.....Iroquois legend tells of a maiden who loved the Thunder God, HE-NO, who made his home in a cave behind the great Falls. Much to her disappointment, the maiden's father, however, promised her in marriage to a brave.
.....Rather than marry the mortal, the maiden canoed over the cataract, at which time HE-NO caught her spirit, taking her to live with him in his watery cave.
.....Thus began the connection between Niagara Falls and weddings.
.....Europeans saw the beauty, and perhaps felt the magic of this tragic love, when they first came to the Niagara region.
.....In 1801, Thedosia, daughter of the Vice President to be, Aaron Burr, traveled to Niagara Falls with her betrothed to celebrate their upcoming nuptials.
.....They were followed in 1803 by Jerome Bonaparte, younger brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was celebrating his recent marriage.
.....By 1841 the popular song "Niagara Falls" made honeymooning in the picturesque Niagara Falls the rage.
.....200 years later Honeymoons and Niagara still go hand in hand with hundreds of couples each year making the pilgrimage to Niagara to wed.

Steppenwolf burst onto the music scene from the ashes of Psychedelia in 1968. Originally formed in Toronto as The Sparrow, John Kay and company payed their musical dues in Canada, New York City and San Fransisco before settling in Los Angeles in late 1967. Tired of the Hippie “Flower Power” scene, The Sparrow changed their name to Steppenwolf and began to develop a heavier, harder edge to their Blues based music. The formula worked and Steppenwolf topped the charts with hits like “Born To Be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride.” After a series of personnel changes and internal strife the group broke up in 1972. John Kay continued as a solo act until reforming the band as “John Kay and Steppenwolf.” I’ve been waiting to see Steppenwolf since I was 13 years old and I wasn’t disappointed when I finally got the chance as part of Artpark’s free “Tuesday Night at the Park Concert Series.” Steppenwolf rocked the crowd with all their major hits including “Born To Be Wild,” “Magic Carpet Ride,” “Rock Me Baby,” “Hey Lawdy Mama,” “Monster,” “Snowblind Friend” and “Screaming Night Hog.” John Kay also acknowledged his love of the Blues with a searing rendition of the Muddy Waters’song “Hootchie Cootche Man.” Steppenwolf’s encore of “The Pusher” was greeted with thunderous appause and it’s safe to say that the crowd of 5000 or more went home satisfied that night. My only regret is that John Kay refuses to tour with any of the remaining original members of the classic 1960’s lineup of Steppenwolf. It’s interesting to note that John Kay mentioned that his family moved to Buffalo NY from Toronto in the early 1960’s. While in Buffalo, Kay played Folk music as a solo artist in nightclubs and bars until the family moved back to Toronto around 1965. Another fascinating aspect of John Kay’s life is the fact that his first public performance occurred at an AM radio station once located in the Carillion Bell Tower of the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls, Canada when the future Steppenwolf frontman was only a teen. Kay also told the Artpark audience that this is a combined “40^th Anniversary” and “Farwell Tour”as he wants to give up public performance and retire. Let’s all hope that he follows in the footsteps of The Rolling Stones, The Who and Ozzy Osbourne who came back to live performance after a couple years of retirement. I’m sure many folks will agree that we’d love to see him come back to the Niagara Falls area in concert!!!

Florida resident John Mameli returned to his hometown of Niagara Falls NY for a performance at the second “Friday Night at the Falls Concert.” Mameli played in local Rock bands in the 1960’s and 1970’s before auditioning for Aerosmith and later, KISS. In 1979 Mameli moved to Naples, Florida where he formed a band and after years of touring and recording he has been recognized as a Hard-Rocking guitar virtuoso. Mameli was the winner of the 2005 North American Rock Guitar Competition held at Artpark in Lewiston NY. John’s music can be described as Blues/Rock with a hint of Heavy Metal and Psychedelia. His set included slow Blues numbers like Jimi Hendrix’s “Red House” interspersed with fast paced originals and rousing renditions of the Beatles’ “Come Together” and “Taxman.” Mameli also entertained the 300+ crowd with his mastery of feedback and his trademark guitar “levitation” technique. Mameli put on an enjoyable show and it was great to see the 3rd St. “Entertainment District” alive with people. The “Friday Night at the Falls Concert Series” is in it’s first year but it is shaping up to be a successful part of the local Summer entertainment scene with the possibility of some major national acts added to next year’s roster, so stay tuned! Visit http://mameli.com

