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Archive for the ‘The Stone Pony Summer Stage’ Category

Dropkick Murphys / Bad Religion / The Mainliners (Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 13, 2025) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Bad Religion, Dropkick Murphys, The Mainliners, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on August 13, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 13, 2025] Dropkick Murphys / Bad Religion / The Mainliners

Dropkick Murphys are a Celtic punk band from Massachusetts.  I feel like it’s possible I saw the singer in a pub in Boston when I lived there, but possibly not.  I have their debut album, but hadn’t really listened t them in a couple decades.  Btu they are the most vocally outspoken band against the current fascism that going on in our country and or that I respect the hell out of them.

I also know that Celtic punk is fun as hell.  And while I may not listen to their records, I am certain a show with them would be an incredibly fun time (although at the Stone Pony Summer Stage, I imagine the loud and very drunk fan base would be pretty intolerable.

I’ve been a fan of Bad Religion since, oh who knows, a long time.  Although I haven’t really listened to them that much in the last few years.  I’ve also never really thought about seeing them live.  Interestingly, S. saw them live at City Gardens a few decades ago (clearly she is cooler than I).  I guess I don’t care enough about them to make the effort.

The Mainliners are young guys playing old-school style punk band, “taking inspiration from such legendary SoCal bands as TSOL, Descendants, and DI, and drawing comparisons to others in the vanguard, from The Circle Jerks to The Adolescents.”  Their recordings even sound like they are from the 70 and 80s.  They definitely would have gotten the crowd going.

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Guster (Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 1, 2025)

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Guster, The Mountain Goats, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on August 5, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: August 1, 2025] Guster

My wife and I saw Guster in March of 2024 and again in January 2025.  Did we really need to see them again seven months later?  Yes!  In part because those two previous shows were their We Have Eras Too tour and this wasn’t.  And also because it’s Guster and we love them.

We also dislike the Stone Pony Summer Stage and the thought of going down the shore on a Friday night…?  Sheesh.  But things worked out wonderfully.  There was minimal traffic and I found a parking spot close to the Pony!

We were so early we could get merch and still get within three people of the stage.

It turns out that many people were there for The Mountain Goats, so when their set ended, we were practically on the fence (in front of Adam for a change).

We weren’t expecting a wildly different setlist from a usual show, although they do tend to mix things up a bit.   There are some songs we’ve heard A LOT (Come Downstairs and Say Hello), but others that we haven’t seen too often.  And yet even if we’ve seen most of the songs more than 5 times, there’s nothing like singing along with them and watching them have a blast.

The evening was perfect and they seemed to really enjoy being in Asbury Park (they had recorded their previous album there and had lived in AP for two weeks or so).

This set was interesting for being heavy on Adam-sung songs.  He doesn’t sing lead very often anymore, but he used to have a few lead vocals.  With Ramona, Demons Center of Attention.

The one thing that we missed in the Eras tour was that they didn’t play many songs of their newest album.  The first Eras night they played new songs but we didn’t know them yet.  So this was a good opportunity to hear When We Were Stars and The Elevator (for the first time!).  Mid way through the show, someone in the front requested Mona Lisa.  Ryan said they would play it and then said–wait, let us play it as the encore becaue we have the setlist set up already.

So they opened the encore with it (it was supposed to be Black Balloon, which I would rather have heard).  After a super fun Satellite, they called The Mountain Goats back up on stage and they all sang The Lido Shuffle.  It was fun and wild and everyone sang along to the Woah oh oh oh part.  Curiously, it was only a few days ago that I discovered that this song was not an Elton John song like I’d always assumed (I mean it sounds o much like him) but actually a song by Boz Scaggs.  I couldn’t believe they busted it out.  I also found out that it was played again the following night at the Summer Stage for Yacht Rock Review.  Same sing two nights in a row–I’ll be the Yacht Rock version sounded quite different.

One of the fun things about Guster (of many) is their mid set improv.  Tonight’s was all about how you could buy Jello Shots at the venue.  He said, only at the Jersey Shore!  So he sang a little song about Jello Shots (pop pop) and late during Doin’ It By Myself he walked through the audeince and grabbed Jello Shots for the band (they were disgusting apparently).

The show could have gone on and on as far as I was concerned but I suspect there’s a curfew.  When the show was over, my wife grabbed a setlist (very cool) and we sat on the boardwalk looking at the ocean.  A woman on stilts (dressed in black and white with seven foot long pants over her stilts) walked the board walk and took pictures with people.

And then we went for Mogo Tacos and they were delicious.

That makes 13 times for me seeing Guster.  I’ve seen Phish 17 times.  It’s possible that Guster will overtake them since a Guster show is always a much lower key affair (and less work) than a Phish show.

