Concerts

Find ‘Love on the Wrong Side of Town’ with Southside Johnny

John Lyon and his Asbury Jukes hit City Winery Nov. 9-10.

John Lyon of Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. Amy Harris/Invision/AP

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You’ve got to hand it to John “Southside Johnny” Lyon of the Asbury Jukes — the man never gives up, or slows down either.

After all, he — with fellow New Jerseyan Steven Van Zandt as producer and principal songwriter — started a horns-heavy soul and blues band in 1976, at the height of the disco era; that takes fortitude. And the Jukes’s efforts have never really waned since, even after Van Zandt left to devote himself to his other ongoing concern, a little outfit called the E Street Band.

The Jukes haven’t had any new studio output in a while, but 2015’s “Soultime” was one of their most engaging albums in years, and now they’re celebrating the release of “Live In Cleveland ’77,” which captures the band in its heyday at its most rollickingly soulful.

“Cleveland was the first place outside of our little area in the Northeast that played our record and they played it a lot,” Lyon told Cleveland.com in discussing the new disc, recorded May 2, 1977, at Cleveland’s Agora Theatre and broadcast live on local station WMMS. “WMMS hyped it and they hyped us. When we got out there to play, it was just an amazing experience.”

As good as they were back then, nobody seeing Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes when they hit City Winery on Nov. 9 and 10 is likely to think that they’ve missed a step in the years since. Lyon’s soulful growl is still the best suited for his genre of choice among the Jersey trio of Lyon, Van Zandt, and Bruce Springsteen (although the Boss will apparently try to give him a run for his money with a new album of soul covers).

And The Jukes continue to fire on all cylinders: The latest iteration of the group, which has included more than 100 different members over the years, including guest stars like Jon Bon Jovi and Ronnie Spector, is clearly having just as much fun as any of its predecessors.

If last month’s stop at Asbury Park’s Stone Pony — which featured Jukes classics like “Love On the Wrong Side of Town” and “This Time It’s for Real” alongside their usual melange of covers of everyone from Sam Cooke to Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones — is any indication, the City Winery stage should brace for a soul explosion.