The Makin Waves Song of the Week is “In the Congo,” a live version of which will be released May 23 on “The Shroud of Touring: Live in 1985" on CD only on JEM Records. PHOTO BY DEBRA ROTHENBERG
Originally recorded for RCA Records on the steamy Memorial Day weekend of 1985 on the Jersey Shore, The Bongos' only official live album, “The Shroud of Touring: Live in 1985,” has remained unreleased until now — the 40th anniversary of the performance.
The album captures the seminal Hoboken band's legendary energy at the peak of its power and features a stellar version of “In the Congo,” the Makin Waves Song of the Week.
As the Makin Waves Song of the Week, “In the Congo” also can be heard between 6 and 8 p.m. on May 9 on “Radio Jersey at ThePenguinRocks.com. If you miss it, you can tune in any time in the archives at The Penguin and Mixcloud.
The Bongos — vocalist-guitarist Richard Barone, lead guitarist James Mastro, bassist Rob Norris and drummer Frank Giannini — will celebrate the long-awaited release of the live LP on May 31 at the Wonder Bar in Asbury Park. Sharing the bill will be Jem label mates The Grip Weeds and The Cynz.
On the album, The Bongos are joined by percussionist Steve Scales, fresh from the Talking Heads' “Stop Making Sense” Tour and movie. Restored from the original 24-track analog tapes, newly mixed and sounding as electrifying as ever, “The Shroud of Touring: Live in 1985” brings The Bongos' highly percussive sound to a new generation of fans.
Produced by The Bongos and Steve Addabbo, the owner of New York City’s Shelter Island Sound who helped launch the careers of Suzanne Vega and Shawn Colvin, “Shroud of Touring” also features “Apache Dancing,” “I've Got A Secret,” “Mambo Sun,” “A Story (Written in the Sky),” “Telephoto Lens,” “Zebra Club,” “Splinters,” “Glow in the Dark,” “Blow Up,” “Come Back to Me,” “Brave New World,” “Totem Pole,” “Numbers With Wings,” “Space Jungle,” “The Beat Hotel” and “Barbarella.” Tape restoration and digital transfer credits go to Steve Rosenthal, who’s also worked with Suzanne Vega, as well as Raven.
The Bongos famously were among the founding fathers of the Hoboken indie rock scene of the 1980s along with The Feelies and others. The group recorded its debut album, “Drums Along the Hudson,” for PVC Records in 1982. The LP was a critical hit on both sides of the Atlantic and a college radio staple. The group toured relentlessly, signed with RCA Records, and released their major label debut, “Numbers with Wings,” in 1983. The sweeping title song became an MTV favorite. Songs like “Barbarella" and "Tiger Nights" fared well on the fledgling alternative radio format and further raised the group's profile.
They released “Beat Hotel” on RCA in 1985, a year that saw them perform more than 300 concerts across the U.S. It was during that whirlwind tour that “The Shroud of Touring: Live in 1985” was recorded at the jam-packed Tradewinds in Sea Bright on May 24, 1985.
The Bongos’ upcoming performance at the Wonder Bar brings all four members back to the Jersey Shore 40 years and one week later.
New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.
"Well, I certainly hope so, it seems like it is," laughed Blues Traveler bassist Ben Wilson as he discussed what the band has been up to and their preparations before they hit the road once again for a Summer tour. "The band has been quite active over the years through touring and we managed to continue to record some records. We've done two kinds of covers records, the first one was a blues record which actually got nominated for a Grammy which was pretty cool and the next one, we did some soul covers. That one wasn't quite as well received but it was sure fun to make. So, it's been really cool; you have this massive success for a decade or so and then you kind of dip below that cultural Gestalt line where you're just kind of bubbling below the surface and you can do just fine there even though you're not on the cover of "The Rolling Stone" and that's kind of what we've been doing. We've had a good run, it has been fantastic and these summer tours where we get together with these other kind of bands of similar eras with similar kinds of hits; we're very fortunate as kind of a neo-hippie jam band from that era that kind of bucked some of the trends that were going on at the time but we were lucky enough to have a couple of hits and that has allowed us to have kind of a different career than just the straight jam bands do; not that that wouldn't be awesome as well because obviously many of them are doing just fine but it's just a slightly different road but it has been wonderful. We didn't rehearse a whole lot because we've been playing together for 38 years but things are good and we're stoked for this upcoming tour."
Straight No Chaser is bringing its Summer: The '90s Part 2 Tour to State Theatre New Jersey on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. The nine-member a cappella group originated in 1996 at Indiana University in Bloomington and has gone on to sell three million albums, earn two gold records, and amass over 1 billion streams on Pandora.
(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and picnic baskets to Reeves-Reed Arboretum and celebrate summer with their 2025 concert series, Sounds of a Summer Night! All performances will be held on select Wednesday evenings on the grounds of this non-profit public garden located in Summit.
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