stang
Oct 19th, 2001, 12:53 AM
Hi gang
Just back from Red Bank and this is going to be long, but I'll give you all the details of a great, great show at the Count Basie Theater.
First all the Bruce information and I'll go into more detail about the other acts.
The show started abut 8:35 p.m. and ended at 12:41 a.m., so it was more than four hours long.
Bruce didn't first appear on stage until about two hours into the show when he joined Sonny Burgess and the Sun Rythm Section for a song I believe called "Tiger Rose." Bruce shared the vocals with Sonny Burgess and two of Elvis' musicians were onstage also, DJ Fontana on the drums and an Scotty Moore on electric bass. Garry Tallent on the bass also.
Bruce was wearing a blue cap that I believe read El Forasada and Havana. It wasn't his Dolphins cap.
He looked liked he was having a great time, he was wearing faded jeans, black boots and a blue jacket. He has his moustache and a short beard.
He really got into the song and at the end he said "It's great to play with great musicians."
After Henry Gross ("Shannon is Gone I Heard") and Phoebe Snow played, Joe Ely came out and got Joe's second song, Bruce came out to sing "All Just to Get to You" with him at 11:20 p.m.
Bruce had taken his jacket off, and someone e-mailed me asking me if he was wearing a bacelet, no he wasn't, I was in the third row center and I could see. For this song he came out wearing a FD 26 NY hat which said Truck underneath the FD 26 NY.
Bruce seemed really into the song and had a blistering guitar solo at the end.
Bruce then went off stage and Joan Jett came onstage. She did a song called "Don't Surrender" and then told the crowd: "I played in a movie which was named after a song this guy wrote" and out came Bruce to join Joan for "Light of Day."
Let me tell you, this was the first time these two had ever sung this song together as far as I know and it cooked! They traded vocals on it and were face-to-face on the guitar.
For many of us, this was one of the many highlights of the show.
Joan looks so young and she seem to really enjoy singing the song with Bruce.
If there's a bootleg that comes out of this show, you'll want to hear this!
Felix Caviliere of the Young Rascals was next and he did "Beautiful Morning" and "People Got to Be Free."
The crowd really enjoyed it and I saw that our own Billy and Firerich had traded hats, Billy (a NYPD officer) was wearing Firerich's helmet and Firerich had on Billy's police cap. They were both standing in the crowd near the left side of the stage.
Finally at 12:06 a.m. the act that we all had been waiting so long for took center stage.
At first it was funny because Bruce came out and was looking for Kevin Smith who was the show's emcee (no Dennis Miller). Kevin, a Jersey Shore native, is the director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob etc.
He was funny all night long but when Bruce was ready to start, he said "Kevin, where are you?"
Kevin Smith then ran out and said: "I lived here for 31 years and I never thought I would have this moment, so please let me have it."
And then he introduced Bruce who played "Bobby Jean." Bruce was not wearing a baseball cap now.
Max had come out to play drums, Garry was on the bass, and there was a 12-person choir as well as a couple musicians (guitar and keyboards) from the Smithereens.
After a great Bobby Jean, Bruce said: "This is a song I wrote about Asbury Park, but songs are funny things and they go out to those who need them."
He then playe a great "My City of Ruins" with the 12-person choir and the Smithereens' drummer played the drums, as Max stepped off stage.
The crowd clapped along and it really was a moving rendition of the song.
Next up was "Land of Hope and Dreams" and he intoduced it just like he did on the reunion tour:"This is Land of Hope and Dreams. "
Max was back on drums and it was a great version. I did forget to hop at the end. Darn!
Patti then came out and she sang backup vocals as Bruce played "Thunder Road." Toward the end of the song he came right out to the front of the stage and to those lucky enough to be in the front row, they were able to touch him and his guitar.
After "Thunder Road" Bruce said, "From a musicians standpoint this was a great night as I got to play with all my favorite people."
He then asked all the musicians to come out (it was now 12:30 a.m.) and they played "Stand By Me."
Bruce was joined by Felix Caviliere, Joan Jett, Phoebe Snow, members of Highway 9, Joe Ely, Henry Gross, Aztec-Two-Step but no Bon Jovi (they were the second act to play, more on them later).
It was a great version of the song and they all traded vocals except Joan Jett who seemed to be having fun but didn't want to sing this one.
