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6/18: Why They Call It the Blues

June 18, 2012 — , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


No stranger to the blues, GARY CAVICO is himself the beneficiary of some Blue Cheer this Saturday, when an allstar assembly of cronies and contemporaries gather at Chico’s House of Rouse to jam him out of a jam. That, plus the fact that he’s just so easy to draw, give Cavico the nod over the lovely (but LEAVING…see Wednesday’s picks) ANJELIA PELAY for this week’s featured townie toon.

Well, when he “woke up that mornin,” we’ll wager that even as experienced a bluesman as Gary Cavico never reckoned he’d be having THAT bad a day. But several months back, the veteran Shore saloon singer — a guy who’s long been one of those performers you could count on to put his Muddy where his Wolf is at fundraisers and benefits of all shapes and sizes — suffered one of those born-under-a-bad-sign setbacks that tend to sandbag you from all fronts. A vehicle fire at his home managed not only to damage his house, but also destroy both his car (within which were “two of his Fender guitars, an amp, a substantial amount of cash, his wallet, and other valuables”) AND his van, the mobile “office” for his dog grooming business.

This Saturday, June 23, a gang of Gary’s friends, Romans and countrymen send forth some friendly fire, as they gather at Chico’s House of Jazz to help put Cavico’s livelihood back on track. Featured in the matinee hootenanny will be Jo Wymer (2pm), followed at 3:15 by Sandy Mack and Friends (Sonny Kenn, Marc Ribler, Eryn Shewell); The Incinerators (4:30); Stone Blue with Gary Neuwirth (5:45) and the Chuck Lambert Band (7-8pm). There’s NO truth to the rumor that a canine chorus of Cavico clients might join in on howling harmonies — but there’s always a chance that the guest of honor may be persuaded to join his fellow musical do-goodniks. Chico’s House of Jazz, 631 Lake Ave. (Shoppes at the Arcade building), Asbury Park • 2-8pm/ $15 suggested donation

Still, this ain’t but a momentary blip within all that’s going on round the Upper Wet Side this week. For MORE ‘pinionated picks pertaining to the days and nights ahead, turn that record OVAH…

MONDAY! Leigh Howard Stevens at the Marimba in Asbury. It may seem a stretch to call Monmouth County’s Leigh Howard Stevens the “Boss” of the marimba — but it should be noted that he once played drums in a band managed by Max Weinberg, who would later say of Stevens, “I wanted to rock, and he wanted to become a musician.”

Of course, if you can name only ONE of the nation’s premier classical marimbists, let it be Leigh Howard Stevens — the artist, innovator, entrepeneur and proud son of Jersey who modified the existing “Musser grip” into a frankly revolutionary, vertically held, four-mallet technique that broadened the sonic spectrum of the percussion player’s palette. Developer of the world-shaking “MoM” (Method of Movement) approach; author of the definitive textbook on this new style of playing; scholar, guru and businessman; Stevens has built Neptune-based Mostly Marimba Productions into the world’s biggest name in publishing, record distribution and products for the instrument.

If it’s June, it must be time for the Leigh Howard Stevens Summer Marimba festival, the event that collects the nation’s leading classical marimbists (and budding talents) in one seaside setting —  with “mallets aforethought,” and right in our Upper Wet Side back yard. For the traditional wrap-up to the annual Concert Series, Stevens returns to Asbury’s Holy Spirit Church to show all these young upstarts how it’s done — in what promises to be a dazzling display of cutting-edge original compositions and challenging classics. Email for info to seminar@mostlymarimba.com. Holy Spirit Church, 705 Second Ave., Asbury Park • 7pm/ $7- $10 suggested donation

TUESDAY! PEACE, LOVE and BERNIE at The Showroom. Nancy and Mike’s new, expanded arthouse screening space continues to coalesce on the Cookman Avenue “Arts Bloc” — but meantime and between-time the original location of The ShowRoom is back on seven-days-a-week schedule, with the “nifty neighborhood nickelodeon” fighting the good fight against Asbury Park’s Tuesday torpor — this time spotlighting Jack Black as funeral-parlor funster Bernie, while Jane Fonda and director Bruce Beresford both return to form (with aid and abetment of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and the always welcome Catherine Keener) in the don’t'cha-call-it-a-chickflick Peace, Love and Misunderstanding. The Showroom, 708 Cookman Ave., Asbury Park • PEACE… at 4pm and 6pm; BERNIE at 8pm (check website for additional schedule info)

