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Archive for the ‘Set in New Jersey!’ Category

Fortune Feimster: Live Laugh Love (Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ, January 21, 2024)

Posted in Caitlin Peluffo, Count Basie Theatre, Fortune Feimster, Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre, Red Bank, NJ, Set in New Jersey! on January 22, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 21, 2024] Fortune Feimster

My wife asked for tickets to see Fortune for Christmas.  I was pretty delighted to see her too.  I don’t know her career that well, but she was a favorite character (Dougie) on the short lived Life in Pieces.

I didn’t really know what to expect from her stand up, but I assumed it would be brash and funny.

What was really impressive is that she basically told four stories over the course of 75 minutes and each story was funnier than the next.

There’s weren’t jokes per se, there’s no real one liners, they’re just very funny stories.

The first was about her and her wife going on a honeymoon to the Maldives and her discovering mid-flight that in the Maldives being gay is a crime.  Her (over)reactions to everything that people did on the island was great.  (more…)

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Caitlin Peluffo (Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre at the Count Basie Center, Red Bank, NJ, January 21, 2024) [FORTUNE FEIMSTER]

Posted in Caitlin Peluffo, Count Basie Theatre, Fortune Feimster, Hackensack Meridian Health Theatre, Red Bank, NJ, Set in New Jersey! on January 21, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 21, 2024] Caitlin Peluffo

Being an opening band has got to be tough.  being a warm up comedian might be tougher (or maybe not, if the crowd is already pumped).

Anyhow, we didn’t know if there was a warm up act, and then as the show was announced we were told that Caitlin Peluffo would be warming us up.

I hadn’t heard of her.

She came out in jeans and work boots and joked  that she wasn’t gay, it was just a clothing choice.  She then announced that she had a boyfriend.  Peluffo has a very loud, aggressive style, which worked really well for some of the jokes, but here it almost felt defiant–that she was straight opening for a gay comedian.  Or something.

She had some good jokes about being a physically strong woman and how she liked to date smaller guys.  I enjoyed the gentle male bashing that she did, but somehow her jokes fell a little flat for me–smiles but not a lot of laughs. (more…)

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My Chemical Romance: MCRXX (Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, September 20, 2022) [rescheduled date, rescheduled again]

Posted in My Chemical Romance, Newark, NJ, Prudential Center, Set in New Jersey! on September 21, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2022] My Chemical Romance [rescheduled from September 22, 2020 and September 21, 2021]

I bought tickets to this show for myself, my son and his friend on January 31, 2020,  The boys were freshmen at the time.  Now, after two rescheduled shows, the boys are seniors and were still excited about this reunion.  (Even though they were too young to know about them the last time MCR played in NJ).

The crowd was super excited and buzzing,  We had floor seats right after the pit–wish they were closer, but the boys didn’t want to be in the standing section.

It seemed to take forever to get the show going.  They started playing some loud static, which lit the room. And afte ra few minutes, the static slowly morphed into the new MCR song “The Foundations of Decay.”  We all agreed we weren’t going to see what songs they were playing, but it became clear talking to other people that every show was different but every one opened with this song.

I don’t really know the song, but that’s okay because it was an excellent warmup for the next song, the fantastic “I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” which had the whole crowd singing along.

Turns out that this song is from Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, their second album (and the first that sounds like MCR really sounds.  It’s also the album I know the least. And its the one they played the most songs from.

They added a second show the following night (I’m not sure when this was added, but I feel like we might have wanted to go to both shows if I’d really thought about it).  And that second show played a lot more songs from the albums I know better.  So I think this first night was for the old-school die-hards. (more…)

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Thursday (Prudential Center, Newark, NJ, September 20, 2022) [MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE] [rescheduled date, rescheduled again]

Posted in My Chemical Romance, Newark, NJ, Prudential Center, Set in New Jersey!, The Homeless Gospel Choir, Thursday on September 20, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 20, 2022] Thursday [rescheduled from September 22, 2020 and September 21, 2021]

I bought tickets to this show for myself, my son and his friend on January 31, 2020,  The boys were freshmen at the time.  Now, after two rescheduled shows, the boys are seniors and were still excited about this reunion.  (Even though they were too young to know about them the last time MCR played in NJ).

There were two opening bands, but our parking nightmares (oh Newark) made us miss The Homeless Gospel Choir, a folk/punk band from Pittsburgh who I was interested in checking out.

For our show (a second show was later added with a different opening band) Thursday opened.  Thursday is a band from New Brunswick, NJ.  They are an emo band that predates My Chemical Romance and somehow I had never heard of them.

I’m surprised I’d never heard of them.  Turns out they broke up in 2012.  They got back together in 2016 and toured a bunch then.  They started touring again after COVID.

It was interesting hearing their earlier stuff is far more emo.  “Cross Out the Eyes” had a soaring emo chorus and also some screamed backing vocals. (more…)

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Ghost: Imperatour (Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ, September 9, 2022)

Posted in Bruce Springsteen, Cure Insurance Arena, Ghost, Mastodon, Set in New Jersey!, Spiritbox, Trenton, NJ on September 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 9, 2019] Ghost 

This was my third time seeing Ghost.  In four years!  They never fail to put on a spectacular show.

Each time I’ve taken C. with me and these last two he brought his friend with him.  This time, though, the boys sat in the seats straight back but on a slight rise (they had a great view) and I went to the floor to get as close to the action I could.  The usually toss stuff out to the audience after the show, but I was not in the right place.

There were tons of people in full cosplay, and they looked amazing.

It took a while for Ghost to come out.  They have a huge stage change up, so it’s understandable.  I happened to run into someone I knew there and his son (Hi Gary) which was crazy (although not really as he has seen Ghost like 6 times).