 

8/1/2025–Stone Pony Summerstage
Careful © [6]
What You Call Love ω [5]
Ramona © [8]
One Man Wrecking Machine ⊗ [4]
When We Were Stars Ø [2]
Demons ℵ [9]
Center of Attention ≅ [3]
When You Go Quiet £ [2]
Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [12]
Do You Love Me ω [9]
Hang On ⊗ [7]
Jell-O Shots (improv after noticing Jello shots for sale “only at the Stone Pony”)
Doin’ It By Myself € [10] (Ryan walked through the audience and grabbed a Jello shot for everyone on stage)
The Elevator Ø
Amsterdam © [6]
Happier ≅ [9]
encore
Mona Lisa ¶ [3] (fan requested the song earlier, they agreed to play it in the encore–Black Balloon on setlist)
Satellite ⊗ [10]
Lido Shuffle (Boz Scaggs cover) (with The Mountain Goats)

 

3/26/2024–Fillmore Philadelphia ERAs tour 3/26/2024–Red Bank  ERAs Tour 4/6/ 2023–White Eagle Hall  8/10/2022–Wellmont
Sketch 1: Dorm Room

Parachute ¶ [3] (Ryan & Adam only) 
 Sketch 1: Dorm Room

Parachute ¶ [2] (Ryan & Adam only) 
 What You Wish For ≅ [3] Careful © [3]
Sketch 2: Enter Brian

Happy Frappy ¶ [2]
 Sketch 2: Enter Brian

Fall in Two ¶ 
 Architects & Engineers ω [3] Terrified £ [3]
Sketch 3: Harvard Square

X Ray Eyes ℵ
 Sketch 3: Harvard Square

Demons ℵ [8]
 Red Oyster Cult © [3] Diane © [3]
Airport Song ℵ [9] Airport Song ℵ [8] Ramona © [7] Hercules  ω [3]
Sketch 4: Lillywhite

What You Wish For ≅ [5]
 Sketch 4: Lillywhite

What You Wish For ≅ [4]
 One Man Wrecking Machine ⊗ [2] (first since 2015) Hang On ⊗ [4]
I Spy ≅ [7] I Spy ≅ [6] Manifest Destiny ⊗ [6] Barrel of a Gun ≅ [7]
Barrel of a Gun ≅ [9] Barrel of a Gun ≅ [8] I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today © [1] Backyard © [3]
Sketch 5: Tour Bus

Jesus on the Radio (Acoustic) © [5]
 Sketch 5: Tour Bus

Jesus on the Radio (Acoustic) © [4]
 All the Way Up to Heaven ≅ [3] Satellite (House PA goes out at the end of the song due to power outage.) ⊗ [8]
Sketch 6: Joe Joins the Band

Diane © [4]
 Sketch 6: Joe Joins the Band

Diane © [3]
 Satellite ⊗ [9] Jesus on the Radio (Acoustic) © [3]
Careful © [5] Careful © [4] Doin’ It By Myself (Ryan sang while walking amongst the crowd) € [7] Hard Times (Acoustic) £ [2]
(Nothing but) Flowers
(Talking Heads cover)  [2]
(Nothing but) Flowers
(Talking Heads cover)
 Look Alive £ [3] Parachute (Acoustic) ¶
Hang On ⊗ [6] One Man Wrecking Machine ⊗ [3] Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [9] Doin’ It By Myself (Ryan sang while walking amongst the crowd) € [6]
Manifest Destiny ⊗ [6] Satellite ⊗ [8] Do You Love Me ω [7] Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [8]
Satellite ⊗ [9] The Captain ⊗ [5] Never Coming Down € [4] Lazy Love € [3]
Sketch 7: Evil Producer

Thunder Song [2]
 Sketch 7: Evil Producer

Thunder Song
 When You Go Quiet £ (bonus track) The New Underground ⊗
Act 2

Do You Love Me ω [8]
 Act 2

Do You Love Me ω [7]
 Mexican Restaurant Penis TV Improv Jam to Bon Jovi’s Livin On A Prayer Lightning Rod ⊗ [2]
Sketch 8: Joe Leaves the Band

Architects and Engineers ω [4]
 Sketch 8: Joe Leaves the Band

This Could All be Yours ω [6]
 Airport Song ℵ [7] What You Call Love (with 11 year old Sam on bagpipes) ω [4]
Luke Reynolds is the Man song Luke Reynolds is the Man song Happier ≅ [6] I Spy ≅ [5]
This Could All be Yours ω [6] Lost at Sea ω [bonus track] Hard Times (with Karina Rykman) £ [3] Don’t Go £
Long Night € [5] Gangway € [3] Psycho Killer (with Karina Rykman band) [Talking Heads cover] Ramona © [6]
Doin’ It By Myself (Ryan sang while walking amongst the crowd) € [9] Doin’ It By Myself (Ryan sang while walking amongst the crowd) € [8] Groove is in the Heart (with Karina Rykman band) [Deee-Lite] The Captain ