HEAVEN ON THE RIVER!
Report and Photos by Donna Olson.
7th Heaven has been on the local music scene for over 20 years. They have several band members and different shows – plugged and unplugged, which have evolved over the years. Their energy, talent and entertainment quality draw the crowds like flies (the weather brought some pesky little buggers, too!), and Saturday, June 7th was no different. This night was the “plugged” version and they held absolutely nothing back! Their set list included everything from the 60’s to today’s music, all rocked out in terrific harmony.
They started off this show going from popular 80’s tunes to Finger 11, to Lifehouse then back in time to Reservoir Dogs’ “Stuck in the Middle with You”, then back up in time to Bon Jovi’s “Livin,’ on a Prayer” where the band’s front man, Keith Semple, turned the vocal reigns over to the crowd whose sound carried across the river.
7th Heaven continued pleasing their most loyal of fans with their original tune, “Gravity”, which they recorded on their previous original album entitled “Silver”, and which has been recut and will be re-released on their upcoming album due to be released in the next few weeks. They are also working on an unplugged CD, and a melody DVD/CD combo pack. You can check out some of their original material as well as other information about the band, their music and upcoming material at their MySpace at www.myspace.com/7thheaven or the band’s website at www.7thheavenband.com.
They started off this show going from popular 80’s tunes to Finger 11, to Lifehouse then back in time to Reservoir Dogs’ “Stuck in the Middle with You”, then back up in time to Bon Jovi’s “Livin,’ on a Prayer” where the band’s front man, Keith Semple, turned the vocal reigns over to the crowd whose sound carried across the river.
7th Heaven continued pleasing their most loyal of fans with their original tune, “Gravity”, which they recorded on their previous original album entitled “Silver”, and which has been recut and will be re-released on their upcoming album due to be released in the next few weeks. They are also working on an unplugged CD, and a melody DVD/CD combo pack. You can check out some of their original material as well as other information about the band, their music and upcoming material at their MySpace at www.myspace.com/7thheaven or the band’s website at www.7thheavenband.com.
Photo courtesy of www.7thheavenband.com
The band rounded out their first set with what their fans love the best . . .their infamous 30 in 30, which they have also recorded and have available on CD. The 30 in 30 is where they play portions of 30 songs, again spanning several decades, all within 30 minutes. The fans go wild as they’re able to sing along with each and every song they know and love.
As the darkness fell over the river, the crowds grew larger and so did the number of backup singers – yeah, the crowd just couldn’t contain themselves from singing along. The diversity of songs continued with, “Oh, What A Night”, “Walk This Way”, “Grease Lightening”, “Saturday in the Park”, “1999”, “Caught up in You”, “Mony, Mony”, “Anyway You Want It”, “Crocodile Rock”, “Sweet Caroline”, “Uptown Girl”, “Hungry Like The Wolf”, and “Save A Horse.”
Mark Kennetz had the younger spuds in the crowd going nuts with his rocked out rapping capabilities and got everyone into his act by starting out with the infamous Beastie Boys. Despite being at the back of the stage, and not being able to join the rest of the mobile band out on the front stage, Mark Mooshey, 7th Heaven’s drummer, did a fantastic job of keeping time with a beat for everyone to dance along. Rich Hoffnerr, one of 7th Heaven’s founding fathers and lead guitar player for both the Full Band and the Unplugged shows, exhibited his talent and flare on the six-string as he lead the band through another fantastic show.
The “Full Band” as they call the plugged version, consists of Mark Kennetz on bass/vocals, Rich Hoffnerr on lead guitar/vocals, Mark Mooshey on drums and Keith Semple on lead vocals/guitar.
7th Heaven’s lead singer, both for the Full Band and Unplugged shows, is Keith Semple, a native of Northern Ireland and winner of Ireland’s version of “American Idol” called “Popstars: The Rivals.” Keith’s uncanny ability to sing just about anything coupled with his energetic ability to engage the crowd into being part of the whole experience, make him such a beloved part of this group.
7th Heaven’s music has been featured on MTV and they have performed on the Jenny Jones show. With sales of their CD’s and merchandise, they are one of the highest grossing unsigned bands. And, by looking at their tour schedule, they definitely are busy packing out venues across the Midwest.
7th Heaven’s music has been featured on MTV and they have performed on the Jenny Jones show. With sales of their CD’s and merchandise, they are one of the highest grossing unsigned bands. And, by looking at their tour schedule, they definitely are busy packing out venues across the Midwest.
7th Heaven is definitely one of the most entertaining bands around, and with their assortment of music, they bridge the musical gaps between the generations by bringing something for everyone to their show.