Southside Johnny with Bruce Springsteen - The Fever (Cleveland Agora Club 1978)

Bruce Springsteen rocking out some tunes with Southside Johnny at the Stone Pony, Asbury Park NJ, 9/13/77
via www.alookatthelocalscene.com

The epicenter of Asbury Park music in the late 1960s and early ’70s was The Upstage — the free-spirited club on the third floor of 702 Cookman Avenue where Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny, Steven Van Zandt and a generation of Shore musicians jammed long after “last call” closed the rest of the town. Now, nearly 40 years later, the new owner of building plans to bring back the music — and has run into a local buzz saw. Owner Richard Yorkowitz wants to reopen The Upstage, with live music on the second and third floors. That is at odds with an Asbury Park ordinance prohibiting live music above ground level. Yorkowitz has promised to soundproof the building, an expensive offer that so far has failed to sway some of the city’s newer business owners, who contend that now is the time for Asbury Park to move beyond its musical past. “The Upstage holds a unique place in American musical history,” says Joe Petillo, who used to play and help manage the club. “It should at least be given a chance to reopen. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.” Much of the original day-glo paintings on the walls and the stage area, Petillo said, are still intact. Both sides get a public airing April 12 before the Asbury Park Planning Commission, which meets at 7 p.m. in City Hall. More information is available on Facebook or by emailing SaveTheUpstage@gmail.com.

via backstreets.com

alexkarmamojo:

Hearts of Stone- Bruce Springsteen

Amazing, although I do prefer Southside Johnny’s by just a touch.