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Review: Light of Day Shows an International Affair Published in the Asbury Park Press 11/09/04 By RICHARD SKELLY - CORRESPONDENT There was lots of bonding going on at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park over the weekend. Musicians performed together on stage. Audience members formed new friendships and rekindled old ones, carefully maneuvering themselves in front of the stage and asking politely if they were blocking the views of others while Freehold native Bruce Springsteen played a set with Joe Grushecky's band. Volunteers bonded backstage, lending helping hands to stuff gift baskets for those who'd purchased VIP seating, or moving boxes of T- shirts to merchandise tables, or carrying parcels from cars and vans parked outside. In the end, as exhausted volunteers -- and patrons from as far away as Spain, Italy, Japan and England -- shuffled their feet out the door of The Stone Pony well after midnight Monday morning, the fifth annual Light of Day concerts were all about that warm, fuzzy feeling one gets inside from helping out for a good cause. Created by Highland Park-based impresario and record executive Bob Benjamin to raise funds for research for the Parkinson's Disease Foundation and the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the concerts grew from one night at the Downtown Cafe in Red Bank five years ago to an evening's worth of entertainment at Tradewinds in Sea Bright and The Stone Pony in ensuing years. Last year's Light of Day benefit shows encompassed two nights at the Pony, where this year, Benjamin and a platoon of volunteers and supporters pooled their resources to create a marathon of music that ran to nearly eight hours of music on each of the three nights. In five years, it's amazing how international the annual Light of Day concerts, usually held the weekend after Benjamin's birthday on Nov. 3, have become. Sunday morning on the patio at the Berkeley-Carteret Hotel, a small group of Italians discussed Saturday's show and Springsteen's set in detail over coffee. On Sunday night at the show on the back patio at the Pony, a woman from Barcelona who spoke very little English offered up a stick of gum for a stranger. And manning the Light of Day T-shirt table all weekend long was a couple from Great Britain. On Sunday night, British-raised New Yorker Shane Fontayne said he was depressed about the outcome of the election as well as the failure of the New York Yankees to secure their way into the World Series. The guitarist/songwriter offered up thought-provoking lyrics on his own "Weight of the World," as well as an exquisite composition inspired by the Brazilian composer, Antonio Carlos Jobim. On Saturday night, Buffalo-raised singer-songwriter Willie Nile performed "Hard Times in America" with a crack backing band that included Matawan native Steve Conte on guitar and Art Nardini from Grushecky's band on bass. He also tested out a new song about the March bombings in Madrid, Spain, inspired by a newspaper account of the tragedy, "Cell Phones Ringing (In the Pockets of the Dead.)" The Smithereens' lead singer and songwriter Pat DiNizio followed Malin's set Friday night with an acoustic-electric set of his own from the Pony's main stage, telling the audience: "I'm not going to talk about politics, I've had nearly two years of it; that's enough. I ran for office (state Senate) two years ago. If you lose, you lose." He then launched into an acoustic rendering of one of the band's many hits, "Only A Memory." Benjamin, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at 39, is an advocate for embryonic stem cell research. He let his political opinions be known as Grushecky, Springsteen, Willie Nile and others on stage at Saturday night's finale wished Benjamin a happy birthday after the closing theme song "Light of Day." "My birthday was actually Nov. 3, and I woke up disappointed that day," said Benjamin, referring to the presidential election. Despite his recent efforts on behalf of Sen. John Kerry's campaign, Springsteen appeared well rested and in good spirits Saturday night. He made no political statements from the stage. Instead, he offered up a truly inspired performance with Grushecky's band, delivering soulful vocals and focused, tasty guitar solos during renditions of "From Small Things, Big Things One Day Come," "Johnny 99," "Atlantic City" and "Murder, Incorporated" among other chestnuts from his deep repertoire. He, Grushecky and Bill Toms also traded guitar solos during Saturday's finale. Other performers at the massive Light of Day marathon related their personal connections with Parkinson's disease. Hightstown-raised guitarist, singer and songwriter Charlie McIntosh, now living in Manchester, England, flew in for the benefit shows, like so many others. He told an audience Saturday night that his father died from ALS, a form of Parkinson's disease. Long Branch-based Albie Monterrosa, a co-founder of the Latin-rock group DeSol, told the crowd: "My dad has Parkinson's disease. He's had it since 1992, and it's a scary thing," before he and the band launched into an inspired take on "Oya Como Va." Throughout the five years of Light of Day benefit shows, Springsteen has been a steadfast supporter, performing, hanging out and signing autographs for fans from around the United States, Canada and Europe. He may not have any relatives who have suffered with Parkinson's, but he has seen first-hand how it has affected Benjamin. On Sunday night, the big crowd that had come out for Springsteen the previous day was gone. Groups of several dozen supporters from England, Spain and Italy remained at the marathon, as well as fans and Stone Pony regulars from the Shore area. One patron, Nancy Boot from Birmingham, England pointed out, "The people really dedicated to this cause were here on Friday and Sunday nights as well, not just Saturday night for Bruce." Boot's husband, Peter, suffers from Parkinson's. A longtime drummer in northern England, Boot has been active in rock bands there since 1958. As he did wind sprints on the Asbury Park boardwalk in the sunny, spring- like weather, he said, "I have Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease does not have me." Reference: Ligh t o f Day http://www.lightofday.org/ Bruce Springsteen with Joe Grushecky & The Houserockers http://www.ametrano.net/bruce/pony.html Bruce Springsteen makes appearance at Parkinson's benefit http://www.livedaily.com/news/7301.html?t=98 Springsteen rocks Pony for charity http://www.app.com/app/story/0,21625,1106232,00.html Bruce Springsteen Performs at Charity Concert http://1010wins.com/topstories/local_story_313073017.html Springsteen Makes Surprise Appearance in Asbury Park http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/07/arts/music/08cnd-springsteen.html It's business as usual when The Boss shows up http://www.nj.com/entertainment/ledger/index.ssf?/base/entertainment- 2/109989324096130.xml SOURCE: Asbury Park Press, NJ http://tinyurl.com/6hqy8 * * *Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn