This past Saturday saw the 50's and 60's come alive when the Rock This Town Orchestra took over the stage at The Lizzie Rose Music Room in Tuckerton, New Jersey. Known at this room for their wild Christmas Show, they finally gave this South Jersey audience a taste of their regular show. Being my first time at The Lizzie Rose Music Room, I was shocked at how intimate the space really was. My first thought was that the audience was going to blasted down to Smithville with the speakers being so up close and personal. Kudos to the sound guy for not only maintaining the clarity of the sound but mixing the band so that the music didn't overpower the vocals.
The band consisted of a brass section of three musicians, drums, upright bass and guitar. Everyone on stage appeared to be having as much fun as the audience. The band was fronted by Anthony Bambino (guitar) and Eugene Chrysler (bass). Not only did they trade off on some of the vocal duties, they possessed great chemistry on stage.
The performance was high energy and took the audience back in time to the rockabilly and swing revivals. The only obstacle that kept the audience from dancing to "Zoot Suit Riot," "La Bamba" and "Rock This Town" was the tightness of the seating area! It has been years since I watched the movie "La Bamba" but I ended up checking it out again the next day after Anthony's ringing endorsement of the film. While the place was sold out, you couldn't tell the capacity was smaller than many other venues by the crowd's enthusiasm for "Gene and Eddie."
Not only was this night a great introduction to a fun venue but it was also an introduction to another band for me to check out again! Come on, those riffs were coming from a fellow Bronx boy!