At one point Bruce said "I need a volunteer to sing," and then he pointed to the crowd and said "You sing it" and we all did a verse from "Stand By Me."
When it ended Bruce said "Thank you, we love you!" (sound familar from the past tour?). It was now 12:41 a.m.
As the theater was clearing out and I was talking to people, all the sudden (after about 10 minutes) I look at the left side of the stage and there was Bruce!
He was talking to members of the crowd and started shaking hands with everyone, I ran down and got a handshake, security didn't bother us at all. He didn't sign any autographs but really seemed to enjoy saying hello to his fans, as he went from one side of the stage to the other. He was wearing the FDNY hat again.
Security then kicked us out about five minutes later.
I then went outside with Mike (Out in The Streets) and Hazey Davey, and as we got to the side entrance, we watched as Bruce and Patti drove away in their Range Rover.
A great, great show and for a great cause also. There were a few speeches too, none all that long.
Some other notes: The Pilgrim Gospel Choir from Red Bank opened the show and did two songs.
Bon Jovi then came on and it was Jon (wearing that cowboy hat again) with Richie Sambora, Dave Byran, but no Tico Torres. He had a couple other musicians with him also.
They played a song called "Keep The Faith," then he did "Living On A Prayer," and "Abraham, Martin and John," and "Wanted Dead or Alive."
Jon spoke about how proud he is to be from New Jersey which got a nice round of applause from the crowd.
None of the members of Bon Jovi were around at the end for the big "Stand By Me" jam.
Others who played were Aztec-Two-Step, Highway 9 (formerly Sam Hill, popular NJ band), the Borialis (rap musicians) and the Smithereeens (they were excellent).
Kevin Smith was great as the emcee and at one point he showed a short film about New Yorker's opinion on New Jersey. It was hysterical. He said it's going to be shown at the Madison Square Garden benefit show on Saturday night.
What wasn't lost in all of this was that the show was for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and many of the families were in attendance.
Introducing Bon Jovi was a teenage boy and girl. The boy, probably around 16, lost his father in the World Trade Center attack and he spoke about his dad which really moved the crowd, the girl, about 15, spoke about losing her brother.
The crowd gave the two a standing ovation and they were very moved as were all of us.
One celeb I saw in the crowd was WWF wrestler Mick Foley (Cactus Jack, Mankind etc.)
I got to the Count Basie Theater about 4 p.m. and the soundcheck was going on. I went to the side entrance and I saw Bruce's Range Rover parked there, someone told me he had driven up about 10 minutes earlier.
About 10 minutes later Patti pulled up (being driven by her assistant Kelly) in her blue BMW.
She waved and smiled to about a dozen of us who were milling around.
Apparently a lot of people (Dirty Annie and Dave Henise did) were able to buy ticket for the soundcheck ($25 each) and Bruce did two songs at the end: an acoustic Bobby Jean and Thunder Road with Patti. A lot of the soundcheck tickets were made available to local schools.
And get this, I understand around 5 p.m. or so, they did release some tickets, the two people sitting to my left in the third row, bought their tickets ($500 each) at 5 p.m. and the guy to my right, got his at 9 p.m. in the drop line! So a lot of people were able to get in and there were some tickets to be found.
I have no idea if it will be like that on Friday.
I was able to get into a pre-show reception with my ticket and they had some nice hordouvres (however you spell it). No Bruce but Garry Tallent was there and he signed autographs for anyone who asked.
Kevin Smith was there also and signed something for my friends Billy and Ruth Smith.
Bruce was in a private room off the balcony where he met families of the victims of Sept. 11.
My friend John Cavanaugh (photographer for the Stone Pony) had a brother-in-law who was killed in the World Trade Center and John's wife and sister-in-law were brought in to meet Bruce and he signed a program for them. I understand he was really great with the families.
There were a lot of firemen and police in attendance and it was a great show for a great cause.
I saw a lot of Live Daily friends, Dirty Annie, Dave Henise, Billy, Firerich, Hazey Davey, Mike (Out In The Streets), Scoot Big Man and a few others who I'm not sure of their screen names.
I'll be taping CN8 on Friday and will make copies for anyone interested (I'll have a Live Daily post on this on Saturday).
I just hope that if the show runs late on Friday that CN8 doesn't cut its coverage at 11:30 p.m. as it will miss Bruce's set.
If you stayed with me this long, I thank you.
Stan
PS: l'll post a report after Friday's show too.
