Alas, there was no jazz on the menu Wednesday night ... just a whole lot of good rock-n-roll with a healthy side of soul. If you liked the recent Jon Bon Jovi & Friends Starland show in January, you'd love the NYC Hit Squad gig. Made up of some crack musicians (no, not musicians on crack a la Charlie Sheen ... sorry ... I had to ... inside joke) including Ricky Byrd (guitarist for Joan Jett), the fabulous Christine Ohlman (from the Saturday Night Live band), Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto, the great Jeff Kazee (who y'all know already) as well as Muddy Shews (bass), Chris Anderson (trumpet) and (this time) John Isley (saxophone), it's always a night of "oh I LOVE that song!"
Some of my favorites from the set were Hold On, I'm Coming, CC Rider, Soothe Me, I'm Looking for a Love and Tell The Truth (Who's Been Foolin' You?) as well as outstanding performances by Christine on The Shangri-Las "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" and Jeff Kazee's great cover of Van Morrison's "Domino".
Though the lighting wasn't quite optimal, I did find a way to snap a few pictures (but, of course! LOL)
...funnyman Ricky Byrd (who was, by the way, super-hooked on the whole Charlie Sheen debacle LOL)...
...the ever-hip Christine Ohlman...
...there was some incredible playing and the most soulful singing by Jeff Kazee ...
...and y'all recognize this Juke right? Cool Cat Chris Anderson ...
...and here, along with John Isley and Jeff Kazee...
It really was a fun night with good friends and great music ...
As weird as it was to miss Jon Bon Jovi's birthday show in Philly that night, the NYC Hit Squad only plays a couple of times a year as they are all busy with other work so I just HAD to go. (No worries. I did leave Jon a birthday message via phone telling him exactly where I was and inviting him down for a birthday drink after his show if he so desired.) Anyhoo, if you are ever in NYC when the Hit Squad is playing, definitely check them out. You WILL have fun ... guaranteed.
Oh, and trust me ... any regrets I could have had (which I didn't) regarding missing Philly, were certainly blown away just two days later by the now infamous "uberfan setlist show" at Mohegan Sun on Friday.
I was going to just continue on, but I think that night really DOES deserve its own post. But, here is a sneak peek of what's to come ...
...Lorenza Ponce and Her Kick Ass Band ...
...backstage: Lorenza Ponce and Her Kick Ass FANS hehe ...
...the most gorgeous acoustic version of Superman Tonight...
... and then, well, you know what happened in the encore, right? ... *insert sinister laugh here*
Well, a bottle of merlot and the rest of Keith Richards' book is calling me. So, until later my friends ...
xoxo
BAJG
