LaBamba & the Hub Caps and the
Acappella Group Quiet Storm
in Concert at The Morris Museum
Morristown, NJ, June 3, 2011
An enthusiastic congregation of fans attended the first of
three concerts that are part of the “Jersey Rocks” exhibit at The Morris
Museum in Morristown, NJ. The featured act was the R&B band, LaBamba &
the Hub Caps. Opening for them were our friends from Philadelphia, the
acappella group, Quiet Storm.
We arrived at the museum and found
members of Quiet Storm outside the stage door. We were happy to see that
our friend Darrall Campbell was the newest member of the group.
Quiet Storm outside the
Morris Museum
Quiet Storm
The concert combined the R&B band La Bamba and the Hub Caps
with the acappella harmonies of Quiet Storm. Quiet Storm entertained us
first for about a half hour. Smitty, the group's founder and bass
singer, introduced the songs. As usual Quiet Storm had outstanding
harmony and were well-received by the crowd. They began their set with
a parody of The Cosmic Rays song “Daddy's Gonna Tell You No Lie". The words were changed by
our friends Paul Ressler and Jim Bakay to “Conan’s Gonna Tell You No Lie”;
appropriate because La Bamba (Richie Rosenberg) was featured for years on
the Conan O’Brien Show. Quiet Storm debuted their arrangement of
Ronnie Milsap’s “Lost in the Fifties Tonight” which includes an extended
version of “In The Still of the Night”. We grooved to the harmonies of
“Never Let Me Go,” and “Sincerely”. Especially enjoyable was the rhythmic
“Don’t Leave Me Baby, originally done by the Camelots”. Quiet Storm ended
their set with The Dreamlovers' “If I Should Lose You”.
Pam & Quiet Storm's
Smitty
Smitty & Charlie
Though LaBamba and The Hub Caps are a
well-known R&B band in the New Jersey area, this was the first time we saw
them live. We were duly impressed. The ensemble consisted of vocals mostly
by LaBamba (Richie Rosenberg) backed by a guitar, bass, keyboard, trumpet,
saxophone, and drums. LaBamba treated the audience to a mix of soul songs
like “Monkey Time” and “Ooh Baby Baby”. On occasion he also played
trombone. One of the highlights for us was when Glen (The General)
Alexander led the group with an dynamic version of Tower of Power’s “Still
Digging on James Brown”. The song was specifically requested by Paul
Ressler, a long time friend of the group. The band did a great version
of the instrumental “The Horse”. LaBamba proved to be an energetic and
exciting performer, at times jumping off the stage to sing in the audience.
LaBamba & The Hub Caps
LaBamba
The audience enjoyed the concert
immensely and were all looking forward to the next “Jersey Rocks” event.
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