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Archive for the ‘Asbury Lanes’ Category

The Lemon Twigs / Joanna Sternberg (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, October 14, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, The Lemon Twigs on October 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 14, 2023] The Lemon Twigs / Joanna Sternberg

The Lemon Twigs played just last year at two locations and I missed them entirely.  I didn’t even know about this show because I don’t do shows at the Church anymore.

But it turns out that my son has made a friend at school who loves The Lemon Twigs and was at this show.  So I thought I ‘d throw it here.

I really liked The Lemon Twigs’ Do Hollywood album and their follow up EPs showed even more development.  Since then they have put out a few albums, and I have enjoyed them.

Their new album is very retro with a serious 60’s vibe.  At first I liked it but I soon found it a little too derivative so I wasn’t that interested in going.  But after my son’s friend said how much he liked the show I did actually want to go.

But it turns out that this is the same night as the one Philly Music Fest show that I was going to.  Why do things always happen on the same day?  I mean, look how many shows I wanted to go to this weekend.

Joanna Sternberg played at World Cafe Live a while back and here’s what I said

Joanna Sternberg is a kind of anti-folk singer.  They have a high almost child-like voice.  And they sings pointed lyrics.  I have since listened to one of their songs from Non-COMM and quite liked it.  I wouldn’t buy their music, but I would enjoy seeing them as an opening act.

And here they are as an opening act. Shame I missed it, but I’m not going to the Church.

 

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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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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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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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Sunflower Bean / Hello Mary (Absury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, May 6, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Hello Mary, Sunflower Bean on May 6, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: May 6, 2022] Sunflower Bean / Hello Mary

I’ve seen Sunflower bean twice.  The first time I was blown away by them.  The second time, they had changed their sound a bit and, while I liked them, I didn’t really love the new direction quite as much.

It was unlikely that I was going to this show anyhow, because this night was an embarrassment of riches in terms of shows to see: Gogol Bordello, Sunflower Bean, Destroyer (which I had bought a ticket for a long time earlier), Olivia Rodrigo (which sold out long before I could get a ticket), Lucius and Pup (which my son and I went to).

But the day of the show, singer Julia Cumming posted

Hey guys. It breaks my heart to announce this, but tonight’s show at @asburylanes is cancelled, and we will also not be able to perform in Baltimore for the @wtmdradio showcase either. I am currently resting due to an injury in my neck, and although I thought through many ways to play these shows, it doesn’t feel safe for my body or fair to our fans. Refunds are available at point of purchase. Thank you guys for understanding.

Ouch.

So, at least I didn’t feel bad missing that one.

Hello Mary is a band I hadn’t heard of.  Why hadn’t I heard of them?  Well, because this article from November 2022 (yes, out of chronology, but it shows just how unknown they were back in May) explains

The New York trio’s self-titled full-length debut, out March 3, is a blast of distorted chords, sunny harmonies, and all-consuming angst that will renew your faith in the hopelessly dated and/or timelessly classic sounds of alternative rock. Hello Mary is an instant contender for 2023’s most bracing entrance to the stage, sharp and self-assured. Oh yeah, and the band’s two founders — singer-guitarist Helena Straight and bass player Mikaela Oppenheimer, both 18 — just graduated from high school this summer.

So at the time of the show they were still in high school.  That would have been wild to see them.  I have since listened to the album and I love it.  I sure hope the tour soon.

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Best Coast / Rosie Tucker (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, January 29, 2022 and Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, January 27, 2022) [CANCELLED]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Best Coast, Cancelled, Mannequin Pussy, Philadelphia, PA, Rosie Tucker, Union Transfer on January 29, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[CANCELLED: March 20, 2020] Best Coast / Rosie Tucker [CANCELLED]

indexI had tickets to see Best Coast at Union Transfer in March 2020.  I like them although I was more interested in seeing their opening act Mannequin Pussy.

They were one of the first bands to cancel their tour outright back in May 2020 rather than rescheduling dates.

They announced a new tour for 2022 back in June.  I’d have rather seen them in Asbury Lanes, but that show was on the same night as our War on Drugs show.  So I considered going to the Union Transfer show.  It was supposed to be a busy week of shows, so I wasn’t sure I’d want to go or not.

But on January 6, the band announced they were cancelling the tour

Best Coast is canceling its upcoming tour in support of its “Always Tomorrow” album due to COVID concerns.

