Here are some pictures from Friday (July 16), the second day of the third concert weekend of the PA Roundhouse Rally at Roundhouse Harley-Davidson near Duncansville.
The excitement continued to pick up as the event inched ever-closer to Saturday and the giveaway of the Harley-Davidson Low Rider motorcycle from the PA Roundhouse Rally! That excitement included live music from the bands 100 Proof and the Giants Of Science, the first of two days of thrills courtesy of the American Wall Of Death thrill show, and some unplanned excitement from Mother Nature as a fierce and windy storm tore through the area during late afternoon, knocking down a couple of tents in its fury.
The first pictures show the American Wall of Death thrill show, and what a thrill it was! Riders utilized centrifugal force as they rode the inner vertical wall of a wooden cylinder, showing skills such as riding with arms and hands behind their backs, and grabbing paper money tips from spectators while on the fly. The 20-minute shows happened hourly between noon and 7 p.m.
Altoona area country performers 100 Proof began the music during late afternoon, and sounded strong on their mix of contemporary country hits and favorites. Singer RJ Payne, guitarists Todd Belardi and Denny Yon, bassist Moose and drummer Dave Russell escalated the fun with rowdy numbers from Toby Keith, David Lee Murphy, Brantley Gilbert, Old Crow Medicine Show (or Darius Rucker, depending on what version of “Wagon Wheel” you gravitate toward), Eric Church, Jon Pardi, Chris Stapleton, Chris Janson, Lee Brice, Jason Aldean and more. Some of 100 Proof’s highlights included their merger of Trace Adkins’ “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” into Big & Rich’s “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy,” and their feisty Jason Aldean homestretch run to close out their show.
Midway through 100 Proof’s set, the stormy weather arrived. The band and a number of their fans were safely under the roof inside the large garage area and stayed dry, although wind drove some water in close proximity to sound engineer Scott Zillinger’s gear, and two bay doors were closed until the storm passed. Outside, at least two tents blew over, including one of the larger seating area tents. And the pictures will show the Q94 contingent of “The Professor,” Jim Price and “Sparky D’Engineer “holding down the fort” as winds buffeted their broadcast tent. Fortunately, Sparky had rigged up a second studio space inside the Mix 94.7 van, so the broadcast could still continue during the stormy conditions. (This setup would come in handy during Saturday as well.) Photos will also show a few happy youngsters playing in the puddles left behind by the downpours.
Also generating some excitement during the weekend was one of the Gin Gypsies’ bartending cast…After first displaying her excellent singing voice on Thursday when she performed “The Star Spangled Banner” before Jimmy Mowery’s performance, Emily provided more of the weekend’s highlights by singing the National Anthem before most of the weekend’s performers. One picture shows her singing before the Giants Of Science’s performance.
Despite running into fierce stormy weather and traffic backups during their journey from northeastern PA to Duncansville, the Giants Of Science still delivered their party to a happy audience. The lab cast of frontman, ringleader and guitarist Mick, Scotty B on vocals, keys and keytar, bassist and singer Johnny 5, and drummer Steve commenced their 1980s-intensive party with Gary Numan’s 1980 hit “Cars,” and proceeded to celebrate mostly 1980s hits and favorites, with a sprinkling of 1990s and 1970s classics along the way. They fired up the dance floor with tunes from Sublime, Stone Temple Pilots, Simple Minds, Tom Petty, Men at Work, Gin Blossoms, Tommy Tutone, Modern English, Flock of Seagulls, Soft Cell, Bruce Springsteen, Men Without Hats, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the Bangles, John Mellencamp, Aha, Eddie Money and more. At one point later in the performance, a lady from the audience joined the group to help sing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin.'” The Giants Of Science successfully fired up the dance party and made folks happy, taking everyone’s minds off the rainy conditions that developed outside during their set.
