JOHN CAVANAUGH
Bruce Springsteen performs “Thunder Road” at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Jan. 18. He is joined by Light of Day founder Bob Benjamin, at bottom left, Light of Day Foundation president Joe D’Urso, at far right, and others.
Towards the end of the Light of Day WinterFest concert at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Jan. 18, Bruce Springsteen was joined onstage by Light of Day founder Bob Benjamin and virtually all of the evening’s performers. “You’ve done an incredible thing, these past 25 years,” Springsteen said. “It’s hard to believe it was 25 years ago, Bobby.”
Someone mentioned that the first Light of Day concert, in 2000, was at The Stone Pony. “The first gig was at the Pony!” Springsteen said. “Oh, man! How the hell are we all still here?”
Most of the show’s performers, indeed, have been regular Light of Day participants for some or all of that quarter century. And this includes shows that have taken place all over the world — raising millions of dollars for the fight against Parkinson’s Disease and related disorders — as well as the annual New Jersey festival.
Needless to say, there have been a lot of great Light of Day concerts over that time span. But this one zooms right to the top of the list, or at least near it.
First of all, of course, there was the unbilled appearance by Springsteen, who has been off the road for nearly two months but seemed ready to get right back on it. (He has never been officially confirmed, ahead of time, for a Light of Day concert, though he has shown up, now, at 13 of them.)
He took the stage for the first time, this night, to duet with Jesse Malin on “Broken Radio” — a song they recorded together for Malin’s 2007 Glitter in the Gutter album — and he soon returned to perform the always rousing “One Guitar” with Willie Nile, Nile’s band and James Maddock.
JOHN CAVANAUGH
Joe Grushecky and Bruce Springsteen perform at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Jan. 18.
Joe Grushecky & the Houserockers kicked off their show-closing set on their own, with “This Is Who We Are.” But Springsteen joined them for the rest of it, including loose, playful versions of “Pink Cadillac” and “Savin’ Up” — the latter saw him preaching to the crowd about love, and dancing at the lip of the stage — as well as trademark tunes “Darkness on the Edge of Town” and “The Promised Land,” and epic versions of Grushecky’s “Pumping Iron” (with an extended segment featuring Springsteen playing guitar riffs that guest Danny Clinch duplicated on harmonica) and “Never Be Enough Time.”
“Now I wrote this song, kind of as a joke,” said Springsteen before “Pink Cadillac.” “That’s why I don’t play it. But we’ll play it tonight.”
The Houserockers were joined, for most of the set, by Southside Johnny & the the Asbury Jukes keyboardist Jeff Kazee. Particularly on “Darkness” and “The Promised Land,” his piano and organ playing was essential, really helping to make these numbers sound true to the E Street Band template.
The show, which had begun at 6:30 p.m., ended, around 12:20 a.m., with “Light of Day,” and then “Thunder Road.” The latter featured just Springsteen’s acoustic guitar and harmonica, instrumentally, but was buoyed by most of those onstage, and in the audience, singing along.
Even without Springsteen, though, it would have been an exceptional show.
JOHN CAVANAUGH
Jesse Malin performs at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, on Jan. 18.
Malin has been an enthusiastic Light of Day supporter for most of the festival’s history. He had to miss last year’s show, after suffering a spinal stroke in 2023 that left him partially paralyzed. But he was back onstage for this one, making just his third concert appearance since the stroke (the first two took place at The Beacon Theatre in New York in December). And he sounded as good as ever.
“It’s my big tour; I made it out of Manhattan,” he joked.
He played an extended set, with 13 songs, including gems from his own catalog (“Wendy,” “She Don’t Love Me Now,” “Meet Me at the End of the World Again”) and covers of The Clash’s “Rudie Can’t Fail,” The Rolling Stones’ “Sway” and The Pogues’ “If I Should Fall From Grace With God.”
He is unable to walk unless he uses a walker, and though he sat throughout most of the set, at two points, he grabbed his microphone stand and pulled himself up so that he could stand while singing. It’s a sight I’m sure I will never forget.
Also on this busy night … Brian Fallon of The Gaslight Anthem formed something of a supergroup with Pete Steinkopf of The Bouncing Souls on guitar, and Brian Baker of Bad Religion on bass. They opened their brief set with two Malin songs (“St. Mark’s Sunset” and “TKO”) before closing with Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.”
JOHN CAVANAUGH
John Rzeznik performs at The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank, Jan. 18.
John Rzeznik of The Goo Goo Dolls performed solo, backing himself on acoustic guitar on his band’s megahits (“Name,” “Iris,” “Slide”) and some smaller ones as well. Even without a band behind him, he had no problem connecting with the crowd via his big voice and laidback charisma.
Except for Rzeznik, all the solo and “unplugged” performers played short sets between the band performances. These included Adam Ezra, who turned in a wrenching version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (dedicated to a friend who had just died); Williams Honor, who played their new single “Signs” as well as a rowdy cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”; and Fantastic Cat, performing as quintet featuring guitars, bass and accordion.
In honor of Southside Johnny’s recent announcement that he is retiring from touring, Joe D’urso & Stone Caravan played a cover of the sentimental ode to enduring friendship, “It’s Been a Long Time” (written by Stevie Van Zandt and recorded by Van Zandt, Southside and Springsteen); Tony Pallagrosi, an original Asbury Juke as well as Light of Day’s co-founder and executive director, sang backing vocals, and Jim Babjak of The Smithereens added some guitar. Dramarama and The Weeklings also performed band sets, while Maddock (who had the difficult task of playing immediately before the Springsteen/Grushecky set that everyone knew was coming), SONiA, Miss Emily and Marc Jonson were among the acoustic mini-set performers.
Remember Jones opened the show with radically revamped versions of Bob Dylan’s “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” and Sheryl Crow’s “Everyday Is a Winding Road,” as well as originals such as “Tranquilizer” and “Let ‘Em Look.” A new member of the Light of Day board of directors, he also served as the show’s amiable host, throughout the evening.
“I’m so excited about tonight I don’t know where to start,” he gushed, as the show got underway. And, in retrospect, it is easy to understand what he was talking about.
Here is a photo gallery and some videos from the concert:
The Light of Day WinterFest continues through Jan. 25, with more shows in Asbury Park, Red Bank and Montclair. Visit lightofday.org.
CONTRIBUTE TO NJARTS.NET
Since launching in September 2014, NJArts.net, a 501(c)(3) organization, has become one of the most important media outlets for the Garden State arts scene. And it has always offered its content without a subscription fee, or a paywall. Its continued existence depends on support from members of that scene, and the state’s arts lovers. Please consider making a contribution of any amount to NJArts.net via PayPal, or by sending a check made out to NJArts.net to 11 Skytop Terrace, Montclair, NJ 07043.
