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Archive for the ‘Asbury Park, NJ’ Category

Devandra Banhart / Soma (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, October 13, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Devandra Banhart, Soma on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2023] Devandra Banhart / Soma

About ten years ago I was really into Devandra Banhart.  I enjoyed his weirdo folkie vibe and thought that he was a good deal of fun.

And then I seemed to lose track of him altogether.  I haven’t listened to him in ages.  I see that he’s cut his hair but he still looks like a wild, fun hippy.

His new album was produced by Cate Le Bon, whose sensibilities are wonderfully oddball.  The new album is pretty streamlined with lots of synth  I think it’s too mellow for me.

Soma is Soma Kirtan a New Jersey based musician.  It’s unfortunate that he goes by Soma as there are about a half a dozen bands named Soma.  It’s possible that this SOMA stands for Sacred Order of Mystic Apogees.  I can’t find much else about him/them.  Their music is beautiful traditional (I think) Indian music.  It would be fun to see this live too.

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Pinkshift / Jhariah / Pollyanna (House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ, October 12, 2023) [POSTPONED]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, House of Independents, Jhariah, Pinkshift, Pollyanna on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: October 12, 2023] Pinkshift / Jhariah / Pollyanna [moved to January 26, 2024, to Asbury Lanes]

I found out about this show too late.  By the time I realized it was happening I already had plans.  But as it happens, this show was postponed because of flooding.  It’s been rescheduled to January 26, which is pretty great for me, because this show looks amazing.

I have seen Pinkshift three times and they are amazing.  They get better with each show, but I have yet to see them headline.  So I would have really liked to get to this show.

Jhariah plays musical theater.  But on the heavy end, like when My Chemical Romance goes theatrical.  He throws in all kinds of cool and interesting sounds.  This is wacky and fun and he clearly relishes the theatricality.  I would love to see him live.

Pollyanna are from New Jersey and they absolutely rock: Lead singer and guitarist Jill Beckett, drummer Daniel McCool, bassist Brandon Bolton, and guitarist Jack Rose.  They mix

power-pop, loud rock, bubble grunge, and punk influences.  Their name directly derives from the dictionary definition, “to be unreasonably or illogically optimistic” – perfectly describing front-person Jill Beckett’s ‘stuck in 2017’ incredibly optimistic attitude. After meeting in the first grade, Dan and Jill started the band at just 13 years old, eager to create and play music that would reach audiences beyond the confines of Jill’s open garage doors. Brandon made them a trio in early 2019, bringing 90’s femme punk influence to the group. At the start of 2021, Jack completed the bands’ lineup, adding his elemental stabby guitars and love for shoegaze and metal into the mix. After completing almost 5 tours around the east coast and the midwest, Pollyanna has won over a following in the New Jersey music scene along with cities in the tri-state and beyond. They plan on growing as far as possible and leaving a unique mark in the music industry.

Their album Slime is great–snotty and brash with great sounds and Beckett’s excellent vocals.  So, yes, I hope to see them some time.

Sorry about the flooding (it was really terrible), but I’m glad I get to see the show next year.

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Karina Rykman / Guerrilla Toss (The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, NJ, September 21, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Guerrilla Toss, Karina Rykman, Wonder Bar on September 21, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 21, 2023] Karina Rykman / Guerrilla Toss

I’ve only been to The Wonder Bar once and I really liked it.  Strange how in all these years since there haven’t been any bands I’ve wanted to see there (not exactly true, but the few I’ve wanted to always conflicted).  Then Karina Rykman announced a surprise show there.

My wife and I saw her open for Guster and she was great live.  I’ve since listened to a bunch of her live shows online and she’s a great performer.

When I saw that this tour promised that Guerrilla Toss was opening, I needed to go.  So, even though I had a ticket to see Boris, a band I never want to miss when they come here (especially since they almost called it quits recently), I grabbed a cheap ticket to Karina just in case it sold out.

Then Melvins drummer, Dale Crover injured himself and was going to miss the tour.  I actually wondered if it might get postponed.  But no.  But Karina announced a show in Philly at Milkboy an I grabbed a ticket for that.  It doesn’t look like Guerrilla Toss is going to play that show which is a bummer.  But Karina is worth schlepping into center city Philly in December.

