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Archive for the ‘Garwood, NJ’ Category

Folly / Paulson / Teenage Halloween / The Best of the Worst / Silk Sheets (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, June 21, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crossroads, Folly, Garwood, NJ, Paulson, Silk Sheets, Teenage Halloween, The Best of the Worst on June 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: June 21, 2024] Folly / Paulson / Teenage Halloween / The Best of the Worst / Silk Sheets

I heard about this show because I saw Teenage Halloween open for THICK and really liked them.  I assumed they were headlining, but as more details came to light, they were in the middle of five bands I knew I wasn’t going to go.

Folly are a screaming punk band.

Hailing from northern NJ, Folly’s eclectic sound fuses the fury of hardcore, chaos of metal, urgency of punk rock, and jubilation of ska/reggae. They are known for their energized and immersive live shows,

Paulson was from Midland Park which is near where I grew up.  They apparently broke up many years ago and this is  their first show in 12 years.

The Best of the Worst are a new Jersey ska-core band.  So it’s screaming punk, with horns!

Silk Sheets are another Jersey band that are the loudest and most cathartic of the lineup.

Teenage Halloween definitely rocks, but they don;t seem to be quite heavy enough for this show.  This would have been exhausting.

 

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AF2K (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, April 25, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Rush on April 25, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 25, 2024] AF2K

I recently met a guy through one of my daughter’s clubs.  He is a huge Rush fan, which is very cool.  He told me about this cover band AF2K (A Farewell to Kings) that was playing in Garwood.

I’ve said before that I don’t always care about cover bands all that much.  But it would have been fun to see this band with a new friend.

Musically they sound great.  I’m not 100% about the guy’s voice, but overall, they seem like quite the solid show.  They play primarily 70s/80s Rush songs, and that’s my favorite era.

As it turned out, I already had tickets to a show that night so I had to bail on this one.  But it sounds like they play around quite a lot.

 

 

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AF2K (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, April 18, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crossroads, Frank Turner, Garwood, NJ on April 18, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 14, 2023] AF2K

I recently met a guy through one of my daughter’s clubs.  He is a huge Rush fan, which is very cool.  He told me about this cover band AF2K (A Farewell to Kings) that was playing in Garwood.

I’ve said before that I don’t always care about cover bands all that much.  But it would have been fun to see this band with a new friend.

Musically they sound great.  I’m not 100% about the guy’s voice, but overall, they seem like quite the solid show.  They play primarily 70s/80s Rush songs, and that’s my favorite era.

As it turned out, I already had tickets to a show that night so I had to bail on this one.  But it sounds like they play around quite a lot.

 

 

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Tigers Jaw / Another Michael / Greg Mendez (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, October 14, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Another Michael, Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Greg Mendez, Tigers Jaw on October 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 14, 2023] Tigers Jaw / Another Michael/ Greg Mendez

I’ve seen Tigers Jaw twice and both shows were great.  I really like their catchy pop punk, but I’m not sure I need to see them again.  But man if I was a die hard fan, here’s three days in a row of really close concerts I could go to.

And yet…  Here’s what they say about these two shows (they love playing Crossroads)

Mystery Setlists? We’re pulling out all the stops for Garwood this weekend. We’ll be playing two very distinctive sets for people who might want to come to both shows.
One of the shows setlists will concentrate on two worlds + spin, and the other will be charmer + I won’t care heavy. (Not full album plays, just most of both records, plus both sets will have some self titled oldies and newer Ep songs.)
We’re not saying which night is which combo. 🤔
So many songs. Maybe a fun cover.

I could have seen Another Michael open for Pinegrove and Ratboys.   But those shows were cancelled.  I feel like his name pops up a lot but I’ve never seen him/them.

A few years ago I wrote “From what I can tell they play a kind of mellow indie rock with lead Michael’s vocals veering into R&B styles.”  Although their new album sounds a lot more like Pinegrove than anything else.  And I rather liked it.

Greg Mendez plays mellow folk music with a gentle voice.  According to Bandcamp Daily, he is

one of the Philly DIY scene’s best-kept-secrets, the soft-spoken songwriter with a preternatural ability to craft brief yet powerful songs is enjoying a raised profile with the release of his self-titled full-length. On the strength of a few early singles, the initial run of vinyl sold out within a month of the album’s announcement, but with releases and demos dating back to 2006, Mendez is hardly an overnight success.

It’s fascinating that Tigers Jaw encourages mellow openers when their shows tend to really rock out.

 

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Tigers Jaw / Yowler / Shannen Moser (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, October 13, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Shannen Moser, Tigers Jaw, Yowler on October 13, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 13, 2023] Tigers Jaw / Yowler / Shannen Moser

I’ve seen Tigers Jaw twice and both shows were great.  I really like their catchy emo pop punk, but I’m not sure I need to see them again.  But man if I was a die hard fan, here’s three days in a row of really close concerts I could go to.

