September 1998
I don't have any real j geils memories sinde I'm only eighteen, but
Fullhouse is my favorite album. My Dad says they put on the best live act
he ever saw (and he was a tour manager for Atlantic, so he saw a lot of
bands).I've been trying to find a live tape of them for his birthday
(I would really dig seeing them live too!) If you know where to get one, a
response would be greatly appreciated.
June 1998 Tim writes
The Houseparty Five was a name that didn't last long.. I don't think..
Anyway.. it was the Long Line Tour.. Since I'm a HUGE J. Geils Band fan, and
probably even a bigger Peter Wolf Fan, I was waiting for the opportunity to
see him/them LIVE.. You see, I was a bit young when I first became aware of
them... I almost saw Peter live for his Lights Out tour, but it was cancelled
at the last minute (either because of Laringitis (sp?) or lack of interest)..
Anyway, back to my quick story about seeing Peter Wolf live. It was in late
'96, in Fort Worth, Texas.. of all places!! I bought my ticket as soon as I
could.. the first day they went on sale.. Well.. apparantly, Reprise Records
didn't do much for promoting the "woofa goofah".. only a hand-full of people
showed up to see the show.. (UNBELIEVABLE!) To make this short story a bit
longer.. Peter had just had a birthday, and he graciously made it a FREE
SHOW!! The place filled up, and he was strutting all over the stage! At one
point he climbed upon my table (which was just left of center).. then paraded
into the street into downtown Ft. Worth!! OOOooooh Yeah!! It was a thrill
for me, to say the least... I got his autograph and Johnny A's on my Long Line
cd... By the way, I had the chance to approach him and Johnny before the
show.. they were right there in the lobby of the place! I turned to my uncle
(who isn't the biggest J. Geils Band fan).. and said "Look.. I think that's
Peter Wolf!)... needless to say, it was! Ha.ha... Well, my uncle told me
afterwards that even though he didn't care much for J. Geils Band's stuff.. he
was VERY IMPRESSED with the show.. My uncle is a guitarist and a true purist
when it comes to music, and live performances! We saw Crosby, Stills, Nash
together once a few years back.. and they PALED in comparison to Wolf and the
Street Ensemble... My sentiments and his (he's a big fan of CSN) too. I guess
some performers just have it in them.. and, Wolf fans know.. "If it's in you..
It's GOT to come Out".. hope you enjoyed my rambling!! ---Tim.
K Chase writes
I saw the J. Giels band in Yakima, WA back in 77 in a small CC Gym They
had Tom Petty warming up, His hit was "Breakdown" No one had ever heard
of him anyway back to the story, Peter cam out in Black and Magic Dick
had the biggest afro and the coolest leather outfit. The hammond
speakers were bathed in pink and the fans were spinning. When they did
Detriot Breakdown they blew the palcxe apart. I will always remember the
rap about Rapunzel. I saw them a couple more times and will never
forget River Blindness and the Bass solo in that. I saw them open for
the Stones as well. We all know they are THE bamd to see live and I've
seen them all. Keep the faith maybe they will return. Money does weird things.
July 1999
i just saw the july 3rd concert at pine knob in detroit michigan. it
was fantastic!!!! i cannot say enough about how great it was. they are
still awesome in concert. i screamed and danced the whole time. i was
standing on my chair thru my favorite songs and am lucky that i didn't
fall and kill myself. i had such a great time, that i am going to the
other concert on the 14th in detroit---and i am paying evil scalper's
prices. but it is worth it because what are the chances that this is
the last tour????----gee pretty likely. --Karen
I saw J. Geils perform live last night at the PNC Arts Center in NJ, they were absolutely terrific. I would go see them next year too if they are still together. Good site. --Jason
We just got in from Pine Knob after the J. Geils Band's first show in Detroit on their tour. Lots of radio and newspaper coverage. The place was packed, great audience, no rowdy's in the crowd. What a great show. They took the stage at around 8:30pm and finished just before the 11:00pm curfew. I think they played every song they knew. Pete said during the introduction that he was being old fashion by introducing the women back up singers first, then the horn section, then the guys in the band. He was kind in saying that Seth is his partner in all of this. He thanked the guy who pulled the whole thing together, REO Speedwagon's manager, who is the manager of this tour. The band played their heart out, together and individually, the guys smiled a lot during the concert, looks like they had a good time playing. Hopefully this will be the start of summer tours for the band. Frank n Paula in Detroit.