WEDNESDAY! Two River Pride in Red Bank. It’s not Sand Blast Weekend, but it’s certainly a start: in observance of June’s official designation as Pride Month, Two River Theater hosts Red Bank’s FIRST annual event celebrating the local LGTB community, with a “focus on supporting the voices of youth, who will have opportunities to share their own stories and hear from adult role models.” Featured are reading/signing of a Pride Proclamation by Mayor Pasquale Menna, guest speakers (incl. Detective David L. D’Amico of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office and Sue Fulton of the military personnel groups Knights Out and OutServe); an Open Mic of stories, songs and poems hosted by JP Nicolaides, a performance by Giving Voice Choir, a screening of the film Stonewall Uprising, and a reception with food donated by local restaurants. Check out Danielle Tepper’s feature story about the event on redbankgreen, right here. Two River Theater, Bridge Ave. at Edmund Wilson Plaza, Red Bank • 6-9pm/ $5 suggested contriution

WEDNESDAY! Steve Miller at the Basie. He seems like he’s been working his Greatest Hits 1974-1978 album out there on the road since before half his catalog was born, but when Steve Miller lands his “big old road airliner” at the Count Basie Theatre for a humpnight hullabaloo, he’ll be fortified by the full faith and credit of hits that extended well into the decades to follow (including that marvelous throwaway “Abracadabra“), an all new set of music (2011′s Let Your Hair Down), and a whole slew of psych-infused pre-Joker outings that built a best-kept-secret cred with Pompatus and circumstance. Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank • 8pm/ $19.50 – $45

WEDNESDAY! The Catch All-Stars at Surflight. The summertime comedy/ concert series that brought People You Actually Heard Of to Long Beach Island returns to the stage of just-emerged-from-bankruptcy (but unfortunatley damaged by fire in the off season) Surflight Theatre, presented in partnership with Catch A Rising Star. Keep it tuned for the slate that further features one-nighters by Michael Amante (7/9), Ben Bailey (7/11), Joe Piscopo (7/16), Robert Klein (7/18), Jackie Martling (7/25), Judy Gold (7/30), David Brenner (8/8), Pat Cooper (8/20), John and Bucky Pizzarelli (8/22), Uncle Floyd (8/29), and John Cafferty (9/29). Surflight Theatre, Beach and Engleside Aves., Beach Haven • 8pm/ $18

WEDNESDAY! Anjelia Pelay’s Farewell at the Saint. Her IMDb bio sez that “no matter what she was doing or where she was, she was the center of attention, and a star waiting to be discovered.” Born/bred in the suburban superstar spawning grounds of Toms River; claiming both Prom Princess and Varsity Cheerleader in high school; relo’d to Asbury Park (Where Music Lives); the former Angela Chiapelli has clung to that center of attention with taser-like focus — whether she was doing the child piano prodigy thing at age three, being elected Miss Atlantic City, competing in The Pussycat Dolls: The Search for the Next Doll, showing up on The Soup, Gene Simmons Family Jewels and WWE Monday Night Raw, or appearing onscreen in the likes of Spider-Man 3, where she was “Beautiful Woman.”

The rebranded Anjelia Pelay — who signed with Indigo Planet Records (based in the Music City media corridors of Hazlet) and celebrated the release of her debut album Believe (an uber-slick set recorded with the formidable Glen Burtnik last year at “the world’s most famous rock club, The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ” — has announced that she’ll be leaving   the Jersey Shore to seek her fortune in LA, the toddlin’ town that tempted away everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Kevin Smith to Inger Lorre in its day. Fans can convene to wish Anjelia goodspeed and wellspirit at The Saint, with Emily Grove, Tommy Strazza and the Power Trio keeping the home fires burning. The Saint, 601 Main St., Asbury Park • 8pm/ $8 

THURSDAY! Jazz and Blues on Front St., Keyport. Back to the Jewel of the Bayshore, for the inaugural installment in one of the more pleasing slates of summer rain-or-shines presented by the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation.The pocket-park setting of K-port’s quirky old downtown hosts Asbury’s own Slim Chance & the Gamblers, in a set of sets designed to add some bloozy flavor to the hideawy hamlet that’s famously welcomed bootleggers, antiquarians and haunted-house hipsters. Take it here for the full schedule — and check out the JSJBF’s two ongoing series in Long Branch as well. Keyport Mini-Park, corner of Main St. and West Front • 7-9pm/ FREE

