I’m sure there have been articles written about Southside Johnny or the Stone Pony that have not mentioned Bruce Springsteen but this will not be one of them. To some Southside Johnny is distinct for not being Springsteen, that other guy the E Street Band played with.
Sure he made it, but never eclipsed the long shadow of that other Asbury kid who made good. Not that it’s a competition—and while Bruce has ascended to rock ‘n’ roll sainthood, he is not the only one with a seemingly ceaseless touring schedule.
It would be hard to imagine Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes not performing as the Stone Pony celebrates its 40th anniversary this summer. Both survived a serious downswing in the 1990’s. For Johnny it saw a relocation to Nashville to take some time off while some of the Jukes joined the Max Weinberg 7 on Conan O’Brien’s show. For the Pony, it seemed certain to meet the business end of a wrecking ball. That it was spared can be thanked, in part to crusading veterans of the scene like the man born John Lyon.
As the millennium dawned, both mounted a comeback—the Stone Pony got a new coat of paint and an endorsement from the governor. Southside Johnny began an annual tour of Europe and started his own record label.
Today if you follow Cookman Avenue a block or so west you’ll see the plastic sheen of condos sprouting up. There’s a tucked-in sports bar vibe where there used to be dives and taverns, however it would be hard to imagine this influencing whether the Stone Pony celebrates a 50th—and who knows, maybe Southside Johnny will still be doing his thing and playing the Summer Stage for it.
But for now you have August 2nd, to catch a group of local rock ‘n’ roll animals who’ve been all over the world come back to Asbury Park to play their home base.
The line up also features John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band. This is a make-up show from July 3rd. All tickets from that show will be honored. Gates at 5pm. For more info go to www.stoneponyonline.com.
