THE BRONX WANDERERS OPENING NIGHT!

THE BRONX WANDERERS  OPENING NIGHT!

Here they come again! The Bronx Wanderers launched their latest show at the Cabaret Room at the Westgate and it was nothing short of spectacular!

I have been waiting for quite some time to see these guys in person and just as I was getting ready to see the show, Covid shut those plans down.  I met Vin A. a couple of years ago and he really impressed me as being a really cool cat. We corresponded over the years and kept in touch and when I saw him at Murray Sawchuck’s wedding, he told me they were getting ready for a press night opening soon.

And an opening it was! October 26th was a day I had been looking forward to and boy did it not disappoint! I had so much fun seeing so many friends I hadn’t seen in such a long time! The Red (Blue) Carpet was everything an opening night should be! So many celebs and stars filled the Westgate Blue Carpet it was hard to keep track! Attendees and celebs included Murray Sawchuck and Dani Elizabeth, Rock of Ages musicians Chris Cicchino, Dan Grennes, Doug Levanwich (Lefty), Review Journal’s John Kats, John Di Domenico, Dennis Bono, Zowie Bowie (Chris Phillips) and so many more! I had a blast taking photos and setting up photos ops which I haven’t done for quite some time! Lucky for me I dragged Jonathan Gilcrest along to help me take photos and he did such a great job. (We got lucky that one photographer didn’t beat us up, huh Jonathan?) LOL.

 

     The Cabaret room was packed with the sold out show and it was hard getting a good seat. What a surprise when Tony Orlando introduced the show! Apparently Tony flew in from the east coast just to attend the big opening night!The show kicked off with stories of The family’s history in the Bronx and the head honcho Daddy Vinny Adinolfi leading the crowd on a trip through three decades of amazing music. And then the young “Vin A.” sang….What?!? This young man is a superstar X 10! How did I not know this?!? Vin A. pounded out melodies on the keys and guitar with precision and hit every note sky high! The show was humorous with interesting music history before the eyes from everything from The Four Seasons to Queen to The Stray Cats! And you can guess as a huge Rockabilly fan like me, what my favorite part of the show was LOL. Vinny’s story was told throughout the show with him being deeply rooted in all aspects of the music business. But I have to admit I think his greatest accomplishment was Vin A.! Seriously! The band was super tight showing off amazing musician-ship and held my attention throughout – accept for the fact of being distracted looking at Tony Orlando! LOL. I have never seen Tony in concert or in person and I was trying to get a strategy to get a photo with him. I mean how many more chances will I have to get a photo with such a living legend like Tony?!?  Sometime during the show I saw Chris Phillips (Zowie Bowie) pull up a chair beside Tony and take a selfie. So when he got up, I sat down in that chair and asked Tony if I could take a selfie with him. Tony smiled a huge smile and we took the photo and I said “I love you Tony!”  Tony then put his fist over his heart and said “I love you too!” But when I saw the photo after I took it and it was dark and blurry so I had to make a plan B. When the lights went up after the amazing show, Tony was mobbed. In fact I heard John Katsilometes mutter, “Here comes the mob scene!”, as he made a getaway. So I put Jonathan in a position with my camera held up ready to shoot behind Tony and I told him I was going to turn Tony around quickly and to take it fast before he got pulled away. I turned Tony around and Bam! We got it! Thank you Jonathan! The after party was a blast and I took some more photos with Papa Vinny – he was SO nice and cordial! What a beautiful man!

 

 The show is at  The Westgate Cabaret Showroom (the show runs 5:30 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; 8 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays). I encourage everyone to see this historic musical parade! If you are a music fan, you won’t be disappointed!

Thank you for inviting me Vin A.!

-Sally Steele

Photos: Sally Steele and Jonathan Gilcrest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 Reviews

admin

Read Previous

TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS ROCK VEGAS!

Read Next

MEATLOAF DEAD AT 74