The kinetic energy of the normally hustling-bustling dinner club was certainly ratcheted down a few notches to a kinder, gentler ambience by the acoustic nature of the duo’s show. With the careful placement of a couple couches on the stage behind them, replete with random audience members, Jack and Tommy succeeded in turning BB King’s into one rowdy living room jam session. Harmon-Kardon provided the sound system on this evening so no one would miss a note of the pristine picking or the swirling vocal harmonies on any of the classics from the new disc. And Shaw and Blades gave the crowd perfectly inspired renditions of Yes’s “Your Move,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” Seals & Croft’s “Summer Breeze,” Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” and “I Am A Rock,” and The MaMa’s and The Papa’s “California Dreamin’” (during which they allowed audience members to come up and sing the famous Cass Elliott and Michelle Phillips harmonies). Each, as it was delivered, garnered a huge sing-a-long from the audience, giving the evening a certain feeling of bonding. And the more the alcohol flowed, the louder the singing got!

Also included in the set were a couple songs from the 1995 Hallucinations disc, which delighted many in the audience that were obviously familiar with every tune the duo has done. Other additions were, from Tommy’s Styx repertoire, “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man),” and “Too Much Time on My Hands,” (and of course “Blue Collar Man,” and “Crystal Ball,” which were done as encores), and from Jack’s Night Ranger repertoire, “Rock In America,” and “Sister Christian” (and with NY area being such a highly Catholic town, you can just imagine the sing-a-long on that one…) Of course there were also the requisite Damn Yankees selections like “Coming of Age,” and “High Enough”. But there were also unexpected show moments, like their rendition of "Norwegian Wood". I actually think I had an eargasm on that one, seeing as it's been one of my favorite Beatles tunes since I was a kid.

But the best part of the show, (well, aside from the excellent singing and playing of course), would have to have been the slapstick, smart-ass delivery between the songs. You can tell that these two are good friends and that they really enjoy each other’s company. The question is…if they’re having this much fun, how the hell do they actually get any work done??? You know if the music thing doesn’t pan out, guys, there could be a good side gig in stand up for you, I’m sure! Oh, and the other best part of the show? That would have to have been when Tommy stood up and was singing “Stop In The Name Of Love” by The Supremes in falsetto complete with Dianna Ross hand gestures!!! (And no, I’m not kidding! Absolutely hilarious! Took a while for Jack to get him to stop, too…!)

I actually had such a good time at this show that it made it quite difficult to remember that I had to write a review of it, which is a rare occurrence. (Many thanks to my friends buying the shots!)

1. Summer Breeze
2. Too Much Time On My Hands
3. Night Goes On
4. Your Move
5. I Am A Rock
6. It Does From Here
7. High Enough
8. For What Its Worth
9. Rock In America
10. Sound Of Silence
11. Dirty Work
12. Down That Highway
13. Sister Christian
14. I Stumble In
15. Fooling Yourself
16. Coming Of Age
17. California Dreaming
18. Boat On The River
19. Norwegian Wood
20. Blue Collar Man – encore
21. Crystal Ball - encore