvenir mug and drink up.

In my experience, the Musikfest crowd is made up of a few different groups. There are people that go strictly for option A, a group that go strictly for option B and some folks who go strictly for C. I would say most of the crowd goes for a mix of at least two out of the three options. Personally, I go with option D, all of the above.

I have been going to Musikfest for roughly 10 years. This is the first year that the music is actually the driving force behind me attending.

On Monday night, August 3rd, two veteran’s of the summer music festival circuit will be playing: Philly’s own Dr. Dog and from across the pond, Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam. Between the two bands, they have Austin City Limits, Coachella, Bonnaroo, South by Southwest, and Lollapalooza under their belts. 

The only problem is they are playing at the same time. This is very upsetting. I don’t know what to do. Dr. Dog is at Americaplatz from 9 to 11 and Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam are at Plaza Tropical from 9:30 to 11. Looks like I am going to be double dipping.

I'll just give their styles of music and then I'll let the music videos posted below do the rest. Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam have a Blues, Indie and Alternative Rock sound. People say he is Clapton-esque. Dr. Dog are along the lines of Psychedelic Indie Rock. They are influenced by the Beach Boys and Beatles.

Dr. Dog

Davy Knowles & Back Door Slam

Are you going to Musikfest? Who do you plan to see?