The B-Side

"This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around." - Talking Heads, "Life During Wartime" (1979) From the promise by theater employees that the evening's show would run an hour and 50 minutes with no intermission to the warning that the performance would begin at 8 p.m. with no opening act, it was clear that the crowd which had come to Red Bank's Count Basie Theatre to see former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne Monday night (Nov. 3) was in store for something closer to a night of theater than a rock concert.

2008 was a pretty big year for Ocean Grove's Southside Johnny Lyon, and he was sure to see it out in classic style with a killer set Wednesday (Dec. 31) at Red Bank's Count Basie Theatre. In July, the singer and Asbury Jukes leader commemorated the 30th anniversary of the release of his album "Hearts of Stone" with a track-by-track performance at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. Then in September, he released "Grapefruit Moon: The Songs of Tom Waits," an album which featured his takes on classic Waits songs with the aide of Richie "La Bamba" Rosenberg's 18-piece big band. And, this past December, the singer celebrated his 60th birthday.