Review: Smithereens a Smash at Colonial
 www.officialsmithereens.com
Smithereens band members Jim Babjak, left, Dennis Diken, Pat Dinizo and Severo Jomacion. |
Since their inception in 1980, the Smithereens have been recording great music; they are one of those bands you either know and love or never have heard of before. There is no in-between because they cannot be classified as mainstream any longer, although they were as close as it gets in the '80s when they scored some hits. No doubt when they first arrived on the scene they were classified as rock or alternative rock, but I learned last Friday (Jan. 22) that they are much more than that.
Before this entertaining band took the Colonial's stage, their New Jersey friends The Grip Weeds opened up for them. When we arrived at the venue and checked out the merch tables I instantly recognized The Grip Weeds' name and remembered doing a review of (now remastered) "The Sounds In You" album. My review, while brief and a reflection of someone who had been writing for less than a year, was rather flattering, suggesting that stardom was not too far around the corner for this band, though they never did reach those grand heights. They play '60s psychedelic revival music and essentially that is where they are locked into right now. They do what they do very well and gave us a nice warmup for the main event. Notably the drummer, Kurt Reil, is a fantastic performer with a terrific voice.
What totally caught me off guard with was the scope and breadth of The Smithereens' presentation. The band — Pat Dinizo (guitar, lead vocals), Dennis Diken (drums, backing vocals), Jim Babjak (lead guitar, harmony vocals), Severo "The Thrilla From Manilla" Jornacion (bass) — recently released a Who cover album "The Smithereens Play Tommy," which I figured was going to be part of the show. The album was released after the successful B-sides "The Beatles/ Meet The Smithereens." I recently picked up "The Smithereens Play Tommy" and was extremely impressed with the quality of the tracks and production.
There is a story behind the Who cover CD. Dinzio and Diken first met in 1971 during their freshman year of high school, and Dinzio had a picture of the Who on one of his books. He had no idea who they were until Diken turned him on to their music. As they say, the rest is history, and here we are today in 2010 experiencing a music time machine unfolding. This isn't just another band paying tribute to their heroes; it’s a great achievement that every band member should be proud of.
We were all in for quite a treat Friday and were totally unaware of what the Smithereens were going to do. I was thinking the focus of the show was the cover tunes, based on the advertisement from the Colonial. That ended up being only part of over two hours of nonstop rock music.
The night kicked into high gear quickly and then segued into four straight songs before Dinizo started telling us that this was the 20th anniversary of the album "11" and they were going to play the album in its entirety. They kicked off with the instantly recognizable hit "A Girl Like You" followed by the rest of the nine tracks from the album. While "11" is not the best album from their catalog it was enjoyable to hear them play from start to finish, and it’s a unique thing to experience in a live setting.
The Smithereens are dynamic performers, and all but Jornacion are original members after 30 years. Leader Dinizo is very warm and invites plenty of audience participation. At one point Jornacio and Babjak came out on either side of the floor and continued to play while interacting with the crowd. Jornacion sat down right in front of me and started chatting with the man sitting there; we were all laughing and having a great time.
After finishing up the "11" album the band reached into their entire catalog and proceeded to play a ton of songs including two of my favorites, "Behind The Wall of Sleep" and "Blood and Roses" from their debut album "Especially For You." I was amazed how many songs this band tore through, barley taking a breather in between. Dinizo offered plenty of commentary and comic relief for us during this evening and was masterful at working the crowd. The entire band has marvelous stage presence. Diken is a phenomenal rock drummer, one of the best I have ever seen, and Babjak is a solid lead guitarist. He isn't flashy or complex, just rock-solid, leading the way with some hot licks supported by Jornacion's thumping, and at times predominant, bass lines.
By the time they made their way through their own songs it was The Who and Beatles time. The Beatles covers were good and while presented well and played with skill, just did not sound right in such a hard rock context. It's a matter of taste and personal preference when it comes to covers. The Who material was a different story; it was all excellently played. The crowd certainly appreciated every moment of this segment of the show; in fact they were appreciative all night and deservedly so — this band cranks live and they sure know how to entertain. "Behind Blue Eyes" was a total joy. Dinizo got everyone doing the call and response during the song, and we all knew the words.
By the time the encore rolled around Dinizo grabbed the acoustics (with double pick guards) and gave us some Smithereens unplugged. Again, it was all outstanding. If you ever get a chance to catch this band live DO NOT PASS IT UP. And by the way, they have released several albums in the last four years, so there is no lack of music to choose from.
The Colonial continues to impress with quality entertainment and I hope it never ends. Every time I attend one of its concerts I walk away exhilarated, feeling so blessed to have the privilege to witness these great performances and then to write about it.
Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck provides music reviews to iBerkshires. Read more of his reviews at MuzikReviews.com; for questions or comments on this review, contact him at info@muzikreviews.com.
