Glen Burtnick - Point Pleasant High School 06/04/1988

When I was finally of legal drinking age to go to the Stone Pony, I went as often as I could. For years I had wanted to go to see the bands. But back then , you had to be 21 to enter. None of this 18 to enter 21 to drink policy they have now. Of course I always went with the hopes of seeing Bruce Springsteen. I was lucky to catch him on a couple occasions, but I got to see and hear a lot of other good musicians too.

One of those musicians I saw many times was Glen Burtnick. He later dropped the "c" to become Glen Burtnik. Glen was a one time member of Cats on a Smooth Surface and La Bamba & the Hubcaps. He was a member of Beatlemania along with Marshall Crenshaw. His first album was titled Talking in Code. It included some very good songs, a few which became staples of his live shows. The sound was very overproduced and very 80's sounding. His second album was titled Heroes & Zeros and was was closer to the sound he had wanted to create, from what I had read. It had a slightly harder sound, but the songs all had strong melodies. It sounded, to me, what 80's Bon Jovi might have sounded like if they were a little less commercial.

I wound up seeing Glen several times at the Pony playing with Cats on a Smooth Surface as a guest. Almost every time they would perform Heard it on the Radio, which he co-wrote with Vinnie Daniele of Cats. This song was the first song on the second side of the Heroes & Zeros album.Glen was always there whenever there was a benefit concert, and still is. To this day he still puts on his annual Christmas Extravaganza where he performs with many of his friends and musicians he's worked with over the years.

When Heroes & Zeros came out, I had to get it. A local artist had a major release. Had to support the locals. Well I wound up loving the album and saw Glen virtually every time he played either the Pony, or Birch Hill, or Raritan Manor, or wherever. The song Follow You would reach #65 on the Billboard Top 100 Chart. Glen would later have a side project called the Slaves of New Brunswick which released a CD. I will cover them later. Glen later replaced Tommy Shaw when Styx reunited. He co-wrote several songs on their Edge of the Century album, one of which reached #25 on the Billboard Top 100 (Love at First Sight). He co-wrote Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough with Patty Smyth. That song reached #2 on the Billboard Top 100.

I would see Glen a few times here and there, but never as much as the late 80's through the early 90's.

One of my favorite Glen shows was in support of Heroes & Zeros. He did a show at a local high school in Point Pleasant New Jersey called Point Boro High School. I went with a couple friends, some who had seen Glen before, some who had never heard him. One was studying for the bar and was originally not going to go. Her Father convinced her to go out one night and have some fun. She became an instant fan. Another was a good friend who I had seen Glen with several times at the Stone Pony. The other was a friend from college who was a Glen fan. She brought her boyfriend along. They both loved the show.

Here is the set list from that night.

Scattered

Walls Came Down

Heard it on the Radio

For Your Love/Spinning My Wheels

Love Goes On

Here Comes Sally

Stupid Boys

Talking in Code/Perfect World

Replace My Face

Little Red House

Follow You/Not Fade Away

Glad All Over/Birthday/Pump it Up

Talk That Talk

Slow Down

The Day That Your Ship Gets Thru

Abalene

We're Alright

Jon Bon Jovi-Supper Club,New York 06/18/97

My Wife is a big Bon Jovi fan. I like them, but not as much as her. I don't know if anyone likes them as much as she does. I have been with her to see them many many times and usually enjoy myself very much. They put on a great concert and are a very tight band.
When Jon released his second solo album, Destination Anywhere, he did a small tour in support of the album/CD. For whatever reason. we were able to get tickets for the closest show near us. The show was at the Supper Club in New York. We drove in with a friend and saw, what to this day is probably my favorite Bon Jovi show, even though technically it was not a Bon Jovi show.
For this tour he had a backing band which consisted of Hugh MacDonald on Bass(current bass player with Bon Jovi), Bobby Bandiera on guitar(second guitarist with Bon Jovi/Asbury Jukes/many time Bruce Springsteen side man/and the list goes on), Jerry Cohen on keyboards, Shawn Pelton on drums(Sheryl Crow Drummer/John Eddie Drummer,SNL, etc...) and Everett Bradley on percussion(John Eddie, and everyone under the sun).
For the show, Jon focused primarily on his solo songs. He did throw in a few Bon Jovi songs and 2 covers as bookends.
I prefer Jon's solo albums to the band recordings, so right off the bat I knew I would probably love the show. All the songs sounded great, with the exception of Keep the Faith. This song came across as very sluggish with the absence of Tico Torres on the drums. August 7, 4:15 was not performed in it's album version, but was slowed down to be a ballad. Livin' on a Prayer was performed is the acoustic version that Bon Jovi had performed previously, most notably on the MTV Music awards and the Bon Jovi Christmas concerts at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank New Jersey. The rest of the songs were pretty faithful to the original versions, with enough room for some great soloing from Bobby and company.
This would also be the only time I would get to see any Jon's solo songs performed live, with the exception of Blaze of Glory which he does pretty regularly with Bon Jovi, and Blood Money which he does perform with Bon Jovi on occasion.
The show was well paced and I thought the set list was pretty strong. I liked the fact that the crowd was accepting of the band he picked, and did not gripe that he did not perform such standard Bon Jovi fare as Bad Medicine or You Give Love a Bad Name. I personally could do without seeing either of those songs ever again. One thing I've noticed when I've spoken with Bon Jovi fans or noticed while at one of their concerts, is that they tend to prefer the focus to be on only the 4 members of Bon Jovi: Jon, Richie, Tico, and David Bryan. Hugh is technically not a member of the band. Go figure. The fans would rather hear Bad Medicine or It's My Life, than a lesser known song like Hearts Breaking Even or Stick To Your Guns. So I was very happy to see a very positive reaction to the backing band and the songs he chose.
As far as the band goes, he picked a good group of musicians, that did not sound like Bon Jovi wannabes. I personally prefer Bobby Bandiera's style of guitar playing to Richie Sambora. I do think Richie is a great guitarist and a very good singer. I don't think Bobby is as fast as Richie, but I prefer his bluesier, crunchier style of playing. He gets more out of 5 notes, than most guitarists get out of 50.
I spotted Little Steven in the crowd and hoped he might join Jon onstage for a song, but that never materialized. But I cannot complain since I was treated to a great show in a small venue.
I always hope that Jon will once again work on a solo effort since I think his writing and music is a bit meatier when he sets out on his own.
Here is the set list.

