Jerry's Middle Finger at Cornerstone, December 31, 2023

Cornerstone presents Jerry's Middle Finger with Dave Ellis
Cornerstone
2367 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704 USA
9:30 PM, Sunday, December 31, 2023

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[9:40 PM] {performers out}

1. [9:42 PM] Let's Spend the Night Together
2. [9:56 PM] I'll Take a Melody
   [10:08 PM] {GD lauds DE}
3. [10:10 PM] That's the Touch I Like
4. [10:17 PM] Struggling Man
5. [10:24 PM] Boogie On Reggae Woman
   [10:36 PM] {GD: give it up for the lady fingers}
6. [10:38 PM] Let Me Sing Your Blues Away
7. [10:43 PM] Like a Road
8. [10:54 PM] I Feel Like Dynamite (RN)
9. [11:04 PM] I Second That Emotion
10. [11:15 PM] Tore Up Over You
    [11:23 PM] {set ends; GD: we're gonna take a short break see you guys next year}

[11:46 PM] {prep for the big show going on at side stage} [11:47 PM] {performers out}

1. [11:49 PM] (I'm a) Road Runner
   [11:58 PM] {space/chaos while Bill Walton makes his entrance as Father Time …slow dramatic countdown from Bill … Jon Hart toddles onstage as the diaper-clad 2024 New Year's baby … the band plays a brief instrumental version of Auld Lang Syne … pause for revelry …
2. [12:01 AM] Eyes of the World » [12:13 AM] Space » [12:13 AM] {additional felicitations for the new year from Bill Walton} »
3. [12:14 AM] Money Honey
   [12:21 AM] {GD: Happy New Year everybody!}
4. [12:22 AM] Talking 'bout You
5. [12:30 AM] Tough Mama
6. [12:38 AM] The Night They Drive Old Dixie Down
7. [12:48 AM] After Midnight » [12:56 AM] Eleanor Rigby » [12:58 AM] {double time jam} » [1:00 AM] After Midnight (reprise)
   [1:03 AM] {GD final thanks; GD introduces Jon & Son; all offstage}
   
   Encore
8. [1:06 AM] Bright Side of the Road
   [1:12 AM] {show ends}

Jerry's Middle Finger

• Garrett Deloian: guitar, lead vox;
• Jon Gold: keyboards, organ;
• Halina Janusz: harmony vox;
• Lisa Malsberger: harmony vox;
• Rodney Newman: drums;
• Son Vo: bass.

* Dave Ellis: tenor saxophone.

Upon being told that tonight was a sell out crowd, I was a little worried that we were going to be packed like sardines in a tin, but that concern turned out to be misplaced: it was certainly crowded, but not unbearably so, and for a good portion of the night we had plenty of room to groove and dance.

The band started out on a strong note with a great party-starter, the 1966 Jagger-Richards classic, Let's Spend the Night Together, setting the bar for a terrific night. Let Me Sing Your Blues Away was such a surprise that it took me until Garret started singing to recognize the title… an utterly unexpected delight! And Boogie On Reggae Woman was my favorite of the night – it's hard to go wrong with Stevie Wonder!

Bill Walton reprised his annual performance as Father Time, and Jon Hart made a great comic foil as the 2024 New Year's baby. Ting expressed a little disappointment that we didn't get a balloon drop, but I thought the confetti cannons were a perfectly acceptable substitute.

I was looking forward to hearing Dave Ellis and hoping that the band would lean over in the direction of the classic Legion of Mary repertoire of the mid-70's, but from my spot up front in the center, I couldn't really hear him all that well. I bet the mix was better 10 or 15 feet father back where the PA blend would have filled things in, but that would have taken me out of the prime guitar zone. What's a poor boy gonna do? Sometimes ya gotta take your lumps! The Ray Charles rave up Talking 'bout You was my favorite of the second set, but the whole shebang was really well done. Thanks all!

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2023 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2023 event list! ☸ On to the next event!