Bon Jovi - Madison Square Garden 7/26/2026

 Bon Jovi wrapped up their 9 night run at Madison Square Garden with a great show on July 26 which included a setlist that touched on the majority of their albums from Slippery When Wet up to their newest release, Forever. 

This was their first tour since Jon had undergone vocal chord surgery, and had cut the previous concert short due to vocal issues.

The band sounded great, as expected, and Jon's voice sounded better than the previous show.

The concert also featured a couple special guests. The War & Treaty on The People's House from the Forever album, and Bruce Springsteen for a couple songs at the end of the show.

 Bon Jovi returns tonight and will be performing in Scotland. Curious to see if there are any major changes to the setlist. 

 Here's hoping they return soon, and bring more shows to the U.S.

 Here is the setlist:

  Beautiful Drug

  We Weren't Born To Follow

  Lost Highway

  You Give Love a Bad Name

  Born To Be My Baby

  Legendary

  Whole Lot of Leavin'

  In These Arms

  The People's House w/The War & Treaty

  It's My Life

  Livin' on a Prayer

  Raise Your Hands

  This House Is Not For Sale

  I'll Sleep When I'm Dead

  Keep the Faith

       Encore

  I'll Be There For You

  Bad Medicine

  Who Says You Can't Go Home w/Bruce Springsteen

  The Promised Land(Bruce Springsteen song) w/Bruce Springsteen

With The War & Treaty

With Bruce Springsteen

In Memoriam - Tim Curry

                                       One of the most memorable voices ever.

                                                             Rest in Peace

In Memoriam - Dolly Parton

                             An Icon. There is only one and there will never be another. 

                                                             God Bless You. 

                                                             Rest in Peace
 

 

Music America - The Songs That Shaped Us: June 5, 2026 OceanFirst Bank Center

        Monmouth University played host to two unique concerts celebrating the music of America. 

        The first night featured Bruce Springsteen, Kenny Chesney, Trombone Shorty, Roseanne Cash, Brian Fallon and many others. 

        The second night focused on the 1950's up to the present. Robert Santelli provided context between songs as to the place a certain artist or song has in the history of American music. Happily, throughout the night, many of the artists shared the stage with each other making this very much a once in a lifetime event.

    Little Steven's Disciples of Soul, led by Marc Ribler, acted as house band for the artists, playing seemlessly from one genre to another. 

        Here is the setlist:

        

         Jailhouse Rock(Elvis Presley cover) - Bruce Springsteen 

         Burning Love (Elvis Presley cover) - Bruce Springsteen

         Johnny B Good (Chuck Berry cover) - Jon Bon Jovi 

         Bye Bye Johnny (Chuck Berry cover) - Little Steven

         I Fall To Pieces (Patsy Cline cover) - Sheryl Crow 

         Catfish Blues (Robert Petway cover) - Gary Clark Jr. 

         The Wandererr - Dion 

         A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall (Bob Dylan cover) - Sheryl Crow solo 

         I Shall Be Released ( Bob Dylan cover) - Sheryl Crow & Bruce Springsteen 

        River Deep, Mountain High (Ike & Tina Turnercover) -Darlene Love 

            

                         Intermission 

 

        Sleight of Hand - David Sancious & Will Calhoun 

        Texas Flood - Jimmie Vaughan 

        The Weight (The Bandcover) -Mavis Staples

        Power of Soul (Jimi Hendrix cover) - Gary Clark Jr. 

        Abraham, Martin & Joh n - Dion

        For Americaa - Jackson Browne

        I Am a Patriot - Jackson Browne & Little Steven 

        Rockin' in the Free World(Neil Young cover) - Nils Lofgren & Jon Bon Jovi 

        Fight the Power - Public Enemy 

        Further On Up the Road (Bobby "Blue" Bland cover - Bruce Springsteen, Gary Clark Jr., Nils Lofgren, Jimmie Vaughan & Marc Ribler 

        Raise your Hand - All 

        I Don't Want To Go Home - All 

        Land of Hope & Dreams -Bruce Springsteen solo

Bruce Springsteen, Gary Clark Jr, Jimmie Vaughan, Nils Lofgren

Jon Bon Jovi

Public Enemy

And

Sheryl Crow

Bruce Springsteen

Gary Clark Jr. 

Jackson Browne

In Memoriam - Robert Duvall

So many great perfomances - Apocalypse Now, The Great Santini, The Apostle, The Godfather and so on and so on. Rest in Peace.

Light of Day 26 - Count Basie Theatre 1/17/2026

 The annual Light of Day festival returned with it's centerpiece show, Bob's Birthday Bash, at the the Count Basie Theatre(now named Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre) on January 17th. 