Just back from Red Bank and this is going to be long, but I'll give you all the details of a great, great show at the Count Basie Theater.
First all the Bruce information and I'll go into more detail about the other acts.
The show started abut 8:35 p.m. and ended at 12:41 a.m., so it was more than four hours long.
Bruce didn't first appear on stage until about two hours into the show when he joined Sonny Burgess and the Sun Rythm Section for a song I believe called "Tiger Rose." Bruce shared the vocals with Sonny Burgess and two of Elvis' musicians were onstage also, DJ Fontana on the drums and an Scotty Moore on electric bass. Garry Tallent on the bass also.
Bruce was wearing a blue cap that I believe read El Forasada and Havana. It wasn't his Dolphins cap.
He looked liked he was having a great time, he was wearing faded jeans, black boots and a blue jacket. He has his moustache and a short beard.
He really got into the song and at the end he said "It's great to play with great musicians."
After Henry Gross ("Shannon is Gone I Heard") and Phoebe Snow played, Joe Ely came out and got Joe's second song, Bruce came out to sing "All Just to Get to You" with him at 11:20 p.m.
Bruce had taken his jacket off, and someone e-mailed me asking me if he was wearing a bacelet, no he wasn't, I was in the third row center and I could see. For this song he came out wearing a FD 26 NY hat which said Truck underneath the FD 26 NY.
Bruce seemed really into the song and had a blistering guitar solo at the end.
Bruce then went off stage and Joan Jett came onstage. She did a song called "Don't Surrender" and then told the crowd: "I played in a movie which was named after a song this guy wrote" and out came Bruce to join Joan for "Light of Day."
Let me tell you, this was the first time these two had ever sung this song together as far as I know and it cooked! They traded vocals on it and were face-to-face on the guitar.
For many of us, this was one of the many highlights of the show.
Joan looks so young and she seem to really enjoy singing the song with Bruce.
If there's a bootleg that comes out of this show, you'll want to hear this!
Felix Caviliere of the Young Rascals was next and he did "Beautiful Morning" and "People Got to Be Free."
The crowd really enjoyed it and I saw that our own Billy and Firerich had traded hats, Billy (a NYPD officer) was wearing Firerich's helmet and Firerich had on Billy's police cap. They were both standing in the crowd near the left side of the stage.
Finally at 12:06 a.m. the act that we all had been waiting so long for took center stage.
At first it was funny because Bruce came out and was looking for Kevin Smith who was the show's emcee (no Dennis Miller). Kevin, a Jersey Shore native, is the director of Clerks, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob etc.
He was funny all night long but when Bruce was ready to start, he said "Kevin, where are you?"
Kevin Smith then ran out and said: "I lived here for 31 years and I never thought I would have this moment, so please let me have it."
And then he introduced Bruce who played "Bobby Jean." Bruce was not wearing a baseball cap now.
Max had come out to play drums, Garry was on the bass, and there was a 12-person choir as well as a couple musicians (guitar and keyboards) from the Smithereens.
After a great Bobby Jean, Bruce said: "This is a song I wrote about Asbury Park, but songs are funny things and they go out to those who need them."
He then playe a great "My City of Ruins" with the 12-person choir and the Smithereens' drummer played the drums, as Max stepped off stage.
The crowd clapped along and it really was a moving rendition of the song.
Next up was "Land of Hope and Dreams" and he intoduced it just like he did on the reunion tour:"This is Land of Hope and Dreams. "
Max was back on drums and it was a great version. I did forget to hop at the end. Darn!
Patti then came out and she sang backup vocals as Bruce played "Thunder Road." Toward the end of the song he came right out to the front of the stage and to those lucky enough to be in the front row, they were able to touch him and his guitar.
After "Thunder Road" Bruce said, "From a musicians standpoint this was a great night as I got to play with all my favorite people."
He then asked all the musicians to come out (it was now 12:30 a.m.) and they played "Stand By Me."
Bruce was joined by Felix Caviliere, Joan Jett, Phoebe Snow, members of Highway 9, Joe Ely, Henry Gross, Aztec-Two-Step but no Bon Jovi (they were the second act to play, more on them later).
It was a great version of the song and they all traded vocals except Joan Jett who seemed to be having fun but didn't want to sing this one.
At one point Bruce said "I need a volunteer to sing," and then he pointed to the crowd and said "You sing it" and we all did a verse from "Stand By Me."
