Live in JC: Jorge & Aliah and The Micks at Lucky 7 Tavern
By Zac Clark • Aug 12th, 2010 • Category: Arts, Featured
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get out to Lucky 7 Tavern for a rock event. Luckily that changed Tuesday when The Micks (formerly the McMickle Brothers) and Jorge & Aliah played, and I was invited to emcee the show, introduce the bands and crack a couple of really bad jokes.
Lucky 7 Showcase founder James Dower was on a much-deserved vacation, so I took the driver’s seat at my old haunt. I was nervous and excited to take the stage from James, but I resolved to get out the message: Local Music is alive is Jersey City! (If you happen to have talent, or you know someone with talent, we want to hear from you — email L7Showcase (at) gmail.com or Rockertycoon (at) gmail.com.)
Jorge & Aliah brought the soulful songs about love and loss, boosted by the smooth combo of Aliah’s pipes and Jorge’s guitar. This is not your typical garage-rock indie sound, it is a different feel altogether — there’s nothing like a little musical diversity to help the scene flourish.
The Micks have kicked into overdrive with the change in name. (Sadly, they decided not to go with my suggestion: The Flying McMickle Bros.) With Matt McMickle on vocals and guitar and Sam McMickle on percussion, these guys are becoming veterans on the Jersey City scene. The Tuesday night crowd really responded to their songs, clapping and singing along to create a great vibe. The camaraderie of the crowd along with Matt and Sam’s goofball attitude made it hard to to not get involved, and by the end of the show everyone was having a blast. Matt even coerced Aliah to join him for a duet of “Purple Rain.” Their exchange is beyond hilarious — check out the video.
Tuesday also heralded the start of a new DJ night at Lucky 7′s, courtesy of DJ Motor Funker, aka Jersey City’s Ryan McEnerney. Motor Funker is a radio DJ in Princeton and he brings his own brand of funk and disco to the table. It’s a perfect transition from the live music on Tuesdays as well, as everyone just decided to dance the night away (Van Halen reference intentional).
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Zac Clark is Jersey City's rogue rock writer. He is an avid blogger/indie music junkie and founder of rockertycoon.wordpress.com as well as an award-winning photographer, specializing in rock, fashion and weddings.
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