In The Field: SouthSide Johnny And The Asbury Jukes Labor Day Bash

This post first appeared on Backstreets.com under the title Let’s Try This Again

There’s no better way to spend the 4^th of July in Asbury Park than watching Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes rock The Stone Pony Summer Stage under warm New Jersey skies.

Well, that was the plan two months ago, anyway.

But Mother Nature had other plans. On this past 4^th of July, rain and high winds were called for all day long.

The band, and the Stone Pony, had to make a decision about the show that night. So, around 2 p.m., the gig was canceled and reschedule for September 4 – Labor Day Weekend.

Canceled, too, were the fireworks planned for the city that night.

Then a funny thing happened on the way too Little Eden….

The wind and rain never came! It ended up being a beautiful 4^th of July night in New Jersey.

Fast-forward two months – and this time everything went off beautifully.

A warm New Jersey Sunday turned into a splendid, breezy Asbury Park night with Southside and 3,000 of the bands closest friends rockin’ the summer away.

To get one of these…never gets old

Wearing his familiar US Soccer ringer tee shirt and faded jeans, Southside kicked it into full gear right off the bat, opening with Better Days.

From there, he and his band – along with some special guests – would launch into 24 more songs for a truly exceptional set list.

Whether he was chatting with the crowd, playing his harmonica, or mugging with band leader Jeff Kazee, Johnny seemed to be enjoying the evening and the Stone Pony crowd.

Bandleader Jeff Kazee

And yes, special guests, there were a few: Bobby Bandiera (guitar on Without Love); vocalist Layonne Holmes (vocals on Be My Baby); Jim Mastro (guitar on I Don’t Want To Go Home); Joe Bellia (drums on Another Saturday Night); Ian Gray (trombone on We’re Having A Party)

So, while everyone had to wait a couple of months, the wait was worth it!