The Smithereens Make Rock History in Riverhead

On Saturday night at the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead legendary rock group The Smithereens made rock history sound great! Lead singer and guitarist Pat DiNizio announced the band was about to realize a first by performing their single “Indigo Blues” live. They did. It rocked. The audience gave their first standing ovation of the night—there were six in total.

DiNizio explained that the Smithereens had never been able to perform this song from their acclaimed 1991 album Blow Up outside of the studio before. Though they’ve been a touring group for 35 years, they never had a keyboard player. On Saturday they had none other than Andy Burton on keyboard. He was on loan from performing with John Mayer, but many East Enders will remember Burton fondly from his years with local sensation The Lone Sharks.

The evening was one of the hardest rocking at the Suffolk Theater to date. DiNizio encouraged fans to come down to the stage and dance, noting, “You can dance if you want to, you can leave your friends behind, because your friends don’t dance, and if they don’t dance, then they’re no friends of mine.” He also asserted, “This is a place for fun!” Many fans got into the act and danced the night away. The biggest draws to the dance floor were some Beatles covers from The Smithereens’ three Beatles tribute albums and The Smithereens’ biggest hit, “Blood and Roses.” Fans were delighted with the band’s intermingling of this hit with Free’s “All Right Now” and The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes,”  led with hilarious effect by bassist Severo “Thrilla from Manila” Jornacion. Other highlights of this unique evening included a spontaneous rendition of Thin Lizzy’s “Dancing in the Moonlight” from drummer Dennis Diken.

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East Enders would clearly welcome this Carteret, New Jersey, band back anytime with open arms and dancing feet.