By Danny Coleman
originally published: 02/04/2016

Recapping the final "Best of 2015," one would have to be remiss not to mention "Jethro Tull The Rock Opera." Ian Anderson and crew did a fantastic job at welding together live stage performances with video and lighting unlike anything possibly ever seen before. The intertwining of live lyrics, alternated with recorded verses was done with impeccable timing and precision as Anderson told the story of Jethro Tull from his childhood to the scientist he'd eventually become. Utilizing such classics as "Aqualung," "Songs From the Wood" and "Farm On the Freeway," as well as "Locomotive Breath;" the story was easy to follow and the production was so well done that Anderson deserves multiple accolades to come his way. This particular performance from the Philadelphia Academy of Music was two hours and ten minutes in length and were it not for the 15 minute intermission; would have flowed seamlessly. Bravo to you Mr. Anderson; excellent production, fantastic technical presentation and truly a work of well done art.

Another "Best of 2015" was yet another daring innovative move; however this one was by a local Trenton area musician. Tom Reock's decision to produce a show about local music icon Ernie White at Mercer County Community College's Kelsey Theater was a stroke of genius. Chronicling White's long and successful career on the local and national stages was no easy task but Reock made it work as the two sold out productions coincided with the release of White's new CD "Coming Of Age." Ernie's assorted family members joined the man himself on stage as he reproduced hits both old and new for the throngs of well wishers who packed the theater. Another show which once again used video technology and human dialog to take the audience on a journey through time and through the career of a man that is widely regarded as the best overall guitarist to come out of the Trenton area. Great job Tom Reock by you and your cast and crew; we tip our hats to you as well and very much look forward to your next show.  

Some local shows around the area this weekend of note are: A tribute to Eric Clapton on Friday evening at Havana on Main Street in New Hope, PA featuring Bell Bottom Blues.

The Ernie White Band at The Ivy Tavern on South Broad Street in Hamilton on Saturday beginning at 10 p.m. Three of Ernie's contemporaries are also on the docket on Saturday evening as new venue, O'Connor's American Bar & Grille, located on Monmouth Road in Easthampton, Mount Holly hosts Joe Kramer, Paul Plumeri and Jerry Monk beginning at 9:30 p.m. O'Connor's is now having live music on Fridays and Saturday evenings and early results are showing that it is doing well; so get out and support live music!

That's it for this week! Please continue to support live and original music and until next week....ROCK ON!
 
