Concert Review: Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes @ The Egg, 05/05/2023

Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes warmed an enthusiastic but disappointingly sparse crowd at The Egg Friday night at the Hart Theatre with a spirited, if at times rather ragged 90-minute set.

The Jukes were formed in 1975, but only vocalist Southside Johnny, or John Lyon as his mother named him, remains from the original lineup. A lineup that rotated members regularly over the years. In fact, more than a hundred to date! The band’s first three albums were seminal in the creation of the “New Jersey” or “Jersey shore sound,” a tough horn driven good time party all, night blend of blues, Motown, and rock and roll. It didn’t hurt that those three albums were produced and arranged by Lyon’s longtime friend Steven Van Zandt (aka Little Steven), who also provided the bulk of the original material. Van Zandt even managed the band initially. Another acquaintance and touring buddy from the area, a certain Bruce Springsteen, also donated some terrific songs (“The Fever” and “Talk to Me” for example) and co-wrote more with Van Zandt. Both Springsteen and Van Zandt regularly appeared on their albums throughout the Jukes career.

The Jukes still deliver. After some sound issues at the beginning, they soon locked into a boozy bar band groove, following the instructions barked at them by their leader, which could be a bit haphazard. Lyon called the songs, constantly veering away from the setlist pinned to the stage, taking requests from the crowd and mixing it up. I swear they actually played “Keys to the Highway” twice! Lyon always had a whisky soaked “five packs a day” kind of voice, and now at 75, the ravages of time are audible. He strained on the high notes (he should drop “Walk away Rene” from the set) and wandered off-key at times, but the crowd didn’t seem to mind. It was Friday night, and they were going to party as if they were at The Stone Pony in the seventies. Hey, that’s the power of rock & roll.

The horn section, Chris Anderson – on trumpet, John Isley – on sax, and Neil Pawley on trombone, were tight and punchy. Jeff Kazee played some excellent piano and organ and also helped Lyon out on the vocals, contributing harmonies and the occasional lead. This incarnation of The Jukes was rounded out by Glenn Alexander – on guitar, John Conte on bass, and drummer Tom “Goose” Seguso – all solid players.

The night ended inevitably with “I Don’t Want to Go Home,” which brought the audience to their feet and singing along. They stayed there for the encore, a fiery version of “Got to Be a Better Way Home.”

 I hope they all found it after their virtual trip to the Jersey shore provided by the unstoppable Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes.

Setlist:

• One More Night to Rock
• Passion Street
• Happy
• You Mean So Much to Me
• Broke Down Piece of Man
• Keys to the Highway
• Love on the Wrong Side of Town
• Lead Me On
• Ride the Night Away
• Walk Away Renee
• This Time Baby’s Gone for Good
• Expressway to Your Heart
• No Easy Way Down
• Keys to the Highway
• Talk To Me
• Angel Eyes
• I’ve Been Working Too Hard
• Without Love
• The Fever
• I Don’t Want to Go Home

Encore:

• Got to be a Better Way Home