reCAP :: Turn Back The Cap: 1980s ft. Jessie's Girl and special guest Howard Jones :: 2015.01.09
The spirit of the eighties was alive and kicking at the Capitol Theater, as NYC-based tribute band Jessie’s Girl brought their famed-Bring Back The Eighties Show to Port Chester this past Friday, January 9th. Combining the music of Top 40 radio with the hedonistic theatricality of the time, Jessie’s Girl covers a hodgepodge of pop, hair metal, and new wave. Think Rock of Ages but more encompassing. The hits are so numerous, the energy so high, that every song in the set feels like the last song of the night.
But Jessie’s Girl is more than just a motley crew of imitators in tight spandex and cut-off t’s. The seven members of the band bring decades worth of experience in the music industry and a passion for the music they perform. Singers Jenna O’Gara, Chris Hall, and Mark Rinzel – led by a veteran backing band – share lead vocal duties, each of them getting their chance to shine. Rinzel’s Sting impersonation is spot on and Hall is a jack-of-all-trades, though his David Lee Roth deserves honorable mention. O’Gara sends up every female pop star of consequence – Whitney, Madonna, and Cyndi all made appearances – giving her a chance to display her wide range.
The main attraction came midway through the show, as Howard Jones joined the band onstage for a six-song set that included the top ten hits “What Is Love” and “New Song.” The synth-pop star took center stage between his Roland Jupiter and Moog Prodigy, occasionally strutting across the stage with a microphone in hand to the delight of the ladies in the crowd. “He was my first concert,” the woman standing next to me said before expressing her desire to sneak onstage with Jones (she didn’t get the chance). Jones – at 59-years-young – hasn’t lost any of his chops or charm, and the way the band gave Jones the chance to take center stage made for a tasteful tribute.
As we move further away from the eighties and nostalgia for the hits from that time period grows, Jessie’s Girl will continue to be the flag-bearers for great tribute bands. One can only hope they will return to help turn back the Cap again sometime later this year.