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JOHN SOLINSKI & KENNY KARLHEIM @ THE HITCHING POST, ALTOONA 11/6/03 Having heard good reports from the field about them, I decided to kick off this Thursday night by checking out the new RetroActive acoustic duo of John Solinski and Kenny Karlheim, performing at Altoona’s Hitching Post. The Hitching Post was lightly populated as I arrived, but John and Kenny had the crowd that was present paying attention and having fun. The pair was completing a version of Pearl Jam’s "Black," before picking up the mood and frivolity with their version of Chuck Berry’s "My Dingaling." The duo then offered their acoustic take on AC/DC’s "Big Balls," with Kenny’s attempted accent coming off sounding like Pete Townshend of The Who. The pair kept it in the AC/DC vein with "You Shook Me All Night Long," but with a twist - they broke out the Hayseed Dixie bluegrass version of this classic, and quickly had members of the Hitching Post audience hooting and stomping their feet. The two continued to mix it up, performing songs from Tom Petty, Billy Joel, Van Morrison, and 4 Non Blondes’ "What’s Up," with John handling the higher-end lead vocal. The duo veered Southern for a version of Skynyrd’s "Sweet Home Alabama," and pulled out versions of Neil Young’s "Rock In The Free World" and Jimmy Buffett’s "Margaritaville;" before generating some laughs with their off-the-wall rendering of Buffett’s "Why Don’t We Get Drunk (And Screw)." Anti-climactically, John and Kenny brought the set to a close with Kansas’ "Dust In The Wind." As I watched John and Kenny perform, I was not just impressed by the group’s superb vocal skills and crisp harmonies, or their diverse songlist. I was also impressed by these two as guitar players, as they both showed detailed and precise fingerwork and gelled nicely as an instrumental unit. As John and Kenny pressed the flesh and greeted audience members during their intermission, a special guest, Matt Wagner, took the stage and performed two Dave Matthews songs. I had heard some good things about Matt; and his abbreviated teaser this night showed that those reports about him were justified, and that he was be a performer I would need to check out sometime soon. Soon, John and Kenny, armed with a number of audience requests, returned to the stage to commence their final set of the evening. The pair reconvened with a song I hadn’t heard performed onstage in a while, Blind Melon’s "No Rain." Kenny sang lead on versions of the Rolling Stones’ "Paint It Black" and the Doors’ "Love Me Two Times," before John assumed lead mic for the Doobie Brothers’ "Long Train Runnin.’" The pair then entered a brief oldies phase of the show, doing versions of J. Frank Wilson/Pearl Jam’s "Last Kiss" and Del Shannon’s "Runaway." John and Kenny then pulled one off the songlist of their electric band, RetroActive, doing Tommy Tutone’s "867-5309/Jenny," followed by Rick Springfield’s "Jessie’s Girl," which prompted some clap-along response from the Hitching Post audience. With Kenny singing and demonstrating some heated bluegrass-styled pickin,’ the duo finished their nightcap set with Charlie Daniels’ "The Devil Went Down to Georgia." Although not large, the Hitching Post fans were vocal, and quickly called the pair back up to do an encore. John and Kenny responded with versions of Five Man Electrical Band’s "Signs" and the Eagles’ "Hotel California." The rave reviews I had heard about John Solinski and Kenny Karlheim were justified, based on what I witnessed this night. This pair of musicians delivers a fun and upbeat acoustic show, chock full of good tunes, bright harmonies and dazzling guitar fingerwork. Both performers were very crowd-friendly, and eager to satisfy requests and do what it took to keep the audience involved in the show. The Hitching Post was not packed, but the audience that was present thoroughly enjoyed this duo, evidenced by the cheers emanating from throughout the bar after each song. If you’re in the mood to kick back and have a good time with a friendly acoustic duo, John Solinski and Kenny Karlheim are definitely a duo you should consider. |
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