Amalfi's Restaurant
146 Lawrenceville-Pennington Rd. Lawrenceville
(609) 912-1599
Sat. 8:30 p.m. Gunpowder Falls
Amarones Windsor Inn
29 Church St. Windsor
(609) 448-7144
 Fri. 8 p.m. Rick & Kenny
Sat. 8 p.m. Meg Hanson Group feat. Billy Hill
Blend Bar & Bistro
911 Highway 33, Hamilton
(609) 245-8887
Tues. 8 p.m. Triviajam 
Backstage at Championship Bar 
931 Chambers St. Trenton
Fri. 7 p.m. Triggered Impulse, Wade Wilson, Alright Junior, Bahscumbug with Belly Dancing by Nicole Backlund, Darlene Rossi.  Ages 21+
Sat. 6 p.m. Too Far Gone, Breaklite, Abandon Earth, Kings Without Crowns, The World's Afterparty, D'bkle. All ages, $10
Sun. 4 p.m. Lifeless, Paid In Full, Laid 2 Rest, Iron Price, Departed, Time Spent. All ages, $10/$12
Candlelight Lounge 
24 Passaic St. Trenton
(609) 695-9612
 Sat. 3 p.m. Lee Hogans Trumpet Quartet (No cover-$10 minimum)
Chickie's & Pete's
183 US Highway 130 North Bordentown
(609) 298-9182
Tues. 8 p.m. Acoustic Music Night feat. The Dawgs
Wed. 9 p.m. Quizzo Trivia
Dempster's Pub
437 Pine Street Mount Holly
(609) 261-0500
Thurs. 8:30 p.m. DJ DNIAL
Fri. 9 p.m. DJ Chris
Dog & Bull Brew House
810 Bristol Pike (Rte. 13) Croydon, PA.
(215) 788-2855
Thurs. 8 p.m. Dane Rosenfeld
Fri. (4 p.m.) "Happy Hour Jam" feat.  David Dzubinski Group (9 p.m.) Good Time Folk Rock Show
Sat. (11 a.m.) "Saturday Brunch Jam" feat. David Dzubinski Group (9 p.m.) Mia Johnson
Sun. (11 a.m.) "Sunday Brunch" feat. Dick Gratton (3 p.m.) Pop Fiction
Wed. 8 p.m. Paul Donavan
Fran's Pub
116 S. Main St. New Hope, PA.
(215)862-5539
Mon. 8 p.m. Open Blues Jam
All shows 21+
Glory Days Tavern
1200 Hornberger Ave. Roebling
(609) 499-0896
Fri. 8 p.m. Kevin Toft & The All Stars
Havana New Hope
105 S. Main Street. New Hope, Pa. 
(215) 862-9897
Fri. 8 p.m. "Bell Bottom Blues" Eric Clapton Tribute. Doors 6 p.m., $15
Sat. 8:30 p.m. The Loop
Sun. 1 p.m. Midnight Sun Orchestra
Wed. 8 p.m. Pat Foran and Friends feat. Mike Montrey, Jill Cagney
Hopewell Valley Vineyards
46 Yard Avenue Pennington
(609) 737-4465
Thurs. 6 p.m. "Thurs. Jazz" feat. Jeff Brown Trio
Fri. 6 p.m. Just Us
Sat. (12 p.m.) Opening Reception "Power Of Women" (6 p.m.) Bob Tomlinson
Sun. 2 p.m. "Jazzy Sundays" feat. The Funk Perpetrators
Ivy Tavern 
3108 S. Broad Street, Hamilton
(609) 888-1435
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Fri. 10 p.m. Kindred Spirit
Sat. 10 p.m. The Ernie White Band
All shows 21+
John & Peter's 
96 S. Main Street New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-5981
Thurs. 9 p.m. Brad Staudle
Fri. 9 p.m. Sisters Of Your Sunshine Vapor, The Orange Drop, Atomic Sky
Sat. (3 p.m.) Jason Trzaska (9 p.m.) Billy, The Fletchers, Karen Kuhl
Sun. 6 p.m. Super Bowl
Mon. 9 p.m. Open Mic. Night w/ Justin
Tues. 9 p.m. Matt Setzer
Wed. 9:30 p.m. The Invitational
All shows 21+
JoJo's Tavern
2677 Nottingham Way Hamilton
(609) 586-2678
Wed. 10 p.m. Karaoke
McStews Irish Sports Pub
5316 New Falls Rd Levittown, PA
(215) 949-9570
Thurs. 10:30 p.m. "Beer Pong" w/ DJ Codie
Fri. 10 p.m. "Omnivor Headbang" w/ Release
Sat. 10 p.m. "Saturday Night Party" w/ Dueling DJs
Tues. 7 p.m. Quizzo hosted by Mike
Millhill Basement
300 S. Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-1600
