2019/10/20 Melvins Seals and JGB with Jennifer Hartswick (Moonalice opened) @ The Stone Pony
On Saturday October 19, 2019, The Stone Pony in Asbury Park,NJ rolled out the welcome mats for Melvin Seals and JGB featuring John Kadlecik and Jennifer Hartswick.
Moonalice, no stranger to the live performance and with a few special guests of their own in tow, opened. After an opening “Last Time,”, Lester Chambers of The Chambers Brothers and his son Dylan joined the band for a cover laden set including “Hard to Handle,” “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay,” and Chambers Brothers classics “Love, Peace, & Happiness,” and “Time Has Come Today.” Jason Crosby shared duties on the keys and B3.
Melvin Seals and JGB took the stage a minute before 9:00 pm and chose “Expressway To Your Heart” for the opening slot. Jennifer Hartswick immediately made her presence felt as she joined Lady Chi on vocals and led with a gorgeous trumpet solo. The Beatles’ “I Saw Her Standing There” followed, along with “Tough Mama,” Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” where Melvin took his only lead vocal of the night, and Jimi Hendrix’ “Hear My Train A Comin’,” a JGB staple which really got the crowd moving, John Kadlecik a force on guitar and vocals.
Up next was a trio of Hartswick-led covers to close the set, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Proud Mary,” Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers To Cross,” and Bob Dylan’s “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Hartswick and Seals spent much of the night wearing wide-eyed smiles and giggling at each other in admiration, the crowd very much in tune to the love-fest happening from their little slice of heaven on stage right. Such a patient, professional, and soulful musician, Hartswick was greeted with a beloved roar every time she stepped forward.
“Second That Emotion” got the much more energetic second set off to a fast start, followed by one of the night’s highlights, “Get Out of My Life Woman,” replete with rousing trumpet and B3 solos along with John-Paul McLean’s only bass solo of the night. As if in a nod to his masterful solo, McLean took the vocal lead for another Beatles cover, “Here Comes The Sun” which transitioned right into a fiery cover of the Meters’ “Hey Pocky Way” with drummer Pete Lavezolli rounding out the vocals for the rhythm section. A soulful “I Shall Be Released” ensued before “Scarlet Begonias” > “Reuben and Cerise” closed the 75-minute set. A triumphant “Deal” filled the encore slot, complete with a roar from the back room where much of the jubilant crowd saw the Yankees tie the Astros with a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th before giving up the same to end the series in the bottom of the inning.
Setlist:
Set One: Expressway To Your Heart, I Saw Her Standing There, Tough Mama, Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, Hear My Train A Comin’, Proud Mary, Many Rivers to Cross, Gotta Serve Somebody.
Set Two: Second That Emotion, Get Out Of My Life Woman, Here Comes The Sun > Hey Pocky Way, I Shall Be Released, Scarlet Begonias > Reuben and Cerise.
Encore: Deal
Editorial addendum:
There may not be two happier musicians than Jennifer Hartswick and Melvin Seals and while Saturday’s musical offerings were abundant to say the least, to include Chris Harford’s Band of Changes playing (presumably for free) with Scott Metzger and Dave Dreiwitz across the street at the Asbury Park Yacht Club, I couldn’t have been happier with my choice. While music serves a whole host of purposes, mostly I just want to dance and be happy. Standing under the broad arc of two of my favorite smiles, soaking up Melvin and Jenn’s giggles just as much as their musical offerings, I felt like I was taken to church from their little slice of heaven on stage right. I was delighted that JH was given room to shine on the setlist just as her name was given room on the marquee. Super fun night full of soul and boogying and soulful boogying. 13,957 steps of joy.
Published on L4LM, https://liveforlivemusic.com/news/stone-pony-melvin-seals-jgb-kadlecik-hartswick/