The summer sounds of jet skis whizzing by the shore, of churning bicycle cranks, popcorn popping, and the growing chatter of crowds pouring in preceded the Summer Sounds by the Bay headliner for August 3, The Large Flowerheads.
Every town in the country seems to boast some kind of “music in the park” series, but not every town has a full-blown amphitheater like that at 6th Street-DiDomenico Park, or a city government that goes out of its way to book bands with the kind of talent that has rocked Bayonne every Wednesday at 7 p.m. It started with the Marty Big Hoff Band on July 6 and will cap off on August 24 with a highly anticipated performance by The Nerds.
Pete Amadeo, Supervisor of Recreation for Bayonne and lead organizer of the series, got onstage to introduce the headliner on Wednesday, but before doing so, joked to the crowd to keep an eye on the dance moves of Councilman-at-large Juan Perez, who stood on the sidelines, waving and executing a quick jig; attendees applauded. He then acknowledged one vendor, Tereza, who is known at the concerts affectionately as “the hot dog lady.” Her dogs were very tasty and only $2.50.
Rock n’ roll and oldies
This is the second year the Allentown-based band, The Large Flowerheads, have played at Summer Sounds, and its ninth year together as a band. They opened the night with “A Hard Day’s Night,” and continued through a whole lineup of hits from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Its covers were played to perfection, with well-known hits from Tom Jones, Fleetwood Mac, and The Human Beinz, among many others. Band members were switching out instruments and trading off vocals, feeding off energy from the crowd, which was clapping and dancing throughout.
At one point, Moe Jerant, was on both drums and vocals, and at another, soloing on electric guitar at the front of the stage. “The biggest challenge is getting to the next instrument fast enough,” Jerant said. “It’s like a fire drill, so that you don’t lose the energy that’s going on in the house.”
Said lead guitarist, Greg Geist: “The people are very warm here, very welcoming. We had a great time last year. We were really looking forward to coming back, and based on the reactions of the first set, it was warranted to want to come back.” Smiling, he said how great it was to see everyone in the crowd singing along. That’s the point of performing rock classics—everyone knows them. “We just try to get people to forget their troubles for an hour or two,” he said.
Positive reception
Diane Sondy was in a group dancing in front of the stage. “It’s great,” she said. “I was here last year, and this band is particularly outstanding. I’m glad they came back.” The crowd lucked out on Wednesday night with some of the most comfortable weather in recent weeks—a high of 80 degrees during the day with low humidity. “It’s really a beautiful night,” Sondy said. “I’ve been to all the concerts so far and each week grew more and more. We’re getting a lot more people this year.”
“I love it,” said Councilman Perez, who missed only one concert due to a long council meeting. “It’s great for the people of Bayonne to enjoy this, enjoy the weather, and break the monotony of the summer.” Perez says he hopes for a Latin band next year.
Amadeo said that people have been showing up earlier and staying later, an indication of the success of the concerts. The city provides blue folding chairs, but lately they’ve been running out. “I think more people are starting to realize we’re having these concerts down at the park because a lot of people weren’t aware,” he said.
Organizing the series can be challenging. “It’s tough to narrow it down to eight performances,” Amadeo said. “And we always try to do what’s best for the crowd. They always have a blast.”
Rory Pasquariello may be reached at roryp@hudsonreporter.com.