January 17, 2007 - Happy New Year. The Kennedys on January 5 at Outpost in the Burbs in Montclair. WOW.  I fell in love with the Kennedys when I first heard "Dharma Cafe"  on WFUV in 2003. Maura's beautiful voice, Pete's twangy guitar, the harmonies, the Byrdsy sound, the whole package. They blow me away every time I hear one of their songs. Listen to "Nickeltown", "Stand", "Tupelo", or the covers of "Wall of Death", "Eight Miles High" or "Sin City" and you will be hooked. I have been trying to see Pete and Maura since 2004 and always had something come up. This time I decided I could not miss them. The show at Outpost was incredible. All the originals and the wonderful covers from the recently released "Songs of the Open Road". Photos from the Outpost show are posted on:
The Kennedys @ Outpost in the Burbs 1/05/07.   
Thank you Pete and Maura for a wonderful show. I could feel the love in the room.

November 20, 2006 - Black Crowes @ Starland Ballroom on November 8th. Three hours of great music without any big hits.  Clapton's "Got To Get Better In A Little While" smoked as the encore. Photos posted on
Black Crowes @ Starland.   
Coming soon, Jack Bruce from the Palladium in NYC 1980, and Jorma from the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ  1980.
On a personal note, I am trying to locate Beth Ann Bowen from Birmingham, AL.  An old friend who stayed with her Uncle Ritchie and Aunt Grace in Cranford, NJ during the summer of '72 and '73.  My first girlfriend.  Time sure flies. Hope to hear from you Beth. You can reach me at: info@newjerseyrock.com

August 4, 2006 - Thirty years ago on August 4th I saw the Grateful Dead for the first of many times. What a pleasure to finally see Pure Prairie League with Craig Fuller. Excellent show. Curtis and Fats were also a treat. The new material sounded great.
Dan Hicks was the opener. Another first for me. Dan was suave, the set was swingin' and the Lickettes were sweet. Pix from Friday's show posted on
Dan Hicks & Pure Prairie League.

June 11, 2006 - The Union County R&B by the Brook went down Saturday June 10th in Cedar Brook Park in Plainfield. One of the headliners was an all star tribute to drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie for his 65th birthday. Featured performers included Bernard, along with Steve Cropper and part of the original Blues Brothers Band, Phoebe Snow, Eddie Floyd, Will Lee and the Hudson River Rats featuring Rob Paparozzi. The band fuc*ing smoked.  Hot Hot Hot were the horns, the rhythm section, the guitars and the vocals. The crowd was singing and dancing up a storm for 90 minutes. Old favorites included Green Onions, Knock on Wood, Midnight Hour and Dock of the Bay. Special thanks to Rob Paparozzi -  bandleader extraordinaire,  who multi-tasked as arranger, singer, harp player, and announcer. Pix from Saturday's show posted on
Union County R&B by the Brook.

May 18, 2006 - The following excerpt was taken from an article by NorthJersey.com staff writer Scott Fallon. The article appeared on NorthJersey.com earlier this week:
The Allman Brothers - Tragedy and stupidity forced Southern rock's greatest band to change lineups often. Duane Allman and Berry Oakley died in motorcycle crashes in the early '70s. Greg Allman went all Hollywood, marrying Cher and becoming addicted to cocaine and heroin. Chuck Leavell and Lamar Williams left and never came back. Today the group is a hodgepodge of session musicians and (much like the Temptations) tours like an oldies act.
As Napoleon Dynamite would say: "What An Idiot"
Caught The GoGo's @ the Starland Ballroom on May 15th. The girls looked good and the band was tight. Long live the 80's. Pix from the GoGo's posted on
GoGo's @ Starland Ballroom.

April 22, 2006 - It is a rainy Saturday morning in Cranford, NJ. Looks like the entire weekend will be wet. Caught Wilco last night at the Starland Ballroom. Jeff Tweedy was in an entertaining mood and the band sounded great. My first Wilco show - rootsy , psychedelic, and spacey. I could hear traces of The Band and Nirvana as well as various country influences. Lots of good acts touring this summer. Looking forward to Pure Prairie League @ BB King's in August.  Pix from Friday's show posted on
the 2000's page.

March 12, 2006 - They're back. The Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theatre in NYC. Great show Friday night. Mountain Jam started and finished and everything in between was solid. Great versions of Dylan's "Highway 61" and Derek and the Dominoes "Any Day". Pix from Friday's show posted on
the more allmans page.