And yet…  Here’s what they say about these two shows (they love playing Crossroads)

Mystery Setlists? We’re pulling out all the stops for Garwood this weekend. We’ll be playing two very distinctive sets for people who might want to come to both shows.
One of the shows setlists will concentrate on two worlds + spin, and the other will be charmer + I won’t care heavy. (Not full album plays, just most of both records, plus both sets will have some self titled oldies and newer Ep songs.)
We’re not saying which night is which combo. 🤔
So many songs. Maybe a fun cover.

Yowler, is Maryn Jones, a Philly based musician and the guitarist and lead vocalist of the band All Dogs and formerly a member of the band Saintseneca.  For Yowler her songs are kind of spare and sad, but there’s some pretty heavy elements thrown in which kind of blow you away after being lulled into mellowness.

Shannen Moser is from Berks County, PA.  She plays a simple kind of open-tuned guitar (such that a capo is all you need to make a chord sound good).  Some of her songs have a finger-picking section as well.  I’ve seen her twice and her songs are really good.  [I’m not 100% sure if Shannen is playing, some fliers say yes, others don’t mention her].

This lineup was similar to the show at Johnny Brenda’s, but wow, Crossroads is so much easier for me to get to that I would certainly have gone to this one.

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Wax Jaw / The Azures / Big Stink / Blue Daze August / Arckist (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, October 12, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Arckist, Big Stink, Blue Daze August, Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, The Azures, Wax Jaw on October 12, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 12, 2023] Wax Jaw / The Azures / Big Stink / Blue Daze August / Arckist

It’s crazy that I could have gone to Crossroads three nights in a row (two Tigers Jaw shows on the following two nights) when I feel like they never have bands I want to see.

I have seen Wax Jaw on YouTube a few times and I’m not sure how I found out about them.  They are brand new (having just released their first EP) and yet they have a big following.  Because they are great.  I keep wanting to catch them but something comes up.  Like the fact that I planned to be home tonight.

Besides how can I possibly go out for FIVE bands in a night.  And if Wax Jaw are just putting out their first EP, are all of these bands just a year old?  And will each set be 20 minutes?

Let’s find out

First is Arckist

WRAT’s Jersey artist of the week says

Arckist is a young band with a classic style. The members range in age from 17 to 20 and their musical tastes are well beyond that.  Lead vocalist, Lily Slix is a Jersey Rock veteran, who began her musical career as a solo artist. Since the age of 12, she’s written, recorded, and released original music on a yearly basis and performed all over. She’s rocked legendary venues like the Stone Pony.   On August 18 Arckist will release their Debut EP on all digital platforms. “Don’t Push Me Around” features five hard-hitting tracks aimed at reviving the hard rock of the past with the energy and perspective of today’s modern youth.  It’s brimming with 1970s sensibilities and a dash of the ’90s. Expect heavy guitars, thunderous rhythm sections, and roaring vocals. August 18th all five songs will be available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, and all digital platforms.

The EP is 23 minutes.

[UPDATE: This album is riff-rock, sounds fully realized and is very 70’s heavy rock sounding.  With really dumb lyrics.  Lily Slix has a voice much older than her age.  I would have loved this were I in high school, but these days I don’t–not my thing anymore].

Blue Daze August has a full length out.  It is 26 minutes.  I can’t find any blurbs about them at all.  They are from Toms River, NJ

[UPDATE: Fast pop punk, catchy and fun.  This would be really fun to see live.  What’s exciting about this band is that they are essentially a pop punk band, they throw in all kinds of unexpected moments, like a wholly unexpected saxophone on the new single and a fun jazzy breakdown on another song and “Manhattan” slows things down but retains a kind of snotty edge that I like.].

Big Stink is from Montclair.  They have a few releases totaling about 25 minutes.  Their bandcamp says

 A crunchy three-piece hailing from the depths of a sticky Montclair basement.  Emo Garage you say!? perhaps.

[UPDATE: Heavy distorted screaming accompanies heavy distorted thumping drums and bass.  It’s got an early Mudhoney vibe.  I quite like it and I’m sure t hey are wild live].

The Azures have the longest blurb on bandcamp.  But they only have one song there.  They have two songs on Spotify.  And yet they are the highest on the bill.  Huh.   They are also from Toms River.

The Azures are a four-piece psychedelic blues band from Central Jersey, influenced heavily by the Delta era of original southern rock as well as all the wild shit that went down in the 70’s like The Doors and Jefferson Airplane. Please enjoy the music! Caio – The Azures

Given the blurbs, I feel like I would like them least of the four.  But I’ll give them all a listen tomorrow.

[UPDATE: I listened to the record and I like their vibe, although I suspect I would like them more live than on record..]

Wax Jaw said they were going on 9:15-9:30 with the music starting at 8.  I don’t quite understand how that would work.  Is every band playing ten minutes?    If they were going on later, I considered driving down just to see them, but I don’t think I can squeeze it in.

