Just before the holidays back in November, our friends over at the Gramercy Ale House in New York City had a challenging situation on their hands: Their live music entertainment for a holiday event dropped out at the last minute. The event was intended to be a fundraiser, hoping to raise money for a family-in-need for the holidays. They did what any venue in need of awesome live music would do: They called the Jakephone.

A live show on Black Friday? Could Jake even make it into the city with thousands of frenzied consumerists road raging in their SUVs? Would the anti-consumerists dare leave their pajama-party Netflix binge-fests to get dressed and pay money just to see a cover band in a pub? Were some of us hyper-focused, borderline obsessed, with consumerism?

Probably. Who cares. Chalk that up to a heavy rotation of Peanuts holiday specials if you must.

We thought it over briefly and decided to go for it; it was for a good cause, it would probably be a lot of fun, and if nobody showed up we could say we got paid for rehearsing in a cool NYC venue.

If you’ve had the pleasure of frequenting the establishment, you may be thinking “where the hell can they fit a live band in here?” This was Scotty’s exact thought when he scouted out the place. We’d have to do it acoustic, with minimal percussion, and no effects pedals.

WHAT?! NO PEDALS?!! Yeah right; I’m using artistic license here. OF COURSE we made room for pedals! Duh. I digress…

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Photos ©2016 Drew Podwall

Monith assembled a “light” drum kit consisting of an electronic kick drum, a home-made snare drum, and a makeshift cymbal stand with everything but the kitchen sink attached to it. Staying true to the tradition of Jake irony, it turns out that in hindsight the electronic kick drum has a larger footprint than its acoustic counterpart. Not only that, but it’s a pain in the ass- the rigging of all the wires and pedals caused Monith to injure his hand just minutes before we went live.

With that minor setback aside, the band took the “stage” and tore the flippin’ house down. Folks came up and sang with the band, people danced all night, folks shouted non-stop requests, drunkards stole the band’s jalapeño poppers– just your typical night out in a NYC pub. We even played songs we had never rehearsed or, in some cases, ever heard before- although this is really nothing new for us. There were even a few “Jake and the Moon Men” moments when Dáithí O’Coire (Dave Kerry) from Moonspank got up and sang a few covers, and even an original tune with Jake.

The good news is that not only did we have a blast, but a normally fickle NYC crowd of (mostly) strangers begged us for more and more. After four encores, we decided to call it a night. At this point in time, most of us have young children at home that don’t care how late we were up the night before when the have a pressing urge to break their fast with a heaping bowl of sugary cereal.

Our long-time friend and fan Drew Podwal made it to the show with his camera and his amazing eye. Thanks for the photos, Drew! We owe you a beer.

Set 1
Life On a Chain
No Excuses
Midnight Rider
Santeria
You Wreck Me
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
Just Like Heaven
And It Stoned Me
I Wanna Be (500 Miles) (feat. Dáithí O’Coire)
Everybody Wants to Rule the World (feat. Dáithí O’Coire)
Beds Are Burning (feat. Moonspank)
My Best Friend’s Girl
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
Mama Tried
Dark Hollow
All Along the Watchtower

Set 2
Handle With Care (feat. Paul Fischetti)
Brown Eyed Girl (feat. Paul Fischetti)
The Man Who Sold the World
Radio Radio
Just What I Needed
Blue Christmas
Low
Rain King
Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)/Another One Bites the Dust [Medley] (feat. Dáithí O’Coire)
Friends in Low Places (feat. Mike Meyers)
Hey Ya
Laid (feat. Dáithí O’Coire)
With or Without You/Under Pressure/So Lonely [Medley] (feat. Dáithí O’Coire)
Alright (feat. Dáithí O’Coire)
Africa
867-5309/Jenny

Encores
Blister in the Sun
Jesse’s Girl
Suspicious Minds
Don’t You (Forget About Me) (feat. Dáithí O’Coire)

Great Scott! Jake has returned safely to the year 2016! Thank you to those of you who traveled back in time with us to the late 1990s as we all had an opportunity re-live an historic Jake lineup and set list.

