Bygone Days Musings:)
I remember The Valley Forge Music Fair, The Chestnut Cabaret,
and The Trocadero as area places to go see music.
This is a picture of the Trocadero in Philadelphia which still
remains in business. The Chestnut Cabaret and Valley Forge Music
Fair are gone.
14 comments:
Locally, how can you forget St. John Terrell's Lambertville Music Circus.
http://www.lambertville-music-circus.org/ They had all kind of acts that played under a circus tent in the 50s & 60s.
Murphy's Chuckwagon showed some rock acts like Galaxies IV which became Alexander Rabbit -- a major area hangout after I left the Navy.
I used to go down to Bryn Mawr to "The Main Point Cabaret." It had rpck and jazz acts. A decent club.
Up in "No Hope" I used to go to "The Canal House" to hear the featured acts. I saw Bernard Pfieffer play four handed piano with Rosalinda DeLeon. How about Rufus Harley playing jazz bagpipes, or Catalyst from Philly?
Sure, I was deeply involved in Richard's Lounge, a 130 seat club in Lakewood. We had dozens of bands that were trying to get their act together. Tequila? I'm told they served there from time to time.
The high temple was to the north. During my entire east coast history, I lived to go to "The Village Vanguard" and pay high cover charges, buy expensive drinks and listen to the absolute best in jazz on the planet! I always stopped there while in uniform headed back to my ship in Providence or Boston and catch at least one set. Sometimes, Max let me in for free.
Monday nights always featured Thad and Mel. All other nights were for the big featured acts. Trane, Dizzy, Miles, McCoy, Elvin, and all the others.
Slowly, my generation of players began to play there. John Abercrombie, Barry Miles, Dave Liebman, I think Richie Cole played there, Sonny Fortune -- I can go on for an hour.
We had great music back in our area. If I hadn't gotten involved in it, I'd have married earlier and probably been a lot richer, but I'm glad it turned out the way it did.
Do any of you remember when they did shows in Columbus Park.. I saw THE FANTASTICS there, and as for shows in Trenton, the original Heritage Days in Mill Hill Park, saw some great shows there, Bobby Rydell, Eartha Kitt, and I taped the entire performance by Ben Vereen and can't not mention the string bands from Philly. Heritage Days were great, ate everything from rattle snake to stuffed cabbage... then those folks who thought they knew what they were doing, moved out of Mill Hill and on to West State St and in affect killed Heritage Days.. such a shame, but as they say, all good things must come to an end...
I remember going to Lamberville Music Circus almost on a weekly schedule. We ( Tom Pass, Paul Carney, Frank Locain,) to name a few, really enjoyed the big names.
We saw the best; Stan Kenton w Pete Candolini shacking high C.
Count Basie, Stan Getze, Dave Brubeck and meny more.
Those were thr days !!!!
Bob,
Remember the time we made our way into the show, bypassing ticket booth of course, and Frank Locane stepped into a darn fire bucket that was in the aisle? Not exactly keeping a low profile...
Tom,
That was typical Frank.
By the way, does anyone remember Tony Mart's down in Somers Point, about 10 miles out of AC. I tended bar there for 5 yrs. in the summer. Great bands from all over the country and Canada. Large Philly croud. Bobby Rydell, Conway Twitty got their start there. 10 circular bars, 15 bartenders, 3 bands a nite, over 2000 drinkers per nite and open 24 hrs a day.
Tonite the movie "Eddie and the Cruisers" is on TV. This was filmed at Tony Marts.
Hey Bob.....sure do....and down the road The Dunes...and The Gables in Margate....played them all at one time or another...if you remember The Gables then you remember the bowling alley they had on the side of the bar. Many great times at Tony's and the Dunes...A friend of mine Kenny Vance (of Jay&the Anericans and Kenny Vance and the Planotones) plays at Jerry Blavatt's Memories Lounge in Somers Point every Memorial Day...will be going down this year.
Saxman,
Remember the Dunes till dawn well. I'd tend bar all nite at Tony Mart's and get great tips from the bartenders waiting to go work at the Dunes later, then go to the Dunes when I was done and tip everything I made back. There a a toilet of a place twix Marts and the Dunes. Changed hands all the time. Somehow I remember the name "Mothers". I'm also sure you remember the Anchorage and Bayshores. On Sunday afternoons we hung out at Maloney's in Margate.
Kenny Vance and the Planotones are great. What a great voice and he still has it after all these yrs. Heard him in concert at the Meadowlands 2-3Yrs. ago and have his album. " SEARCHING FOR AN ECHO"
I remember them all...sunday afternoon gigs where great..had a whole lot of fun...! I first met Vance in the late 60's when my friend Johnny Dicepalo was the drummer for Jay&the Americans...Johnny and I played in Bob Cairo & the Galaxies during our teenage years..all over NJ and Pennsy. Pass' cousin Lou Baldassari played cordovox...When the Americans broke up Kenny formed a group with their keyboard and bassman and Johhny Di and names the group Steely Dan..John cut the first 2 albums with Becker & Fagan then left them because they moved to the West Coast..the rest is history.
I was at that Meadowlands show with Kenny....was going to sit in with my horn, but contractual things kept that from happening. I take my horn to every show of his we go to...did an Oldies Cruise in 2003 with them Frankie Ford, Duprees, Larry Chance&the Earls..what a jammin' trip!!
Hey Bob....remember this:
THROUGH THESE DOORS PASS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRLS IN THE WORLD!
Check-out this Blog..you'll love it:
http://athepoint.blogspot.com/2008/02/bayshores-flashback-they-shook-rafter
s.html
Saxman,
Not able to pull up the website. Don't know what I'm screwing up.
I know the sign ( through these door pass ------). Blocking which joint this sign was over.
Msybe you remember Freddie, he was ubiquitous at Mart"s and tended bar at the Anchorage. He was a character, his entire life was rooted in the great times at Somers Point.
Unbelievably great women, Unbelievably great times,
DID I MENTION THE WOMEN!!
Saxman, keep in touch, sound like we have alot in common.
Saxman,
rhreck@optonline.net
Bob
Saxman,
Got the job at Somers Pt. via Donnie Devlin (teacher at THS). Now there's a whole story by it self.
Bob
the l-ville music circus site on Music Mountain is now occupied by yuppies in McMansions.
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