Here is the text of the Detroit Free Press' review of the Friday July 2nd. J. Geils Concert.
"J. Geils Band 4 out of 4 stars Friday July 2 Pine Knob Music Theater
Much has changes about rock 'n' roll in 17 years: Fans play compact discs. Muscians cut their hair. Pine Knob sells earplugs.
But one thing is a constant: The J. Geils Band can rock. And Detroit fans will hop right alongside for the ride.
Friday evening at a sold-out Pine Knob - a hallowed spot for the Boston sextet that turned Detroit into a second hometown before waging its final tour in 1982 - the J. Geils
Band laid down a hot, funky soiree for more than 15,000 fans.
The night - a blessed Michigan summer evening - was electric before the concert started. The band immediately lassoed the energy and flipped it like a lightning bolt back
the the crowd. From the first monents of the opening tune "Just Can't Stop Me," with vocalist Peter Wolf bounding across the length of the stage, the show was certainly
evoking rich memories for the Motor City rock fans raised on the group's sizzling stage parties.
It seemed the band hadn't missed a beat: Robust and tight, the group kept things slippery enough to slide from the good-time boogie of "Pack Fair & Square" into the
sharp-rock edge of "Sanctuary," next loosening up for an extended jam on "Night Time."
Indeed, Geils proved throughout that rock guitarists can improve with age, his wiry solos lighting up fave songs such as "Homework," "One Last Kiss" and "Lookin' For a
Love." But it was a thick-grooved "Detroit Breakdown," an hour into the set, that kicked the affair into high gear. By the time the band rolled through "Musta Got Lost," and
"Whammer Jammer," it had pushed the audience into a frenzy. With a blast of confetti and streamers, the group dug into the close of its regular set, "Houseparty," with its
infectious refrain: "Nothin' but a party." Nothing but a party, sure. But in Detroit, on a Pine Knob summer night ... so much more."
This article says it all, but, the show was better than words. ==Frank n Paula Canning
May 1998
MichaelD writes:
Thanks for having a page to reminise about what I believe to be the
greatest band in the '70's. I'd say all-time but the Stones really own
that one , although GEILS -owned the '70's. Does anyone rally know the reasons they
broke up?? and more importantly now, if they could ever reunite for a
concert?
I remember buying my first album.....FULL HOUSE!!!!!
I drove my Mom nuts playing it over and over.
THEY ARE DEFINITeLY THE BEST LIVE BAND EVER. I remember living in Vancouver, B.C.
and seeing them play, and then following them down to Seattle to see
them two nights later when I was 16! I truly LOVED the incomparable, the funkiest
band in the land....Let's hear it for The J. GEILS BAND !!!!!
I saw the band many times in the 70's, and they never let me down. I remember one show in Philadelphia (the Spectrum)around '77 or '78 (seems they came every year), when they were proceeded on stage by a FULL MARCHING BAND!!! The band came on, played on marching song, and left. When the last member cleared, there was the Boys from Boston, Peter in black, Magic Dick with an enormous afro, Danny in a pink tux, etc... They immediately broke into Detroit Breakdown and the house went wild. This was one of the most electric performances by them I've ever seen. But the high point of the night was the encore. This was a dance concert, which meant no floor seating. I camped out early and got front row, sitting on the boards. Anyway, during the encore, Peter and J. did a duet of Start All Over, and they sat on the edge of the stage, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!! And when it got to the chorus, they let me sing with them. I was 16 or 17 and it was the coolest thing that had ever happened to me. I'll always remember that night!----BobB of Philadelphia
--Kevin W. writes:
Found your page while surfing the Net. I'm glad to know there are other
J. Geils fans out there keeping the faith. I live in Sacramento, CA and
had the pleasure of seeing the boys three times here. The first time
was in March 1979 on the Sanctuary tour, the second time in 1980 on the
Love Stinks tour, and the final time in March 1982 on the Freeze-Frame
tour. I've been to many concerts over the years, but no band ever put
on such a high-energy show as the J. Geils Band.
