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Archive for the ‘Starland Ballroom’ Category

Mastodon (The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA, May 5, 2016)

Posted in Judas Priest, Mastodon, Philadelphia, PA, Starland Ballroom, The Electric Factory on May 7, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 5, 2016] Mastodon

2016-05-05 22.37.54I first heard Mastodon with their Moby Dick-inspired concept album Leviathan.  Since then, their albums have gotten bigger and better, with many more elements (they now have four singers in the band, and a great mix of really catchy stuff along with really heavy, kinda scary stuff).  Their latest album, 2013’s Once More Round the Sun has been a favorite of mine for the past three years.

I was supposed to see them at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville in November of 2014.  I even had my ticket purchased.  But through a terrible goof on my part, I couldn’t go.  I’ve been wanting to see them ever since.  They opened for Judas Priest in 2015, but I wanted to see them as a headliner.

They are planning a European Tour this summer, but for some reason, they decided to play one gig in the States, and they chose Philly.  I was pretty psyched to get my ticket!  I was even more psyched to learn that they played more or less the same set as they did at Starland Ballroom.  Honestly, I don’t really like when a band doesn’t mix up their setlists all that much. But in this case, it was fantastic.  I didn’t look at the songs before the shows, but I did check to see that most of the songs were from Once More, which was perfect. (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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Gogol Bordello (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 21, 2014)

Posted in Gogol Bordello, Man Man, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on July 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2014] Gogol Bordello

I first heard Gogol Bordello on a PBS music show (I assume it was Austin City Limits, but I can’t find any record of them being on the show).  I didn’t know anything about them, but I was really impressed by what I saw.  Since then I’ve bought a few records, and have enjoyed all of their appearances on NPR shows, but it was after watching the DVD that came with Live from Axis Mundi that I knew this was a band I wanted to see live.  So I was totally psyched that they were coming to the tiny Starland Ballroom.

Now I will say that they were not as exciting here as in the video.  That is due to a couple of things.  The first is that the club in the video was much bigger, allowing them to do a lot more.  The second is that in the video they had direct access to the audience, unlike at Starland so lead singer Eugene Hutz was able to go into the crowd in the video, as were the two dancers (suspended aloft on giant bass drums).  In Starland, they all stayed on the stage (although they did move all over it) and the two dancers have been replaced by one who was excellent but did not climb onto a drum at all).

Comparisons aside, Gogol Bordello put on a pretty amazing show. (more…)

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Man Man (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, July 21, 2014) [GOGOL BORDELLO]

Posted in Dave Grohl, Gogol Bordello, Man Man, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom on July 22, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 21, 2014] Man Man

I went to the Starland Ballroom to see Gogol Bordello, but I was pretty excited that Man Man was opening.  I really only knew them from three things.  Their fairly popular (at least on WXPN) song “Head On [Hold On To Your Heart]” a synthy treacly delight (that really belies the bands manic energy) and “Paul’s Grotesque” a newer song (for XPN) that I didn’t actually realize was Man Man.  And, third, and most compelling, was their video for “Black Mission Goggle” live at Amoeba Records (which you can see at the bottom of the post).  In it they proved to be immensely silly and yet still quite talented.  And I love a band who can put on a show (which is why I wanted to see Gogol Bordello in the first place).

And Man Man did not disappoint.  The four piece came out on stage, with Brown Sugar, the bassist/Schatzaphone/percussionist/malletKAT player on the right side, Pow Pow, the drummer (whose kit was sideways), right in the middle and Shono Murphy the guitarist/trumpeter/percussionist on the left.  After playing an instrumental opening, Honus Honus, singer, keyboards and all around head honcho came out in a glorious cape, looking like Dave Grohl when he’s most possessed. (more…)

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King’s X (Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ, May 3, 2014)

Posted in King's X, Sayreville, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Starland Ballroom, TT Quick on May 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 3, 2014] King’s X

I first saw King’s X with my friend Al back in 1992 or so.  I don’t recall much about the concert.  But I knew that they were awesome live, even still, some twenty years later.

I’ve enjoyed nearly everything they’ve released (their last album was in 2008), and when I heard that they were playing three concerts in the area, I decided it was time to see them again.  I almost went to the show in Newtown, NJ on May 2, but we went to a Figaro play instead.  So, I was psyched that they were playing reasonably close by in Sayreville, too.

The Newtown show was a seated event.  The Starland Ballroom is not.  It is a small venue with large “wings” where you can see the band from all kinds of angles (including the side of the stage).  I got there a little later than I intended.  The co-headliners were TT Quick, a band I knew in high school (who are also from NJ), but who I’d forgotten about.  When I saw they reunited for this show,  listened to the one album I had by them (Metal of Honor) and was surprised by how well I remembered it.  But a few snags in my trip to Sayreville (like the impossibly long time it too me to get ear plugs at Shop Rite), got me there with only three songs left in TT Quick’s set.

They were LOUD (so glad I bought the ear plugs), and singer * (who is now singing with Accept) was in good form.  Although when they closed with the song “Metal of Honor” there was no way he was hitting those high notes.

TT Quick is pretty different from King’s X, so I’m not entirely sure how much overlap there was in fans.  But when TT Quick left I got up to about 4 people from the stage (could have easily gotten closer, but I’m not a pusher).  The most shocking thing to me was the man who had his 4 year old son there with him (I offered the guy ear plugs, but he said he had them already).  The kid was a trooper (considering King’s X went on at nearly 11PM.  He lasted a few songs on his dad’s shoulders (right in front of me, grrr), but then crashed about midway through the set.  (which gave me a great view).

But enough about that.  What about the band?  They were awesome! (more…)

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