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Archive for the ‘Sayreville, NJ’ Category

Death Cab for Cutie (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, June 10, 2019)

Posted in Death Cab For Cutie, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom on June 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2019] Death Cab for Cutie

It’s not often that you get to see a band twice on the same tour–eight months apart.

When I saw that Death Cab for Cutie were playing Starland Ballroom, at first I thought I didn’t want to go because we had seen them a few months earlier (and amazing show at the tower Theatre in Upper Darby).  Then I looked at some set lists and I saw that they were mixing things up a bit.  It was still a tour for the new album, but they were changing placement of songs and adding different ones.

I also didn’t realize until we got there that they had changed their lights how (for this performance at least).  Last time their lights were very tall–two layers of lighting rigs with a giant video screen behind and above them. This time there was no video screen and only one bank of lights.  Smaller club lighting maybe?  The keyboardist Zac Rae was actually between two light poles so we could see him whenever he didn’t lean too far forward.

I had hoped we could move from where we were on the side because I’d remembered the lighting was so cool.  From where we were, the lighting rigs blocked some of the stage (but only a little) and while the lighting was cool, it was much more subdued than last time.

It turns out the setlist wasn’t radically different from last time either.  They played four different songs than last time (and one fewer because I think one of the newer songs had a lengthy jam tacked in the middle). (more…)

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Jenny Lewis (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, June 10, 2019) [DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE]

Posted in Ben Gibbard, Death Cab For Cutie, Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom on June 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2019] Jenny Lewis

I somehow missed Rilo Kiley from the get go.  It’s not that I didn’t like them, i didn’t know them.  I may have heard a song or two, but otherwise nothing.

Same with Jenny Lewis solo.  I know a lot of people love her, but I just missed her completely.  I’ve heard a few of her songs from her last album and I rather liked them.  So I was pleased enough that she was opening for Death Cab for Cutie.

Obviously I had no idea that they had a connection to her.  (From the same region, on the same label, she sang on Ben Gibbard’s side project).  So this was a nice tour for them.

We arrived at Starland Ballroom to find a line wrapping around the parking lot.  So although we were early, we didn’t get into the building until about 5 minutes before she went on (and it wasn’t even sold out!).  It was packed though and trying to find a spot in the center was impossible.  So we wound up standing on the elevated platform off to the right.  Not the best location, but honestly if we were on the floor, it would have been really crowded and really hard to see. (more…)

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Pinegrove/ Forth Wanderers / Fire is Motion / (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, December 29, 2017) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Adult Mom, Cancelled, Fire is Motion, Forth Wanderers, Philadelphia, PA, Pinegrove, Saintseneca, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom, Union Transfer on December 29, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: April 28, 2017] Forth Wanderers/Fire is Motion/Pinegrove

I saw Pinegrove at the First Unitarian Church in Philly.  I really enjoyed the band show.  And I was super excited to see them twice more for the end of the year–especially at Starland Ballroom.  In part because because one of my new favorite up and coming Jersey bands Fire is Motion were going to open for them.  But also because of this post about the show

hey! really excited to announce a special event we’ve been cookin up for a little while now. it’s a show on dec 29 at the starland ballroom in new jersey – kind of an end-of-year celebration of some of the things we love & believe in: live music, human equality, new jersey. we’re calling it:

the first annual celebration in & of our home state of new jersey & of live music from there too

our idea is to do this every year at various venues throughout the state, and for the shows to always feature NJ bands. this year, we’ve got the fantastic Forth Wanderers & Fire is Motion on the bill!

we’ll also be donating a significant portion of the proceeds from the night to a charity we believe in. now, in the ever-swirling (to put it gently) world we live in today, it seems crazy to have to pick the cause in september that will be most in need come december. so stay tuned for more info on where we’ll be donating. but rest assured that it will be in the promotion of equality & fairness towards all humans on our planet.

really can’t wait for this thing! pre-sale tickets are available now. we also have a special limited 11×17 screen printed version of the show poster that’s only available with the pre-sale!our own nick levine worked hard with us on the poster & we feel super excited about it. the rest of the tickets go on sale on friday at 10am eastern.

Wonder if the posters were shipped out already (I didn’t get one).

