November 24, 2007-Saturday

P.D.’s Pub: Pittsburgh, Pa.

Da joint was packed from da git. “Lazybones”, “Nightclub”, “Till the Cows Come Home”, Amo, Saf, Gator and Carmine was all in da house representing da ole neighborhood. We banged out “Stiller Nation” towards the end of the first set, applause, applause, applause.  As always, we sent “Poor Little Rich Kid” out to Frankie. We also did a short but sweet “Bobby Joe’s Wedding Day” for Bobby Joe.  Harry sang the P*ss outta “Pot’s n’ Pans” and it was swang’in, yea it was swang’in. “Burnin Up” came outta the box with smoke on it. A moving version of “Weekend” kicked off set three. Donny Dread got up on stage with us to sing “Mustang Sally” and “My Girl”. This guy has a great voice and a smooth delivery. Check out his band sometime, The Freedom Band. Young Katie Ramone sang “Dead Flowers” with a bunch a’ heart. “Smoke Two Joints” was a big crowd pleaser. Whitey was banging real good; this inspired the dork boy to great heights on the guitar.

November 23, 2007-Friday

Moondogs: Blawnox, Pa.

A revived version of the ole Pittsburgh band Torn n’ Frayed, Five Star Dive opened the show with a one hour set of new tunes. Their new drummer did a nice job. Guitar player Daryl, has picked up some new licks and sounded great. Bass player Rocky LaMonde was solid as a rock. The vocal harmonies between Mark and Vinny haven’t lost their charm. A job well done. Vinny played guitar with us for our two hour set. “Nightclub”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Ready Freddy”, “I Seen Too Much”, “Who Dat Do Dat”, a strong version of “When God Took Paul” rocked da joint. “Graceland” and “Rich Kid” both came off extremely well tonight. Vinny sang “You Better Move On” and got a bunch of applause. Whitey Cooper got some folks dancing with “Shama Lama Ding Dong”. Chuck Koler kept the momentum going with a nice take of the ole Elvis classic “Teddy Bear”. Katie Ramone sang “Dead Flowers” for the first time, it came off well. I jumped all over Chuck Berry’s “Round n’ Round” a special request for “Ole Number 21” calmed things down. “I Shall Be Released” washed away our sins.

November 21, 2007- Wednesday

Bill’s Place: Austintown, Ohio

This, our second show at Bill’s, was a definite upgrade. I think we had a more musical crowd this time around. “Lazybones”, “Boilermaker”, we did a great version of “White Trash Tragedy” early in the first set. Ole buddy, Cornel Bogdan gave us an incredible intro before each set; this added a certain wildness to the eve, which I appreciated. I like a guy who can throw some bullcrap around. Not a ton of dancers, but enough to keep it rock’in. Club owner Frank, got up with us and sang “Johnny B. Goode”. I sang high harmony the first half of the tune and then sang the low part the second half of the tune, don’t know why. Folks got into “Amazin Grace” in a big way, don’t know why. Set three kicked wit “Shackin Up” and “Hoochie Mama” tonight’s DJ Billy, was doing some dirty dancing to the lewd rhythm of this trashy music. “Weekend” pleased the gods with its passion; do know why, because it was right as rain, man.

November 17, 2007- Saturday

Excuses: Pittsburgh, Pa.

We’ve been playing Excuses for almost twenty years now, ain’t dat something. The amazing thing about it is, the number of special and magical shows that we’ve been a part of in those, almost twenty years. This was, once again a special and magical show. “Bulldog”, “Somethin’s Cookin”,  “Yesterday’s Gone”, “People Takin Care”, there seemed to be a few folks in the house that hadn’t seen us play before. “The Older I Get”, a special request for “Easy Money” and “When I Die And Go To Hell”. We closed out the first set with a medley of “Ring of Fire” and “Help Me Make It Thru The Night”. The second half kicked off with a crushing “Weekend”. Young Katie Ramone got on stage to sing “Little Things”. I promised her the last time she sang that song with us that the next time we did it, I would put her in a better key. The new, slightly higher key, gave her a good edge, she sounded great. Ole buddy, and former Lou Reed drummer, Lenny Ferrari was in the house so,  he jumped on drums while Whitey sang “Shama Lama Ding Dong” and “Testify”. “Burn’in Up” was the final thought. I give thanks, for special and magical nights. 

November 15, 2007- Thursday

Nita’s Pint: Chester, West Virginia

We always enjoy the opening act slot on a John Eddy show. I got a chance to tune up with ole friend PK Lavengood, out in the van before the show. I also hung with rock legend bass player Kenny Aaronson and introduced him to a star struck Vinny Q. This evening also gave me the opportunity to talk with John about “Low Life”, his song that Kid Rock just included on his new CD. How cool. Our set jumped out with “Night club”, it felt good having Vinny on guitar for this short set. “Rock n’ Roll City” got me talkin loud. “Reddy Freddy”, this ole simple tune still feels good. An expressive “Weekend” woke up the joint. “I Seen Too Much”, this number gave the folks the impression that we meant bidnit. Wow! Here comes a lush and warm “Rich Kid” rising to a fever pitch. Wow! “Graceland”, pourin off da stage like hot lava. A menacing “Burn’in Up” said all there was to say. We banged out “Money maker” as we said our hasty goodnights. Hey John, “they’re all yours”…

November 10, 2007-Saturday

Pizon’s: Uniontown, Pa.

“Bulldog”, “Nightclub”, “Rock n’ Roll City”, “Ready Freddy”, lots of folks in attendance who used to see the Tigers, back in the 80’s. Vinny Q joined with us tonight on guitar, he did a great job. “Shackin’ Up”, “High Times”, “Love Dog”, Vinny sang “You Better Move On”. People really got into it, he should do more lead vocals. Set two opened up with “T-Bird” with Vinny playing the lead, he smoked it. “Amazin Grace” gave me a chance to rip some slide, as did an unusually slow take on “You Go Your Way”. We banged out a couple cover tunes “Let It Bleed” and “Help Me Make It Thru the Night” that both hit the mark. Set three kicked with “That Girl” and “Nothin to Lose” by dis time everybody was rockin, love it. A few of my old friends brought their kids out to see the show, passing it on to the next generation. How cool it is to be a part of that. “Graceland” was a late night standout. We did “Steeler Nation” as an encore because a mess of these late night rockers was planning on gitting up early and going to the Steeler game in the morning. Both Whitey and Harry played their *sses off all night, which gave me and Vinny a chance to shred some serious guitar mayhem. Love you long time.

November 3, 2007- Saturday

Scottdale Fireman’s Club: Scottdale, Pa

It had been a couple years since we played da Fireman’s Club, why did we wait so long?  Whitey did not feel well but he came to play anyway. “Lazybones”, “Till The Cows Come Home”, “White Trash Tragedy”, The older couple that ruled the dance floor in the first set was precious. We played “The Older I Get” for the first time in years tonight, why did we wait so long? New song, “Hoochie Mama” felt great. Harry got a big ovation when he sang “King of the Road”, Boxcar Willy would have been proud. Bossman Jeff requested “Burn’in Up”; sometimes I forget how good it feels to play that song. We had a few folks out on the dance floor although I wanted more. That’s just like me, always wanting more. Look for us back at da Fireman’s club sometime dis winter. “Smoke Two Joints”, “Lovedog”, and “That Girl” dominated the last set. We snuck “Son Of A Gun” in and it pleased me greatly.