To say the show was both fun and successful would be a profound understatement. Jake owes each and every one of you a huge thanks for making it out to Tom & Jerry’s, and is relieved to hear that all traversed home safely during the insane weather that finished off the evening. Attendance was at an all-time high, and spirits followed suit. Jake is not the few of us on stage, but the collection of all of us together. Thank you, everyone.

Take a peek at some photos and stop by the Bootlegs page to listen along.

And now, we send Jake to the Future!

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Set 1
The Boys Are Back in Town
Santeria
You Wreck Me
(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding
Just Like Heaven
Hurts So Good
What I Am
Torn
Walking On Sunshine
Time/Breathe Reprise
All Along the Watchtower
Synchronicity II

Set 2
Shimmer
You May Be Right
Just What I Needed
Low
Revolution
Rain King
Just a Girl
These Are Days
Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Africa
Alive
Up On Cripple Creek
Brian Wilson
Blister in the Sun
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
867-5309/Jenny

Encores
Suspicious Minds
Better Man
Life On a Chain
Message in a Bottle

“Didn’t you guys just play Lucy’s?”
“Yeah. But they asked us to come back, so here we are!”

It’s only been 5 weeks since the last Lucy’s show, but we returned with a vengeance. It was a rainy night, so turnout was a bit low- but that didn’t discourage us one bit.

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^{Photos ©2016 John Apicelli}

We’d like to give a special shout-out to Scotty Wood who did a tremendous job filling in on guitar for Brendan. We picked up some of Scotty’s favorite tunes, and they went over really well!

Set 1
Take It Easy
Breathe
You Really Got Me
You Wreck Me
Corduroy
No Excuses
Wish You Were Here
Revolution
Lady Picture Show
Today
Say It Ain’t So
Just What I Needed
Surrender

Set 2
Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love
Purple Rain
Santeria
Vasoline
Good Times Bad Times
Sex On Fire
Love Shack
Rebel Yell
Possum Kingdom
Sympathy for the Devil
Creep
Just Like Heaven
Billie Jean
Under Pressure
Highway to Hell

When we rolled into Lucy’s, we realized something was drastically different from our show in August: Where the hell did they put the fucking stage?

Not having the stage actually had its benefits; we spread out and took over the whole front of the bar. Folks who showed up were dancing and singing along to every song. One of them kept requesting Queen. So we played two Queen songs. Listen, you ask of Jake, we deliver. That’s just how it works.

Jake and the Mountain Men were extremely happy to debut Mr. Greg Saracino on the drums. He had a very short time to learn an awful lot of songs, and he totally nailed it!

After two face-melting sets, the audience still demanded more. To paraphrase:

“Play Journey!”– Lucy’s patron.
“We don’t know any… OK, fine…  JUST A SMALL TOWN GIRL…“– Mussels.

We look forward to returning to Lucy’s very soon.

Set 1
Intro
Vasoline
Aeroplane
My Best Friend’s Girl
Say It Ain’t So
You May Be Right
…Now Drink Some More
Santeria
Honky Tonk Women
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Heart and Soul
Jailbreak
I Melt With You
Dancing in the Dark
Are You Gonna Go My Way
Handle With Care
Possum Kingdom
Pressure

Set 2
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
In the Meantime
Creep
All Along the Watchtower
Synchronicity II
Radio, Radio
Dancing With Myself
I Wanna Be Sedated
Hurts So Good
Beds Are Burning
Old Man (Tease)
Low
Solsbury Hill
Love Me Two Times (Tease)
Under Pressure
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Revolution
Just Like Heaven
American Girl
867-5309-Jenny
Working for the Weekend

Encores
Laid
Don’t Stop Believin’ (Attempt)

Jakes, you really came out of the woodwork to make it to this show! It did not go unnoticed– we love you all! Thank you so much for continuing to support our aging, cranky asses.

Jake isn’t used to being on stage, at least not since our infamous show at Vintage in White Plains back in 2009. Looking out and seeing so many familiar faces made it a very fun night for us.

Lucy’s prefers that bands play two longer sets, and it just so happens that we prefer it that way too. If you didn’t get a chance to see this show, we’re working on setting up another date so stay tuned!