THURSDAY! HEDWIG at The Press Room. Is it an evening of Legitimate Theatah — or is it a night of risqué kicks down at the neighborhood rock bar? No need to argue, because when L!VE Asbury Park presents their production of the glam/camp 1990s Off Broadway howler Hedwig and the Angry Inch, they’ll be performing it both as a seated-audience theatrical experience — AND as a “standing room only” midnight show — on the stage of The Press Room, the dynamic downtown Asbury Park club co-owned by L!VE producer Alecia Brooks.

Boasting an onstage rock combo under the direction of Michael Thomas Murray, the three sit-down shows (tonight at 9pm; Friday and Saturday at 8pm) and two late-night lollapaloozas spotlight Chris Hall — a most memorable Frank N. Furter in ReVision Theatre’s 2010 Rocky Horror Show — as Hedwig, the “internationally ignored” transgender glam-rock singer from East Germany whose comically tragic life story (of a botched sex change, Communist Bloc defection, and an obsession with a rock superstar named Tommy Gnosis) unfolds in a series of monologues (text by original star and creator John Cameron Mitchell), “autobiographical” songs (music and lyrics by Stephen Trask) and low-rent gigs with her band The Angry Inch (featuring Kendal Hartse as Yitzhak). Tickets, which range from $20 to $40, include a pre-show cocktail hour and may be reserved online or by calling 866.811.4111. Admission may also be available at the door prior to performance times, with an additional $5 venue charge. Stay tuned for MORE on THIS and other things theatrical around Asbury town, here in this selfsame senses-shattering space.  The Press Room, 610 Bangs Ave., Asbury Park • 9pm/ $20-$40   

THURSDAY! Steven Wright at the Basie. In an interview that appeared previously on the website redbankgreen, laconic comic Steven Wright described a creative process in which “I’ll go out, see something, and write about it when I come home…it’s just lines on paper at first, but when you read it you get the jokes.” All things considered, it was probably the most awkward of the scores of interviews we’ve conducted in our day (Steven Wright offstage is just like Steven Wright onstage, just not so funny) — but when the half-baked Bostonian returns to the stage of the Count Basie Theatre, he’ll be bringing his fans “the same bizarre things you come to expect… abstractions, insane songs. And the next thing you know, it’s over.” Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank • 8pm/ $19.50 – $45

THURSDAY! Kinky Friedman at The Saint. Do the celebrity math: Kinky Friedman is Jimmy Buffett times Ted Nugent, divided by Steve Allen (maybe with trace elements of Don Imus, Henry Rollins, Ron White, Christine Martucci, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy and every next-door neighbor you were ever tempted to take  a Garden Weasel to). Here in what’s shaping up to be a very special week at The Saint, the bracingly branded novelty folkie turned whodunit hacker-outer (turned cigar/tequila entrepeneur, turned political candidate and Perry ‘pologist) finds inland harbor on the railroad-car stage of Scott Stamper’s MainStreet musicbox. Setting the scene is our fave lonesome cowboy on the Shore scene (and a man who knows a thing or three about a wry and funny lyric), the man in black Michael Patrick . The Saint, 601 Main St., Asbury Park • 7:30pm/ CANCELLED!!

FRIDAY! Casino Night for Big Bros/Sis in Asbury. Anyone who ever wondered what Convention Hall would look like with casino gambling, look no further: the donor-supported, volunteer agency Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth & Middlesex Counties holds it fourth annual fundraiser, with gaming tables, music, silent and chance auction items, open bar, light refreshments and more — with proceeds used to “match at-risk children in with volunteer mentors through safe, high quality, professionally supported programs.” For more information, to purchase tickets, or to sponsor the event call 732.444.3538 or take it  here. Convention Hall, Ocean and Fifth Aves., Asbury Park • 7-11pm / $75 advance, $90 door    

