Despite the weather (anyone else sick of it yet?) the turnout was pretty decent. The place was already filling up pretty good when the party bus, sponsored by Needles Of Fury Tattoo in Natrona Heights, showed up. The thing was packed with headbangers from all over the AK Valley area, from Kittanning to Apollo, Vandergrift, Leechburg. It was just awesome. Unfortunately I get so busy at these shows that I forgot to take a damn picture of the people filing off the bus. It was really cool.

Anyways, Die Smylin’ got things go right on time and did not hesitate kicking the Ball into gear. A good mix of solid Hard Rock songs and some of their own had people approaching the stage and headbanging in the 9 0′clocl hour. That’s pretty damn cool in my book.

After the Fall took the stage next and the already present crowd swelled some more. Playing most of their own songs, they also did a hip-hop/rock medley of some cover tunes, further charging the crowd up.

Next it was Kaj (pronounced “cage”), also playing a good bit of their own material, some from their last release titled “Bombs”, and many new ones from their upcoming CD release “Cold Silence”.  The crowd was fully energized by now, and many a bucket of Bud and Bud Light was littering the floor and the stage. Watching the crowd pump their fists to the bands new song “Rise Up” was pretty cool.

To cap things off, it was the one and the only… Skell. BAM! That’s pretty much what happens when these guys take the stage. Ripping through many of their own songs, they transitioned to cover tunes towards the end and kept the crowd active and headbanging until close. You can always count on Bones, their singer, to say some pretty interesting things in between songs as well. A collection of some of his comments would be a cd in itself.

All in all, it was a great show. Turnaround times were so quick you didn’t even know the music stopped. That’s a big kudos to the bands themselves for helping make that happen. Kaj provided backline, which was also a big help. The staff at Peter B’s is simply the best. If you can’t get a beer in that place, then either you have no money or there is something else wrong with you.

For pics of the show, make sure you visit the Heartbreakers Ball 2010 gallery. Official HBB shirts are still availabe also if you didn’t get one. Only $10. Hit me up and I’ll get it to you. Until next year, which will be our 5th anniversary, make sure you check these great bands out a venue near you. None of this would be possible without the great talent, the dedicated fans, an awesome venue, and all of the other people who help with all of this.

-Utah / Shady Lady Productions

Hearbreakers Ball 2010

This years bill was simply a bar raiser with The Doppler Affect Band, making their 5th appearance on the show, Terry Lee Spencer, fresh in from Nashville and playing at the historic Ryman Auditorium, and Knucklehead, who’s members collectively have played in about every band and venue in the world (well, close to that anyways).

As always, the service is the best at Peter B’s, and the crowd, which reached standing room only, was simply fantastic. No trouble, everyone having a good time, dancing. Plenty of Bud and Bud Light was made available by LaRusse Distributing. It was a little hectic for me as I was running sound and stage and trying to take pictures, but when you have this high of caliber talent playing your show it makes it very easy to get things dialed in quickly and then be able to enjoy some of the music. This was certainly the case Friday night.

At the end of the night, when the sound went off and the lights came up, Rob from Knucklehead and several die hard fans started an impromptu acoustic jam session, everyone singing along to classic covers. It was pretty cool, I like that when that stuff happens. I’ve witnessed the same thing at Rising Regina shows, and if you are a fan of the local live music scene like I am, you can’t help but crack a smile and enjoy it. It sure makes packing up easier.

Anyways, for pictures of the show, you can visit www.shadyladyproductions.com or follow this link HERE. Next up… The Heartbreakers Ball 2010. Can’t wait!

The Southern Fried Rock Show V