First,
kudos, thanks and congratulations to The JUKESTOCK Management Team - Debbie May, Jane
McCreery, Maggie Powell - for conceiving and managing the event. - They did an amazing
job. It takes a lot of work to make things look simple, and things went off without,
seemingly, a hitch.
Johnny said when he first heard about it he said, "never gonna happen". But they
made it happen, and as one lucky enough to be there, I can only say THANK YOU!Second, the
bands. Needless to say they were all great performances, but I expected that. More
gratifying was the guys themselves. They were are friendly, gracious, funny and open as
anyone I've ever been around. They talked with everyone for as long as they wanted, talked
to people in the halls before and after sets, said "hi" to you when you ran into
them and they recognized you, and were totally classy. I've been a fan of the music for
over 25 years, and now I can better appreciate them as artists and people.
The shows. Great musicianship and performances. Got in too late to see Jeff
Kazee/Professor Crewcut, but many I talked to said that he/they were one of the best shows
of the weekend. Bobby's show was excellent - in great voice, played his new 12-string
electric a lot, and great set list. Played a lot of his own music, as well as great covers
including "Mr. Spaceman". Highlights included, of course, "C'mon
Caroline", as well as "Rescue Me", "I Was A Fool", and a rockin',
extended version of "Monkey in the Middle".
The Mark Pender Band funked it up Saturday afternoon. Played a set of mostly originals and
some covers. Band included Stan Harrison (former Juke), Richie and Ed. Did the one-note
solo until I thought his head would explode!
Beyond being a great musician, he's a helluva entertainer - really funny between song (and
sometimes during song) shtick. Check out www.markpenderband.com
for downloads, information, etc.
The Saturday night Jukes show as about everything a Jukes fan could hope for.
A few favorites didn't get in (Love on the Wrong Side of Town, for example) but we got
some cool surprises like "Little Girl So Fine", which I haven't heard them do
since, probably, the early-mid-eighties (they had to get out charts/lyric sheets, etc. to
do it, but, to my ears, it was flawless. John was in fine voice and humor - really seemed
to be having a good time and pleased to be there. In all, a memorable performance by a
great band to an appreciative audience.
Took a drive down to Asbury Park Saturday afternoon, and got back in time for the
"Save Tillie" video. Haven't been back to Asbury Park for about 11-12 years, and
it's sadder than I remembered. But I heard Bob Crane talk, and saw the video, and better
appreciate the work they're doing and how important it is to much of what is valuable to
many of us. If you can help, contact Bob Crane at (301) 989-2392. They're all volunteers
they need all of the support we can give. Beginning 3/19, there's a Save Tillie auction on
www.Backstreets.com with lots of great
memorabilia, so get in and buy and, if you can, volunteer your time/energy to these folks.
Finally, a word on the fans at JUKESTOCK. Really great people, as I expected.
Nice to see old friends like Tony, Pat and Frank, and cool to meet people like John and
Linda, Tom, Carole, and Jane who I'd like to think are my friends now.
In all, a great weekend that, for a lot of reasons, was way too short for me.
If there's a NJ Rock and Roll Heaven, I think I was there!
Bob |