Fri. 10 p.m. The Damn Long Hairs, My Life On Film, (TBA). 
O'Connor's American Bar & Grille
1383 Monmouth Road, Easthampton
(609) 261-1555
Fri. 9:30 p.m. Secret Sound
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Jerry Monk, Joe Kramer and Paul Plumeri
Olde Liberty Tavern
2114 Liberty Street, Trenton
(609) 396-2262
Sat. 10 p.m. Open Mic. Night
Palermo's Of Hamilton
310 Klockner Rd. Hamilton
(609) 838-7979
Thurs. 9 p.m. Karaoke
All shows 21+ 
Patriot's Crossing
1339 River Rd. Titusville
(609) 737-2780
Fri. 8 p.m. Steve Bross
Sat. 8 p.m. Just Us
Pete's Steak House
523 Whitehorse Ave. Hamilton
(609) 585-8008
Fri. 9:30 p.m. License To Chill
Sat. 9:30 p.m. Beetle Pie
Randy Now's Man Cave
134 Farnsworth Avenue Bordentown
(609) 424-3766
Sat. 7 p.m. "A Tribute To David Bowie" w/ Erin Hill
RHO Waterfront
50 Riverview Plaza Trenton
(609) 393-7300
Thurs. 10 p.m. "College Night" w/ DJ Paul Desisto. Ages 21+
Sat. 9 p.m. "The Grown and Sexy Aquarius Birthday Celebration." Ages 30+, $20 (advance)
Tara's Tavern 
1 Cookstown-New Egypt Road, Wrightstown
(609) 286-2300
Thurs. 9 p.m. Ned Ryerson
Fri. 9 p.m. DJ Big Daddy G
Sat. 9 p.m. Billy Hector
Tavern On The Lake
101 Main St. Hightstown
(609) 426-9345
Fri. 7 p.m. Emma Larson / City Hicks
Sat. 9 p.m. Black Rose
Sun. 6 p.m. Super Bowl Party
Wed. 8 p.m. Karaoke Night 
The Cool Cricket
216 4th Street Fieldsboro
(609) 291-9110
Fri. 9 p.m. Karaoke
The HOB Tavern
146 Second Street
(609) 291-7020
Sat. 9 p.m. Karaoke
Tues. 9 p.m. Open Mic. Night
The Ivy Inn
248 Nassau St. Princeton
(609) 921-8555
Thurs. 10 p.m. Karaoke w/ DJ Ron
Fri. 10 p.m. DJ Fatha Ramzee
Sat. 10 p.m. Seth Tieger
Tues. 8 p.m. Quizzo w/ Bob E Luv
Wed. 10 p.m. "Wednesday Wheel Night Spin To Win Karaoke" w/ DJ Rockn Ron
The Roost 
181 Rte. 539 Cream Ridge
(609) 208-0050
Fri. 9 p.m. Goodfellows
Sun. Super Bowl Party
The Sticky Wicket 
2465 South Broad St. Hamilton
(609) 439-0007
Fri. 9 p.m. The Drunk Monkeys
Sat. 9 p.m. Smoked Ice
The Sun National Bank Center 
81 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 656-3200
Check website for upcoming events
Tir Na Nog 
1324 Hamilton Ave. Trenton
(609) 392-2554
Fri. 9 p.m. Oliver McElhone
Sun. 3 p.m. Irish Sessions
Tues. 9 p.m. Taylor Reed
All shows  21+
Trenton Buzz
702 Pine St. Trenton
(609) 392-6000
Fri. 8 p.m. Live Band & Open Mic. 
Trenton Social
449 South Broad Street Trenton
(609) 989-7777
Fri. 7 p.m. First Friday 
Mon. 9 p.m. Monday Night Karaoke w/ Benny P
Tues. 7 p.m. Open Mic. Night
Triumph Brewing Company (New Hope, Pa. Location)
400 Union Square New Hope, Pa.
(215) 862-8300
Fri. 10 p.m. Philadelphia Funk Authority. ($5 cover charge)
Sat. 10 p.m. Crucial Reggae. ($5 cover charge)
Sun. 6:30 p.m. Super Bowl Party
Tues.9 p.m. Live Band Karaoke
All shows 21+
Wildflowers Inn
2572 Pennington Rd. Pennington
Sat. 9 p.m. Acoustic Rock 
All shows 21+
 

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Danny Coleman is a veteran musician and writer from central New Jersey. He hosts a weekly radio program entitled 'Rock On Radio' airing Sunday evenings at 7:00pm EST on ThePenguinRocks.com where he features indie/original bands and solo artists.

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