When it ended Bruce said "Thank you, we love you!" (sound familar from the past tour?). It was now 12:41 a.m.
As the theater was clearing out and I was talking to people, all the sudden (after about 10 minutes) I look at the left side of the stage and there was Bruce!
He was talking to members of the crowd and started shaking hands with everyone, I ran down and got a handshake, security didn't bother us at all. He didn't sign any autographs but really seemed to enjoy saying hello to his fans, as he went from one side of the stage to the other. He was wearing the FDNY hat again.
Security then kicked us out about five minutes later.
I then went outside with Mike (Out in The Streets) and Hazey Davey, and as we got to the side entrance, we watched as Bruce and Patti drove away in their Range Rover.
A great, great show and for a great cause also. There were a few speeches too, none all that long.
Some other notes: The Pilgrim Gospel Choir from Red Bank opened the show and did two songs.
Bon Jovi then came on and it was Jon (wearing that cowboy hat again) with Richie Sambora, Dave Byran, but no Tico Torres. He had a couple other musicians with him also.
They played a song called "Keep The Faith," then he did "Living On A Prayer," and "Abraham, Martin and John," and "Wanted Dead or Alive."
Jon spoke about how proud he is to be from New Jersey which got a nice round of applause from the crowd.
None of the members of Bon Jovi were around at the end for the big "Stand By Me" jam.
Others who played were Aztec-Two-Step, Highway 9 (formerly Sam Hill, popular NJ band), the Borialis (rap musicians) and the Smithereeens (they were excellent).
Kevin Smith was great as the emcee and at one point he showed a short film about New Yorker's opinion on New Jersey. It was hysterical. He said it's going to be shown at the Madison Square Garden benefit show on Saturday night.
What wasn't lost in all of this was that the show was for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks and many of the families were in attendance.
Introducing Bon Jovi was a teenage boy and girl. The boy, probably around 16, lost his father in the World Trade Center attack and he spoke about his dad which really moved the crowd, the girl, about 15, spoke about losing her brother.
The crowd gave the two a standing ovation and they were very moved as were all of us.
One celeb I saw in the crowd was WWF wrestler Mick Foley (Cactus Jack, Mankind etc.)
I got to the Count Basie Theater about 4 p.m. and the soundcheck was going on. I went to the side entrance and I saw Bruce's Range Rover parked there, someone told me he had driven up about 10 minutes earlier.
About 10 minutes later Patti pulled up (being driven by her assistant Kelly) in her blue BMW.
She waved and smiled to about a dozen of us who were milling around.
Apparently a lot of people (Dirty Annie and Dave Henise did) were able to buy ticket for the soundcheck ($25 each) and Bruce did two songs at the end: an acoustic Bobby Jean and Thunder Road with Patti. A lot of the soundcheck tickets were made available to local schools.
And get this, I understand around 5 p.m. or so, they did release some tickets, the two people sitting to my left in the third row, bought their tickets ($500 each) at 5 p.m. and the guy to my right, got his at 9 p.m. in the drop line! So a lot of people were able to get in and there were some tickets to be found.
I have no idea if it will be like that on Friday.
I was able to get into a pre-show reception with my ticket and they had some nice hordouvres (however you spell it). No Bruce but Garry Tallent was there and he signed autographs for anyone who asked.
Kevin Smith was there also and signed something for my friends Billy and Ruth Smith.
Bruce was in a private room off the balcony where he met families of the victims of Sept. 11.
My friend John Cavanaugh (photographer for the Stone Pony) had a brother-in-law who was killed in the World Trade Center and John's wife and sister-in-law were brought in to meet Bruce and he signed a program for them. I understand he was really great with the families.
There were a lot of firemen and police in attendance and it was a great show for a great cause.
I saw a lot of Live Daily friends, Dirty Annie, Dave Henise, Billy, Firerich, Hazey Davey, Mike (Out In The Streets), Scoot Big Man and a few others who I'm not sure of their screen names.
I'll be taping CN8 on Friday and will make copies for anyone interested (I'll have a Live Daily post on this on Saturday).
I just hope that if the show runs late on Friday that CN8 doesn't cut its coverage at 11:30 p.m. as it will miss Bruce's set.
If you stayed with me this long, I thank you.
Stan
PS: l'll post a report after Friday's show too.