4th of July, Asbury Park - Part 2
We blew the roof off the old dump, that's for sure. Victory was absolute and no prisoners were taken. The Bobby Bandiera Band blew out every window for miles around, joined by Ed "Kingfish" Mannion on baritone sax and Joey Stann on tenor from the Juke's horn section. Next, LaBamba's Big Band took the stage and sent an earthquake across town that opened up a new inlet from the ocean to Deal Lake. Bobby B. joined LaBamba playing some furious guitar licks. Southside Johnny even showed up as a surprise guest throwing in some great vocals in fever and playing some magnificent blues harp. Mark "The Love Man" Pender jumped out into the audience with his trumpet and led the horn section (14 strong) through the crowd like it was New Orleans during Mardi Gras. John Eddie closed out the festivities on Friday night inside The Pony and good feelings prevailed all around. On Saturday Gary U.S. Bonds rocked the house opening for Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes who kicked ass and took names. For the finale, Gary took the stage with Southside for a rousing rendition of Sam Cooke's "We're Havin' a Party." The curfew was violated, but no cop would dare give Southside any trouble in his town. Afterward I got to talk to the great Joey Stann, the master of the tenor sax. Me and the missus even got a picture with him.
The weekend was tinged with a note of saddness however. The day before the big weekend it was announced that the owner of the Stone Pony, Domenic Santana, has agreed to sell the club to developers, who say they'll keep the building where it is and fix it up. Santana once said waterfront developers would get control of the club "over my dead body" after they threatened to demolish the building. "I'm in a no-win situation," Santana said. "I can't be throwing rocks in progress' way and fighting the developers. They have big pockets for legal bills."
Under the sale agreement, developers could still tear down the building or use the name for new club elsewhere in the city. But officials with Asbury Partners, a company overseeing a $1.2 billion makeover of the city's decrepit waterfront, now say they plan to renovate the building, add a new dance floor and keep it where it is. Asbury Partners Chief Operating Officer Larry Fishman said he had no plans to demolish or move the Stone Pony, but the club's supporters are not convinced. "I'm not optimistic," said Don Stine, who co-chaired the Save the Stone Pony Committee. "I feel the building is obviously threatened." Like Southside said last night, "take a look around, we're all dinosaurs."
Unfortunately it looks like a piece of rock & roll history is going to be leaving us forever. If you get the chance come see it before it's gone.
File under La Vida Loca.
