Photo Credit: Blaine Schultz
The Smithereens
Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken and guitarist Jim Babjak have been playing music together for over 40 years. On Saturday at Summerfest’s Briggs & Stratton Big Backyard they had the joyful exuberance of those same teenagers.
With singer-guitarist Marshall Crenshaw and bassist Severo Jornacion, the setlist took a tour of the band’s history. When Pat DiNizio died in 2017, the group soldiered on with guest vocalists; Crenshaw (and on other dates Robin Wilson of the Gin Blossoms).
The band’s British Invasion-inspired sound was an unlikely choice in the early MTV era, yet on Saturday the New Jersey band demonstrated the staying power of well-crafted songs with singalong choruses. But this was no oldies revue going through the motions. “Behind the Wall of Sleep,” “Only a Memory” and “Blood and Roses” still resonated. Babjak strummed his guitar windmill-style ala Pete Townsend as the Smithereens referenced “I Can See for Miles” and “Sparks” by The Who, the band that connected Babjak and Diken all those years ago.
Photo Credit: Blaine Schultz
The Smithereens
A threat of rain was no concern to the die-hards, some of whom likely stood on the bleachers back when The Smithereens played at Billy’s Old Mill or the Marcus Amphitheater opening for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
With age comes wisdom. During the concert Babjak and Diken spoke of the old haunts, record stores and AM radio stations that inspired them as kids. At the end of the set the group announced they’d forego the formality leaving the stage for an encore; they just kicked into it. They paid homage, covering Badfinger’s “No Matter What” and the Beatles’ “Please Please Me” before closing with their own hit “A Girl like You.”
