Cape May holds a second Last Waltz at Convention Hall to benefit the Greater Cape May Chamber of Commerce.
Photo by Ted Kingston
On November 23rd over two dozen of Jersey Cape’s strongest talents shared the stage of Cape May’s Convention Hall to pay homage to the 1976 farewell concert put on by The Band called The Last Waltz, which was also made into a documentary concert film by Martin Scorsese.
Gordon Vincent by Ted Kingston
We heard incredible covers of beloved songs by The Band like “Up On Cripple Creek,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “Coyote,” as well as songs by other folk-rock legends that performed at the original concert like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and more.
The setlist brought the audience on a collective journey from upbeat tunes with a high energy impact from all the moving parts on stage including a full range of strings, horns, keys, triangles and chimes, then to slow and sentimental songs where most musicians would leave the stage to intimately spotlight just a voice or two.
Toni Teschner and Chris Gillin-Schwartz taken by Ted Kingston
Bernadette Matthews and Doreen Talley, President and Director of the Chamber of Commerce, approached Marnie Bevan Lengle last year to produce a concert in an effort to raise funds for the Chamber. Marnie is an exceptionally talented local musician with much experience in producing larger scale musical events, including concerts at Harbor Square Theater and Crow Creek Farm. She had worked and performed with Bernadette in the past. “Bernadette is a talented singer and we have worked together on many occasions over the past eight plus years,” said Marnie. She also mentioned how instrumental Stan Sperlak of The Sperlak Gallery & Sculpture Gardens was to aiding in the production; “We rehearse at The Barn and Stan is a big help with the sound & stage details.”
Tom Naglee and Don Shough by Ted Kingston
Marnie spoke about her choice of theme and direction for this event. “The Last Waltz film and music have been a big influence on my passion for Americana music. It’s so many styles rolled into one: blues, New Orleans jazz, folk, and rock & roll. I’ve been working with dozens of Jersey Cape-based players and singers for almost a decade, producing shows where we can all play together and let loose and we all love this music.”
Bernadette Matthews, Marnie Bevan Lengle, Nate Kennedy taken by Ted Kingston
She continued, “Plus, the original show was on Thanksgiving in 1976 at The Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, and I knew our show would happen close to Thanksgiving. A funny thing—The Winterland doubled as a skating rink (ice, not roller) and as a music venue, a lot like Convention Hall.”
A tender moment of the performance paid tribute to the late Lois Smith who had made such a significant impact on our community. Jeff Hebron’s moving cover of “River” by Joni Mitchell in honor of Lois left the crowd misty-eyed.
Jeff Hebron by Ted Kingston
“On my way to soundcheck, I received a call from a friend who told me the sad news about Lois Smith’s passing,” shared Marnie. “Lois Smith is Cape May Music. She left an impact on everyone she met and on everyone that heard her perform. She was an intuitive artist, an incredible performer and funny as hell. She was so interesting, multi-talented and even at 90+ years old, there was no age difference between you, just wisdom and love. I was lucky to work with her a few times over the past five years or so and I loved her. Many of us felt her spirit on Saturday night. She will be so missed.”
“I wanted to honor those classics [songs by The Band] again this year, plus others by Neil Young, Van Morrison & Dylan that we did last year. We added a couple of new [Bob] Dylan songs, some more Bruce [Springsteen] this year to honor one of Jersey’s own and a feature originals by three of Cape May’s singer/songwriters. We have many great artists here and I want to continue to highlight their talents.”
This second annual event gave the opportunity to see so many local artists collaborate for a powerful performance and true music-lover’s occasion in support of The Chamber of Commerce of Greater Cape May.
The twenty-nine performers were involved in both this year’s show and last.
This year’s participants were: Mike Dotterer – trombone, Steve Dribbon – trumpet, Eddie Morgan – trumpet, Jim Moore – trumpet, Connor Devlin – tuba, Mike Lloyd – organ, Amy Hufana – keyboard, Ric Rutherford – keyboard, Jim Hannah – drums, Jeff Hebron – djembe/vocals, Max Crowley – percussion/vocals, Nate Kennedy – lead guitar, Don Shough – lead guitar, Rick Ferrante – guitar, Walt Sapsai, Jr – bass, Doc Schwartz – bass, Chris GS – mandolin/dulcimer, Tom Naglee – fiddle/mandolin, Mark Ternosky – harmonica, Toni Teschner – vocals/acoustic guitar, Audrey Snow – vocals/acoustic guitar, Jimm Ross – vocals/acoustic guitar, Gordon Vincent – vocals/acoustic guitar, Mike Curley – vocals/acoustic guitar, Marnie Lengle – vocals, Bernadette Matthews – vocals, Craig DeWitt – acoustic guitar/vocals, Debra Donahue – vocals, David Check – poetry performance