FRIDAY! An Evening with David Benoit at CBA. His more than 25 solo recordings range from symphonic outings to small combos; and from the seriously scholarly to star-studded salutes to the music of Charlie Brown cartoons. When Grammy nominated jazz pianist David Benoit returns to Monmouth County for the first time in several years, he’ll be appearing at the Henderson Theatre (on the grounds of Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft) as part of The CBA Jazz Series, “an annual event producing big-name artists in a more up close and personal arrangement.” Only 350 tickets have been offered to the general public, and entry to a pre-show reception featuring light fare, beer and wine is available for an additional $25 per person. For more information or to purchase tix, call 732.747.1959, ext. 212. Henderson Theatre at Christian Brothers Academy, Newman Springs Rd. Lincroft • 7:30pm / $25 – $50    

FRIDAY! Hot Tuna at the Basie. On prior excursions to town, they sold out the Count Basie Theatre for an electrified set that turned the Monmouth Street landmark into a covered-dish casserole of heated jamming. Other trips found them serving up a raw-as-sashimi acoustic tartare — or completing the seafood combo by teaming up with blues harp master Charlie Musselwhite.

When Hot Tuna returns to Red Bank this evening, the (alba)core of septaugenarian guitarist Jorma Kaukonen and bass ace Jack Casady will be plugged into the power grid once more. Musical compadres since their Summer of Love seasons in the Jefferson Airplane, Kaukonen and Casady have hit the occasional flat notes (and had their slightly painful New Wave flirtations — Vital Parts and SVT, respectively) in the course of their long careers. But what started as a moonlighting spinoff (with an original lineup that boasted violin veteran Papa John Creach) evolved into a nimble franchise that navigated into a new century with dignity intact, while the Airplane/Starship  crashed into plane-wreck punchlines like “We Built This City on Rock and Roll.” Those out trolling for Blues tonight would do well to steer their partyboat to the Count’s canyon; tickets start at 25 bucks and are still available right here. Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank • 8pm/ $25 – $45

FRIDAY! Slaid Cleaves and Rod Picott at The Strand. It’s another one of those up-close-and-personal — by which we mean YOU GET TO SIT RIGHT UP THERE ON THE STAGE WITH THE PERFORMERS — songwriter showcases at the historic Strand. This time, the Lakewood landmark hosts a pair of alt-country Americana aces who are truly worthy of the “songwriter” sobriquet; a couple of performing pensmiths who are as far from the Six Flags arena acts as they are from the publicist cubicles of Music Row. Slaid Cleaves and Rod Picott made their mark as co-authors of “Broke Down”, a chart-topper that they both recorded (and which helped Picott get the nod as 2011 Songwriter of the Year by the Freeform American Roots Chart reporters). They went on to pen songs for the soundtrack of the Michael Douglas film Solitary Man — and their latest collaborations include three songs on Picott’s critically acclaimed chartbuster album Welding Burns (“Black T-Shirt,” “Rust Belt Fields” and the title track). It’s a session of story and song for which only 165 tickets have been made available. Strand Center for the Arts, Fourth St. and Clifton Ave., Lakewood • 8pm/ $25    

FRIDAY! Dan Bern at The Saint. Dan Bern, you had us at “Lithuania” — and even if you hadn’t, you’ve still given us plenty else to glom onto, whether in solo-folkie context (“Talkin Al Kida Blues,” “Talkin Alien Abduction Blues”) or with backing band The International Jewish Banking Conspiracy (“Shakespeare’s Got a Gun,” “Tiger Woods”). Having bolstered his stock (but dulled none of his caustically sardonic edge) via his contributions to the soundtracks of Walk Hard and Get Him to the Greek, Bern teams up with frequent roadmates (and LA-based multi-instrumentalists) Common Rotation for his latest encore engagement at The Saint, with the Main Street musicbox reverberating to the sounds of future standards like “Osama in Obamaland,” “Joyce & Galarraga” and “The Golden Voice of Vin Scully.” The Saint, 601 Main St., Asbury Park • 8pm/ $20

FRIDAY! Ky-Mani Marley at Surf Club. On the single that accompanied the release of his book “Dear Dad,” Ky-Mani Marley took on the crushing weight of Bob’s mythic legacy (and the house-arrest ankle bracelet of dynastic pedigree) with smooth style and admirable restraint. His just-released single “The Conversation” (duet with Tessanne Chin) finds the youngest of the Marley bunch returning to the Wailers-infused pop of his earlier stuff like Many More Roads — and we’re willing to wager that when he retakes the stage of Joey Harrison’s Ocean County landmark, he’ll be accentuating the partier aspects of his sound over the more mature and acoustified recent items like “New Heights.” Tix from Ticketmaster or the Surf box office. The Surf Club, 1900 Ocean Ave., Ortley Beach • 9pm/ $20