February 1, 2006 - Hello. Some good concerts coming up. Poco at BB King's in NYC on Feb. 8th and the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ on Feb. 11. Pickup the live cd/dvd recorded in Nashville in 2005. It is a gem. Just added a bunch of Poco to the
70's page.
The Allmans make their annual run at the Beacon in March.
More photos to be added soon. Peace.

November 1, 2005 - Cream at the Garden. It doesn't get any better than this.  Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and Eric Clapton were in fine form for the final show at MSG.  The set list was identical to the Albert Hall run with one exception - a fine version of Tales Of Brave Ulysses.  I always forget how good Eric is until I see him live again.  Jack and Ginger held their own as well.  Got lucky and scored a seat in the luxury box opposite the stage.  It's good to be the King.  Photos posted on the 2000 page.                                                                                         

September 28, 2005 - Took my boys Daniel and Brian to their first rock concert. Joan Jett headlined the Music Fest at Echo Lake Park in Mountainside, NJ. Joan rocked and the boys loved the show. The Smithereens also turned in a fine set earlier in the day.  Joan Jett photos posted.  Also posted, Jerry Garcia Band, July 26, 1980.

June 4, 2005 - Yes, I am alive. Hello to all. The Outlaws are back and they smoked the Starland Ballroom on May 20. Photos posted on the 2000 page. Ratdog played the Starland on April 12 and Bobby was in fine form. Photos posted on the Bobby page.
I am currently updating the concert list page. Just click on the show you are interested and it will take you directly to the corresponding photo page. Should be complete in a week or so.
Enjoy the summer and stay cool. Thank you Veech for getting me off my ass and back to updating the site.
Get the butter Nick.
Peace.

September 25, 2004 - Long time gone. I hope everyone had a great summer. Work, fun and family have been keeping me fairly busy.
Hurricane Ivan couldn't stop Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes from tearing up Echo Lake Park in Mountainside. The concert was part of the Union County Summer Fest and was moved from Nomahegan Park in Cranford due to possible flooding from Ivan. I arrived at Echo Lake at 6:00 and set up my lawn chair ten feet from the stage. Maysa Leak and her band were turning in a fine performance to a small but enthusiastic crowd. MAYSA finished around 7:00 and one by one the SSJ diehards began to fill the concert area. Johnny and the Jukes came out around 7:30 and rocked the joint for almost two hours. The last time I saw the Jukes was in December of 1981 at the Capitol Theatre 10th Anniversary show. I don't know why it took me so long to see them again. Johnny Lyon is one of the best front men in the business and the Jukes are one tight band. Great show, great time. Photos are posted on the 2000 page.

April 22, 2004 - It's been awhile. Life just seems to get in the way of maintaining the website on a more frequent basis. I caught the Allmans at the Beacon in March. It was the first time I had seen them live since 1997 at the Beacon. Absolutely incredible. Gregg is singing and playing better than ever and Warren and Derek bring back memories of Fillmore East.
I hope to be adding more photos very soon. New stuff includes the Allmans at the Beacon, Dave Stryker at Trumpets, Lucy Kaplansky and Richard Shindell from Outpost in Montclair. From the Eighties, more Dead and JGB, Jackson Browne, Linda Rondstadt and James Taylor from 1982. More oldies but goodies will continue to be posted over time.
For dead fans, Henri Rosenblum has written a new book called "Fall Without Jerry", a fictional account of a deadhead's experiences following Jerry's death. You can get more info at Henri's website. Fall Without Jerry
I am finally doing my first photo exhibit. Portraits in Classic Rock,  the concert photography of Kevin R. Papa, will be on exhibit at the Cranford Public Library through April 30.  Featured subjects include: Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers and Bruce Springsteen.   The majority of works cover the 70's and 80's and also include actor Al Pacino, comedian Steve Martin and jazz great Sonny Rollins.   
Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 10:00 am to 9:00 pm and Friday and Saturday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.  Admission is free.
The Cranford Public Library is located at 224 Walnut Avenue, Cranford, NJ.  For more information call (908) 709-7272.

