Thursday evening may have been chilly outside, but inside the iconic Dakota was jamming hot with Max Weinberg’s Jukebox band! This was a unique concert in which monitors displayed over 300 classic rock & roll songs to which audience members could choose songs and create a customized setlist. The songs listed on the scrolling marquee were from top bands including The Beatles, The Who, Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, The Eagles, and Neil Young to name a few.
Max introduced his Jukebox band with Chris Holt on guitars/vocals, Glen Burtnik on bass/vocals, and John Merjave on guitar/vocals which led straight into the opening song playing “Nowhere Man” by The Beatles. The audience was amazed with the perfect vocal harmonics right from the first beat and realized they were in for a treat of classic hits all evening at the Dakota!
Additional picked songs to kick off the set included “American Girl” by Tom Petty, “Rebel Rebel” by David Bowie, and “Rocky Mountain Way” by Joe Walsh. Max also had a fun time when someone requested “Louise Louise” in which he responded “we will play the east coast version of Louie Louie” to which everyone clapped and enjoyed the humor! Later in the set, the audience was put to work by clanking on the wine/water bottles at their table and leading out the cowbell rhythm to the Rolling Stones song “Honky Tonk Women” – it was amazing to hear the entire Dakota in perfect rhythm with hundreds of bottles clanking!
Max finished the 1.5 hour set of classic rock songs with the The Who classic hit “I can see for Miles”! He warned the front row audience that he wasn’t sure if he would do a ‘Keith Moon’ drum maneuver at the end of the song in which the drums go flying in all directions….. at the end of the song, the drums stayed intact on the stage to which the crowd gave a full roaring standing ovation in appreciation of the great concert!
Be sure to stop in the Dakota next time Max plays and be ready to choose some top hits for his Jukebox band to play in the setlist!