They play taped music as the band sets up.  It’s usually a kind of Gregorian chant.  Soon the stage was revealed in all of its multi-tiered, stained-glass glory.  The music segued into a tape of “Imperium” before the Nameless Ghouls ran out on stage followed soon after by Papa. (more…)

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Mastodon (Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ, September 9, 2022) [GHOST]

Posted in Cure Insurance Arena, Ghost, Mastodon, Set in New Jersey!, Spiritbox, Trenton, NJ on September 10, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 9, 2019] Mastodon

This was my third time seeing Mastodon.  I have enjoyed them each time but I didn’t think I’d be seeing them again.  So it was a treat that they opened for Ghost.

I hadn’t really listened to their new album that much, so I didn’t really know what to expect.  Plus, in an opening slot, they wouldn’t get that many songs.  And I see that each show has their sets getting shorter and shorter.

The biggest surprise was the addition of a keyboard player.  Joao Noguiera stood on the same riser as the drums and had a lot of hair and a top hat (yes, like Slash).  He added a lot of atmospherics and sounds while the other guys were tuning.  But Mastodon is such a force, I’m not sure he was needed.

So they played five songs from the new album.  And then six songs that I’d seen them play before.  Most of those they’ve played at each show.

There were great visuals behind them–a huge screen showing videos.

“Pain with an Anchor” was sung by drummer Brann Dailor, who has the most melodic delivery of the band.  He and singer Troy Sanders share a lot of lead vocal duties on the new album.  And I love Dailor’s colorful drum set.  (more…)

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Spiritbox (Cure Insurance Arena, Trenton, NJ, September 9, 2022) [GHOST]

Posted in Cure Insurance Arena, Ghost, Mastodon, Set in New Jersey!, Spiritbox, Trenton, NJ on September 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: September 9, 2019] Spiritbox

We arrived pretty early for this show.  Early enough to get merch before the first band went on.

My son and his friend had seats (straight back and a few rows up–they said the view was perfect), but I wanted standing room on the floor.  And just as I walked down the steps to the floor, the lights went dark and I walked pretty close to the stage.

Then Spiritbox came out.  I didn’t know them at all.  But their story is

Spiritbox is a Canadian heavy metal band from Victoria, British Columbia. Husband and wife duo guitarist Mike Stringer and vocalist Courtney LaPlante established Spiritbox in 2017. The band’s full lineup comprises LaPlante, Stringer and drummer Zev Rose; former As I Lay Dying bassist Josh Gilbert currently performs live with the band.

The band plays pretty loud and abrasive guitars, but there’s all kinds of electronic effects and interesting quiet/loud elements going on.  Courtney LaPlante can growl/ scream very impressively, but she also has a pretty singing voice, adding even more to the diversity.

It’s like they combined some of the best elements of various new heavy metal sounds into a composite that sounds familiar but unique at the same time. (more…)

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The Beths / Rosie Tucker (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, August 26, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Rosie Tucker, Set in New Jersey!, The Beths on August 26, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 26, 2022] The Beths / Rosie Tucker

I wonder what it is about Asbury Lanes.  This is what I wrote about Nada Surf when they played here:

I had just seen Nada Surf in November and didn’t really need to see them again.  But never pass up a chance to see a great live band, right?

November to July = 8 months.

So I’ll say the same about The Beths.  I had just seen them in February.  And here they were 6 months later playing Asbury Lanes.

Never pass up a chance to see a great live band.  Yes.  Unless, of course, you already have tickets to Peter Hook & The Light AND you are going out to concerts the two days before and the day after.

But seriously, The Beths are amazing live, and I would see them as many times as I could.

Back in January, Rosie Tucker was supposed to open for Best Coast.  But that tour was cancelled.

I wrote:

I didn’t know Rosie Tucker until Friday when I listened to her album because it was highly recommended on NPR Music.  I really liked her blend of quirky pop, enjoyable lyrics and kind of garagey sounds.  Her name sounds like she’ll be a country singer, but she’s far from that.  I hope to see her some time in the near future.

And maybe I still will.

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Nada Surf / Hurry (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, July 29, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Hurry, Nada Surf, Set in New Jersey! on July 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 29, 2022] Nada Surf / Hurry

I had just seen Nada Surf in November and didn’t really need to see them again.  But never pass up a chance to see a great live band, right?

Well, it turned out to be the same night as my rescheduled King’s X show.  I have seen King’s X more often than Nada Surf, but I hadn’t seen King’s X in five years and they are getting up there in age.  So I opted for King’s X.  I think I made the right choice as I’m not sure if I’ll need to see King’s X again, but I’m sure Nada Surf will be back again.

I was supposed to see Hurry open for Restorations back in 2020 but COVID cancelled that show.  Here’s what I said about them then:

Hurry is a band from Philadelphia, originally the solo project Matt Scottoline.  They are described as 90’s rock revivalists and all of their influences are bands I like.  Some of their songs online are a little slower than I expected, but they do have some uptempo ones as well.

At this point I hope they open for someone else I want to see.

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Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit / S.G. Goodman (State Theatre, New Brunswick, NJ, April 8, 2022) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit, New Brunswick, NJ, S.G. Goodman, Set in New Jersey!, State Theatre on April 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: April 8, 2022] Jason Isbell / S.G. Goodman

I have mixed feelings about Jason Isbell.  I like him as a person and I like some of his song, but I really don’t like some of his other songs.  His voice rides the fine line between tolerable and hated.  I though that the option to see them in New Brunswick would give me the close by chance to see him and make a final decision (I suppose he’s good live), but I decided against it and just stayed home.  And I don’t feel like it was a huge loss.

S.G. Goodman gets a lot of airplay on WXPN, but it’s mostly the same song and I’m torn on her as well.  

I stayed home and it’s fine.  

 

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