Skagit Valley Casino Resort
Pacific Showroom
5984 N. Darrk Lane, Bow, WA
(360) 724-7777
Fri-Sat. Feb 10-11, 8pm
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The Smithereens - Jim Babjak, The Thrilla, Dennis Diken, Pat DiNizio

Note-January 18, 2012: News came today that The Court Tavern has closed, at the very least “indefinitely”. Besides watching The Smithereens record their Live In Concert album there, I saw Jim Babjak launch what became his Buzzed Meg project, and saw great sets by The Grip Weeds and The Anderson Council there. The Court Tavern has dodged a few bullets over the years, maybe it will again. Hopefully this piece will give you some idea why I’m so fond of this little dive bar two states away.

February 4, 2008

There’s nothing pretty about The Court Tavern. A tiny, rustic old building surrounded by concrete parking garages, the one lone survivor from the days before greedy developers infested the neighborhood with office buildings. The inside hasn’t changed a hell of a lot from when it opened 25 years ago, either. Except the paint on the walls has faded to a dull drab, a few ceiling tiles are falling out, and there’s a leak in the back when it rains. It’s the kind of bar that your grandpa would sneak in with you during a summer afternoon walk through town, enjoying a beer away from grandma, while you sat at a table sipping a small glass of cola with a beef jerky. No hot wings, maybe some pretzels on a tray, and no big screen TV running “The Game.” There’s a little television on a shelf above the bar, and it’s more likely to be tuned to an old movie than to the sports channel. Settle in for awhile though, and you’ll start to relax and feel a bit at home. You’ll notice the big poster sized pictures of Satchmo on the walls, and the jukebox that runs the gamut from The Ramones and The Clash, to The Monkees, Warren Zevon, up through The Move, Queen and The Yardbirds. Behind the bar, just to the left of the jukebox, hangs a gold record for an album called Especially For You.

The Smithereens onstage at The Court Tavern circa 1984-1985

Lots of great acts, both local, and national, have played at The Court Tavern, and the place looms large in the legend of The Smithereens. They played there regularly in their early days, before major labels, MTV and gold records. Even afterwards, they came back to The Court, to test out new material before recording God Save The Smithereens in 1999. They’ve used The Court to try out various solo projects and make films. The Smithereens can, and do, fill venues ten times the size of The Court Tavern’s tiny basement. But they always seem to come back, and the fans line up to see them come home. Just don’t think you’re getting past Mark at the basement door any time soon. You can beg with him, tell him Pat played at your daughter’s christening party, or that you went to school with Jim and Dennis. Mark doesn’t care, he’s not letting you in to that basement until he’s good and ready! He’ll even psych you out a time or two, getting up from his perch to count the door money, ink up his stamp pads, and survey the crowd waiting impatiently for him to take their money. Then he’ll just pick up his paper, sit down again, and continue with the crossword puzzle. It makes you feel like that basement is hallowed ground, and you’ve just got to get in there, if only you could get past the troll guarding the bridge!

The Smithereens returned to The Court Tavern for a four night residency, January 30th & 31st, and February 1st and 2nd, 2008, recording the shows for a live album. It was hot. Cavern Club hot. Every steamy, sweat dripping from the concrete walls description from those Early Days of The Beatles books you’ve read will give you a rough idea of what it felt like in that basement. The tense jamming added to “House We Used To Live In“, the pounding beat of “Time And Time Again”, and all those hits, had the packed in crowds holding on for dear life in the heat. They’ve done this every time they’ve walked onstage, but this time was special. This time, they were back at home.

It cost five bucks to get in. Try and buy a bottle of water at an Eagles concert for five bucks!

It all starts promptly at 8pm with the most chant-wailing, swinging & searing Marni Rice & Le Garage Cabaret, led by the celebrated chanteuse/accordionist.

Edward Rogers & The Biba Crowd hit at 9pm, featuring splendid, spirited songs from Rogers’ new release Porcelain, already a fave amongst fans and critics alike.

Dennis Diken with Bell Sound will be playing ballads and bangers from “Late Music“, the CD that made myriad “best of the year” lists in 2009. And other numbers too. They do their thing at 10pm.

London, Paris, New York & New Jersey on The Bowery!
A Night of New Music and Friends
Friday, February 3, 2012
The Bowery Electric
327 Bowery (between 2nd-3rd Streets)
New York, NY
212.228.0228

Doors: 7:30pm Show Promptly at 8:00 p.m.
$8.00 Admittance

“No matter where we go, no matter where we play, we can look at the New York audience and it’s a lot like we’re looking into a mirror. The fans look like us, they dress like us, they’ve been through the same experience as us collectively.” – Pat DiNizio

Three Decades of The Smithereens: Interview with Pat DiNizio

by Peggy Hogan
TimesSquare.com
January 19, 2012

120 Reasons To Live: The Smithereens

MAGNET, Real Music Alternatives
January 10, 2012

“What other band can claim to be an influence on both Nirvana and The Jersey Shore? It’s the Smithereens, New Jersey’s finest ’80s college-rock band.”

“We love playing BBs, it’s a nice room and the stage sound is very good…it always feels like a homecoming to us. Our NJ/NY/CT/PA fans (they are the best!) and cousins and friends always show up and are very vocal in their response to our set. we feed off their energy and it’s great fun.” – Dennis Diken

The Smithereens: Smokin’ Into 2012 At B.B. King’s, Times Square! The Mac Wire Checks In With Dennis Diken!

By Anne Raso, January 15, 2012
THE MAC WIRE

“They managed to bring all the excitement of the big venue, leaving some of the audience grinning and shaking their heads in amazement at feeling this good once again.”

Concert review: The Smithereens -Rams Head On Stage

By Jacquie Kubin, The Washington Times Communities
January 14, 2012

Smithereens hit The State Theatre

Band still going strong as it enters its fourth decade
by Keith Loria, Special to the Fairfax Times
January 13, 2011

“We’re going to have Andy Burton with us on keyboards and that’s something that we think the fans are really going to enjoy,” DiNizio said. “There are a number of songs that we haven’t been able to play, but we’re going to take advantage of the sound with some deep album cuts from our catalogue.”