Angela Law

animal lover, gardener, knitter, and gourmet cook
 

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Yesterday, my parents treated a group of us to dinner at The Wine Cellar in Gallitzin (to celebrate their birthdays). It was an interesting place. The food was good–I’d say it’s comparable to Rizzo’s. I guess it’s the novelty of eating in someone’s basement (in Gallitzin of all places) that is the main attraction. There was a mishap when we arrived–my SIL’s aunt missed the last step and fell (knocking over her brother, who wasn’t injured). She had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance and really messed up her leg (she had surgery this morning and has another one on the horizon). She was so worried that she ruined my parents’ birthday dinner, but I have to think this is one dinner that they’ll never forget.

After that, I came home and took care of the dogs and then went to PNG Park to catch the evening’s last band in the free concert series. I guess this means summer’s almost over. The band, Big Fat Mallard, was pretty good. They played funk music, which isn’t my thing, but I did enjoy listening to them. I tapped out after 90 minutes, though. I can’t imagine that they played much longer, but I guess I’ll never know.

mammoth wvh

I’ve loved this band since their debut in 2021. I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw they were coming to Johnstown on a tour with Alter Bridge and Sevendust. The concert was last night and it was great! I’m so lucky that I’ve been able to see almost all of my favorite bands throughout the years.

In case you didn’t know, Mammoth WVH is Wolfgang Van Halen’s band (son of Eddie Van Halen and Valerie Bertinelli). And he is one talented guy! He wrote all of the songs, played all of the instruments and handled all of the singing on the the two Mammoth albums, one of which came out earlier this month (and I’ve been listening to it nonstop ever since). So, he kind of has the Dave Grohl thing going on (Dave did the same with the first Foo Fighters album). Let’s hope he has his longevity as well.

Funny thing, I’m not a fan of Alter Bridge or Sevendust. It’s not that I don’t like them, I just don’t know their stuff, so I left after the Mammoth set, but it was still totally worth the money!

extraction 2

Similar to the first movie in the series, this was non-stop action. And, it starred Chris Hemsworth. That’s really all you need to know.

My rating: 3.5/5

don’t go

This was a different kind of book from Lisa Scottoline. She stepped away from her usual legal thrillers (though one of the main characters was a lawyer, so she didn’t step too far away). I knew it was going to be sappy when one of the quotes compared her to Nicholas Sparks. Anyway, this was a convoluted tale of murder, war, child custody, and adultery. There was a lot going on.

My rating: 3/5

alice cooper


And to think I almost didn’t go to this show! For one thing, my neck is still giving me trouble, but it seems a bit better today. I definitely had an easier time driving and I was able to sit through the whole show tonight without much discomfort. And, the Flood City Music Festival was this weekend, so did I really need to go see more music today? Yes! It was so much fun. I mean, there wasn’t anything groundbreaking–Alice Cooper has been doing the same show for like 50 years, but it was super entertaining. And, I loved the fact that there were three guitarists. It was a wall of sound. Overall the musicianship was excellent and Alice Cooper sounded great as well. It’s hard to believe he’s 75 years old and still tours like he does.

This is the 3rd time I’ve seen Alice Cooper live, which is kind of crazy (the first time was when I was on vacation in New Orleans in 1998, and the second was in Johnstown in 2010). Type O has the record at 6. Thanks to OzzFest, there are a bunch of bands I’ve seen more than twice, but I couldn’t tell you who for sure. Probably Rob Zombie and Godsmack; likely one or two others. I’ve seen Tool three times, too (once on OzzFest). So, Alice Cooper now holds a special spot in my concert history.