Then, out of the blue (at least to me), the band cancelled the tour.  This is now the third (and fourth) show this year that has been cancelled on me.  Oh well, I’m glad that problems like this come out and I hope that all involved get the help they need.  But because I’m selfish, I just wish that they would be revealed a few days after my show instead of before.

Official statement (more…)

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Pinegrove / Saintseneca / Adult Mom (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, December 10, 2017) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Adult Mom, Cancelled, Fire is Motion, Forth Wanderers, Philadelphia, PA, Pinegrove, Saintseneca, Sayreville, NJ, Starland Ballroom, Union Transfer on December 10, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: April 28, 2017] Saintseneca/Adult Mom/Pinegrove

I saw Pinegrove at the First Unitarian Church in Philly.  The venue was kind of fun, although I have basically decided that I will not ever go to another show there (despite THREE bands that I like playing there in coming months).  My takeaway from the venue is that if it’s at all crowded, it’s not worth going.

But I really enjoyed the Pinegrove show.  And I was super excited to see them twice more for the end of the year–tonight at Union Transfer and Starland Ballroom.  Kind of unreasonably excited, actually, especially the Starland show, because one of my new favorite up and coming Jersey bands Fire is Motion were going to open for them.

The openers were

Saintseneca, Adult Mom at Union Transfer

Forth Wanderers, Fire is Motion at Starland Ballroom

And then, out of the blue (at least to me), the band cancelled the tour.  This is now the third (and fourth) show this year that has been cancelled on me.  Oh well, I’m glad that problems like this come out and I hope that all involved get the help they need.  But because I’m selfish, I just wish that they would be revealed a few days after my show instead of before.

Official statement (more…)

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Modest Mouse (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, October 11, 2017)

Posted in Modest Mouse, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on October 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2017] Modest Mouse

I saw Modest Mouse at Starland Ballroom a couple of years ago.  And then I saw them outdoors at Steelstacks in Bethlehem, PA.

And in both instances, I found their fan base to be pretty obnoxious (for various reasons).  I really wanted to see them again (their lives shows are pretty great), so this time I was prepared for obnoxious fans, which made everything more palatable.

And now having seen them three times, I understand why they sell out all the time–their lives shows are amazing and the crowd is somewhat justified for being so obnoxious–it’s a wild and raucous time.

The band came out and set up–horns, violins, percussion–it’s a pretty large group up there. (more…)

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Metz (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, October 11, 2017) [MODEST MOUSE]

Posted in Canadian Music, Metz, Modest Mouse, Nirvana, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on October 11, 2017| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: October 11, 2017] Metz

2017-10-11-20-23-18-e1508356087344 (1)I knew of Metz from NPR, which is kind of funny given the kind of in your face pummeling metal noise that this three-piece from Canada makes.

I was pretty psyched that they were opening for Modest Mouse (not exactly the most logical fit).  But I should have learned from the last time I saw Modest Mouse at Starland Ballroom that there would be a huge line outside–I missed a lot of Mimicking Bird’s set last time.  This time I missed the opening minute or so of Metz’ set.  But it was loud enough that I could hear it from where I was standing.

And when I got onto the floor itself it was plenty loud enough. (more…)

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Garbage (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 27, 2016)

Posted in Chrissie Hynde, Garbage, Jane's Addiction, Kristin Kontrol, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom, The Pretenders on July 28, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 27, 2016] Garbage

2016-07-27 21.26.35Back in the late 1990s, I loved Garbage.  Their debut and 2.0 were two  of my favorite albums of the era.  I had the chance to meet and greet when I was living in Boston, but when I got to the store, the line was huge and they cut it short about ten people in front of me.  But I did get to see them live.  And I saw them live later in the year when they played in New York.

They took a few years off and I didn’t love their next album.  Or the one after that.  I liked them, but I wasn’t as blown away (which I suppose is natural).  They released a new album last year and I liked it–it was a little less slick than those middle ones. And in the meantime, I’ve grown to appreciate those middle albums more–sure they are slicker, but there’s some good stuff on them.

So when I saw they were touring in the area, I thought it would be fun to see them again nearly twenty years later.