Not Fade Away
Every Word Was a Piece of My Heart
Queen of New Orleans
Ugly
Midnight in Chelsea
Destination Anywhere
Blaze of Glory
Livin' on a Prayer-Acoustic version
August 7, 4:15
Billy Get Your Guns
Janie Don't You Take Your Love To Town
Naked
Keep the Faith

It's Just Me
Wanted Dead or Alive
Sleep When I'm Dead

Treat Her Right

Show length was 1 hour 45 minutes

Portugal 2 Germany 3

Today Portugal were eliminated from Euro 2008.


For the first part of the match, it seemed that Portugal might be able to create the first chance to score. Early on, João Moutinho seemed like he was going to get the games first goal, but it was not meant to be. He hit the ball off his knee which sent it flying over the goal. A few minutes later, Bastian Schweinsteiger got the games first goal in the 22nd minute off a beautiful pass from Lukas Podolski. A few minutes later in the 26th Miroslav Klose managed to break free of seemingly everyone on the Portuguese team to head the ball into the net. Well it may have been his neck.


Portugal did not let that defeat their spirits, as they scored in the 40th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo took a shot on goal which was deflected by the goalie, but picked up by Captain Nuno Gomes for the first Portuguese goal.


In the 61st minute, Captain Michael Ballack scored for Germany on free kick. Taking a look at the replay, it would appear that Ballack gave a slight push to the Portuguese defender, which should have meant a foul.


In the waning minutes of the game, substitute Helder Postiga managed a beautiful header into the German goal. Sadly, that was not enough and Germany were victorious.


However, I feel, the fact of the matter is that Germany played a better game. Portugal still never managed to have a strong midfield that played together.

There were several fouls against Portugal that were never recognized, but then Portugal would get called for the same type of foul. I'm also tired of seeing players writhe around in agony for getting bumped into. Moutinho missed what should have been an easy shot. Someone (maybe Ronaldo) should have been covering Klose during the free kick in the 26th minute. And Ballack's goal should not have counted. Having said that, what was the great goalkeeper Ricardo doing next to Ballack when he made the goal. Stay near the net and catch the ball.


Well , there's always the 2010 World Cup. Qualifying will start soon and hopefully Portugal can get organized. I'm curious to see who the new coach will be.

Luiz Felipe Scolari has been a great coach for Portugal and will be missed. He truly made Portugal consistently be up for the challenge of major tournaments. Hopefully the new coach will build on this great foundation.I wish Scolari all the best at Chelsea.

Portugals time will come and when it does, may the vinho flow. I've got a nice bottle of Grahams Port for that day.

Good luck to Germany, the Netherlands and all the remaining teams.

Quincy Mumford

Earlier this evening my wife and I got to see Quincy Mumford perform at Borders in Eatontown New Jersey. Each month Border's has an up and coming artist perform. The shows are presented by 90.5 the Night (a great local radio station based out of Brookdale Community College). Quincy is starting to make some noise on the local music scene, and even had a big write up in the ALIVE section of the Asbury Park Press last week. Not bad for a 16 year old.
I had purchased Quincy's CD a couple months back at Mumford's Culinary Center in Tinton Falls ,New Jersey. Yes they are related. Quincy's proud Father told me that if I purchased the CD and I did not like it, I would get my money back. Well, I kept the CD and I am happy I did. Quincy is not your typical teen musician. The best way to describe his style is acoustic rock that has very catchy hooks, and optimistic lyrics. There are definitely shades of Jack Johnson to be heard.
Quincy's father mentioned to me that he would be playing at Borders and I decided to check it out. Quincy drew a pretty good sized crowd, and gave a great performance. He was joined early in the set by an acoustic bass player and then a drummer. Sadly I can not remember their names. Quincy had a good connection with the audience and held his own for the 50 minute set.
Here are the songs performed, but slightly out of order.