  The concert saw the return of many veteran LOD performers like Willie Nile, Joe D'Urso, Johnny Rzeznick, Williams Honor, James Maddock, Dramarama, and more recent additions like, Low Cut Connie, Fantastic Cat and Remember Jones who also acted as the shows MC.

 Bruce Springsteen once again performed with Joe Grushecky and The Houserockers to close out the show, after guesting with Willie Nile. Bruce's set , as usual, contained Houserockers songs, his own material and a passionate performance of The Promised Land which he introduced citing recent events in Minneapolis.

 Remember Jones performed a couple songs throughout the show while bands setup for their sets. He performed solo with only piano accompaniment.

 As usual, many artists joined each other throughout the night. Some highlights include Bobby Mahoney and Emily Grove joining Williams Honor for their entire set, Williams Honor joining James Maddock for his set, Rob Dye and Danny Clinch playing with Johnny Rzeznik of The Goo Goo Dolls on Iris, and Johnny Rzeznik joining Bruce and Joe Grushecky for The Promised Land.

 The showed ended with a sing along of Thunder Road, but not before the entire theatre sand Happy Birthday to Bob Benjamin, the shows namesake. 

  Here is the setlist: 

  Remember Jones 

   Bitch is Back (Elton John cover)

   Miss Emily

   Stand Together Band Together

   Williams Honor w/Bobby Mahoney & Emily Grove

    I Got You Good

    Can't Wait to Be Ashamed

     I Got Ways

   Matt & Eryn O'Ree

   She Loves Me Anyway

   Remember Jones

   Dixie Lullaby

   Let Em Look

    Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan

   Welcome Home

   Rockin' in the Free World(Neil Young cover)

   Let It Go

   Noisy Guitars/I Wanna Be Sedated( Ramones cover)

   Emily Grove

   Josephine

   Dramarama

   Work For Food

    Bother Me?

    Last Cigarette

   Anything, Anything

   Will Daily

   All That I Wanted

   James Maddock Band w/Williams Honor

   Beautiful Now

   Runaway

   Keep Your Dreams

   When the Suns Out

   Amanda Cross & Derek Cruz

  Get a Little Rowdy

   Remember Jones

  Lucille/Good Golly Miss Molly/Tutti Frutti(Little Richard cover)

  Feelin Alright(Joe Cocker cover)

   Fantastic Cat

   Donnie Took the Bus

   The Gig

   The Hammer & The Nail

   Fiona

   C'mon Armegeddon

   Go All Night

   Jill Hennesy

   She Dances Some More

   No Surrender(Bruce Springsteen cover)

   Willie Nile

    Wild World

    We Are We Are

     I Gotta Run Free

     One Guitar w/Bruce Springsteen & James Maddock

    Low Cut Connie/Adam Weiner

     Death & Destruction

     Revolution Rock N Roll

    Johnny Rzeznik

     Slide

     Here is Now

     Miracle Pill

     Black Balloon

     Sympathy

     Name

     Better Days

     Come To Me

     Broadway w/Rob Dye & Danny Clinch

     Iris

     Remember Jones

     Knocks Me Off My Feet(Stevie Wonder cover)

     Joe D'Urso/Adam Ezra/Jake Thistle

     Hold On

    Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers w/Jeff Kazee

    Until I See You Again

    New Orleans(Gary U.S. Bonds song) w/Gary U.S. Bonds

              w/Bruce Springsteen from here on

    Jole Blon(Gary U.S. Bonds song) w/Gary U.S. Bonds

    This Little Girl(Gary U.S. Bonds song) w/Gary U.S. Bonds

    Darkness on the Edge of Town

    Savin' Up

    I'm Not Sleeping

    Pumping Iron w/Danny Clinch

    Lucky Town

    Atlantic City

    Never Be Enough Time

   Johnny 99

   Promised Land w/Johnny Rzeznik

   Light of Day - All Performers

   Happy Birthday - All Performers

   Thunder Road - All Performers

James Maddock Band

   

  

                                     

Remember Jones

                                          

Williams Honor

 

                                                   

Dramarama

                                            

Fantastic Cat

                                                     

Jill Hennessey

             

                                              

Willie Nile w/Bruce Springsteen & James Maddock

                                            

Low Cut Connie

 

                                           

Bruce Springsteen w/Johnny Rzeznik & Joe Griuhecky

                                                     





        

     

   

 

    

In Memoriam - Uncle Floyd

 

Rest in Peace. Use to watch him on WWHTG. There was something magical about that show. 

Dick Van Dyke

 
                                                     Happy 100th Birthday

David Byrne - Radio City Music Hall 10/11/2025

 Another amazing concert for David Byrne. I knew he could not top the American Utopia concerts, but his Who is the Sky? tour is remarkable, an extension of the American Utopia tour and probably its equal..