I don’t exactly remember what first attracted me to Guerrilla Toss.  I had heard very good things about them, although I don’t remember what.  I also don’t think I heard about them before 2014 when they were apparently really crazy as this clip from Impose notes:

What I loved about that band in 2014 is not what I love about them now. As long time fans of Toss know, the band is much different now. They’ve ditched the nudity, the three-song sets, the mindless and sometimes violent thrashing. Guerilla Toss brought this hurricane of inescapable absurdity and frantic release; there was always a feeling of, “I need to get this out of me, whatever it is, right fuckin’ now.” On the last three releases, they’ve synthesized the pop even further into a truly danceable and quite accessible experience, one that retains the absurdity and the anxiety that Toss fans have always really appreciated. The reason I love Guerilla Toss now is because not only can I continue to move to their music, but it’s entered a space that ultimately does not push out those who might be afraid to mix with the obscure, the scary, the sometimes absurdly violent environments that the old Guerilla Toss would bring with them everywhere they go. And yet they haven’t fully ditched that angle either. Guerilla Toss, the way I see it anyways, is a chance for experimental, fans-of-the-fringe, noise heads to fuck with mainstream indie-pop, and for mainstream indie-pop heads to fuck with the noise.

I have to say when I listened to them recently I thought they sounded really safe, so maybe they have matured really really far in ten years.  I wonder if their shows are still fun.  And I suppose there’s still a chance they’ll play in Philly.

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The Lemonheads / Willy Mason (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, September 12, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Lemonheads, Willy Mason on September 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 12, 2023] The Lemonheads / Willy Mason

I rather enjoyed The Lemonheads’ anniversary of It’s a Shame About Ray.  I thought I might also really enjoy the anniversary of Come On Feel the Lemonheads.

They are playing in Asbury Park one night and then Philly the next.  I would have rather enjoyed going to the Asbury Park show more than the TLA.  I’m sure it would be a lot of fun–and he seems to have cleaned up his act somewhat.

But when I asked my wife if she wanted to go, she said no. And, while I like that album a whole lot, I think I may have had my fill of Evan Dando.

Willy Mason is a folk singer with a deep voice.  I listened to a little of one song and didn’t like his vibe at all.  So that kind of helped me decide not to go to this tour.

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Pixies / Modest Mouse / Cat Power (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 20, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Cat Power, Modest Mouse, Pixies, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on August 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 20, 2023] Pixies / Modest Mouse / Cat Power

I saw Pixies for the first time in 28 years at The Stone Pony Summer Stage and it was glorious.  I’ve since seen them two more times and I don’t feel the need to ever see them again.  Even though each show has been very good, and there is some mixing up of songs, I feel like I’ve seen everything they’re going to show me.

I would see Modest Mouse every time they came around.  The shows are totally different and each one feels like a new version of the band.

I have never really liked Cat Power (blasphemy!).  She just doesn’t do anything for me.

With this line up, the nays overrode the yeas.

Recently I looked to see how much the tickets were, just in case I wanted to go and I found out it was sold out.  So good for all of them.

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The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 18, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Lucius, Shakey Graves, Steve Gunn, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The War on Drugs on August 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 18, 2023] The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn

My wife and I saw The War on Drugs as our first show after the pandemic.  And it was wonderful. We were seated in a terrible seats at The Met, but the show was chill and mellow and we sat far away and the music swept over us.

I wasn’t sure if we’d want to go to this show, though because Stone Pony Summer Stage is a questionable proposition.  It’s a lovely venue but depending on the crowd, it can be terrible.  Plus, I know that standing around for four bands can be exhausting.  Especially since I wanted to see Lucius, but not necessarily Shakey Graves.

Steve Gunn is a musician who I thought I didn’t know, but I have seen a Tiny Desk of his.  He plays a kind of slow acoustic guitar with an eastern-style drone. It’s slow and addictive but I don’t think I’d want to stand to hear it.

Lucius is a band that I’d like to see live but somehow keep missing, as they play every stage that I’m not going to.

Shakey Graves and Lucius were both at the Guster festival this past weekend.  Which is kind of crazy.  I had said that I didn’t want to see Shakey Graves, but when I re-read my thoughts about his Newport Folk performance from a few years ago, I remembered that I thought he’d be fun to see live–he’s great at getting the crowd psyched up.

But, honestly, we were happy to stay home on a Friday night.

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The Head and the Heart / The Revivalists (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, July 9, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on July 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 7, 2023] The Head and the Heart / The Revivalists

My wife and I saw The Head and the Heart at the Met Philly in 2019.  Here’s what I wrote:

I had quite possibly the worst concert experience of my life at this show.  And I want to reiterate it had nothing to do with the band.  There may have been a song or two in the middle that I wasn’t too excited about, but overall, they sounded great, played some really fun songs and seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

I wouldn’t mind seeing them again to make up for this show, but I probably won’t.   I also feel like I never want to go to the Met Philly again.  I feel like it attracts the wrong crowd–rich people who are looking for a night out rather than fans of music.

