![]() Blowing for all he’s worth, he turns “I Could Hurt You,” “Jus’ Can’t Stop Me,” “One Last Kiss” and his raging signature tune, “Whammer Jammer” into hell yes hellraisers. And Magic Dick is simply a rock harp god. Solos on “Give It To Me,” “Sanctuary” and “Where Did Our Love Go” being proof. J Geils himself is riding a train that will be frequently absent on their music of the future but on this night, his fingers are flamethrowers and only proves he is one the underrated gems of the 70’s guitar heroes, never being fully acknowledged for what he could do. This is not the band’s fiery best (1977 comes to mind), as they seem a little held back, perhaps by show and time restrictions, and that animalist freedom to just tear it up is missing.īut that shouldn’t deter you from adding this to your collection. The audience loves these guys and calls them back for two encores. The stage setting itself is minimalistic in embellishments and the lighting is decent but dark in places. The show itself is highlighted by Magic Dick’s wailing on the harmonica, Wolf’s sparkle-suited shimmying and jive talk, Stephen Bladd and Danny Klein’s rhythm section, J Geils smoking guitar solos and Seth Justman’s pre-perky keyboards. ![]() This is Sanctuary and Bloodshot and The Morning After “Give It To Me,” “One Last Kiss” and “I Could Hurt You.” This is the J Geils you gravitate to after weening off Freeze Frame. This is the J Geils Band that showcased notes and chords and stage presence, hallelujahs and Lord have mercys before love started stinking and raging in cages and angels in blue. ![]() This is the J Geils Band that stirred up a good old-fashioned Soul Revue that left sweat on the floor. That J Geils Band was still two years away. ![]() But let’s get one thing straight: if you are looking for Peter Wolf dancing around a classroom full of negligeed beauties or the band throwing paint on each other in a white room, you’re going to be disappointed. Released this month as a CD/DVD package titled The J Geils Band House Party: Live In Germany, Eagle Rock Entertainment again brings forth yet another doozy from their bottomless treasure chest of audiovisual music. The weather was changing and the J Geils Band was about to start transitioning towards a lighter sound, culminating in “Centerfold” and “Freeze Frame” superstardom.īut in 1979, they were still whammer jammers and a German TV programme called Rockpalast captured them in their sweaty glory. This was not your 70’s ponytailed bumblegum pop that Andy Gibb, Leif Garrett and the Village People had been serving up since the advent of John Travolta’s white suited disco. Their harmonica player, Magic Dick, was the star musician in their ensemble. They were a rock band heavily leaning on barroom blues, R&B and the soul of James Brown. On that cusp was also a Boston band named after their leader, guitarist J Geils. AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, Tom Petty, The Clash, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, and even Michael Jackson, were burning up the charts with recordings that would eventually be considered classics. 1979 was such a great year for music, as bands were bursting out with landmark albums to end one decade and welcome a new one.
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