  For this tour the format is similar, all the musicians are untethered and roam the stage throughout the show. The setlist was comprised of an equal amount of David Byrne solo songs and Talking Heads songs, and one cover, which he had recorded recently. 

   There were a few members of his American Utopia band this time around, and the remaining musicians were wonderful. They were introduced in two very unique way, First during Independence Day, a highlight, where all the musicians names were projected in front of them on the stage floor and also on the screen behind them, and then during Burning Down the House when all the musicians names and their instruments were projected on the back wall..

   Mr. Byrne once again could have come out and performed a bunch of his great songs and it would have been a great concert, but as always he created a show which started with a nod to our planet, our "Heaven" as he called it, and brought us on a journey of the good, the bad, the beautiful and ugly that we deal with daily. 

    God bless David Byrne and his always creative visions.

      Here is the setlist: 

 Heaven (Talking Heads song)

 Everybody Laughs

 And She Was (Talking Heads song)

 Strange Overtones

 Houses in Motion (Talking Heads song)

 T-Shirt

 (Nothing But) Flowers (Talking Heads song)

 This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) (Talking Heads song)

 What is the Reason for It?

 Like Humans Do

 Don't Be Like That

 Independence Day

 Slippery People (Talking Heads song)

 I Met the Buddha at a Downtown Party

 My Apartment is My Friend

 Hard Times (Paramore cover)

 Psycho Killer (Talking Heads song)

 Life During Wartime (Talking Heads song)

Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song)

            ENCORE

Everybody's Coming to My House

Burning Down the House (Talking Heads song)

Al Stewart & The Empty Pockets - The Vogel, Red Bank, NJ 9/6/2025

 Having just celebrated his 80th birthday the previous day. Al Stewart brought his farewell tour to the Vogel Theatre in Red Bank New Jersey on September 6. He was backed by the Chicago band The Empty Pockets. 

I have never seen Mr. Stewart and was incredibly grateful I was able to see him before he stops touring. 

I know the music would be good, but he sounded better than I had imagined he would, given the fact that he was fighting a summer cold.

His stories between songs were very funny, touching and showcased his knowledge of history, which are a trademark of his music.

  The Empty Pockets opened the show with a short set and provided great backing for Mr. Stewarts songs. Their set included Make it Through, Mrs. Sacramento, Everybody Knows You When You're Down & Out and Outside Spectrum.

  Selfishly, I hope he decides to make this farewell tour go on for years. 

  Happy Birthday!!!!

  Here is the setlist. 

     You Should Have Listened To Al

     Antarctica

     The Palace of Versailles

     Time Passages

     On the Border

     Midas Shadow

     Broadway Hotel

     The Dark and the Rolling Sea

     Joe the Georgian

     One Stage Before

     Year of the Cat

      Love Minus Zero/No Limit (Bob Dylan cover)  

 

In Memoriam - Robert Redford

                                                     Rest in Peace

In Memoriam - Ozzy Osbourne

                                                  The original. Rest In Peace

                            
 

In Memoriam - Tim Cronin

                               Rest in Peace. You cast a big shadow and will be greatly missed. 

                    Jacks Music Shoppe will always be the best, but it will never be the same. 
 

In Memoriam - Brian Wilson

 

                                            The Poet Laureate of Summer. Rest on Peace.

Elvis Costello & Steve Nieve - Count Basie Theatre 2/21/2025

 The last time Elvis Costello played the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank New Jersey was in 2021, in a concert which featured his band The Imposters. He returned this past February with Imposters/Attractions keyboardist Steve Nieve, for a concert which focused more on deep album cuts, rarities and a couple reinterpreted versions of his bigger hits.

 Songs like She, Less Than Zero, When I was Cruel No. 2, & Alibi were all pretty faithful to their original versions, where I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down was done in a gospel arrangement and Alison was done in a slowed down R & B arrangement. When I Was Cruel No. 2 expanded on the Dancing Queen lyric found on the album version with an extended piano break. Steve Nieve even sang a verse of (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding.

  The crowd also sang Happy Birthday to Mr. Nieve who was celebrating his birthday.

 It was a great concert with Mr. Costelllo spotlighting how well his voice has aged, and how remarkable a pianist Mr. Nieve is.

 Here is the setlist.

 Deportee

 Home is Anywhere You Hang Your Head

 When I Was Cruel No. 2 / Dancing Queen(ABBA cover)

 Less Than Zero

 Motel Matches

 Harpies Bizarre

 Shot With His Own Gun

 Alibi

 American Gangster Time

 Shabby Doll

 Brilliant Mistake

 Dio, Come Ti Amo / Almost Blue

 Clubland / Ghostown(The Specials cover/How Insensitive(Antonio Carlos Jobim cover)

 (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea

 Happy Birthday To You

 The Long Honeymoon

 I Still Have That Other Girl

 She

 Isabelle In Tears

 Alison

 Come The Meantimes

 I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down

 (What's So Funny "Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding

 

                                           

                                           

                                            

In Memoriam- Marianne Faithfull

                                                            Rest in Peace
 

Light of Day 25 - Count Basie Theatre 1/18/2025

  The Light of Day annual concert series celebrated its 25th anniversary with a series of concerts raising awareness and funds in its ongoing fight against Parkinson's Disease.