 

Set 1
The Boys Are Back in Town
Sweet Emotion
Last Nite
Heart and Soul
My Best Friend’s Girl
Buddy Holly
Possum Kingdom
All Along the Watchtower
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Billie Jean
Just Like Heaven
Africa
What I Like About You
Hurts So Good
Are You Gonna Go My Way
Honky Tonk Women
Sex On Fire

Set 2
Santeria
Pressure
Corduroy
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
American Girl
In the Meantime
New Age Girl
Night Moves
It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
Jesse’s Girl
867-5309-Jenny
I Melt with You
Dancing with Myself
I Wanna Be Sedated
Suspicious Minds
Hey Ya
Under Pressure
Easy Lover
Baba O’Riley
Blister in the Sun
Laid
(Alright, Fuck It, Let’s Play) Everlong

What a show, Jakes!

We stuck TSM’s drum kit in the corner but he could not be contained; he’s a beast. We tried to stump him by throwing a Police song in the mix without his knowledge.

Dino, you’re fucking killing me right now.” –TSM

Don’t worry, he crushed it.

The crowd was brimming with enthusiasm, and requests. We played, and then we played some more, until the place was practically empty. Then we played for those people. Maybe we played for ourselves? Maybe we just forgot how to stop?

Thank you for coming out, for screaming, for making requests, for singing along, for dancing, for hanging out with us until the wee hours of the morning, for going to work late the next day…

Thank you for being Jake.

#Repost @putnick7 ・・・ By the way, which one's Jake?

A post shared by Jake & the Mountain Men (@jakeandthemountainmen) on Jun 4, 2015 at 10:48pm PDT

 

Set 1
Sweet Emotion
Stuck in the Middle With You
I Melt With You
Hurts So Good
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Just Like Heaven
Heart and Soul
My Best Friend’s Girl
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
No Excuses
All Along the Watchtower
Santeria
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
Buddy Holly
Jesse’s Girl
Circle the Drain

Set 2
Jailbreak
Revolution
Honky Tonk Women
In the Meantime
New Age Girl
What I Like About You
Love and Memories
Blister in the Sun
She
Dancing in the Dark
Message in a Bottle
867-5309/Jenny
Sex on Fire
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Suspicious Minds
Hey Ya
Baba O’Riley

Encores
Dani California
The Boys are Back in Town
Eyes of the World
Sweet Home Alabama/All Summer Long/Werewolves of London
Easy Lover

The Mountain Men have a running gag about being the self-proclaimed loudest band in Westchester. We often joke about our ears ringing for days after our shows. Well, as it turns out tinnitus and hearing loss are not actually that funny at all. A few of us actually suffered from noise-induced hearing loss for 24-hours after the show. While we planned on helping to ring in the new year back in December, we instead ended up ringing our own ears for months.

We hope you got your hearing back.

It was a Christmas show, and our gift to you was the long-term remembrance of our last show! Merry Christmas!

Many of you came in full support, wearing your horrendously ugly sweaters. This is normally where we would make a reference to Bill Cosby, but we wouldn’t want to risk triggering anyone at the moment.

Christmas tunes were demanded, and we delivered. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is to take yourself seriously while wearing Grandma’s bedazzled, over-sized, woolen, holiday vest. As usual, we had a blast playing for you folks at the RGAB, and the next show couldn’t possibly come any sooner!

Cheers,
–The Mountain Men

Ugly Sweater Setlist
Please Come Home for Christmas
Just Like Heaven
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
Circle the Drain
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Cradle of Love
Sex On Fire
Locked out of Heaven
I Will Survive
Little Saint Nick
Undone (The Sweater Song)
Dim
O Holy Night
American Girl
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
My Best Friend’s Girl
Blue Christmas
Honky Tonk Women
Hurts So Good
Last Night
Interstate Love Song
Run Rudolph Run
Santeria
Take Me Out
Corduroy
She
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Surrender
Love and Memories
Dancing With Myself
I Wanna Be Sedated
867-5309/Jenny
Rock and Roll All Nite
Jesse’s Girl
Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart
Blister in the Sun
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Laid
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Working for the Weekend
Sweet Child O’ Mine (Tease)
Highway to Hell

“The Train Kept A-Rollin'” is what song we should have played, as it was the theme of the evening. The band performed a ‘Jake-A-Thon,’ pushing for over 3 hours without any break– with one minor detour for a round of shots, courtesy of Monith (friend and drummer extraordinaire).