The first time I saw them, the lights dimmed, and a local high school
marching band paraded across the stage. Then the band came out and just
blew me right out of my chair. I had heard they were a great live band,
but I was not prepared for how good they really were! I've been a rabid
fan ever since. It's too bad the band broke up with such animosity. Of all the groups
that I would like to see re-group and go on tour, J. Geils is at the top
of the list. Nobody can heat up the stage like they can. Maybe someday
we'll all get lucky and it will come to pass. Until then, we always
have the CD's to listen to!! Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I will continue to check
back with your site for any additional information. Take Care! --Kevin W.
Elizabeth and Mark D write -- The year was 1978, I live in Boston, obviously the birthplace of the might J. Geils Band. I had previously seen them rock the house( the old Boston Garden, now being destroyed brick by brick) in 1973, one of my first concerts, at age 14. I was amazed by their firepower and the dynamic approach of Wolf in particular. In 1978 radio station WBCN ( Wolf got his start there as a d.j.) was having a labor strike, and the on-air disc jockeys had been replaced by scabs. Keep in mind that once a year Peter Wolf would return to WBCN and spin classic wax & tracks in honor of their anniversary, so J. Geils was deeply affiliated with the station. In honor to raise awareness of the strike/scab situation, the station put on a show at the Orpheum theater in Boston, a funky old hall that seats about 1800 people. A number of bands played that are since defunct, and there was a hint going around of a special guest. The lights came up and there was the Geils Band ( they were going by that name then) in all their glory. This was around the time of "Monkey Island" and I remember lots of tracks from that, like "Surrender" etc. Mr. Wold was resplendent in the old black apparell, using the mike stand to push off in his signature move as he fell forward. I remember they were adept at locking into the R & B slinky grooves that made them such a great live band. It was a short set, probably only about an hour max, but it left such an impression on me. To me, they were the perrenial party band, and they really walked the talk when it came to live performing. I saw Wolf do an encore with Springsteen in 1992 at the Boston Garden during Bruce's last electric tour. They dueted on "In the Midnight Hour" It was a bit of a remember when and I couldn't help but thinking what would have happened to J. Geils had they been able to hold the personnel differencesin check. The unfortunate thing is that many bands regroup that shouldn't, but J. geils should.That as great stuff!!!!
April 1998:
Vicki in Michigan, long time Geils fan, writes:
I remember back in 1974, a group of girls from Detroit, went to see Geils
in Toledo, Ohio (about one hour from Detroit by car). The Band was
registered at the same hotel we stayed at. After the concert, the girls
went to get dinner. I stayed at the hotel, determined to meet the band.
Seth Justman, in particular. Anyway, when the band arrived, I froze and
couldn't bring myself to say anything to Seth. The first thing that
came out of my mouth was "Magic Dick". He stopped and obliged me by
letting me take a photograph. Afterwhich, he went upstairs to his
room. When my friends returned from dinner, they asked if I had met
anyone from the band. My apparent lack of enthusiam failed to convince
them that I'd met anyone. We went upstairs to our room and wondered
what four Detroiters were going to do at 11:00 pm in Toledo (not much).
Someone suggested go walk around the hotel and see if we could find the
party that one of the roadies had told us about when we first arrived.
No party. We did, however, hear faint sounds of a harmonica being
played on one of the floors. We ran back upstairs and dialed that
particular room number. Yes, it was Magic Dick. He agreed to come
upstairs to our room and party with us. He stayed until the wee hours
of the morning. What a blast! From that day on, I was included on the
guest list whenever Geils was in the Detroit area.(until 1979) I still
have all of my backstage passes.
