J. Geils Band - Just Can't Wait - 3/22/1980 - Oakland Coliseum Arena (Official)
J. Geils Band -
Just Can't Wait
Recorded Live: 3/22/
1980 -
Oakland Coliseum Arena -
Oakland, CA
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Personnel:
John Geils - guitars
Stephen Jo Bladd - percussion, drums
Seth Justman - keyboard, vocals
Danny Klein - bass
Magic Dick - harmonica
Peter Wolf - vocals
Summary:
This performance by blues-rock outfit J. Geils Band was captured on March 22, 1980 at the legendary
Oakland Coliseum for the
King Biscuit Flower Hour. The concert finds the band on the cusp of its greatest success. The group is touring behind its 1980 release
Love Stinks, an
album that climbed all the way to
No. 18 on
Billboard's
Pop Albums chart.
The group is at its kinetic best, as evidenced by their opener "Jus'
Can't Stop Me," the last track from their tenth album, 1978's
Sanctuary. From there, they keep the energy up with storming versions of "
Night Time," "Just Can't Wait," and "
Come Back"-all key tracks from Love Stinks.
John "
J." Geils' guitar work is up to his high standard, with his bluesy licks peppering the songs and really bringing them to life.
Lead vocalist, the aptly named Peter Wolf, is full of personality and spirit, and he consistently engages the crowd with his quirky banter and passionate vocals. The rhythm section, comprised of drummer Stephen Jo Bladd and bassist Danny Klein, serve as the group's powerful engine room, providing a solid template for Geils,
Wolf, keyboard player Seth Justman, and multi-instrumentalist Magic Dick (trumpet, saxophone, harmonica) to play off.
The group sets a party mood, and the audience really responds.
This recording makes it clear why J. Geils Band remained a popular touring band for almost 20 years and is still remembered fondly by music fans who know them for more than a certain 1980's radio smash.
Though
J. Geils band was best known for their 80s-pop hit "
Centerfold," they formed 15 years before the release of said song
. In the mid '60s,
Worcester, Massachusetts blues guitarist John Geils formed a blues group called
Snoopy and the
Sopwith Camels with Danny Klein on bass and
Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz on harmonica. In
1967, the group recruited Peter Wolf to sing and Stephen Jo Bladd on drums, under the moniker the J. Geils
Blues Band. By
1970, the group had signed with
Atlantic Records, picked up Seth Justman on organ, and dropped "Blues" from their name.
The group released its self-titled debut on
November 16, 1970, and it wasn't much of a commercial success. However, it charted in the
Billboard Top 200 (No. 195), and gave the band a base to start touring. About half of the disc's 11 songs are covers of songs made popular by famous blues singers, like
John Lee Hooker's "Serves You
Right to
Suffer" and "
First I
Look At the Purse"-a song co-written by
Smokey Robinson and
Bobby Rogers (member of the
Miracles), that was made famous by the
Contours. Their next album,
1971's
The Morning After, shared a similar covers-to-originals ratio to its predecessor, but it was a bigger hit, charting at No. 64 on the charts.
Over the next the next nine years put out more than seven studio albums, two live albums, and a "
Best of" disc, but none of them made the commercial dent that their
1981 album
Freeze Frame did. Freeze Frame hit
No. 1 mostly on the strength of the massive single "Centerfold." The single shot up the charts, hitting the top of the
Billboard Hot 100. Though the album was much more radio-friendly and polished than their early work, it retains a touch of the bluesy style of their past, especially in Geils' guitar work.
Only two years after their monster hit, Wolf left the group, citing creative differences. From there, the band began to fall apart. The released the
1984 flop, You're
Getting' Even While I'm Getting' Odd, with Justman on vocals and called it a day shortly thereafter. The group has since reformed to play the occasional one-off show, but they show no signs of reforming fulltime.