OK, the tag line may be a little thick with “good for the soul” ….but it is not an inaccurate statement. Local guitar Legend Jeff Kemen absolutely packed Swede’s downtown on Friday night, playing alongside his son John (which is pretty cool), and treating the massive crowd to lifetime favorites played by the best there ever was. Jeff Kemen and all of the variations of the band Orphan have been the sound machine of KTown USA. A study in humility, you won’t read much self-promotion from Kemen, but his skills can never be questioned or understated. Some of the greatest fun I’ve ever had was hanging with friends while listening to Kemen and Orphan. When we heard he was playing this past Friday, these usual homebodies never gave it a second thought…you KNOW it’s gonna be classic. My bet is the vast majority of people who read this will already know that.
One the way down to Swede’s, I said to my wife, “I’m going 60/40 that Paul and Barb Grochowski will be there”. She responded quickly, “No way, 70/30 at least”. As usual, she was correct. After walking in the door and shaking the hand of the star of the show, the next set of people we spotted were the Grochowskis. THE epic wedding of all time took place 35-plus years ago at the Italian American at the Grochowski wedding, with Jeff Kemen and Orphan providing the entertainment. Too many details to chronicle but gabbing my wife and being the only two on the floor doing the Tango (which neither of us has a clue how to do) while Orphan slayed White Rabbit is still relived constantly at my house. A “life” moment without question.
Paul was the first “Orphanhead” because of his ties to Newman Park. Guys like the Grochowskis, the Mogensens, the Brunners, the Pawloskis…all of em were Newman Nuggets, and Jeff Kemen was of that ilk. Other than one Newman Nugget block party as a youngster, my first real exposure was the summer of 1987 at Legend’s Sports Bar. Featuring his sister, Carol, Roger, the drummer, who was a Newman Park guy, the brother-in-law who sang “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”. So good. And the people you’d see…some the same…some different…always in a great mood because the songs of your life was being played by a dude that a lot of people know, and who is essentially just one of the guys. And that feeling never goes away. And it IS good for the soul when it happens.
So shout out to the Grochowskis…Jim and Laurie St Peter…Kevin and Laurie Rafferty…Yogi and Cathy Eggert…I know my wife saw Lori Hoppenjohn (it may have been half-off for women named Laurie night, I aint sure). It was old home week at its finest in KTown USA on a Friday night. And we both enjoyed every second of it. It took my wife (with the Grochowskis sitting between us) about 3 minutes to get the bartender to start giving me grief from from a distance…and that unfortunate young lady really knew I had a screw loose when I was slapping the shit out of the bar playing the drums to “Rocky Mountain Way”. It was perfect. For the record, I’ve always looked forward to Rocky Mountain Way even more than Do You Feel. My older brother was more of a Frampton guy. I was more a James Gang/Eagles/Walsh guy. And no one played either better than the great Jeff Kemen. Thanks for a Friday filled with more memories than music.
