Joe Popp

This experimental group consists of Joseph Allen Popp on guitars, Rob Gray on vocals & theremin, Ken Cornelius on bass and Rick Lopez on Drums. Joe and the boys kicked things up a notch with some outside, but definitely heavy playing. Joe coaxes all manner of effects out of his guitar while Gray flails his theremin in a Hendrix-like fashion. The stunning intro to the Weirdo's set tonight featured sustaining, wailing choruses of guitar feedback and theremin. The balance was perfect, never getting so loud as to irritate. Kudos to sound engineer Misha for keeping the show under control.

Supporting Popp and Gray was the formidable rhythm section of Cornelius and Lopez. Rick is a joy to watch, having been an impressive talent in the Erie area since his days with Field Theory over a decade ago. He has that "on the edge" ability to go into a fill that seems to come from another planet. On several occasions I thought there was going to be a train wreck, but Lopez knows exactly what he is doing. Amazingly he always comes right back in on the correct beat. Cornelius just keeps on going, and against that steady anchor Lopez is really able to shine.