| (Asbury Park - July 11) - The ghosts of the old Upstage club must
still be haunting Cookman Avenue because the musical vibes are alive
and well in the downtown area. As the oceanfront prepares itself for
a massive redevelopment, the downtown district has slowly been
picking up new restaurants, shops, and art galleries. One of the
most interesting places to visit is John Cavanaugh's rock and roll
gallery, which presented its first in a series of Asbury Storyteller
shows last Friday. Maybe Pete was the first band to take part in
the series, which is modeled after "VH-1's Storytellers" show. The
band, based in the Rutherford area, has developed a good following
in the Asbury Park area through shows at the Saint and Stone Pony
clubs. The Storyteller show gave fans of the band a chance to see
and hear the band in a very intimate space.
Although the night started out a bit rough with people delayed in
arriving due to traffic on the Garden State Parkway, once the show
began everything just fell into place. After introducing himself and
explaining his goal for the Storyteller series, Cavanaugh brought
the band out for some questions. The crowd, comprised of fans,
friends and family members helped bring out some interesting stories
of how the songs were created, some memorable (and not so memorable)
bar exploits and general memories of Asbury Park's early days.
Highlights included Tony Amato (Boccigalupe & the Bad Boys)
telling Frankie McGrath of Maybe Pete to turn down his guitar
because it was way too loud on the opening number. Immediately after
telling him to turn it down, Tony's cellphone rang. Kelly McGrath
(Frankie's wife and bandmate) replied, "turn your cellphone down"
without missing a beat.
Another time Marc Gambino of Maybe Pete was talking about how his
former band, Concrete Jungle, was a "hair band". Frankie looked up
at Marc's bald head and asked, "why'd you break up?"
After a round of questions, the band played for about an hour.
Each song was introduced by a brief story told by Frankie. As the
set moved on, the band appeared to get more comfortable with the
setting and the format. By the time they played, "Ours For the
Taking" it was clear that this was a special night. And if there
were any doubts, all were erased by the band's cover of Bruce
Springsteen's "Racing In The Street."
Shows in the Asbury Storyteller series are usually present on
Friday or Saturday nights starting at 8pm. If advance ticket sales
are good enough to warrant a second show, the band will play again
at 10pm. Maybe Pete was close to selling out both shows and was a
great way to begin the series. Be sure to check out future shows
featuring such bands as Steel Pier Sinners, Sonny Kenn and Vini
Lopez, and Jason Shain. Additional shows will be added throughout
the summer. |
