The stage of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) — Newark’s glittering gem of a concert venue — is ready and waiting on June 25, 2016, for the first of two “Up Close and Personal” concerts by the star of TV’s The Partridge Family — 1970s teen heartthrob, David Cassidy.
A psychedelic art pattern decorates the stage backdrop at NJPAC’s intimate Victoria Theater and a golden cymbal on the drum kit is illuminated as the crowd of mainly female baby boomers arrive to take their seats for the first performance of the day, a 3pm matinee.
Cheers erupt as the lights dim and Cassidy makes his entrance, smiling and grinning at the crowd, soloing mightily on his guitar. Segueing into one of his classic Partridge Family hits, “C’mon Get Happy,” the impromptu “cheering section” in the front row takes its cue and happily goes to work excitedly shouting in support of their favorite former teen idol.
After a rousing version of that well-known theme song from The Partridge Family, Cassidy — who spent his formative years raised by his grandparents in West Orange, NJ — takes a moment to explain to the enthusiastic crowd, “I got a lot of ‘welcome homes’ today!” He also goes on to provide a shout-out to several of his West Orange grammar school friends who came to cheer him on at NJPAC in nearby Newark.
Informing the audience that he recorded the first track for his first big record, The Partridge Family Album, when he was “still 19-years old,” Cassidy inspires the cheering section and the rest of the audience to ratchet up the excitement for his next tune — the 1970 album cut, “I Can Feel Your Heartbeat.”
Moving on to another cut from The Partridge Family Album — an LP which, in 1970, catapulted to #4 on the U.S. Billboard album chart — Cassidy performs a song that, he explains, “the late, great Tony Romeo,” wrote specifically for him, “Point Me in the Direction of Albuquerque.”
Following tremendous applause, Cassidy exclaims, “I’m home now, right? I love you all!,” to which an excited fan gleefully screams out, “I love you more.” After a brief moment, Cassidy looks over and unabashedly replies, “Believe it or not — it’s possible to love you more.”
Cassidy tells the audience that after his grammar school days in West Orange, he moved to New York and later went on to attend high school in California. After graduation, he moved back to New York City and got a job in a company mailroom for — as he explains — “$38.30 per week,” and also wryly laments, “but after taking the train to work, I only cleared $16.”
Upon being accepted for an acting job, on the way to his first professional rehearsal, Cassidy relates hearing Deep Purple’s song, “Hush,” being played. And as if to channel the spirit of that incredible feeling of excitement at NJPAC, he goes on to perform a rip-roaring version of the song backed up by his uber-talented bandmates — Dave Robicheau on guitar, Jim Buck on drums, Frank Fabio on bass, and Craig J Snider on keyboards — to the delight of the cheering afternoon throng at NJPAC’s Victoria Theater.
Afterwards, Cassidy tells the audience how much their reaction means to him “emotionally” saying, “such memories are serious and wonderful — thank you for bringing me this gift.”
Segueing into another Partridge Family hit, 1971’s “I’ll Meet You Halfway,” Cassidy seems genuinely amused when a gigantic poster of his own youthful smiling face pops up out of the audience from its female owner’s cradling arms as she joyfully dances in her seat with her prized image.
Next up is Cassidy’s tribute to The Monkees’ Davy Jones. Encouraging everyone in the house to join him on “Daydream Believer,” the cheering section stands with their arms overhead swaying while the rest of the audience erupts in song on the “Cheer up, Sleepy Jean” chorus in memory of another of their favorite teen idols.
Introducing “I’m A Believer,” Cassidy tells the audience that, in 1967, The Monkees were bigger than The Beatles, going on to add, “and NO ONE was bigger than The Beatles.”
“You were!,” exclaims an excited audience member, to Cassidy’s amusement.
After introducing all the members of his talented group of musicians, Cassidy reveals to his fans that being onstage and making music is time he truly treasures, explaining to them that it’s all about “the magic you get to create” and informing them that, for him, “it’s being IN it, that makes it.”
Taking their cue from their hero, the divine sisterhood of fans in the house helps Cassidy to create some live music magic as they join him in singing his 1971 Partridge Family hit, “I Woke Up in Love This Morning.”
As the band segues into the final song of the afternoon, members of the passionate crowd rush the stage holding up items including an original issue of Life magazine featuring Cassidy on the cover, a Partridge Family lunchbox, a calendar (which — right in the middle of the song — Cassidy comments on being very rare, exclaiming “THIS is from Holland!”), and more. Illustrating how music can have such a long-lasting effect on young listeners, these somehow now-older audience members smile from ear to ear as they bring their prized momentos as close as they can to the stage to share with their longtime favorite pop superstar.
And just what song might Cassidy have to share with these devoted fans? A blockbuster rendition of his #1 selling single of 1970 — The Partridge Family’s “I Think I Love You.”
With a second show to follow, there is no encore, but Cassidy’s fans are not dismayed. Exiting the theater, one comments, “He did a great job and is a great musician; he still has his voice and energy,” and another adds, “He’s very sincere.” Likewise, a pair of female baby boomers go on to recall that, as youngsters, they frequently “played Partridge Family,” and despite the fact they were girls, each “took turns playing David Cassidy.”
Perhaps, most poignant of all, however, is a comment made by one middle-aged admirer who makes it a point to say how much she now understands the significance of David Cassidy and The Partridge Family on her early childhood development when she wistfully acknowledges, “his family was my family,” clearly her way of graciously telling David, “I Think I Love You.”
For more on David Cassidy, please go to davidcassidy.com. For more on additional great concert programming at NJPAC — notably Bonnie Raitt on Aug. 13, 2016 and Styx on Sept. 22, 2016 — please go to njpac.org.
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