Last week, leading into the reuniting of the rock band, The Badlees, on the doorstep of yet another big event in Pittston, Pittston Prohibition turned out to be pretty exciting.
When you have a member of a national recording act living in Greater Pittston such as Bret Alexander, a member of The Badlees, and Mike Lombardo, the mayor of Pittston and a long-time friend of Bret, you have the perfect recipe for a reunion of band that had a bunch of hits in the 1990s and early 2000s to reunite not in New York City or Vegas, but right here in Downtown Pittston.
Mayor Lombardo is always looking for a way to promote Pittston and one of his favorite ways of doing so is by having a party, whether that is the Tomato Festival, Restaurant on the River, Second Friday Art Walk, Christmas in Pittston or the newly created Pittston Prohibition, it will involve something grandiose.
It’s all about getting the community together in large numbers to the downtown area where a lot of fun could be had by all and by accomplishing that, it brings Pittston to the forefront.
Pittston Prohibition is another brainchild of the mayor and as in all cases his team rallies behind him and each project is big success, with the exception of a worldwide pandemic going on, and Pittston Prohibition was another success.
On paper, Pittston Prohibition was bound to be a success, but for Lombardo, this event for him was different, it was personal. After all, he was putting his putting his 35-year friendship on the line with Bret, he was sticking out his neck in hoping once The Badlees were announced as the feature act for Prohibition, would they actually pull off the reunion?
When rock bands plan to reunite, like any break up professionally or personally, reunions are always touchy at the very least. I think personal relationship reunions are a bit easier then when a rock band is involved. With a band, there are multiple personalities involved and egos and million other reasons that could make a reunion fail.
Naturally that thought kept the Mayor up most of the night before the Prohibition event. The band said yes, but will all the players show? Will they play well after a seven or eight year break from playing together? Was a one and only one band rehearsal good enough for the band to cohesive?
Sunday, the day of the event, all the pieces of the puzzle began to fall in place.
First and foremost, Mother Nature not only cooperated, but she was out in full splendor. The sky was as blue as blue could be and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The temperature was pretty toasty in the low 80s for a September 19 day. That was one item out of the way.
The middle tier of the Tomato Festival lots looked great getting a real go-over by the City’s facilities employees. The bandshell was in place and chairs were set up. Food vendors were placed at the perimeter of the grounds and the ticket entrance was in place. That was item number two done.
As 2:00 p.m. struck, the crowd started to appear and if I were a betting man I’d say the majority of the crowd was there to hear The Badlees and the rest was there to sample spirits and food. Item number three was falling into place.
The final piece of the puzzle, and this is where Mayor Lombardo have lost a few hairs on his head, was the band going to show?
One by one, each member of The Badlees began to assemble and a huge sigh of relief from the Mayor is when lead singer Pete Palladino entered the grounds.
It was like watching a version of MTV’s Bands Reunited back in 2004. Seventeen-years ago, MTV had a show where the host of the program would travel all over the world to get a commitment from broken up bands to reunite one more time.
For three seasons, mainly 1980s bands like Berlin, A Flock of Seagulls, Kajagoogoo, The Alarm, Haircut 100, The Motels, Vixen, and Scandal, reunited one more time with the help of MTV.
It was actually one of my favorite MTV shows and it was so much fun to watch.
On the day of Prohibition, I’m not so sure Mayor Lombardo was having much fun until her heard the first note struck, than he was able to relax.
The Badlees played for two nonstop hours and they were fantastic and flawless to the fans.
After the show was over, it was time to celebrate the successful return of The Badlees, the success of Pittston Prohibition, and the appreciation of a great day of weather.
Fans gathered behind the bandshell to meet up with band members. It was a mixture of family and old fans and new fans thanking the band, getting autographs and photos.
Bret looked extremely happy and his daughter Scarlet was in the crowd along with family members to witness the day.
I spoke to Palladino after the show and he was excited even hinting this might not be the last time you’ll see the original lineup perform. Pete sounded in form and ready to go.
Yep, bands reunited lives again.
Quote of the week
“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” – Ella Fitzgerald
Thought of the week
“It makes a big difference in your life when you stay positive.” – Ellen DeGeneres
Bumper stick
“You make a life out of what you have, not what you’re missing,” – Kate Morton
