Smithereens officially open new Carteret PAC with a big night of rock, memories and 'eish'
It's a Carteret thing.
The Smithereens played the grand opening of the URSB Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center on Saturday, Dec. 4. The night was so Carteret that fans in the audience started to shout a borough-specific slang word to Smithereens member Jim Babjak as he tuned his guitar.
“Eish!”
“What the (blank),” Babjak said. “Did I just get eished?”
“You most certainly did, and Jimmy, that won't be the last time,” said drummer Dennis Diken.
When the band weren’t playing their hits on Saturday, they were referencing all things Carteret: teachers, bars, pharmacies and more.
The show was part rock concert, part high school reunion and all fun. Original frontman Pat DiNizio passed away in 2017 at the age of 62.
The band has played on with a rotating lineup of lead singers, including Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms and Marshall Crenshaw. Both Wilson and Crenshaw were on stage Saturday, and they each took the mic for certain songs (and sometimes performed together).
“To be here on stage in their hometown performing my favorite song is a huge, huge thrill for me,” said Wilson while introducing “If The Sun Doesn’t Shine.”
“I played keyboards on two different versions of this song back in the day,” said Crenshaw while introducing “Strangers When We Meet.” “It’s a beautiful song, too. I still love it.”
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In the encore, Crenshaw and Wilson teamed up on the Gin Blossoms hit, “Til I Hear It From You,” which they co-wrote.
When not reminiscing, the Smithereens were rocking. Diken delivered deft fills and booming beats on the drums, and Mesaros is a powerhouse on bass. Babjak’s cutting and slashing leads on guitar are all prime.
There were plenty of big riffs and lots of sentimentality, too. Diken dedicated “I Don't Want to Lose You” to his Carteret High School Class of ’75 classmates.
The new USRB Carteret PAC, which has been staging shows since April, is located on the site of the former Ritz Theatre. It includes a 1,600-seat concert venue and smaller jazz/comedy club. Partial funding for the venue came from a $6 million grant from the Middlesex County Cultural Arts Trust Fund.
United Roosevelt Savings Bank, USRB, was awarded naming rights for the next 10 years after a $1 million allotment. Comcast Spectra is the manager of the multi-level venue.
Fans were impressed.
“The theater’s beautiful and it’s a great facility and I though the show was great,” said Rick Poveromo of Piscataway, who was there with wife Janet Poveromo.
The Washington Avenue venue has been staging shows since April. Gov. Phil Murphy and band members attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier on Saturday.
We can now say the URSB Carteret Performing Arts and Events Center has officially been eished.
Story continues after gallery.
The Smithereens setlist
Behind the Wall of Sleep
Top of the Pops
Sorry
Groovy Tuesday
Strangers When We Meet
Now and Then
Only a Memory
Green Thoughts
Waking Up on Christmas Morning
I Don't Want to Lose You
Chain Gang
So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)
Life is So Beautiful
If the Sun Doesn't Shine
Cut Flowers
She's Got a Way
Miles from Nowhere
Drown in my Own Tears
Spellbound
House We Used to Live In
Tommy Medley
Blood and Roses
Til I Hear It from You
No Matter What
Get Off of My Cloud
A Girl Like You
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: The Smithereens open new Carteret PAC with a big night of rock