Tonight: Gary U.S. Bonds FREE Show (Photos) in Weehawken to Open Series

Gary U.S. Bonds kicks off Weehawken's free summer concerts tonight.

I know this is late notice, but if you're in the Weehawken/Hoboken area tonight, you might want to check out the free concert by the legendary Gary U.S. Bonds at 7 p.m. on the Hudson River waterfront. (The band Finish This opens the show at 6 p.m.) (UPDATE: See photos from the Gary U.S. Bonds show below.)

This is the first show of the annual Hudson Riverfront Performing Arts Center series, with most shows held on Wednesday nights at 7 p.m. The shows are held in Lincoln Harbor Park (directions), which is just a few blocks from the Lincoln Tunnel. (If you look east you'll see the stage, and the Hudson; look to the west and you'll see the underside of the Lincoln Tunnel helix.)

I'm definitely heading out to this show.

The rest of the HRPAC summer concert series in Weehawken:

• Wed., July 20, 7 p.m.: Paquito and Friends (Latin jazz great Paquito D'Rivera)
  
• Wed., Aug. 10, 7 p.m.: Fusion Tango (musicians and dancers from Argentina)
  
• Mon., Aug. 29, 7 p.m.: Broadway on the Hudson (performing the hits of the golden age of Broadway)
  
• Sun., Sept. 18, 2 p.m.: Hudson River West Folk Festival (established and emerging singer-songwriters)

There are fewer shows this summer than I recall from past years, but considering how the economy has pummeled government budgets, it's good to see this series is still happening.

Photos from the Gary U.S. Bonds Weehawken show:

Gary U.S. Bonds with guitarist Mark Leimbach.

All in the family: Bonds with (most of) his band, including the backup singers Laurie Anderson (his daughter) and Laurie Anderson (his wife).

Bonds and Leimbach, assisted by a couple of young fans.

The Wailin' Jennys Craft Beautiful Harmonies in Weehawken

Heather Masse, Nicky Mehta, and Ruth Moody of the Wailin' Jennys




The free annual summer music festival in Weehawken, New Jersey wrapped up for the year not with a bang, but with the lovely harmonies of the Wailin' Jennys. The acclaimed female trio played their brand of folk/pop/traditional tunes with the Manhattan skyline in the background, and showed why they have developed a loyal following in their native Canada and in the U.S., despite a few personnel changes.

The Wailin' Jennys have been together for over six years, with Ruth Moody being one of the original members. The latest addition is Heather Masse, an American now living in Brooklyn. (Moody and the third member, Nicky Mehta, are from Winnipeg, Manitoba.)

The band performed mostly their own compositions, but also did some worthy covers, including "Deeper Well" by Emmylou Harris and fellow Canadian Neil Young's "Old Man." You can hear some of their songs at the Wailin' Jennys MySpace page.

This is at least the second season of the free concerts in Weehawken at Lincoln Harbor, part of the Hudson River Performing Arts Center series. Kudos to Bruce Sherman and all the members of the HRPAC team and the Township of Weekhawken for continuing to put on these great shows in a gorgeous location.

Rockin' in Weehawken: NJ's Smithereens Play the Waterfront

Jim Babjak, Pat DiNizio, and Derek "Toledo Tornado" Anderson of The Smithereens in Weekhawken

After 28 years, The Smithereens are still rocking, and sounding good, and were in fine form Wednesday night at a concert in their home state of New Jersey. Playing in a park just steps from the Hudson River, and in the shadow of the Lincoln Tunnel, Pat DiNizio and company played a solid hour and a half set that was spirited and very much appreciated by the audience.

The Smithereens got serious airplay on the old progressive rock station WNEW-FM, which bit the dust long ago. DiNizio remarked at one point that while WNEW is long gone, his band is now played on the "classic rock" stations.

The band played many of its hits from its various albums, from "Blood and Roses" to "Only a Memory" and "House We Used to Live In," as well as a number of Beatles covers that the band did on their album "Meet the Smithereens." Being a weeknight concert, the audience thinned out a bit as the clock approached 9 p.m., but the majority of the crowd that stayed was rewarded by a lengthy encore set by the band.

Bruce Springsteen isn't the only Jersey rocker from the '80s that's still out there rocking hard.

Jonatha Brooke Rocks Weehawken Waterfront

Though it's accurate to call Jonatha Brooke a singer-songwriter, the term doesn't really do justice to her. Though she usually plays acoustic guitar on stage, she can rock out (and often does) on her CDs and especially in her concert appearances, as with her free performance on the Weehawken, New Jersey waterfront Wednesday night.

Brooke became known in the 1980s as part of the acclaimed folk-pop duo The Story (with Jennifer Kimball), which featured innovative variations on the tradition pop song. Brooke has been forging her own solo career over the course of more than a half-dozen albums. She puts on a great show, especially with her tight four-piece band. Catch her on tour if you can.... here is her upcoming schedule of U.S. gigs (all dates, including European shows, can be found at her Web site (above):

The Stephen Talkhouse / Amagansett, NY
08/02/2007, 8:00 PM / Band

Ridgefield Playhouse / Ridgefield, CT
08/03/2007, 8:00 PM / Band

Foy Hall - Moravian College / Bethlehem, PA
08/04/2007 / Solo

Copley Square / Boston, MA
08/16/2007, 5:00 PM / FREE!

U. Of Hartford, Millard Auditorium / Hartford, CT
09/07/2007, 7:30pm

Belcourt Theater / Nashville, TN
10/26/2007, 8:00 PM / Band

Varsity Theater / Minneapolis, MN
10/27/2007, 7:00 PM / Solo

The Tangier Cabaret / Akron, OH
11/03/2007, 9:00 PM / Solo

Lyric Theatre / Stuart, FL
11/04/2007, 8:00 PM / Solo

Tampa Bay Peforming Arts Center / Tampa, FL
11/05/2007, 7:30PM

Sellersville Theater 1894 / Sellersville, PA
11/10/2007, 8:00 PM

Rams Head / Annapolis, MD
11/14/2007, 8:00 PM

Barns at Wolftrap / Vienna, VA
11/15/2007, 8:00 PM

Rubin Museum of Art / New York, NY
11/16/2007, 'Naked Soul' acoustic un-amplified series

Tupelo Music Hall / Londonderry , NH
11/17/2007, 7:00 PM & 9:15 PM / Solo

Stone Mountain Arts Center / Brownfield, ME
11/18/2007, 8:00 PM / Solo