Electric and eclectic describes the extra-long mega-set. The crowd was a tad sparse, but those present made themselves heard. If the band wasn’t loud enough to puncture eardrums, our fans did their best to assist. Some RG&B regulars had some odd requests, we did our best to oblige– although Jimmy Buffett remains off the table at this time. Seriously, people?

This show was in jeopardy of being cancelled as a certain unnamed lead singer neglected to recall the gig that he, himself, booked half a year before double-booking himself on a European vacation (Big Ben, Parliament, etc.). Luckily the wonderfully accommodating staff at the RG&B agreed to shift the date, allowing us to perform with our fabulous frontman. Yes, we’re clearly still giving him a hard time about it– it’s only fair, right? And now let’s wax lyrical about him for a moment because, even while fighting jet-lag, Mussels put on a killer performance– hitting all the right notes and getting right in there to fire up the audience.

The same can not be said about Jake, himself, as he was again absent– this time allegedly suffering from something known as ‘Pink Sock Disease’. We urge you– please do not Google it. We did, and we can’t unsee what we’ve seen. Please, just trust us on this one. Get well, Jake!

The “Jake-A-Thon” Mega-Set
Midnight Rider
Just Like Heaven
I Wanna Be (500 Miles)
Love and Memories
Santeria
Like a Stone
Better Man
Wonderwall
Circle the Drain
Just What I Needed
Hurts So Good
Beds are Burning
Take Me Out
Counting Blue Cars
All Along the Watchtower
Billie Jean
Life on a Chain
American Girl
Radio, Radio
Don’t You (Forget About Me)
Are You Gonna Go My Way?
Sex On Fire
Dancing in the Dark
Everybody Wants to Rule the World
Last Night
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Low
She
Working for the Weekend
Brian Wilson
Hey Ya!
Easy Lover
Blister in the Sun
Laid
In the Meantime
New Age Girl
867-5309/Jenny
Panama

“When I come home, cold and tired, it’s good to warm my bones beside the fire…“– ‘Time,’ Pink Floyd

Thank you, all of you, who braved the polar vortex to come rock out with us at the Rye Grill & Bar! Let’s not mix words, it was really fucking cold that night. So cold, in fact, that Jake himself didn’t make it to the show since the door to his cabin in the mountains was frozen shut. Whatever, he always seems to have some excuse.

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^{Photos ©2014 Ashley Covelli}

The crowd response was a bit ‘chilly’ during the first set, but towards the end of the evening everyone seemed to be catching that warm and fuzzy feeling that Jake was churning out. However, by that point the band was out of material and began to take requests. “Rhiannon!” shouted an overzealous fan (who likely just saw Stevie Nicks’ cameo in the most recent episode of American Horror Story: Coven). Jake obliged. Yes, we freakin’ played Rhiannon. (Well, sort of.) But who are we to say no?

While it did eventually take an interpretive dance from Mussels to warm up the crowd, hearing them chant “ONE MORE SONG!” at the end of the night concluded the show on a high note.

We’ll see y’all again when this frost has finally melted! Cheers!

Set 1
Stuck in the Middle
Wonderwall
Night Moves
Take It Easy
Everyone Wants to Rule the World
I’ve Got a Name
No Matter What
Dark Hollow
Solsbury Hill
Beds Are Burning
Midnight Rider
Mary Jane’s Last Dance
Just Like Heaven
Wild Night
Africa

Set 2
Last Night
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
Love Shack
It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)
Hurts So Good
The Joker
Beverly Hills//Here I Go Again/Pour Some Sugar On Me (Medley)
Life on a Chain
Jesse’s Girl
Hey Ya!
Blister in the Sun

Encores
867-5309/Jenny
Message in a Bottle
Laid
Working for the Weekend
Rhiannon (Tease)
Take Me Out
Everlong
Dancing With Myself
I Wanna Be Sedated