If you were to ask me in 1965 who my favorite bands were I’d tell you The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Dave Clark Five and last but not least, The Animals. The Animals came out of Newcastle, England in 1964 to become the first British band to knock the mighty Beatles out of the Billboard number one chart position with “House Of The Rising Sun.” From there The Animals scored hit after hit throughout “The British Invasion” period from 1964 to 1966 when the original band broke up. In 1967 Eric Burdon embraced the San Fransisco Hippie movement. He reformed the group as Eric Burdon and the New Animals, debuting this Psychedelic version at the June 1967 Monterey Pop Festival. Burdon’s “New Animals” topped the charts with hits like “When I Was Young,” “Monterey,” “ San Fransiscan Nights” and “Sky Pilot.” After numerous personnel changes the New Animals dissolved. Burdon went on to join the Black, Los Angeles based Funk band WAR, grabbing another top 10 hit with “Spill The Wine” in 1970. After leaving WAR in 1971, Burdon became a solo artist occasionally reuniting with the original Animals for albums and concerts.In the last few years Eric Burdon has been touring with his latest incarnation of The Animals. I saw them on 8/31/06 at Lafayette Square in Buffalo NY and they were good but Burdon concentrated too much on newer material that was unfamiliar to many in the crowd. On 7/31/07 The Animals performed at Artpark and the show was much better with Burdon focusing on his older music. In fact he only played one new song. I was pleasantly surprised to see that he had his original guitarist Hilton Valentine with him. The show was fantastic as the band offered tight renditions of their monster hits like “House Of The Rising Sun,” “Baby Let Me Take You Down,” “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” “See See Rider,” “Don’t Bring Me Down” and “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place.” However I was greatly disappointed when The Animals didn’t perform “It’s My Life” which is my personal theme song. They played it in Buffalo last year so I expected to hear it at Artpark. I find it strange that “It’s My Life” wasn’t included in the evening’s performance because it was a huge hit for The Animals in the Summer of 1965 rivaling the Beatles’ “Help” and The Rolling Stones’“Satisfaction”(another of my personal theme songs). As is the case with Steppenwolf, I’d love to see Eric Burdon reunite with the remaining original Animals in the future. I doubt that I’ll go see them at Artpark again because it was too crowded to really enjoy the show with everyone jockeying for a good view. Many areas of the outdoor ampitheater have visual obstructions, including hills, that make it impossible to see the stage. Artpark really needs to redesign this venue so everyone can get a better view. But I don’t want to detract from the show itself which proved to me once again that Eric Burdon is a musical icon and the only other “British Invasion” group besides the legendary Rolling Stones that remains a vital part of the music industry today.

Klear ** Friday at the Falls ** 8/31/07 ** Third & Ferry Ave

Several hundred attended the final Friday at the Falls Concert Series sponsored by the Niagara Falls Tourism Advisory Board. Veteran musicians Bruce Wojic and Leo MacDonald put on a spectactular show Friday night with their own original brand of hard rock. The crowd enjoyed a great show featuring guitar solos, a drum solo and dazzling lights. Niagara Falls Tourism Board MC Randy Ubriaco led the crowd in cheering to bring Klear back for a two song encore. Klear marked a positive end to a new summer tradition in Niagara Falls USA, Friday at the Falls!

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RUSH 9/19/07 Air Canada Center ** Toronto, Ontario