  The Light if Day concert started as a birthday party for founder Bob Benjamin 25 years ago at the Downtown Cafe in Red Bank. The event has grown to a series of concerts and other events around the world. The main event is titled Bob's Birthday Bash, and for the last few years has been held at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank. 

  Many of the artists this year play pretty much every year, or have played in previous concerts for Light of Day. 

  Remember Jones opened the show and served at MC for the evening. The centerpiece of the show was the return of Jesse Malin who gave an incredibly moving 45 minute performance, which featured a guest appearance from long time Light of Day performer Bruce Springsteen. Jesse suffered a spinal stroke less than 2 years ago, and this was only his third performance since then. 

   The format was the same as past shows, a "main stage" band/artist would perform, and then an acoustic act would do a couple songs while the next band set up. 

    This years show ran incredibly smoothly, and may have been the best overall mix of bands I can remember seeing at the Light of Day show. 

    A great night for a more than worthy cause, and one that hopefully will be non existent one day. 

    Here is the setlist: 

 Remember Jones

  Everyday is a Winding Road(Sheryl Crow cover) w/snippet of Ease on Down the Road from The Wiz

  Tranquilizer

   Let Em' Look

   Viola

   It's All Over Now Baby Blue(Bob Dylan cover)

Mark Johnson

  Amusement Park

  New York City Rain

  My Girlfriend(Doesn't Like The Ramones)

The Weeklings

  I Want You Again

  All The Cash In The World

  Joy(Apollo 100 cover)w/Snippet of Bohemian Rhapsody

  Mona Lisa

SONiA

 Only You & Only Me

 All My Heart

Joe D'Urso & Stone Caravan

 Let It Go

 It's Been a Long Time(Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes cover) w/Jim Babjek & Tony Pallagrosi

 Noisy Guitars w/Williams Honor & Bobby Mahoney

Adam Ezra

 Hallelujah(Leonard Cohen cover)

Brian Fallon w/Pete Steinkopf & Brian Baker

 St. Marks Sunset(Jesse Malin cover)

 TKO(Jesse Malin cover)

 I Won't Back Down(Tom Petty cover)

Miss Emily

 Hold Back The Rain

 My Freedom w/Danny Clinch

Jesse Malin

 Room 113

 Oh Sheena

 If I Should Fall From Grace With God(Pogues cover)

 Turn Up The Mains

 She Don't Love Me Now

 Death Star

 Broken Radio w/Bruce Springsteen

 State of the Art

 Sway(Rolling Stones cover)

 Wendy

  Meet Me At The End Of The World

  You Know It's Dark When Atheists Start To Pray

 Rudie Can't Fail(The Clash cover)

Williams Honor w/Bobby Mahoney

  Signs

  Whole Lotta Love(Led Zeppelin cover)

Dramarama

 It's Only Money

 Gotta Get Up

 Last Cigarette

Fantastic Cat

 The Hammer and The Nail

 Later On

 C'Mon Armageddon

Willie Nile

 Forever Wild

 Children of Paradise

 One Guitar w/Bruce Springsteen & James Maddock

Joe D'Urso, Williams Honor, James Maddock, Rob Dye & Bobby Mahoney

 Hold On

Johnny Rzeznik

 Slide

 Here Is Gone

 Black Balloon

 Sympathy

 Name

 Broadway

 Iris

James Maddock

 Keep Your Dream

 When The Sun's Out

 Lavender Blue

Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers w/Jeff Kazee

 This Is Who We Are

Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers w/Bruce Springsteen & Jeff Kazee

 Never Be Enough Time

 Darkness On The Edge Of Town

 Promised Land

 Savin' Up

 Pumping Iron w/Danny Clinch

 Pink Cadillac w/Danny Clinch

All

 Light of Day/Happy Birthday

 Thunder Road

Remember Jones

The Weeklings

Joe D'Urso w/Jim Babjek & Tony Pallagrossi

Brian Fallon w/Pete Steinkopf & Brian Baker

Jesse Malin

Jesse Malin & Bruce Springsteen

Dramarama

Fantastic Cat

Willie Nile w/Bruce Springsteen & James Maddock

Johnny Rzeznik

Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers w/Bruce Springsteen

Jeff Kazee, Bruce Springsteen & Joe Grushecky

Finale