FRIDAY and SATURDAY! moe. and Gov’t Mule at Stone Pony SummerStage. We suppose we could have done worse for an upstairs neighbor, but when Wheaties moved in up there with his one or two boxes of stuff, it was more like having some sort of scalp parasite. A fortyish “dude” whose shtick was probably old by the time he turned 15, Wheaties had been booted from his home by his ex-wife, who stopped letting their daughter come for visits after he flaked out on the child support. Wheaties was an affable, simple man — the kind of guy who’d play basketball games with his much-younger friends inside the sparsely furnished (no sofa, no TV) pad; a chain-smoker and a power-drinker who tossed butts and empties (and once, inadvertently, himself) from his deck; a guy who’d set off firecrackers in the woods and hide out there when the landlord came round. He was that special breed of man who does his drinking at a liquor-store bar, and when his local hangout closed at 10pm he’d invite his old barfly buds back to his place. Even gave several of them duplicate keys for when they needed a place to crash or party.

Well, when last seen on the bench outside the store, Wheaties announced that he was making a fresh start in New Mexico (did he realize it was still part of the USA?) and that we were welcome to anything left behind up there as he was skipping out on the rent. We mention this only because we’re reminded here of his uniform of choice — a Boston Red Sox baseball cap and a t-shirt that said moe. We’re just sayin. The reigning jam/prog kings return to the The Stone Pony SummerStage for another all-age, earlybird show, with Gov’t Mule. Special late night sets inside the club after the show, featuring Turtle Soup (Friday) and Newton Crosby (Saturday). Stone Pony, Ocean and Second Aves., Asbury Park • doors 4pm/ $35 advance, $40 door (two day ticket $30)

SATURDAY and SUNDAY! SkimBash Weekend in Sea Bright. The 9th annual “Premier ProAm Skimboarding Contest on the Jersey Shore” returns for another June weekend to Sea Bright; an official Skim USA Pro/Am Tour contest (points awarded) in which skimboarders from 5 to over 45, beginners to professionals, show off their skills and compete for a cash purse. Spectators welcome; plenty of family activities, music and food. Call 732.598.6029 or take it here for more info.  Sea Bright Municipal Beach, park off Ocean Ave. • 9am – 4pm/ $8 beach pass required for spectators

SATURDAY! JoviCon at The Wonder Bar. When Bon Jovi played Bamboozle as the curious capper to what was once a “these kids today and their music” kind of event, the band’s hit-dripping set was heard loud and clear through our living room window a scant couple of blocks from the formidable boardwalk stage — but really, the best “seat” in the “house” that wasn’t penned up behind the wristband festival stalag was outside by the north-side “smokers lounge” and snack-bar window of the Wonder Bar on Ocean and Fifth. Lance and Debbie’s circuit landmark offered a down-the-street view of the giant video screens and an experience that was probably no less “there” than the cheaper seats at any arena-scale show — and it’s Der Vunderbar that serves as host venue for JoviCon, a “By the Fans, For the Fans” event featuring live entertainment by FauxJovi tributaries Slippery When Wet. All proceeds go to benefit Jon’s Red Bank based Jon Bon Jovi Soul Kitchen and its affiliated Foundation — although “this is an unoffical event, it is not endorsed by Bon Jovi or management.” Wonder Bar, Ocean and Fifth Aves., Asbury Park • 2pm doors (shows at 9 and 11pm)/ $20 advance, $25 door

SATURDAY! James Taylor at Pee ‘N See. In an interview with Peter Asher that appeared right here in upperWETside the other day, the International Man of Musical Mastery confirmed that he originally made his move from swinging London (where he was a colleague and confidante of The Beatles, no less) to the canyons of California, largely through his belief in the talent of James Taylor, the young American troubador that he originally signed as part of the fabsters’ Apple roster of artists. When an older, more experienced (and infinitely more together) JT returns to the stationary saucer of the PNC Bank Arts Center, he’ll be drawing from a 40-plus year catalog that ranges from the quiet smolder and confessional instability of his landmark early stuff, to the coffee-table commodity of his endlessly rehashed hits. Tix from Live Nation, with all the restrictions, surcharges, pat-downs, confiscations, mark-ups, waits, walks and weather issues that make summer in the Holmdel hills such a magical interlude. PNC Bank Arts Center, Garden State Parkway in Holmdel • 8pm/ $30 – $105

SATURDAY! The Fab Faux at the Basie. In an interview you’ll find archived here on upperWETside, Fab Faux founder Will Lee told us that when he started this awesomely allstar tribute to The Beatles, “I knew that I wanted to have a five piece band, especially since we were taking on so much of the later stuff. The magic in what the Beatles did is in the overdubs, the layering of sounds. With a five piece band, it freed us up from having to be assigned to a part like an actor.”

