Southside Johnny at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic on New Year’s Eve, 1978.
As most Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes fans know, the tradition of the group playing a New Year’s Eve concert in New Jersey goes back a long way. And once upon a time, those shows were held at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic.
Check out, below, a great black-and-white clip of the band playing a pulse-pounding version of “Trapped Again” at the Capitol on the last night of 1978, with keyboardist and backing vocalist Kevin Kavanaugh really making his presence felt towards the end, trading anguish pleas with Southside.
Written by Southside, along with Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt, “Trapped Again” was a highlight of the 1978 Jukes album, Hearts of Stone, which many Jukes fans consider their favorite.
New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday from Sept. 2014 to Sept. 2015. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we marked the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, for almost a year — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. The complete list is here.
