Dave's Smithereens Page
Dave's Smithereens Page
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The Smithereens at the Shark Bar. Morristown, NJ 6/13/03 by Joel Keller
Hey, Everyone! Grab a wad of singles and leave your wives at home…. The Smithereens are playing at Double D's!
Seriously, when this show, held at Morristown, NJ's finest "adult entertainment complex", was announced, the imagery that came to mind was quite amusing. Look, there's Mike Mesaros twirling on a pole while playing his bass. Ooh, and I can see Jimmy Babjak out there on the bar with his 12-string Rickenbacker, dancing with a thong-clad "audience member". And Dennis Diken's over there getting a neck rub from behind his drum set! Of course, there's Pat DiNizio in the middle of it all… man, has he got a lot of money sticking out of his belt!
It was all too much for this writer to contemplate without having root beer spew out of his nose. Fortunately, none of this came to pass, because Double D's rock club, artfully dubbed "The Shark Bar", was situated in a separate room from the gentlemen's club, and, save for a DJ who became increasingly irritating as the night wore on, bore all the characteristics of your standard Jersey rock venue.
Of course, one of those standard hallmarks was the Jersey rock crowd. It is certainly a different crowd than one would see knocking back newly-hip bad beers like PBR at the Mercury Lounge or Bowery Ballroom. In fact, the crowd had a refreshing lack of irony to it; people wore kitschy t-shirts, sports jerseys, or mullets because they liked to, not because they liked making fun of those who do. The down-to-earth nature of the crowd shone through in its enthusiasm for the evening's two opening acts, The Connections and Danny Nova. It's a crowd that folks like Jim, Pat, Dennis, and Mike feed on, making the potential for a high-energy, sweat-drenched performance quite high.
The Smithereens took the stage at around midnight and immediately launched into "Miles From Nowhere", a more recent tune (actually not that recent anymore - it came out nine years ago!) that supplanted the opener from the last few years, "Only A Memory", which the boys played second. The entire set was a much tighter affair than in past years, flowing from song to song without a lot of between-song tuning and stage patter. This meshed well with the aforementioned enthusiastic crowd, and as the pace of the show remained upbeat, they stayed with the quartet, their cheers getting louder as each song played out.
The setlist itself was quite a bit different than those of past shows. Apparently, the band had decided awhile ago to play shows somewhat by the seat of their pants, with Pat choosing songs as the night went along. The strategy seemed to work, because the freshness and unpredictability of the set showed in the faces of the four members, who looked like they were having fun playing now that they were freed from the burden of being a human "Smithereens Greatest Hits" mix tape. The improvised set was a boon for the fans, too, because it gave them a chance to hear some songs live for the first time. Heartfelt renderings of "Especially for You", "Deep Black", and "I Don't Want to Lose You" were greatly appreciated by the die-hards who had been coming to shows for years and could recite the song list almost by heart.
Another significant change was made: Jim broke out his 12-string Rickenbacker to play the newest song in the set, "I Believe" from 2000's God Save The Smithereens. As anyone who's listened to a Byrds song can attest, the Rickenbacker has a unique sound that adds layers and subtlety to a song, a sound that was right at home on the mid-tempo and emotional tribute to living life to its fullest. Unfortunately, the 12-string only made a one-song appearance, as Babjak returned to his traditional six-string for the popular ballad "Cigarette".
The set came to a rollicking close with the hits "Blood and Roses" and "A Girl Like You" (another surprise, since the former ended the regular set and the latter ended the encore in past shows). During both songs, the solos abounded; Jimmy, Mike, and Dennis all had their time in the spotlight and used their time well. Even equipment failures didn't slow them down: after Pat broke a string on his acoustic during the last song, he handed the guitar to a roadie and finished out the set in full frontman mode, shuffling in tune, dancing with a female audience member on stage, and generally encouraging the crowd to cheer louder and louder. Naturally, the audience responded to his entreaties, bringing the regular set to a crescendo of guitar, bass, drums, and cheers.
Of course, after the regular set ended, the crowd wanted more. As they cheered for an encore, the irritating DJ decided, for some strange reason, that the crowd was not loud enough. So, in his best DJ-esque voice he bellowed, "C'mon folks, you know you want more… give it up for The Smithereens!" His presence was quite jarring at a rock show, and he probably did more to quiet the crowd than encourage it. When the band remounted the stage to play its encore, the DJ decided to state the obvious: "they're back… The Smithereens!" Gee, thanks, Mr. DJ. Go back to talking to Shot Girl and leave the rock fans alone…
Anyway, the bonus set consisted of a jam of the Batman theme and the Milk Cow Blues, where Mike and Jim took turns singing. The encore closed with one of the band's more up-tempo songs, "Time And Time Again", which was a perfect way to frenzy-up the crowd after the chaotic but fun blues jam.
When the house lights went up at 1:30 AM, good sense and Morristown city ordinances dictated that it was time to go home. No one, however, was disappointed. They got a night of entertainment that beat watching scantily-clad women slide down poles by a country mile. They also got to save their singles for the Monday soda machine run at work.
Gee, a night of music and money in your pocket? Sounds like a Friday night well spent.
Set list:
Miles From Nowhere
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