I did eventually get to meet Seth. And, I had my picture taken with him
on my birthday once, when they were in town. Unfortunately, it was in
my wallet when my purse was stolen (maybe I could find the negative).
Anyway, I still have some group shots that I keep in my photo album.
March 1998:
Johnneybey of CA, a long time Geils fanatic writes....
"Here's some of my Geils history .... in no order ....
Saw them many, many times, the first being, probably after their first album,
in San Diego, Ca., which is about two hours from where I now live in Downey,
Ca., which is 15 miles from L.A. .... in those days, they would usually book
two shows in these parts; one in L.A. area and one in S.D. .... the beauty of
the SD shows was that they almost were always festival style (open seating),
which meant you could get there early and get much closer (duh!), which is
what we liked to do .... so anyway, it was Geils as the first group, followed
by Yes (no) and Ten Years After (yes) ... not sure if any of us the first LP
(or 8-track -- gads I'm old, but not as old as Seth), but I'm sure I got it
shortly thereafter -- maybe even The Morning After .... they were -- here's a
shocker -- tremendous and I along with my group of friends (that's
redundant) have been big fans since (especially moi) .... so now they became
part of our every night party in those times (and since) and every time they
came to Southern California I saw them ... I (vaguely) remember seeing them
headline at the 3,000 or so seat Santa Monica Civic a few times (they did
something like 5-8 encores one time, and Magic Dick doing either somersaults
or back-somersaults as he was exiting the stage) .... Note: Each time I saw
them, they were majorly incredible .... I remember early on how we used to
talk about how they were one of the few groups that managed to sound on stage
just like their records, which was hard to do, I think, back then ...
I also remember seeing them a few time at the Hollywood
Palladium, which also was a great place to see shows back then .... it held
more than SM Civic, I think, and also was open seating .... the beauty of the
Palladium was that not only was the floor wide open but they had a balcony
with a bar upstairs .... again, we would get there early, and rather than just
rush to the stage, would go up top and grab a table or two overlooking the
floor and stage.
Skipping (stumbling?) ahead a little bit, I may also have seen them at the
Forum .... when they finally were making a real name for themselves -- and
just before they made it huge (this is, I think, still before he/they broke
your heart) I saw them open for the Rolling Stones at the LA Coliseum, then a
little after that, when they had made it, when they headlined the 15,000 or
so-seat LA Sports Arena for three nights in a row ... backtracking a tad,
which is my perrogative, one of the most insane nights ever for a Geils show
was at the SM Civic .... don't remember the year,.... well, anyway, I had mailed in for
four tickets and what I got were four tix front and center in the first row of
the orchestra pit .... we were iliterally right up against the stage -- inches
away, in fact, and close enough even to rub elbows with your beloved Seth J.
Moving ahead to recent seasons, I saw Wolf twice with the Houseparty 5 within
a few days of each other; once at the 400 or so seat Coach House in San Juan
Capistrano (there were about 100-150 in attendance) and later that week at the
Strand in Redondo Beach (about 500 capacity) .... we were, like, 20 feet away
at CH and about 5 feet away at Strand .... this was part of what was billed as
the "Hit And Run" Tour and the shows were simply fabulous .... no harp player
in band and, it should be noted, the keyboard guy wasn't near as talented as
Your Sethness ..... these shows were about a year or two before "Long Line"
came out, but I remember him doing a couple songs from it, including, "Romeo
Is Dead" (by the way, I love "Long Line" which is honest and introspective,
which is what I dig) .... also saw Wolf once after "Long Line" came out, think
it was two summers ago, at House of Blues in Hollywood .... saw J. Geils and
Magic Dick a couple, three years ago at B.B. King's blues club in Universal
City; it was same night that Eric Clapton sold out the Forum, and there must
have been at least 50 of us there (I loved it, especially JG, who I think is a
tremendous guitar player) ... oh, did I say, that the only bit of Geils
memorabilia I own was a shirt I bought after seeing Wolf the first time
around; it's black and on the front is a caricature of PW with the words, "If
It's In You, It's Got To Come Out."