Well, last night was Mardi Gras night at my venue. The opening act was Dr. John in all his Hammond B-3 glory complete with the Skull and Candle on top. He of course got up several times during his set and showed off his infamous (Nu Orlons style) strut, complete with the dropped shoulder. His set was a great pre-cursor for the main act of the 4 Neville Brothers.
Having never seen the Brothers before, I could only go by what I had been told by my fellow ushers. I knew they were a good musical family, but most of my personal knowledge was of Aaron. Imagine my delight when they came on and far exceeded my expectations. To showcase that much talent in one family is a rarity.
Cyril Neville has a tremendous voice and is an exceptional percussionist, coupled with his New Orleans/Reggae twist on presentation, made his performance stellar. I was impressed that he did more lead singing then Aaron. Next up was Charles. What a talent on the SAXophone. From low to high, soft to N.O. funky/gritty, Charles can and did it all. Also joining his brothers in vocals and cowbell, his voice helped to forge the 4 part harmony we all enjoyed so much. Then there is Art. Hands down one of the top Hammond B-3 players I have had the pleasure to hear/see in person. His mastery of the ivories leaves nothing to be desired. Also joining his brothers in vocals and taking the lead on some, the blend again was completed. And Finally there is Aaron. What else is there to say. I did not have the honor of hearing his “Tell it like it is” signature song, but how shocked was I to hear him doing “Sara Smile”. With all 4 talented brothers, the slightly less then capacity crowd was magically transported to New Orleans’ French Quarter and the fabulous Funk/Jazz that only comes from there, if only for a brief moment, But it was moment enough to remember forever.
Well, this past Sat night Dawn and I had a choice to make. She had gotten an email offering free tickets to see J Geils Band at Atlantic City, or we could honor our commitment to go see FreddyB locally. Well, since she has not been feeling well for a few days, we opted to stay home. We went to a local country club for a fabulous dinner and were entertained by the strands of classic rock tunes performed by the one and only Freddie B. Now I must admit that I am giving a slanted review of Freddy B as not only is he a performer, but he is also the surgeon that saved my life. He will also be operating on Dawn in Oct. He is a multi talented performer. His guitar playing is great (one would expect from a surgeon), and his music is not overbearing. He even did an Italian song in honor of his mother. He ran the gamut from Billy Joel, Beatles, Stones, Jimmy Buffet, Loggins and Messina, to mention a few. All together it was a great evening out with Dawn and the crowd was one big happy family.
Went to a show at the Keswick that was truly very well named. The Rock Royalty Tour had probably 3 of the main British Invasion bands together in one show. First act was The Spencer Davis Group. Spencer was in great form with his voice still sounding like it did 40 years ago. He was an extremely gracious individual in that after his set, he hung out in the lobby of the Keswick for the remainder of the evening, chatting with fans and signing autographs. The next act were The Yardbirds. The have a talent for getting some great guitarist (past being, Clapton, Beck, and Page) and now Ben King is no exception. Ben is a fantastic guitarist and will help the band in the future. The songs were are done great with a lot of interplay between band members. And the final act were The Zombies. I have to admit that Colin’s voice was in rare form and sounding better than ever. Rod was of course on the keyboards, and together they sounded great. I totally enjoyed the entire night, but still cant figure out how, an Iconic song such as “Gimme some Lovin” that is played probably every night of the tour, HOW can the keyboard player mess up the organ intro?????????? Other than that bad note incident, the memories flooded back to the days of my youth and being in a band.
Dawn and I have been patiently waiting for the Snow to arrive and last Friday it finally did. We took the drive, after a rock start with demands from my job on call pager going off, to the Berks Jazz Fest in Reading PA and walked in on one of the best Snow falls we ever saw. Phoebe Snow was last seen by us as a walk on guest of Bonnie Raitt at the Mann Music Center a few years back, and we both wondered if we would ever get the chance to see her solo. Well lo and behold, she appears as a performer for the Jazz Fest, and I had gotten tickets for Dawn for a Valentines Gift. Even though we were late for the beginning of the show, what we did see was by far, one of the top 10 shows in my opinion we have seen in a looooonnnnngggg time.
Firstly, Phoebe is a funny woman. She, as she put it, “shamelessly promoted” her new album all night. Imagine our disappointment when after the show there was no merchandise available in the lobby. But “shamelessly promote” she did and mostly in a comical way. Next, she is a great story teller. But Most of All, she is a one of a kind vocalist. At 57, to still have control over her 4 octave voice is a feat mastered by only a God-given few. She has such great control over her legatos, as she effortlessly ran through her 4 octave range. Her ability to hold a note is amazing. Rarely, have I seen someone hold a note as long as she did on one song. Then, she has a rare ability, in that when she covered Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart”, she paid her respect to Janis, all the while making the song truly hers.
The Band was tight as could be. Just drums, guitar bass and keyboard. Phoebe played guitar on one song, but it was her vocals alone, that had the crowd in a frenzy all night long.
We loved the show and will most certainly be picking up the “shamelessly promoted” album for continued enjoyment of this rare and wonderful songbird that is Phoebe Snow.
