Matt O'Ree Band with Bon Jovi's David Bryan lead Cinco de Mayo parties at the Shore

Looking to party on Cinco de Mayo? Check out the Matt O'Ree Band with David Bryan of Bon Jovi Friday, May 5, at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.

“We have become such good friends that anytime I get a chance to play with him of course I jump at it because we have so much fun together on stage,” said O'Ree of Bryan.

O'Ree to perform new record 'Hand in Glove'

O'Ree and his group have just released the rocking blues blitz record “Hand in Glove.” Bryan has been sitting in with O'Ree and the guys for almost a decade, but when he does it’s usually a surprise.

“We're going to be doing 'Hand in Glove' from start to finish," O'Ree said of the Pony show. "And then David's going to come up and play some Bon Jovi songs, and some songs people know and some fun party music, and then we're going to finish with a grand finale at the end."

City keyboard man Matt Wade will also be on stage Friday, with Layonne Holmes on vocals.

O’Ree of Holmdel played guitar in Bon Jovi on the band's 2015 tour of Asia and Middle East. He's also recorded songs with Bryan, Bruce Springsteen, Stax guitar legend Steve Cropper, Bernie Worrell of P-Funk, the Talking Heads and, of course, his wife: Jersey blues chanteuse Eryn O'Ree (formerly Shewell).

The incendiary “Hand in Glove” was recorded live at the same time except for the vocals, O'Ree said.

“We did the old school approach where we're going to do take after take until we get the take that we're happy with, and if you got to punch up a note or two, no big deal," O'Ree said. "We did it at Shorefire (Recording Studios) in Long Branch. Joe (DeMaio) there is the perfect guy to do a record like that with.”

It’s a classic approach.

“There is one drawback of bleed through, guitar amp to drum microphones,” O'Ree said. “But all of us also realize that bleed through is what appears on the records we loved growing up. So we took the Van Halen approach and said we're going to a take it all together and whatever we get is what we get. Not having the safety net gave us the results that we wanted.”

Go: Matt O'Ree Band with David Bryan, plus Hooper and Indigo Sky, 7 p.m. Friday, May 5, Stone Pony, 913 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park, $25 in advance/$30 at the door; stoneponyonline.com.

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Cinco de Mayo at the Jersey Shore

Cinco de Mayo falls of a Friday this year. The holiday, which recognizes the 1862 Battle of Puebla, is not widely celebrated in Mexico — more so in the Puebla region, less so the farther north you get.

In the United States it’s become a springtime version of St. Patrick’s Day. It's an odd quirk of cultural appropriation that it's become so big here.

But if you're celebrating, note that some historians feel that if Mexico had not defeated France in the Battle of Puebla, chances are the French would have marched on the United States. We were busy with the Civil War at the time, so who knows what would have happened. Perhaps instead of downing tacos and Coronas every May 5, we’d be eating snails and crepes.

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Here's a quick preview of Cinco de Mayo parties at the Jersey Shore below:

Otis and Beef and Springwood play at the Chubby Pickle in Highlands; thechubbypicklenj.com.

Slawth takes the stage for The Break's Cinco party in the Boardwalk in Asbury Park; thebreakap.com.

D'Jais in Belmar is going all in with a Holme show featuring Bobby Bandiera at 6 p.m., and a dance party with a Sombrero Fiesta and Cinco dance contests into the night; djais.com

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Bar A in Lake Como features a happy hour with DJ Rob Busch and the Pure Petty Tom Petty Tribute at 6 p.m.; bar-a.com

The Billy Walton Band with special guest Anthony Krizan is at Salty's Beach Bar in Lake Como; saltysbeachbar.com.

The Wallnutz are throwing a Cinco party at the Asbury Festhalle and Biergarten in Asbury Park; asburybiergarten.com.

It's a “Cinco de Emo” party at the Asbury Ale House in Asbury Park with Brooks Betts of Mayday Parade, and Zachary Ross of the Divine and Man Overboard; asburyalehouse.com.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Matt O'Ree Band with Bon Jovi's David Bryan playing Stone Pony