And man, was it ever.

(more…)

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Kristin Kontrol (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 27, 2016) [GARBAGE]

Posted in Dale Bozzio, Dum Dum Girls, Garbage, Kate Bush, Kristin Kontrol, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on July 27, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 27, 2016] Kristin Kontrol

2016-07-27 20.08.28 I didn’t know who Kristin Kontrol was before this show.  I had to look her up and I saw that she used to sing for the Dum Dum Girls (she was Dee Dee Dum Dum).  I never really cared for them (I don’t like old time “girl group” music, so I didn’t need to hear it updated).  For some reason I assumed she would be loud and brash (which I realize is not what the Dum Dum Girls sound like anyhow).  Rather, her new outfit Kristin Kontrol embraces her love of 80s synth pop.

When she came out I didn’t realize she had been performing for a few years already (they formed in 2008), so while I knew she wasn’t a new artist, I was delighted with how much stage presence she had.  She even had “moves” down (arm gestures that went along with the songs) and she was really poised.

She told us that her first concert was Garbage way back in 1995 and it was that show that made her want to be a musician.  So she was delighted to be opening for them.

The band consisted of a drummer (who used a soft mallets on his cymbals, which I liked, as well as a mixture of electronic and analog drums), a guitarist who seemed to be playing lot of weird electronic sounds with is instrument (he was on the far side so I couldn’t really see him) and a bassist/keyboardist who was right in front of me.  Despite the guitar/bass line up, the overall sound was very synthy (even when no one was playing a synth).  (more…)

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Modest Mouse (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, August 7, 2014)

Posted in Mimicking Birds, Modest Mouse, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on August 9, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 7, 2014] Modest Mouse

It’s terribly frustrating when you think you’re getting good pictures but your phone’s viewscreen is evidently ten times better than its aperture.

I have liked Modest Mouse for a pretty long time.  I think I first heard them with The Moon & Antarctica, but I also really loved This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About (and I recall listening to it a lot while driving from New Jersey to Boston).  But I hadn’t realized that they hadn’t put out a new album in years.  They had an EP in 2009, but their last full length, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank was in 2007.

Recently on the show At Midnight, Tom Lennon, made a great joke about Modest Mouse.  The setup was Portland Pranks, and his joke was that people replaced all of the early Modest Mouse albums with their new ones.  This made me laugh because it’s very funny, but when I thought about it (and how often I’ve heard it), it made me laugh because Modest Mouse have 5 full length albums out.  And I think the first three are deemed classic.  But I’m also guilty of liking their early stuff more too.  (Although “Float On,” for all of its poppiness is a pretty fantastic song (so of course they didn’t play it)).

But man, did they play a wide variety of music.  Starting with a song from Lonesome Crowded West (the first of 3) and then playing a song from Moon & Antarctica (the first of 4), before playing something from We Were Dead (the first of four as well).  I had wondered why they were touring now since they don’t have a new release out.  But they played four new unreleased songs and, man were they different. (more…)

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Mimicking Birds (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, August 7, 2014) [MODEST MOUSE]

Posted in Happy Birthday, Mimicking Birds, Modest Mouse, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on August 8, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 7, 2014] Mimicking Birds

I was excited to get tickets for Modest Mouse, a band I have liked for years but had never seen.  And I was pleased to see that Mimicking Birds was opening.  They’re a band I knew a little (I liked one song and had listened to their albums online).  I liked their newer album more than the first, which was a little generic folkie to me.

We had just come home from vacation, and I had the 45 min drive to Sayreville ahead of me.  So I called the theater and they told me Mimicking Birds would go on at 8:15.  Last time, they estimated very early, so I left late, figured I’d get there at 8:15 and waltz in to see my friend Jay who I haven’t seen since we left the same job almost 2 years ago.

Well, a little detour on the way down delayed me somewhat, but nothing prepared me for the huge line waiting outside the place.  It seems that will-call is the more sensible way to go than actually bringing your tickets, as you don’t have to wait in line–weird.  So, I wound up missing half of their set and then spent the first song I heard looking for Jay.  When we finally met, I was able to hear the very end of their set, including singing a happy birthday to the bassist. (more…)

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