July 2011 News

by Francesca McCaffery; Photo: Jenny Belin

If there was ever an iconic performer that makes you want to pick up your old guitar, put an ad on Craigslist, and throw your very first band together, (even if you ain't twenty-two no more!) JOAN JETT is it. I mean it. Seriously, I went to this show with some good friends on July 14th for the free Seaside Summer Concert Series at Coney Island, looking to have a pretty good time. What I did NOT expect was to get fucking BLOWN-AWAY.

Holy cow, this show was beyond-belief. Jett, former founder of the RUNAWAYS and lead singer of her band JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS, proves that she is still truly an icon, can absolutely rock you, and is so sexy, at 52, you will probably want to kill yourself. (And hit the gym extra hard, form a band, and buy a nice, tight black leather catsuit, all at once!)

Never have I seen a performer embrace a large audience right in the very palm of their little hands, even with the sort of smallish sound system and tiny stage at the Seaside Festival. JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS overcame this, blasting out hit after hit, as well some very nice surprises (ÒAndrogynousÓ by the Replacements! ÒI Wanna Be Your DogÓ by the Stooges!). I swear to God, she is a genuinely hypnotizing performing, even glimpsed from yards and yards away, projected on large video screens so the worshipful audience could grab any glimpse that they possibly could.

Opening up strong with ÒBad ReputationÓ and ÒCherry BombÓ (first recorded with the RUNAWAYS), Jett and the BLACKHEARTS did not once let their tight hold on the crowd up, racing and igniting themselves and the audience through a nearly twenty sweaty song set, that included some nice new songs, the old favorites. I have always loved this band, and Jett and her band plays a show that doesn't so much soak you in fond reminiscences, but actually makes you thrilled that yes, you actually DID have pretty decent taste in music for a kid, right-on. The BLACKHEARTS are lead guitarist DOUGIE NEEDLES, THOMMY PRICE on drums, and producer, long-time collaborator and keyboardist/percussionist- KENNY LAGUNA.)

Girl in A Coma (signed to Jett's very own BLACKHEART RECORDS) nicely opened up the show, but, alas, the punchy crowd was still filing in. The lead singer is compelling enough though, the riffs were great, and they pounded a few really thrashy and fun, do-wop-py tunes. Hats off to Brooklyn borough President Marty Markowitz, who is making sure this Seaside Summer Concert Series continues long and strong, for many years to come. (Look out-Cheap Trick is coming to Coney Island, for FREE, on August 18th- omg!) Hop on the sweaty F train, grab a dog at Nathan's, for God's sake, and brave the very brief, chatty wait-in-line. (Wasn't that terrible. Really.)

JOAN JETT - Coney Island - July 14th, 2011
Bad Reputation
Cherry Bomb
Light of Day
Do You Wanna Touch Me?
Androgynous
Go Home
Drive Me Wild
Fetish
French Song
Love Is Pain
I Love Playing With Fire
Naked
I Wanna Be Your Dog
I Love Rock-n-Roll
Crimson & Clover
I Hate Myself For Loving You

Encore:
AC/DC
I'm Everyday People

by Vinny

JOAN JETT Rocks The Coney Island Boardwalk

Last night there was magic by the seashore as New York's own JOAN JETT rocked the stage in Coney Island. This was the third time I have seen Joan perform live and it seems like she gets better with every show. I first saw Joan four years ago on the Hudson River pier where the opening act "The Dollyrots" won me over as a fan before Joan rocked that stage.

This time on the bill were another stablemate of BLACKHEART RECORDS "Girl in a Coma" who had an electric set of cool songs which reminded me a lot of what it would look like if Alanis Morissette and Jimi Hendrix had a love child. I mean this in the best possible way, they were great.

They played what seemed like a long set but no one cared the least as it was a great warm-up for Joan's fans. This was the first concert in this new makeshift arena so it got off to a little late start as it took the organizers a while to get everyone into their seats which was a waste of time since Blackheart fans don't use them anyway.

The Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz did an ok job as the host but thanking people for sponsoring the show got to be a little boring but he was mostly stalling for time in between acts. Marty and his crew did a great job securing a spot for concerts on the shore since they were forced to vacate the other area they had. I arrived around 7 o'clock for the 7:30 show, picked up a cheese dog from Nathans for the 5 block walk to the concert. The line was about 3 blocks long and they had already started letting people in. As the line moved they were announcing that if anyone without a chair wanted to spend $5 for a seat they could move over to the left and go in sooner I jumped on the chance. Next thing I knew I was sitting in a cool area to the left of the stage in about row 20. I was surrounded by die-hard Blackheart fans so I was in good company.

What was strange about the set-up was the VIP area which was for sponsors and such. I don't think anyone in these seats knew what they were in for. They seemed to be ready for some mild versions of Joan's "Crimson and Clover" and "I Love Rock and Roll" but what they got was not expected. It was hot, sexy and sweaty versions of those songs and every other song Joan let us have. Starting with Bad Reputation and then rattling off some other sexy songs had the people in the VIP section running. I thought it was funny as I was expecting it after I saw who was sitting there before the show.

Then it was time for a Runaway Song as she ripped through "Cherry Bomb" with its usual flair of fans singing along. Having people with Brooklyn accents singing Cherry bomb all at the same time was quite interesting but fun. You could tell it was going to be a fun night. Joan was just getting the crowd ready for some more singing as she and the BLACKHEARTS ripped through "Light of Day", "Touch Me", "Love is Pain" and then it was time for "I love Rock n Roll" and "Crimson and Clover" where people that were not familiar with Joan's songs could sing along.

Steamy Set List By The Seashore

by Kate Dingle, photo by Christina Mendenhall / rhythmscene.com

There aren't very many artists who can visit the same general area three times in one year and still sell tickets. Tuesday night, JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS did just that when they stopped by the Seminole Hard Rock.

Although the arena had had a quarter of its seats curtained off, the available seats were still nearly full to witness the rock-and-roll legend. However, this time around (as opposed to her two prior performances in South Florida), many more seats were filled with moms who were accompanying their daughters to their first "real" concert. Jett must have had picked up on the younger demographic of the crowd because the ever so rough around the edges rocker seemed a bit more censored this time.

But just because some of the raunch was noticeably absent from Jett's act doesn't mean that the performance rocked any less. Jett and her BLACKHEARTS gave the crowd of nearly three thousand exactly what they wanted.

The hour-and-a-half set was packed to the gills with everything from the RUNAWAYS' biggest hits and the BLACKHEARTS tracks that everyone seems to love and that never get old. And the louder the crowd got as the performers egged them on, the more Jett would let her voice rip through every single soul in the building.

Set highlights included: "Naked", "Fetish", "Cherry Bomb", "I Hate Myself For Loving You", "A.C.D.C", "I Love Rock N' Roll", "Do You Wanna Touch Me", and "Crimson and Clover".

Although there was no opening act, it's clear that JOAN JETT doesn't need any help getting a crowd fired up. Jett's voice is better than ever, and with the BLACKHEARTS behind her they are an unstoppable force. As long as she keeps playing, moms for years to come will continue to take their daughters to her shows for their first "real" concerts. And a JOAN JETT show is by far not a bad first show. Not bad at all.

by Rorie Oliver, photo by Darren Hall

JOAN JETT, one of our reigning queens of rock 'n' roll and one of only two women on Rolling Stone's list of 100 greatest guitar players of all time, rocked a full house at Thunder Valley Casino Saturday night.

Jett, accompanied by her band The BLACKHEARTS, proved that she still has the energy and free-spirited wild-child persona she adopted during her early days as a guitarist in her first band, The RUNAWAYS.

Jett donned her signature black shaggy hair, dark eye makeup, a black tank top and Converse as she paraded around the stage, clapping her hands and encouraging the crowd to throw their hands up and sing along. Joining her on stage was lead guitarist DOUGIE NEEDLES, drummer Tommy Price and bassist Enzo Penizzotto.

The ground-level VIP area was filled with die-hards crushed against the stage, mesmerized by Jett's every move. The VIP seated area was much more relaxed.

"All of these seats are taken," Sandy Johnson claimed. ÒOur girls are out getting us some cocktails!" Johnson said she and her 12 girlfriends have been following Jett since their teens.