As a fan of a wide variety of popular (and not-so-popular) music from the 1950s (and sometimes even earlier) up through the present, one of my bucket list projects for years has been to put together a list of my 100 favorite songs of all time. At some point I decided that, once I got around to figuring that out, I could put it out on a blog, for the infinitesimally small proportion of the Internet world that might be interested. So, here we are. While the Top 100 will be a major focus, I also plan to post on a variety of other musical (and occasionally non-musical) topics, in which you may or may not be interested. (If a particular posting doesn’t ring your bell, you’re only a few clicks away from a dancing cat video on YouTube.)

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes, Rams Head On Stage, 12/27/2015


Table 102, Row A, Seats 2 & 4
 
Rams Head has a row of 4-person tables right in front of the stage and perpendicular to it. Table 102 is dead center; we had the rear two seats, which was still as close as I’ve ever gotten to the stage at a show by a well-known performer.
 
Started by promising not to do any Christmas songs, but did begin with a great tune by the underrated 60s-70s soul singer William Bell, “Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday”
 
Personal favorites – best version of “Walk Away Renee” I’ve ever heard, plus a remarkable cover version of Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers To Cross” by keyboardist Jeff Kazee
 
Usual crowd-pleasers such as “Love On The Wrong Side Of Town”, “Broke Down Piece Of Man”, “Talk To Me”, and “This Time It’s For Real”. Also did some tunes from his new Soultime album – I particularly liked the disco-flavored (!) “Looking For A Good Time”.
 
Led up to “The Fever” with a nice sing-along on “Up On The Roof” (preceded by a few bars of “I Feel The Earth Move”), then concluded the main set by turning “I Don’t Want To Go Home” into a hilarious tale of an ill-fated trip to Vegas. Second encore (after over two hours of music) was “Without Love”, during which they put the main mic stand up on our table for an interlude by the three horn players and Southside’s final vocals. Amazing show!
 
Setlist
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousJanuary 3, 2016 at 8:41 PM

    Didn't Sprecher get us front row seats to Billy Joel in Lynch Gym for Homecoming, 1974?

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  2. Mike RhoadsJanuary 4, 2016 at 7:27 AM

    Was that show while we were still there, or the fall after we graduated?

    I do remember a trip back the fall after we graduated. Slept on the floor of Shoemaker's room and somehow managed to turn his four-channel stereo on in the middle of the night. I also remember the two of us going to the football game -- John Norton was taking tickets and was somewhat surprised to learn that we had been roommates.

    I've missed out on chances to see Joel again the past two summers due to schedule conflicts.

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