November 3, 2003 - Howdy. Hope all is well with everyone. I missed the last game of the World Series (no regrets, at least we beat the Red Sox) as I opted to see Richard Shindell at the United Methodist Church in Berkeley Heights. Shindell is a terrific singer songwriter and one of the finest contemporary folk performers around today. I highly recommend seeing him live and picking up any of his cd's.
Dorling Kindersley publishing has just released a new book on the the Grateful Dead entitled "The Illustrated Trip". The book is a comprehensive pictorial of all the tours from the sixties to the present. The book contains many never before seen photographs, including ten shots of mine, all of which can be found on my site under Dead photos. I am definitely enjoying my fifteen minutes. With that, I bid you Goodnight.

September 28, 2003 - Ola. More celebrity deaths, more rain, more Jets winless, more Yankee playoffs and more Dead.

September 17, 2003 - Hello again. I hope you all had an enjoyable summer. I guess everyone on the east coast is getting ready for the hurricane. I don't expect much in New Jersey, but you never know.
It seems there have been quite a few celebrity deaths in the past few months. I will never forget Gregory Peck in "To Kill A Mockingbird". I never tire of watching that movie. To this day I daydream about growing up in Maycomb with Scout, Jem and Dill. I happened to catch Warren Zevon twice in the early 80's. The first time was at the Capitol Theatre with his band and he was sensational. Look for the photographs in the 80's under Warren Zevon. The second time was at Kean College. It was a solo acoustic tour. In between songs someone yelled out "Wild Thing" and Warren didn't disappoint. He made everything groovy.

July 24, 2003 - Greetings. July finally brought some nice weather to New Jersey. In other news, the Yanks are on a roll, the Hussein boys are history and Bruce Springsteen is rockin' Giant's Stadium. I am a Bruce fan. I like his music and he seems to be a stand up guy, but the media hype makes me want to puke. And I wonder, do old Bruce fans listen to anything but Bruce?

New stuff on the site includes Southside Johnny from the Capitol Theatre 10th Annniversary Show from 1981 as well as Edgar Winter from the same show. Also some new Dead and Jerry Garcia from the 70's and some Electric Light Orchestra from 1976 at the Beacon Theatre. I will be in NYC uptown at Hogs and Heifers (1843 1st Ave) on Friday July 25. The featured band is Skydog, probably the best Allman Bros. tribute band around. Show starts at midnight. Peace.

June 22, 2003 - Well it is officially summer in New Jersey. If you weren't already depressed, the lovely June weather probably made you suicidal. I am sure glad I don't own a gun.
I caught some great jazz at Trumpets in Montclair this month. The Stryker / Slagle Band, featuring Dave Stryker on guitar and Steve Slagle on saxaphone were in fine form on June 6th. The Oliver Lake Quintet appeared on June 21 and smoked the place. Since I am not a "certified" jazz critic and don't speak the official language, I must resort to cheesy rock terms like "cooked", "kicked ass", "awesome", "blew me away" and " they rocked man". Anyway, fine sets turned in by all accounts.
I will be adding some more vintage Dead photos to the site very soon. Also coming soon from the Seventies and Eighties will be Earl Scruggs, Edgar Winter, Poco, Dickey Betts, David Bromberg, Jackson Browne, Rossington Collins, Steve Miller Band, Levon Helm & Rick Danko, McGuin, Clark & Hillman and others. Recent performances by Stryker / Slagle Band and Oliver Lake will also be posted. Be well and stay dry.

April 7, 2003 - As you probably have figured out by now, I am a long time Grateful Dead fan. I took particular exception to an article in the sports page of the Newark Star Ledger dated September 8, 2002. The article, written by Mike Vaccaro, comments on the domination and rivalry of tennis' Williams sisters and the boring finals that have ensued between the two. Mr. Vaccaro writes: "Tennis tournaments aren't old Grateful Dead tours. Spectators won't keep coming back to hear the same 40-minute version of "Casey Jones" time after time after time".

I don't know how many Grateful Dead concerts Mike Vaccaro has attended. For me it has probably only been a hundred or so between 1976 and 1989. If I am wrong someone please correct me, but I have never heard a forty minute version of Casey Jones unless it was sandwiched in between an incredible jam. Granted, the Dead have off nights like any band, but they always try to take the music to the next level. The sets are different every night, unlike most bands that use the same set list for an entire tour. The sisters are amazing tennis players and like the Dead, the best at what they do, unfortunately every concert can't be Connors vs McEnroe at the US Open.