Spread the Weather
Pots & Pans
Diane
Fall Down
Dock on a Bay
Grateful
My Town
Angels Day
Let Me Down
Imagine(John Lennon Cover)

Here's hoping that this is the start of a long career and that he is given the chance to grow as a musician and artist.

Portugal 0 Switzerland 2

On the final day of Group A matches, Switzerland was victorious over Portugal, and rightfully so.

I know that Portugal had already advanced, so there was no need for them to exert themselves , but they did not even show up to the game. The majority of the team consisted of the second team, so I thought they would make some effort to show they could play on the main team, but it was not meant to be.

Both goals came from Hakan Yakin. The first was in the 71st minute, the second in the 83rd minute.

At least Switzerland was able to finish with some well earned pride.

Portugal plays their next game on Thursday against Germany, most likely. I hope they show up. But truth be told, if their going to lose, I hope it's against a team like Germany.

Portugal 3 Czech Republic 1

On Portugal's second day of group play for Euro 2008, they defeated the Czech Republic by a score of 3-1.

Deco scored first for Portugal in the 8th minute. In the 17th minute, Libor Sionko tied the game for the Czech Republic. The game winning goal came in the 63rd minute as Christiano Ronaldo, regarded by many as currently the worlds greatest soccer player, scored his first goal of the competition. In the 91st minute Quaresma scored the third goal for Portugal, on an assist by Ronaldo.

Portugal plays again on Sunday the 15th, but are already slated to move on from Group A play to the next round regardless of the outcome.

Their first game in the next round will be either Thurday June 19th or Friday June 20th.

Here's hoping for victory. Go Força Portugal !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Portugal 2 Turkey 0

Day 1 of Euro 2008 found the 2004 Runners up victorious against Turkey. Both goals were scored in the second half. Pepe scored in the 61st minute and Raul Meireles in the 3rd minute of added time.



Host nation Switzerland were narrowly defeated by the Czech Republic by a score of 1-0. The lone goal came in the 71st minute by Václav Svěrkoš . Sadly the Swiss had several opportunities to score, but never seemed able to finish.

Between the 2 games, I don't think I've seen a crossbar hit so much.

Portugal 's next game is on Wednesday June 11 against the Czech Republic.

By the way, I did see both Figo & Eusebio during the national anthems, and I hope they will both be available as subs as the tournament progresses. Think about it guys.

*************Go Forca Portugal**************

Genesis-June 3,1992 Giants Stadium

16 Years ago today, my girlfriend(now my wife) and I went to see Genesis at Giants Stadium in New Jersey. I had seen Genesis a few years earlier on their Invisible Touch tour and was not impressed. They sounded fine, but they really seemed to be just going through the motions. No real connection with the audience, and a pretty bland setlist.
My future wife was a big Phil Collins fan, and we were able to get great seats a few days before the show, so we got the tickets. I was looking forward to it, but did not have great expectations. I did like the new album We Can't Dance, so I figured at least I'd hear album perfect versions of the songs.
Well, I was correct, they did perform album perfect versions of the new material, and many of their previous hits, but they were really good. I don't know if maybe the previous show I saw was a bad night or what, but this new concert was very impressive. Not only was their performance great, but the staging and use of video and lighting was also impressive. I've never been one to care too much for a great "show". I'd rather see a band who plays well, but stands still(Grateful Dead anyone), then see a stage show with a group that couldn't play live. But all the elements came together and it turned out to be a concert I truly loved. They mostly focused on post Peter Gabriel material , save one medley early one in the set.
Phil Collins, Tony Banks & Mike Rutherford are technically Genesis, but Chester Thompson and Daryl Stuermer were not relegated to some backup position. They were treated in the live shows as members of Genesis. I think that could be part of what made them a good , tight live band. It wasn't 3 "stars" and the backup band. And as much as Phil Collins is front & center, which is unavoidable since he is the lead singer, I never felt that Genesis was his backing band. He had a solo career for that, and believe me he was everywhere at that time.
Sadly I did not get to see them when they came around on their reunion tour, but I will always have the memory of a great concert with the best company possible.
Here is the setlist, as best as I can piece together.

Setlist 06/03/1992

Land of Confusion
No Son of Mine
Driving the Last Spike
Old Medley(Dance on a Volcano/Lamb Lies Down on Broadway/The Musical Box/Firth of Fifth/That's All/Illegal Alien/Follow You,Follow Me/Stagnation/I Know What I Like)
Throwing It All Away
Fading Lights
Jesus He Knows Me
Home By the Sea/Second Home by the Sea
Hold on My Heart
Domino-In The Glow of the Night/The Last Domino
Drum Duet
I Can't Dance

**Encore**

Tonight,Tonight,Tonight
Invisible Touch
Turn It On Again

Show length was roughly 2 Hours 20 Minutes