I
was disappointed that I wouldn't get to see the Stone Pony, and decided that I'd go ahead
and check out Sunday, and drive home after the LaBamba concert to try and get back to
Virginia before the road conditions worsened. I was determined, however, to see LaBamba's
full show.
LaBamba's show was awesome -- I've always wanted to hear them. I stood on a chair to get a
good view of the band, and boogied through their entire set. I knew it'd be a while before
seeing these guys again, since Pender and LaBamba can't usually make it to the shows in
Virginia. I was wowed by how much talent was up on that stage at once. As front man for
the big band, LaBamba has a voice that is warm, wide and comfortable. Even when joking
about needing to look at sheet music because he hadn't learned all the lyrics, he was
obviously at ease and enjoying every minute. He directed the band with clean precision,
and graciously introduced each band member, sharing the spotlight with ease. Mark Pender
has an intense voice that is clear, strong and dynamic. The blend and camaraderie when
he'd join LaBamba on stage was fabu. It was a great joy to see such accomplished
performers pouring out all they had. Even though the crowd continually lessened throughout
their set, they never gave less than 100%. I wanted to cry when the last few notes
sounded, because I just wasn't ready for the weekend to end.
But wait -- they announced that Talk Town (Muddy's band) had agreed to play that night at
the Holiday Inn's bar. Well, then I had a reason to stay, so I unloaded the car and threw
my bags into a friend's room. Then a group of us went to a local Mexican restaurant for
dinner, before heading back to the hotel bar to raise a glass to friends old and new while
waiting for Talk Town to set up.
As it turned out, only Muddy and Jarrett were able to make it to the hotel due to the
weather. Regardless, the two of them set up and started playing, while Maggie and Jen did
their best to pry a cover charge out of the folks in the bar. Muddy and Jarrett did
several cover songs from bands ranging from Matchbox 20 to Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Of
course, I was particularly fond of their rendition of Springsteen's Red Headed Woman. They
did several songs that were original material as well, most (all?) of which were written
by Jarrett. Their original material was very listenable. I hope most of you that didn't
stick around for their show at least picked up one of their CDs. They're a talented group,
and Jarrett has a knack for writing songs with a radio-friendly quality.
My personal highlight for the evening was when I was handed a tambourine, and got to play
along with them on several songs. I promised them that next time I saw them, I'd have my
"Josie & the Pussycats" catsuit to go with my red hair so that I could
really do the tambourine playing justice. LOL
Unfortunately, since I had finished off the last of my film snapping photos at dinner, I
had no camera at this point. So, if you are one of the folks that took pictures and you
have photos or video of their show, please oh please contact me.
The drive home Monday morning was miserable -- The trip home took an hour longer than the
trip out -- with snow, ice and freezing rain until well into Maryland. But I had new CDs
with me (from Kazee, Joey Stann, Bandiera, Talk Town, & Max Weinberg 7), so it was
like driving home with a car full of Jukes (only the CDs were probably much safer than
having my car full of actual Jukes).
Last of all, it was great to meet my fellow fans. For years many of you have been just an
Email address, chat member or occasional IM, and now you are so much more. Connecting with
the other fans made the entire trip worthwhile for me. I'm sorry I didn't get to meet
everyone I would've liked. I do appreciate the private Emails from those of you who said
you looked for me but couldn't find me.
In summary (I bet you thought I'd never get to this part, eh?), I went to JUKESTOCK as a
Southside Johnny fan, and returned home a Jukes fan as well. Hanging out with the band and
hearing all of them perform so well, to me they are no longer just the guys that back up
Southside -- they are all extremely talented musicians and warm friendly guys that it was
a great pleasure to meet. I'm looking forward to seeing them again (sadly, without Pender
or LaBamba) at the two Ram's Head shows next month. I've even got my fingers crossed that
they'll play "New Coat of Paint" while they're there.
sly
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