Re-reading the review I spent 2/3 of it complaining about the people around me. They were loud talkers and drinkers, completely louder than the band at times.

I would like to see The Head and the Heart again, I think.  Although it turns out they released a new album last year and I didn’t even know it.  So, I guess I won’t miss them that much,

I just checked and this show is sold out, so I guess they won’t miss me either.  And it really sounds like an event I don’t want to be at.

The Revivalists are a band that get some airplay on WXPN.  I do like one of their songs but overall their vibe is a little too retroey for me.  They are probably a very good fit with The Head and the Heart, although I feel like they veer in a direction I don’t enjoy as much.

 

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Trey Anastasio Band (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, July 7, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Trey Anastasio, Trey Anastasio Band on July 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 7, 2023] Trey Anastasio Band

I’ve seen the Trey Anastasio Band twice and each time was a fun event.

Try plays originals and Phish songs and his band is always top notch.

It’s also one of the few ways to see Trey up close, since I can never get close at a Phish show.

Trey had announced these few shows in July, but I didn’t really want to go to the Stone Pont Summerstage to se see his band.  Although I do love watching Cyro Baptiste on percussion.

I reconsidered going a couple of weeks ago, but it had sold out.  So good for Trey.  And besides, I have Skating Polly to see.

 

 

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The Used (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, June 12, 2023)

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Don Broco, Girlfriends, Pierce the Veil, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The Used on June 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 12, 2023] The Used

I didn’t know The Used at all.  Which is crazy since they’ve been around for 20+ years.

My son told me that he was excited to see them as well–there were a few of their songs that he really liked (and he bought a shirt).

Pierce the Veil went off the stage around 7:45 and The Used came on around 8:15.  It seemed like a lot of the (younger, female) crowd left after PTV, but the crowd for The Used was loud and intense as well.

Their stage setup was adorned with flowers–including “picture frames” of flowers that surrounded their amps and drum set.

They came out on stage and lead guitarist Joey Bradford (who joined in 2018) was wearing a butcher’s apron.  Bassist Jeph Howard (who has been with the band since the beginning) seemed to be wearing a pith helmet (or a bucket hat).  I enjoyed his look which to me was quite nerdy and then he would scream some really growly vocals.   Drummer Dan Whitesides (been with the band since 2006) played loud and furious.  (more…)

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Pierce the Veil (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, June 12, 2023) [THE USED]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Don Broco, Girlfriends, Pierce the Veil, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The Used on June 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 12, 2023] Pierce the Veil

After everything I’d seen, I was fairly certain that Pierce the Veil was the headlining act tonight.  They seem to have been the headliner on most of the shows of this tour.

So, when the recorded music stopped playing and the stage lights went on, I assumed we’d be getting The Used.  Then a recording of (what turned out to be) El Rey the Vicente Fernández song started playing.  I didn’t think The Used would be playing a Mexican song, but what do I know?

After a verse of so, out came Pierce the Veil and in came all of the other people who thought The Used were up next.  It was like a swarm around us.

By this time the rain was coming down in buckets, and I think everyone was super excited to jump around.

Pierce the Veil has their first new album out in seven years, so they were clearly going to focus on this album.  But when I looked up the setlists, I saw that they were only playing for an hour–ten songs in total, so it couldn’t be all new songs.

They opened with a new song, “Death of an Executioner” which got everyone rocking out immediately.  It was very cathartic.  Then they followed it with a massive crowd pleaser.

“Bulls in the Bronx” is one of the first songs I’d heard by them and I loved everything about it.  The vocals, the catchy chorus, the intensity of the loud parts and, best of all, the lovely Spanish/acoustic guitar part in the middle.  Which they did play live (although not quite as acoustically as it could have been.  But it still sounded great.

Pass the Nirvana plays really nicely with the loud/quiet sounds and the repeated intense screams of “I Can’t Hear You” is a fun part of the song.  And the crowd absolutely loved screaming that super loudly.

Vic Fuentes asked if anyone had brought their emergency contact with them during weather like this–a nice intro their song “Emergency Contact.”  It was at this point that I realized that the woman who had just moved in behind me was screaming every word very loudly.  Pretty much right in my ear. (more…)

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