Well, gotta tell you, that Dawn and I had a great time this past weekend. We went to our first Beatlefest. We got all the information from my buddy Geno, and decided that we needed to get away and what better place to do so. We had no idea what to expect, even after being told by Geno how things go at these events. We stayed at the Main hotel, which was convenient, but the hotel itself left much to be desired. Even before we checked in I was getting autographs from people like Earl Slick, and Sid Bernstein. The was a sign to us of a great upcoming weekend. We were not disappointed. The only bad thing besides the hotel was that, like an idiot, I left the fest tickets at home. That proved luckily to be only a delay in the festivities. There was a great flea market open all day everyday, a daily puppet show(which was great), seminars with musicians related somehow to the Beatles, and a Sat nite dance. There were people hanging in the lobby(although I swear some of them just lived there) for the entire weekend just playing and singing Beatles songs. There were autograph sessions with all the event guests, including SID Bernstein for GOD’s sake, Greg Hawkes from the CARS, Mark and Brett Hudson, Ronnie Spector, various authors and photographers. There was live music going on somewhere and everywhere in the hotel for the entire time we were there. Dawn commented that never before or again will there be a band that has affected so many people that they warrant their own festival on a yearly basis that takes place several times a year in different locations. Not even Elvis or Frank Sinatra could command this type of event on a yearly basis for over 35 years as this one has. We are hooked and will attend again.
Well, I would hope that some of you are wondering, “WHAT HAPPENED”. There has not been any new activity for a while. Been going thru some stuff, and now there is upcoming major surgery later in Apr. For not maintaining this site, I ask for forgiveness. However I am back and hope to be with a vengeance up to the surgery date of 4/22 and resume again in May. I would however like to start this resurgence with some up coming shows. There will be some more local acts to see this month. I will be seeing both The Absolute Zeros, and Jim Boggia this month. Possibly the Cryers with Chad and Jermey, and upcoming show will include The Legends of Rock live in Asbury Park and possibly STYX (very hopeful on this one). Things will start poppin again as Spring and Summer are approaching and this is building up to be a great concert season yet again this year. Keep coming back for more updates
Well I dont think anyone would have been able to have a greater new years eve than Dawn and I as we went to the Keswick and saw Devon Allman and Hoheytribe, followed by his father Gregg Allman. Devon and I became friends two years ago when he first opened for his father at the KESWICK. When I saw that he was again coming to open for his father again on new years eve, well, I shot him a quick email. As a result, DAWNA AND I, got to go backstaqe during intermission, and met up with Devon. He is a comsumate guitarist, in the vain of, naturally, his father. To hear him, with eyes closed, one might think of early Allman Brothers. This perfomance was scaled down with only Devon, George on bass, and a new drummer of only one week, but I dont recall his name. He did a fantastic job by the way. Anyway, Devon did not disappoint the audience as his fingers slithered with machine-gun speed up and down the neck of his Les Paul. It is a pleasure and an honor to say he is my friend. Dawn was awed by his similarity to his father, as she did not see him on the last trip. She was even star struck when we went back stage to talk with Devon and foundhim sitting with his Father. She at first did not see Gregg, and when she did, she was somewhat at a loss for words for a second. above are two photos of Devon performing that night.
Well, I got my first Christmas present early this year. Brian Wilson and the band were at the Keswick in November, and I got to see the entire show. I also got Brian to sign my guitar along with Jeff, and now the entire band as well as B B KING are on one guitar that is hanging in the music room. I cannot begin to explain my feelings as I listened to the live versions of songs I had been listening to for the last few months after buying the album from Brian's webpage. It brought me back to the years when I was learning how to play guitar in my basement with the BEACH BOYS records on the record player. The songs all remind me of a time when Dennis and Carl along with Al and Mike were at Capitol studios. The harmonies and music are spot on ringers of future days gone past.This album is to me so reminiscent of the old surf sounds put out by the Beach Boys of Brian's youth. I always appreciate the perfection that is displayed in the band that Brian has assembled over the years. It is an honor for me to be in the presence of one of the few musical geniuses in the world today. I have and always will love the music that Brian has given us and will always attempt to see him when he is in the area, as it is for him and him alone, that I began an interest in music all those years ago. I can only hope that I will be able to touch 1/1000th the amount of lives that Brian has. I have posted a photo of the Guitar hanging in the music room
This weekend is the ever popular SUPERBOWL weekend. We are having the standard gathering of friends coming over to devour a dinning room table full of food along with all the kitchen counterspace being covered as well. I will be blogging during the show as I am not into football. I will update the blog site with reviews of Brian Wilson, Gregg Allman and his son Devon, as well as Igor’s egg opening for Project Object, and possibly some others. I will also be talking about the upcoming Beatlefest in Mar in NJ. Dawn and I have never been to one and we are looking forward to it.
Here’s hoping you all have a safe and fun Superbowl party and be sure to check out the updates by next week. I will do better at keeping this more current, as I am dealing better with the new work hours.
Well, my friends, it would seem I have been totally devoid of my duties of keeping you all up to date with the area concert scene. And all for a good reason. I have had my life uprooted in my regular job where after 40 yrs of night work, I now have to work days starting at 5 am. Since I am no spring, or for that matter summer, chicken, it is taking me a while to become accustomed to the difference in schedules. I have great reviews to put up concerning, Brian Wilson, Devon and Gregg Allman, and others, and will do so in the coming days. I totally apologize for the delay and give my word that this is going to change for the better and I will be back to speed in another week or two. This is all in addition to the pending life saving and altering surgery I will be having in the next few months. But more on that Later.
