J Geils Band
Mohegan Sun
Uncasville, Connecticut
December 31, 2010
Tony Pijar
Nowadays it’s rare that the J Geils Band plays out. Perennial chart toppers in the 1970s and early 80s, the band called it quits a long time ago, but will occasionally reform and play a few select gigs. Apparently, the Mohegan Sun’s public relations director has long-standing ties with the band and asked if they would play the arena for a special New Year’s Eve show, which the band thankfully obliged.
Peter Wolf, vocalist, still has the chops and is a whirling dervish onstage, and his in-between song raps are gloriously hip and funny. J Geils still plays a mean blues and R&B guitar and can rip it up when called upon to do so (just check out his solo in “Ain’t Nothin but a House Party”). It was refreshing to hear him play the old Geils standards after long forays into the blues and jazz arena. And Seth Justman, the band’s main musical composer throughout the years, is still an exemplary keyboardist. Wolf led the band through almost three hours of classic material including “First I Look at the Purse”, “Sno-Cone”, a ripping version of “Truck Driven’ Man”, and the incomparable Magic Dick’s harp solo that led into the killer instrumental “Whammer Jammer.” Of course, the like of “Detroit Breakdown”, “Ain’t Nothin’ but a House Party”, “Freeze Frame”, “Centerfold”, “Love Stinks”, and “Must’ve got Lost” scored the most applause.
It’s sad that the band do not play out much and really aren’t even together as an entity. A night out with the J Geils Band is truly a wondrous experience. Besides The Stompers, Southside Johnny, and maybe Springsteen, there aren’t any bands playing raucous R&B with a rock flavor anymore. Concert of the year in 2009!