The Return of The Rascals

The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, New York: Two Nights On Another Planet (Thursday and Saturday) December 2012

It took all of 40 plus years to put the bullshit behind them. But with the help of some friends America's Best Rock Ensemble of the 1960's returned to the stage for six glorious nights. The Rascals, our hit makers and the social consciousness for a generation reunited and it seems the four members, albeit a bit aged, were musically no less for the wear.

Billed as a "bio-concert" a full screen caught your attention as the curtains parted. Up on the screen is a little girl digging to Once Upon A Dream and then we see Ed Sullivan in all his TV splendor announcing "Ladies and gentlemen....The Rascals". Boom, the band immediately launched into "IT'S WONDERFUL" followed closely by "LONELY TOO LONG" and "WHAT IS THE REASON". Right there I had my money's worth, every thing else would be gravy. "YOU BETTER RUN", "CARRY ME BACK", followed by a segment explaining their early Rascals days at Ondine's and The Barge leading into "SLOW DOWN", "MICKEY'S MONKEY/ LOVE LIGHTS" medley. Too much.

 

"COME ON UP","BABY LET'S WAIT" and "TOO MANY FISH IN THE SEA", now we are cooking, the crowd is whipped into a frenzy. "IF YOU KNEW", "HOLD ON" and a vignette with actors portraying the band in it's formative years being offer a tune and the real guys lead into "AIN'T GONNA EAT OUT MY HEART ANYMORE". A moment later "GOOD LOVIN", and I'm thinking where do we go from here.
No breaks, no intermission, hey this is rock and roll man, suck it up.The guitar kicks in, Dino follows on drums, OH MY...."LOVE IS A BEAUTIFUL THING", then congas and Gene on harmonica have us "GROOVIN". The extended Hammond B-3 chord brings us to "DO YOU FEEL IT" with Gene killing on rhythm and lead, Felix holding the organ notes one handed while waving his other hand in the air asking us to have some fun. Eddie clapping two tambourines together, and Dino being Dino,this is Amazing.

"AWAY AND AWAY"  then bells, congas and Felix exclaiming to behold, "IT'S A BEAUTIFUL MORNING". I was sensing this might be coming to an end soon, but how wrong can one man be. A bit more video and Gene straps on an acoustic guitar leading us into "SUENO", back to electric for a psychedelic intro complete with a light show as Eddie asks us to "FIND SOMEBODY",  as the piano introduces..."A GIRL LIKE YOU". Hey there is a theme here. More extended images on the screen, more piano, congas and horns, "IT'S LOVE". It's Eddie turn and Felix's piano licks bring on "HOW CAN I BE SURE". I thought the place was crazy before, now it is definitely lifting off into outer space. A true STANDING OVATION followed by a bit more history on the screen and not just the band's history. Rather the history of Our Generation, "PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE", they have us now, clapping, dancing, singing; the building is shaking, "HEAVEN", "A RAY OF HOPE" and reprise of "PEOPLE GOT TO BE FREE". I actually have tears in my eyes as the band introduces the players. Waiting over 40 years was well worth it. But "one more"...."SEE"... Love is really everywhere, to see it is to fly .jazzbus@gmail.com.

 

 

NEMO

Now they name all storms: hurricanes, Nor'easters, typhoons, blizzards, etc.  So this one called Nemo was planning on coming to town only a few weeks after we got hammered by Hurricane Sandy. Still reeling in the unbelievable destruction Sandy did, followed a few days later by a Nor'easter with some snow, after dealing with insurance companies, private adjusters, public officials, contractors, subcontractors, town building permits, LIPA, cell phone and Internet providers, gas lines, gas shortages, odd/ even days, lack of telephone poles to restore lines, major stores not having generators, no replacement heating units, and shit spewed all over the place covered with mold...yea...we needed Nemo. "C'mon Nemo, you little bastard, give us what you got, your best shot, go ahead".

The weathermen/woman (PC-?) predict up to 24- 36 inches; some say 5-10, others hoping it blows away, still others say "run for your lives- this will be one for the record book". And weather people who get it wrong still keep their jobs???
So late Friday afternoon I ventured out to bring my granddaughter  home as she was ill and did not go to school. At the start of the sojourn the sky was clouding and it was raining lightly. Sunrise Highway was a bit crowded with cars, and lines were forming at the gas stations. Turning off Sunrise to Rt 231 was like heading into another dimension. Sleet was softly pounding my windshield and the wipers started to work overtime. The merge to Commack Road was slippery and I was getting nervous as it took 20 minutes to get to this point from turning off Sunrise.

After dropping off my granddaughter I headed back home, traveling south on the same road. Deer Park Avenue/RT.231 was now a mess with cars traveling a few feet and stopping. The roads were slush. Half an hour to Sunrisethen  heading west for home. Sunrise was moving at a brisk pace and by Town Hall traffic was great. The point is Deer Park was hit and we weren't, yet. The radio Dj said "Commack has two inches already". What? Good ole Copiague just had rain, still.
Now, what to do? It is Friday late afternoon and my traditional get together with friends for Diet  Cokes is pending. Hmmmm. I decline and decide to stay home. And then it started.


Nemo, one for the record books or as one person interviewed so eloquently stated "it's the most I have seen in my lifetime". Geez, good for you. You are only 17 years of age.

The TV news guy is traveling on the LIE assessing the situation and informing us to "stay off the roads. Only emergency vehicles are to be out". HELLO, Are you, Mr. TV-man, an Emergency Vehicle? No, so get off the road.

So Nemo arrives late Friday afternoon to the fanfare he/she so rightfully deserves and lays about 2 feet plus a few inches on us before leaving with the sunrise of Saturday morn. My coffee is brewing, with no paper on the lawn to help me get my thoughts in order, I sit gazing out the window seeing a sea of white. Yet off to my left is a beautiful cardinal sitting on a perch looking at my now empty bird feeder. Time to get to work.

If Sandy taught us something it is to be prepared for the worst. A tough lesson to be learned but I did adhere to its premise. I fired up my recent purchase of a 6 forward speed/two reverse double stage snow blower (with an electric start). Time to dig out. Jazzbus@gmail.com