Downtown St. Pete was doused with a tidal wave of New Jersey swagger last Friday night. One of the favorite sons of the Asbury Park music scene took the rambunctious crowd packed inside Jannus Live on a high octane, two-hour trek down the Jersey Turnpike, and what a sweet ride it was.

Southside Johnny, a contemporary and comrade of that other famous Jersey singer-songwriter/powerhouse Bruce Springsteen, brought his own brand of R&B-influenced barroom rock n' roll to the outdoor venue on a cool damp night and set the house afire. Taking the stage just before 10 p.m., clad in simple white button-up shirt and faded jeans and shades, Southside wasted no time in getting down to business. Opening with a red hot version of a song borrowed from pal and Springsteen bandmate Little Steven Van Zandt, "Under The Gun," Johnny and his renowned backing band The Asbury Jukes instantly showed the Florida folks how it's done in sweaty Jersey backroom bars.

Johnny's raspy, soulful vocals have aged well without losing any bit of power or guts. He's a clever and entertaining frontman, switching from cheesy, tongue-in-cheek between-song banter to a totally impromptu blues barn-burner fueled by improvised lyrics detailing the Christmas lights still adorning trees that flank the courtyard area of Jannus. Johnny's been at this for a while, and it shows. The man is a bona fide showman and he's got a deep catalog of music and smoking band to back him up.

While he's never achieved the notoriety or the status of Mr. Springsteen, he's no less adored by the Jersey faithful. Scoring minor radio hits throughout his career and the love and admiration of pockets of fans around the globe, Southside Johnny is a national treasure of the Garden State and judging from Friday night's display, it's easy to see why.

Cleverly mixing in killer covers from the songbooks of Tom Waits, Wilson Pickett and Sam Cooke with his own staple tunes, Southside made every song rightfully his own. The evening hit its apex when Southside Johnny launched into "The Fever," a song that both he and Springsteen have recorded in the past. Being one of Southside's signature songs, he's more than likely performed it live thousands of times, but the passion of the performance ran as deep as ever with nary a hint of going through any motions.

Whether flailing around the stage, blowing furiously into a harmonica or bashing a tambourine, Southside Johnny Lyon more than proved his mettle and has firmly established his rightful place in Jersey music royalty. Often cited as a huge influence on his contemporaries (including hair rocker Jon Bon Jovi), Southside is still out there tearing up stages as he's done for the better part of four decades, and doing it well. In his 60s now, the guy can still out-sing just about around and do so while straddling the lines of blues, rock and soul music without any trace of hokiness or nonchalance.

As he closed his set and before he steamrolled through his four encore tunes, Johnny launched into his most famous number: "I Don't Wanna Go Home." It was clear that he and the band shared that sentiment almost as much as the rowdy crowd did. I know I wasn't ready to go home.

Closing with the Sam Cooke classic "Havin' A Party" seemed a fitting end to a great night that most definitely ranked as a great party for all those in attendance.

Setlist:
Under the Gun (Little Steven cover)
Harder Than It Looks
This Time Baby's Gone For Good
I Played The Fool
Woke Up This Morning
Talk To Me
Walk Away Renee
Until the Good Is Gone
Love on the Wrong Side of Town
Happy (Rolling Stones cover)
Living With the Blues
You're My Girl
Tango Till They're Sore (Tom Waits cover)
Angel Eyes (Little Steven cover)
Forever (Little Steven cover)
The Fever
I Don't Wanna Go Home
encore
This Time It's For Real
Ooh Poo Pah Doo (Wilson Pickett cover)
2nd encore
Hearts of Stone
3rd encore
Havin' A Party (Sam Cooke cover)