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Photo courtesy of the Smithereens.com
The Smithereens - Woodbridge Middle School,
Woodbridge, NJ - May 2, 2013
By Phil Rainone
Rock & Roll Middle School!
The Smithereens walked onto the Woodbridge Middle School stage
to a loud cheering crowd. Giving a nod to their surroundings,
they said, “Only a half-day tomorrow!” Then they
launched into their first hit single from back in the 80’s,
“Blood and Roses.” After all these years, you
could still feel the passion and heartache in lead singer/guitarist
Pat DiNizio’s voice. For me, he’s always worn
his broken heart on his sleeve. As the master-of-misery, he
and the band know how to create memorable, down-to-earth songs
that can rock your socks off, or make you wanna drown in your
own tears (if I can switch a few words around for another
of the hits).
On a cool Jersey Spring evening, the packed auditorium was
rockin’ by the time they got to the second song, “Behind
the Wall of Sleep.” The snarl and pop that The Smithereens
deliver with this one-two punch was off the charts! Jim Babjak’s
red hot lead guitar solos were like short bursts of cannon
fire! There’s absolutely no by-the-numbers playing with
this band. They sound as good now, if not better than when
they first started back in the early 80’s.
Dirty, noisy, and solid-as-a -rock, “I’d like
to Say I’m Sorry (But I Won’t)” reminded
me of The Who’s maximum R&B style of playing. Diken
pulled a fast one on us, turning the tables on a woman who
did him wrong. Usually his stories are about deep, dark romantic
loss, but here he gets to show the other side of the coin.
After about twenty minutes of uncompromising originals (“Green
Thoughts” with its slower rock cadence was a cool flick-of-the-switch
tune), they morphed into a Smithereens-Meets-The Beatles mode
with a handful of Beatles songs that they covered a couple
of years ago (“Meet The Smithereens” and “B-Sides
The Beatles”). “A Hard Day’s Night”
had the Jersey Cougars in the crowd up and dancin’ their
collective butts off! It’s been a long time since I’ve
seen someone do “The Twist” or “The Swim,”
but these gals made it look like the stuff never went out
of style!
“Hold Me Tight,” “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,”
“Rain,” “I’m a Loser,” and Lennon’s
originally acoustic “It’s Only Love” were
all juiced-up to an “11” on the band’s amplifiers
(actually, toward the end of their set the power went out
twice for a few minutes . I’m sure The Smithereens have
blown a few fuses in their time.) It was like The Smithereens
were vibing off The Beatles mojo, and coming up with something
new and exciting!
Throughout their set which lasted about two hours, the band
talked and cajoled with the audience about growing up in near-by
Scotch Plains and Carteret. The Thrilla From Manila, aka bassist
Serveo Jornacion, then toned things down a little with the
two beautifully sad songs - “In a Lonely Place”
and “Blue Period.” The gentleness and passion
with which the band nurtures these - and actually, all their
songs- makes you feel like they were written for and about
you. Their songs can take you from happily memorable to depressingly
miserable within a few songs. To me that’s the real
measure of a band.
“Top of the Pops,” about reaching the heights
of “musical stardom,” was sadly funny, as the
band delivered a musical sermon on rock ‘n’ roll
101 with all the joys and pitfalls of pretty much how the
music business can eat you up, and spit you out in a short
time if you let them.
From their tribute album to The Who’s “Tommy,”
they performed the “Overture” and “Eyesight
to the Bind” with the collective energy of a band that
wanted to get it right as if their lives depended on it! And
they DID! The Smithereens sounded again, like they did when
they performed The Beatles tunes. The musical mojo came shining
through and they, along with us were grinning from ear to
ear!
After about two hours of this pounding, joyous noise, they
mentioned that it was in fact “a school night”
as they launched into their signature song, “A Girl
like You.” It felt like the band was patiently waiting
to play this cosmic rocker all night. The guitars blasted
off like rockets from a launch pad, and the rhythm section
of Diken on drums and The Thrilla on bass were digging deep
and hard. Then, with the crowd on their feet cheering the
band on, they give us another blast of The Beatles with “Day
Tripper” that sent band and the crowd over the edge!
They had the first After Party at Rugs & Riffys, which
is just around the corner, and it was a blast! The Smithereens
showed up for some of Riffys’ fine food & drink,
along with their producer Kurt Riel, who also plays with The
Gripweeds. The DJ played some really cool Smithereens tunes
including my request, “Much Too Much,” and Gripweeds
songs, along with a few of The Smithereens requests. All total,
a great night for music!
The only words I have left to describe the show is…AMAZING!
SIMPLY AMAZING!!
JerseyBeat.com
is an independently published music fanzine
covering punk, alternative, ska, techno and garage
music, focusing on New Jersey and the Tri-State
area. For the past 25 years, the Jersey Beat music
fanzine has been the authority on the latest upcoming
bands and a resource for all those interested in
rock and roll.
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