HOMETOWN HERO

A reader wrote that she'd like me to comment on the James Durbin's concert at the Boardwalk on May 19, and boy, would I love to oblige—if ONLY I had been there!

Circumstances way beyond my control prevented me getting to the beach for Durbin Day # 2, and I'm not happy about it. But now, through the miracle of modern technology, those of us who missed it can catch up. There's an entire menu of tasty selections from the show on You Tube, an opportunity for all of us to see James in his new short, bleached blond 'do rocking out with his new band (Dylan Rosenberg, Blake Bunzel, Jeff Fabb, and Tyler Molinaro) with a playlist of numbers mostly culled from his debut CD, Memories of a Beautiful Disaster.

 I recommend you start by watching them power through "Stand Up," then segue over to the links menu to sample some of the others—"Love In Ruins," "Higher Than Heaven," and a fine, emotional acoustic version of "May."

But here's my favorite (further down the page): James rocks the National Anthem before a LA Kings/SJ Sharks hockey game in L.A. He doesn't just hit the dreaded high notes in the notoriously tough-to-sing anthem, he smokes 'em—and then he goes higher. Yowza.

The Boardwalk has also posted an album of still photos from the event on its Facebook page (like the one above, snapped by Sherry Wise). That's a million-dollar smile, right there. We're always happy to see you too, James! Come back soon.