July 4th Weekend 2011

As in years passed, it was another fun-filled 4th of July weekend for The E Street Shuffle. Things kicked off on Friday night with a show at The Mad Hatter, which featured everything we’ve come to expect from a good Hatter show: a large crowd, lots of drinking, people nearly taking out one of the keyboards and bar owner Scott Kelly waving an American flag from atop the bar during “Born in the USA.” This highlight of the night was without a doubt Bill Shanker’s saxophone solo during “Jungleland.” The “Big Shank” took center stage as he belted out a tribute to Clarence Clemons that left everybody in awe. It was one of those magical moments as a musician that we’ll always remember.
Saturday night we headed further down the beach to Point Pleasant for a performance at Farrell’s. The night started off slow, but picked up steam as the set wore on, ending with a triumphant “Rosalita.”
After a day of rest the band continued down the Jersey coast to Cape May for the second annual 4th of July Bash at Harry’s Ocean Grill at the Montreal Inn. The rooftop setting overlooking the ocean was simply splendid and as the temperature cooled off a bit throughout the show, the crowd’s enthusiasm increased to a fever pitch. The third and final set of the night was an all-out dance party made up of a diverse age range of people from toddlers to senior citizens. “Murder Inc.” and “Downbound Train” were amongst the many requests performed and “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” was dusted off and performed for the first time in months. A wonderful Independence Day at the shore came to a close appropriately with a fireworks display over the ocean.