 

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Frank Turner / Kayleigh Goldsworthy (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, June 20, 2022 [late show]) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Crossroads, Frank Turner, Frank Turner and the Sleeping Souls, Garwood, NJ, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, Philadelphia, PA on June 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 20, 2022] Frank Turner / Kayleigh Goldsworthy

On September 15, Frank Turner announced that he would be playing Underground Arts on October 3.  At 2PM!

This year, after announcing his show in Philadelphia, he announced that the next night he would be playing Crossroads the following night–a solo show–AFTER playing a show in Queens earlier in the day.  Frank is a lunatic.

I wanted to see him, but the show started at 11 PM.  Which, let’s face it, is too late, even for me.  Plus, he was solo, and I want to see the band this time.

His opening act was announced as a special guest.  The guest turned out to be Philly singer-songwriter Kayleigh Goldsworthy.

I saw her open for Frank at that 2PM show and really enjoyed her.

Kayleigh commanded the afternoon crowd right off the bat. She sang slow ballads that were full of angst.  Her voice was really strong and she had the amazing confidence to have long (relatively) stretches of her song where very little happened.  And we were rapt by her.  Her voice sounded very familiar to me–like someone who I can’t place.

There are some videos available of the show 9which sounds like the audience was full of drunken men, perhaps no surprise there).

 

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Tigers Jaw (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, March 8, 2022)

Posted in Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Tigers Jaw on March 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: July 18, 2020] Tigers Jaw

Back in 2020, Tigers Jaw was scheduled to play a show in Garwood at a place called Crossroads.  I had never heard of Crossroads, but there was a flyer in the local Jersey Mike’s.  I was intrigued because I knew a little about Tigers Jaw and I liked what I’d heard.

Then those shows were cancelled and eventually, they came touring around and I saw them at Union Transfer–a sold out show.

They were supposed to open for Circa Survive in February and March, but that tour was cancelled at the last minute, so Tigers Jaw decided to do a small tour of their own called The Last Minute Magic Tour.  And so they finally made it to Crossroads.

The venue was great–excellent sound, great sight lines.  It holds about 200 people.  I assume it sold out–but what a difference from Union Transfer.

The crowd was 100% fans of the band and it started out fun and chill.  But there was one guy who was insistent on starting a pit.  At first people kind of ignored him, but by the end there was some serious moshing around in an uncontrolled way–I got almost knocked down once. (more…)

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Cave People (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, March 8, 2022) [TIGERS JAW]

Posted in Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Tigers Jaw on March 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 8, 2022] Cave People

Cave People is the project of Dave Tomaine.  I don’t know much about them–except that he is friends with Tigers Jaw from a long time ago.

I listened to one of their songs before the show and found it to be kinda folky and okay.  So I thought the set might be solo.  But instead, five people filled the stage.  Tomaine gave a quick introduction of everyone, but I don’t remember what he said.

There were three guitars onstage  In front of me was the lead guitarist.  On the far side was a rhythm guitarist who played a few leads.  In the middle was Tomaine.

I realized about half way through the set that Tomaine’s amp was either louder than everyone else’s or was facing right at me while the other pointed away.  So while one of the guitarists was playing lead, all I could hear was the rhythm.

Which was a shame since when Tomaine was playing quietly, the full band sounded great together.

The bassist and drummer were also good (and loud enough).  I also loved the drummer’s hair. (more…)

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Tigers Jaw / Gladie / Kayleigh Goldsworthy (Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, July 18, 2020) [rescheduled date–POSTPONED]

Posted in Cayetana, Coronavirus, Crossroads, Garwood, NJ, Gladie, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, Philadelphia, PA, Postponed, Quarantine, Tigers Jaw on July 18, 2020| Leave a Comment »

[POSTPONED: July 18, 2020] Tigers Jaw / Gladie / Kayleigh Goldsworthy [rescheduled from April 24]

indexThis show was moved from April 24 and is now postponed once again.

Tigers Jaw is a band I know from a Tiny Desk Concert.  They played poppy gentle rock.  I had seen a poster for one of their shows up in a local sub shop recently.  At the time, the band was Ben Walsh and Brianna Collins and they traded off lead vocals and harmonies wonderfully.  Their new pictures show four members, so perhaps they have fleshed out their sound.

Gladie is a band that has formed out of the ashes of Cayetana, a Philadelphia band that I’ve heard of for years but don’t know anything about.  Shame they broke up I guess, but Gladie has resulted. Gladie plays gentle alt pop sung by Augusta Koch.

Kayleigh Goldsworthy is also from Philadelphia. She has a great 90s alt rock sound.  Her album has a full band, but I imagine she’d be playing solo.

This show wasn’t super high on my “gotta see” list, but i would have enjoyed a mellow, pretty night.  However, I was planning on seeing Ministry this same evening (such a choice!) so I hope the new, new date works out.

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