Allentown? YES! I don't have any setlists, but they're pretty similar to the above.
The Rock Room at the Sterling Hotel venue was (and I now apologize to anyone in Allentown. I love Dorney Park and you guys have a nice town there) a little dive bar in a so-so neighborhood. It was a very small room. The stage was at one end, perhaps four feet above the ground. There was a low wall, and no other separation from the audience. When done, half of the bands walked down the four steps from the stage and right into the crowd. The bar was in a room right next door. This place was small. Of course, it didn't' need to be very big. Allentown during the week isn't a recipe for a big turnout. Testament was playing 3 blocks away. That was a huge factor.
Just so I don't repeat myself too much, let me say that small crowds was the trend of the night, but all of the bands were incredibly professional. No one skimped on the energy or the product. The typical metal band cliche: "we don't care if we play to 30, or 3,000 people, we just go out and rock." I saw all three bands two weeks ago at PP, and I can say for sure that the 400 - 1200 at PP, or tonight at A-town, all of the bands lived up to that cliche tonight.
Manticora went on a few minutes before 9. There were about 35 people watching. I counted. The guys rocked hard. Lars sounded like his voice was better than PPIX, at which he was said to have throat problems. The small crowd was into it. There were no microphone problems like there were in Atlanta. Fun band to watch.
Circle II Circle went on about 10:00. Zak Stevens' voice is the thing that makes that band go, and he had that voice full strength tonight. They put on a tight show, playing all CIIC songs until the finale, "Taunting Cobras". Notable exceptions to the setlist were 'Watching in Silence' and 'Turns to Me'. Zak has an amazing voice, but he isn't a top front man. Funny comment from the audience: "Zak has a way of looking right through you and not seeing you, even when you're in the front row." It was true. I was maybe five feet away from him, and there wasn't much crowd interaction. No worries. Great show.The crowd was up to about 60-ish people. My higher level math skills are strained by this counting effort.
JOP came on around 11:30 and played for two hours. Jon's voice, which is light years better than it was 10 years ago, was a little more strained than it was at PP. However, he is one of the best front men. He can carry an audience along with him, and he did so tonight. The band is also the best of the night. As always, Matt LaPorte channels Criss Oliva with amazing accuracy and emotion. They are tight, energetic, and playing to the crowd. Jon mixes new and old. Zak comes out and does Edge of thorns as well as Chance. The latter is stunning. I hadn't heard that live since The Wake of Magellan tour a decade ago. I was hoping to hear Zak do 'All That I Bleed', but no luck. Still, it was a great setlist and an excellent show. By the end of the show, I'd guess about 100 people were watching. I don't even try counting.
Right around song one or two, Jon points out that Chuck Billy and the Testament band are in the audience. They had come in to see JOP after they finished their performance a few blocks away. Other than some high fives, the crowd let Testament enjoy the show in peace. Jon kept taking time out to talk about Chuck or Alex Skolnick, telling stories about their tour during Gutter Ballet ( I was at that show in Chester County - must've been 1990 or so - made me feel older). That was very cool.
After the show, all of the bands are just hanging around talking. I wore my PPIX shirt, which generated a lot of smiles from the band. They all love PP. I also get a brief chance to ask Matt LaPorte if he knew what he was getting into by playing for Midnight during the Pre-preparty at PP. He did, and said it was as interesting from his point of view as it was from ours. After thanking Kinder for always being on the boards and chatting with a few other band members from Manticora and CIIC, I began the 90 minute drive home. I didn't make it to work the next day (got home at 3:15 am), but it was worth it to have essentially a private Savatage concert.
Thanks to the bands and the promoters for putting this together. I hope next time Philly doesn't cancel out on you, and that you can get a few more people in the audience. Either way, I'll be there.
Steve in Philly
