John Cafferty Rocks Mohegan Sun's Wolf Den

Narragansett’s John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band played the Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun earlier this month, and they return to Narragansett this weekend. 

Perhaps Narragansett’s most famous band, they are known for their Billboard chart topping songs “On the Dark Side” and “Hearts on Fire.” 

Formed in 1972, John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band released four albums, including 1985’s Tough All Over, an album that hit the Billboard 200 for more than 10 weeks. 

The band’s most well known album was a soundtrack to the popular eighties film, Eddie and the Cruisers. Selling more than three million units, this soundtrack stayed on the Billboard 200 for 10 weeks, peaking in the top ten.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band’s music can be heard on certain episodes of well beloved cartoons, such as The Simpsons and Family Guy. They can also be found on other well-known film soundtracks from the eighties.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band also provided the theme song for the 1986 film Cobra. “Voices of America’s Sons” had a music video, and the film stars Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nielsen.

Their songs are timeless. They sound exactly like they did when they first took to venues in the early 1970s at places like the Ocean Mist in Matunuck, a venue . 

Even if it is 2011, this band’s sound time travels you back to the 1980s for a few hours.

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band has quite the musical resume, and the crowd at the Wolf Den proved it. The Wolf Den, located at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT, provides limited seating and the shows are always free. 

The lines formed early to get into the show.  The animatronic wolf that sits on a rock next to the entrance kept Beaver Brown Band fans entertained as they waited in anticipation to get a seat in the venue. When the Wolf Den hit full capacity, patrons still in the line were allowed to stand next to the gates that surround the open venue in order to get a glimpse of the Narragansett band.

John Cafferty and the band came on stage at 7 p.m. They opened with their version of Eddie Cochan’s “Summertimes Blues.” Cafferty and the Beaver Browns went right to their most well-known song, “On the Darkside.” The crowd went wild, and after some time so did Cafferty. 

Within 20 minutes of the show, Cafferty turned the Wolf Den into a house party. He invited the crowd to stand, then, he jumped into the crowd and got onto the tables and booths to dance and perform a few songs. Cafferty became one with his adoring audience and they loved every moment of it. The band played close to two hours, and put on a perfect show. 

John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band, and The Paul Wayne Band, will play a benefit concert for leukemia research at the Bonnet Shores Beach Club 3 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call 783-2832.

The band’s lead guitarist, Gary ‘Guitar’ Gramolini, plays with friend Roger Cerisi on Sept. 23.