I’ve always thought of RUSH as a local band. Formed in Toronto in 1968, by the early 1970’s I constantly heard about them from Canadians who raved about their performances at bars and dances in Southern Ontario. At that time their music was a Blues-infused brand of Hard Rock reminicent of Jeff Beck, Led Zeppelin, Cream and The Who. When they released their eponymous debut album in early 1974, I thought they were good but nothing to write home about. However out of curiosity I bought tickets to see them with fellow Canadian Rockers BullRush and Mahogany Rush at the old Monte Carlo nightclub on Ontario Ave in December 1974. Unfortunately the concert was cancelled. Afterwards I tended to ignore them until one evening in late 1977 when I heard “The Temples of Syrinx” (from their 1976 breakthrough album “2112”) in a bar. I asked the DJ what he was playing and he told me it was RUSH. I was immediately hooked and the next day I bought all six of the albums that they had made up to that point. My next step was to see them live. I achieved that goal in May 1978 at the Niagara Falls Convention Center during the “Farewell to Kings” tour. Since then I’ve attended a total of nine RUSH concerts including their 9/19/07 appearance at Toronto’s Air Canada Center in support of the new album entitled “Snakes and Arrows.” Over the years their music has progressed from Hard Rock through Heavy Metal to a unique brand of Progressive Rock. RUSH’s entire repertoire was well represented at the soldout ACC in front of an enthusiastic hometown crowd. RUSH rocked the audience for three hours with a mixture of classics and new material that included “Limelight,” “Cicumstances,” “Subdivisions,” “Mission,” “The Spirit of Radio,” “Far Cry,” “Freewill,” “The Main Monkey Business,” “Tom Sawyer” and “Malignant Narcissism.” For their encore the band played “One Little Victory,” “A Passage to Bangkok” and “YYZ.” They left the Toronto crowd screaming for more and I’m sure that many people present attended the second soldout RUSH concert at the Air Canada Center on 9/22/07. RUSH is one of the few “Classic Rock” bands besides AC/DC and The Rolling Stones (both of whom RUSH appeared with at the Toronto SARS Benefit Concert in 2003) that has maintained consistency and musical integrity without selling out. This Canadian trio of virtuosos continues to produce quality music and sell out arenas and stadiums around the world 33 years after recording their first album. Pretty good for what I consider a local band, eh ?

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MEGADETH 9/25/07 Town Ballroom ** Buffalo, NY

Thrash Metal pioneer Dave Mustaine founded Megadeth in 1983 after being fired from Metallica. In 1985 Mustaine released the first Megadeth album entitled “Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good.” Since then Megadeth has went on to multi-platinum success and international fame with their fiery brand of Heavy Metal which features fast, complex guitar playing. I’ve always loved Metal and Megadeth is one of the best in a group that includes Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and (early) Metallica. Mustaine is a superb showman and a phenomenal guitarist and songwriter whose themes include war, politics, international affairs and enviromental concerns. He crafts songs that are true works of art without the use of filth, profanity and the glorification of violence or drugs. After numerous personnel changes over the years and an injury in 2002 that sidelined Mustaine, Megadeth returned to the music scene in 2004 with their best lineup ever. On 9/25/07 Megadeth appeared at the Town Ballroom in Buffalo NY in support of the new album entitled “United Abominations” and I was lucky to get tickets to the soldout show. I saw Megadeth in Toronto on 3/22/07 when they opened for the Ronnie James Dio version of Black Sabbath and I expected a good show. What I saw was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to as Mustaine and Co. smoked the crowd with a blistering set that included old and new material like “Peace Sells,” “Symphony of Destruction,” “Angry Again,” “Hanger 18,” “A Tout Le Monde,” “In My Hour of Darkness,” “Washington Is Next,” “Gears of War” and “Reckoning Day.” Anyone who thinks Heavy Metal music is talentless should hear Megadeth perform “Tornado of Souls” which features guitar runs reminiscent of Jazz/Rock virtuoso Al Dimeola (who happens to be second guitarist Glenn Drover’s favorite musician). For their encore, Megadeth performed an exhilarating version of “Holy Wars” that left the crowd delirious and begging for more. Mustaine promised those in attendance that Megadeth will be returning to Buffalo in the near future and I’ll definitely be there. To Dave Mustaine it’s all about the fans and giving them their money’s worth. He definitely succeeded at the Town Ballroom on 9/25/07 because when I left I had to check the building’s roof because I thought for sure that Megadeth blew it right off the place!!!

Tickets may be purchased in advance or at the ticket both on game day at Sal Maglie Stadium.

		Visiting Niagara Falls USA

RUSH ** 9/19/07 ** Air Canada Center ** Toronto, Ontario

MEGADETH ** 9/25/07 ** Town Ballroom ** Buffalo, NY

RUSH 9/19/07 Air Canada Center ** Toronto, Ontario

MEGADETH 9/25/07 Town Ballroom ** Buffalo, NY