On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

This article first ran in the May 13, 2009 edition of The Somerville News.

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

Before the recent arrival of Bono and U2 to play at the Somerville Theater, there was another monumental ground breaking concert held in the city. It was the summer of 1978 and the concert was held at Powder House Park.

1978 was the year after I graduated from college, but there were more notable happenings back then. Grease, Animal House and Superman were at the movies. The Bee Gees controlled the radio waves with music from Saturday Night Fever. The President was Jimmy Carter (great year for Jimmy’s). Unfortunately, the Yankees beat the Red Sox for the American League Championship. We were hopeful that the Viet Nam War would stay ended and committed to taking care of our wounded heroes. We were also nursing the heartache of losing sons, brothers, husbands, wives and friends in that horrible war. We were trying to find happy things to do and one August day we got very happy.

I’m pretty sure that the great summer concert of 1978 was sponsored by Somerfest.

You remember Somerfest don’t you? A crew of youth workers would show up with a truck and block off a street. People would set up lawn chairs or sit on their porches and listen to a concert. When my band showed up it was a rock concert that could be heard for blocks. We played on my aunt’s street, the bass player’s street, my street, the lead guitar player’s street, and even in front of my grandmother’s house. When we played on my street, we used my house as the “dressing room” and backstage area. Big Sal was in charge of setting up the stage and blocking off the street. He is still my friend to this day.

So this concert at Powder House Park was a mega concert. Three bands! Bands that I mentioned in my April Fools article – only this show was for real. The Tools (formerly Shadowfax), Dillinger and Zenophon were the featured groups.

It was a perfect hot summer Saturday and the crowds began to form early. The Tools set up at the bottom of the park near the corner of Liberty and Broadway. Dillinger was set up on the back of a flatbed truck a little way up the hill. Zenophon, featuring David Stefanelli, was at the very top near the tower. We started the concert with a brand new song that we had never played in public before. It went on to be, along with Love My Money, a 45 rpm record that we released later that year. It actually was in the jukeboxes at Harold’s Luncheonette and The Embassy Lounge. The song that began that day long music festival was called Spark ‘Em Up. As soon as we played the last note of the last song of our set, Dillinger blasted the first resounding riffs of their set. And to continue the seamless afternoon of rock, Zenophon started just as Dillinger strummed their last chord. I can still hear Stef’s awesome voice echoing through the trees and filling the park with righteous rock! 3 bands supplying hours of continuous rock to a swarm of happy, well behaved rockers. It was heaven! What a day! What a concert! What a memory (LOL). Lots of Led (Zeppelin)!

So Bono, we love you man, but you ain’t got nothing on us! We played Powder House Park on a day that a lot of us will never forget, long before you graced the Somerville Theater stage. By the way, please come back soon, you rule.

Move it up 30 years or so and the tradition continues. “Somerville Student Rocks” will be a concert featuring local talented musicians on Thursday May 28 at the Somerville High School Auditorium at 7 p.m. – and it’s free! Interested musicians, singers, songwriters, bands, etc. in grades 6 through 12 should show up at auditions on Friday May 15 from 2:45 pm to 6 pm at the Somerville High School Auditorium. No back tracks or karaoke please – live – not Memorex! Somerville’s new comedy troupe “Klass Klownz” will open the show with some funny songs and bits.

Continuing the long tradition of supplying fine entertainment for our great city, the office of Mayor Joe Curtatone announced a meeting for local teens interested in this year’s Sunsetters. We will be rehearsing four nights a week in June and performing four nights a week for seven weeks during the summer. Performances include the fireworks celebration on July 2, Artbeat and the Mayor’s Annual Senior Picnic. Those chosen will receive a stipend of $500.00 for the summer. Interested teens willing to work hard and be part of an elite group with a historic reputation for excellence should come to the Tab Building at 167 Holland St. Thursday May 21 at 6:30 p.m. Who knows, we may have the next Bono, or Cher Bono, or a huge rock star who eats Bon Bons.

Somerville has always produced a lot of talent and this year, because we have so much going on, it promises to be a great summer with lots of excitement.

So you see, it was nice to have a mega group like Bono and U2 come to Somerville, but we are a very special city that is packed with our own talent. The great rock concert of 1978 at Powder House Park was the closest Somerville ever got to Woodstock. If you were there, you know what I mean.