For those of you that read my last post, I started off by saying what a kickass weekend of music I had lined up. So you ask, Dave, are you so old that Friday is your weekend? NO, but I do need to stretch out the post; so here is the second half of my musical weekend, the first annual Concert in the Park series in beautiful downtown Hanover.
This took place on Aug 13 at Wirt Park in Hanover, PA. Just off the square, it is one of the many green and open spaces within the borough of Hanover. If you include Penn and West Manheim Townships, the Hanover area has over a dozen parks with wide selection of options. I had lived here for 14 years before I discovered a park with horseshoe pits and shuffleboards only 2 blocks from my parent’s house on the alley behind Baer Ave.
All of this was set up by EyeDeal Productions, consisting of Josh Perkins, Sean Wolfe, and a few others helping to highlight what a rich area Hanover is for the arts, specifically music. EyeDeal Productions also put on the Triantafyllo Arts and Music Fest last year and the Halt Hunger Jam this past March. Putting on any event can evolve into a royal pain in the ass, these people do an outstanding job. While the weather was nowhere near as perfect as it was for MMJ, things looked promising as Frank Miller’s Beard kicked off the festivities.
Once again, FMB was augmented by Ian Carroll on fiddle/violin and drumbox and Matt Stambaugh on percussion. Not sure what to call his drumbox contraption, but that’s good as name as any. They opened up with Fearless and it was all soaring acoustical bliss after that. Other highlights include Midnight Moonlight and Sledgehammer. Still looking forward to the day they dip into the Devolver songbook a little bit more. (Hey it’s my soapbox and I’ll shout about what I want). The skies were a little more threatening as Eric “G String” Costello played a short but sweet acoustic set as Redwud set up. The highlight? A version of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” focusing on the fact that it's a great little tune, made famous by a douchebag from the 80’s.
Next up, 3 guys that put the power back in power trio; Redwud. I’ve seen these guys a few times over the last couple of years and they have really come a long way. A mix of prog-rock with fusion and down right sick tightness- they emphasize Hanover's music scene isn’t all about jambands, though they do jam the fuck out of their tunes. Regretfully, I am unfamiliar with the names of their original songs.They had so much energy that it caused the sky to open up and unload a downpour of rain. Luckily, soundman extrodinaire Slade Gottschaulk was well prepared with tarps. The music was interrupted for 20 minutes but then resumed and Redwud closed it out with a raging instrumental that sounded like Frank Zappa had a baby with Les Claypool. It sounded great but that would be one ugly ass baby. Steph Berlin did a short acoustic tweener, which featured the second best song ever written about Hanover. The first? Edge of Town by Devolver.
Last but not least were Hanover’s own proprietors of funky soulgrass, Boxcar Social. They opened up with 3 Little Birds and it was blissed out improv from there on out. Other first set highlights include Taper’s Section> Memory of Elizabeth Reed and Relativity>Dirty Business. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided not to cooperate, as it rained for ten minutes, would stop for 20, and then rain again. The boys excell at maintaining a sweet flow throughout their sets and this screwed that up. The whole show featured local drumming legend and president of the Donna Jean Fan club, one Mr. Craig Walker on percussion. They finished up with a tight River Song>Unrest and Franny Mae, a tune that is not about the mortgage giant.
Overall, a good turnout despite the foul weather. This truly shows that not only are there several bands within the scene, there is also a community willing to come out and support them. I am looking forward to this becoming an annual tradition.
Dave Kemp
BA American Studies
PhD Rock and Roll
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