Lee (of David Letterman’s band), Jimmy Vivino (of Conan) and company return to the Count Basie Theatre to perform the last two LP projects by a fast-fragmenting Beatles — Let It Be and Abbey Road — in their entirety, and with the aid and betment of the Hogshead Horns and Creme Tangerine Strings. Nosebleed seats and mid-level tickets for this show, a fundraiser for the and its programs, are sold out, but various pricing levels are stll available as we post this, with the top ticket also including post-show reception with the band at the Basie’s street-level Carlton Lounge. Count Basie Theatre, 99 Monmouth St., Red Bank • 8pm/ $50, $99, $150, $175

SATURDAY and SUNDAY! Premier presents BEACH BLANKET BROADWAY. Their ballyooed production of Grease was cancelled suddenly “due to unforseen reasons,” but the folks at Asbury Park’s Premier Theatre Company have put together a little forget-me-not for all those who planned an excursion to the musical revival (originally scheduled for the stage of the Paramount Theatre) with two perforances, as FREE RANGE (meaning outdoors) as they are absolutely FREE. Spotlighting songs from past and future Premier offerings, the revue Beach Blanket Broadway goes up on the Fourth Avenue beachfront at 8pm Saturday night — with a Sunday evening encore on the poolside patio of the Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel. (Saturday 6/23) Fourth Ave. beach, Asbury Park • 8pm; (Sunday) Berkeley Oceanfront Hotel, 1401 Ocean Ave. at Sixth Ave., Asbury Park • 5pm/ FREE

SUNDAY! Salute to Ambrose Bierce at The Crane House. It’s another literary-minded movie event in the intimate and historic setting of our home base here in Asbury Park, the little gem that is the Stephen Crane House. This afternoon, your host Frank D’Alessandro celebrates the birthday of Ambrose Bierce (1842-????) — the curmudgeonly Crane contemporary, critic and contrarian who famously penned The Devil’s Dictionary (and even more famously disappeared without a trace in the midst of the Mexican Revolution). Mr. D will be screening the fantastic Frech short film An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge in its seldom-seen (never rerun on TV) presentation as the final episode of Rod Serling’s original Twilight Zone! It’ll be followed by Old Gringo, with Gregory Peck (co-starring with Jane Fonda) in an adaptation of the Carlos Fuentes fiction about Bierce’s last days in the time of Pancho Villa. Refreshments are served and there’s no charge for admission, but reservations accepted at cranehousereservations@gmail.com, and donations accepted for Asbury Park Little League. The Crane House, 508 Fourth Ave., Asbury Park • 4pm/ donations accepted

SUNDAY! “Let’s Do It” in Fair Haven. The Raven and the Peach in Fair Haven is the sophisticated setting for a revue celebrating the work of two of the most sublime songsmiths of the Jazz Age — Noël Coward and Cole Porter. Veteran Shore ivory tickler Bruce Stephen Foster performs at the piano in this benefit event presented by the Monmouth County chapter of the English Speaking Union of the United States, with open bar, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction and (optional) “costumes of the era.”  Raven and the Peach, 740 River Rd., Fair Haven • 5-8pm/ $65

SUNDAY! Mishka & Anuhea at The Wonder Bar. You might even know him as the spokesdude for the ECO’Neill product line, but in addition to being a native of the Caribbean and a bud of j.k livin record label honcho Matthew McConaughey, Mishka is making his return to Asbury Park on a co-headline tour with another rising star whose lite-reggae poptunes go down easy in summertime. As Jewel is to Alaska, so Anuhea is to Hawaii, the homestate haven that she represents both as solo singer and as frequent stagemate of The Green. Opening for the Mishka-Anuhea twosome at the circuit landmark is SoCal acousticat Micah Brown. Wonder Bar, Ocean and Fifth Aves., Asbury Park • 8pm/ $20 advance, $25 door

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