The tour was set to kick off on Jan. 11 at the Catalyst Club in Santa Cruz, California. The SoCal indie-pop group — consisting of singer-songwriter-guitarist Bethany Cosentino and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno —was scheduled to hit August Hall in San Francisco as well as such cities as Chicago, Toronto, Seattle and Los Angeles.

“We are devastated to announce that our upcoming Finally Tomorrow tour is unfortunately canceled,” the band posted on Twitter. “It was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one that we ultimately felt was right.

“The last two years have been so difficult for us as a band (and the entire world) — and we appreciate your support through it all.”

“Our last show was in Chicago (on March 11, 2020). It was about two weeks into a monthlong tour.  We had obviously been hearing a lot about COVID. But I think when you are on tour you exist in such a bubble of just what’s going on in the tour landscape. We were all kind of like, ‘OK, like I guess we’ll see what will happen with this.’ I fully didn’t think that the world was truly about to shut down. I did not see that coming whatsoever.”

“At this time, we are not rescheduling any of these dates, as the rollercoaster of the reschedule-announcement-cancelation cycle we’ve been stuck in is incredibly exhausting (for you too I’m sure!) and we just need a moment to decompress. We love you SO much and we hope to safely see you soon. Hang in there. love, bethany and bobb”

(more…)

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The Districts (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, November 27, 2021)

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Sham, The Districts, The Scouts on November 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 27, 2021] The Districts

I was supposed to see The Districts play at Union Transfer on March 12.  COVID-19 had just found its way into New Jersey and Pennsylvania and I was being very cautious so I decided to skip the show.  It was a safe decision, but one that I now regret as it would have been a pretty great final show of the year.  Shows pretty much completely stopped after that.

I was then supposed to see the Districts three times in 2021 (a lot of that was coincidence).  The opened for Modest Mouse (I had no idea they were going to), then they announced a show in Asbury Park and then, at the end of the year they were supposed to open for Dr. Dog (they bailed on that show, as did I, even though the show went on).

After seeing them open for Modest Mouse, I wanted to see them headline, because they tend to go a bit more nuts when they are in charge.

I was happy to see them in such a small place, but I hadn’t really thought this show through.  Asbury Park, on Thanksgiving weekend.  Holy crap, the place was full of reunited and drunk college students.  Which made for a more festive atmosphere but also meant that security almost had to pull somebody out and that everyone was singing along (badly) at the top of their lungs.  And of course drunk people were pushing forward throughout the show.

The band seemed to be in a really good mood when they came out and they rocked several classic songs: “4th and Roebling,” “Salt” and ‘If Before I Wake” (the crowd loves singing the “I’m just a narcissist” line)  Then they moved on to You Know I’m Not Going Anywhere for “Hey Jo,” and the moody “My Only Ghost.” (more…)

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Sham (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, November 27, 2021) [THE DISTRICTS]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Sham, The Districts, The Scouts on November 29, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 27, 2021] Sham

After The Scouts, Sham came out.  Sham is the project of Shane Justice McCord.  It was him and a bass player (I loved his bass guitar!) for this set.

The bass player started by playing bird calls on a small device while Shane played acoustic guitar.

The set was quiet and acoustic and perhaps a little atonal.  Very experimental (in a video I took, you can barely hear the band from all the chatter, until a guy behind me says, “this band is so weird, this is the best.”

In no way were they the right band for this particular show–a rowdy New jersey crowd looking to rock.  But aside from talking over the set, the crowd was at least respectful.

A few songs in, the bassist moved to drums and a new bassist came out and that added a little (very little) oomph to their set. (more…)

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The Scouts (Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, November 27, 2021) [THE DISTRICTS]

Posted in Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Sham, The Districts on November 28, 2021| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: November 27, 2021] The Scouts

I didn’t know if there were any opening bands for The Districts, and it turned out there were two.

The Scouts (a difficult search term, especially when combined with The Districts) are from The District’s home town of Lititz, PA.

They came out as a five piece and won me over immediately with some really solid guitar rock.  Their songs were all pretty long–about five minutes each with lengthy intros and multiple sections.

Lead singer Nathan Yager has long hair and a big beard but has a relatively restrained vocal sound (powerful but not overpowering).  He plays guitar as well and when he and Tom Hartman played together, they really brought in a nice mix of quiet and loud guitar. (more…)

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