Ring in the Funk: LIVE Disco Band at Finnegan’s for NYE

Making a segue from The Band’s “The Last Waltz” to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance” can be a little tricky, but musician Jamie DeJesus has it covered. His latest project—The Dirty Disco Dogs—will be performing an all-Disco LIVE gig at Finnegan’s (734 Willow Ave., Hoboken) on New Year’s Eve.

“We’ve put together a songlist of nothing but disco, saturated with strings and horns so we could perform great music—but more importantly so that people could go out and focus on dancing and getting down.”

DeJesus and friends are coming off the phenomenal success of their recent “Last Waltz” concert at Northern Soul. “Someone mentioned this idea of doing live disco and the owner of Finnegan’s, Eoin, caught wind of this and asked if we’d do something there.”

The Dirty Disco Dogs
Assembling a live band that can tackle the pop, funk and soul nuances of disco is daunting—not to mention taking that show on the road and packing it into a venue. “We’ve tailored the performance to the space that we have,” says DeJesus. “People can dance to the grooves we’ll be laying down, or can listen to the intricacies of the disco tunes.”

With DeJesus on bass, vocals and de facto bandleader, the ensemble cast includes:

-Casey Solomon on vocals
-Ty Tuschen on guitar
-Zach Herchen on horns/woodwinds
-Sean-David Cunningham on violins
-Ian Carroll on drums

The Gig
The final challenge comes with converting a neighborhood bar into Studio 54 for the night. “Casey Solomon Events is doing the set design, which will be freaking great,” says DeJesus. As for the crowd, he adds, “we’ve told people to ‘dress to impress’.”

Capacity Images will be on hand to photograph the event and post images online. There’s a contest for the “sharpest dressed” with a nice bottle of Veuve Cliquot as the prize.

If you’re looking for a unique way to ring in 2015, catching a live disco band in an Irish pub certainly fits the bill.

“You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life…”

Finnegan’s 54 — starring the Dirty Disco Dogs
10 pm on New Year’s Eve at Finnegan’s Pub (734 Willow Ave.)
$70 – open bar, food, and live music
$20 – admission with cash bar and food
– dress to impress –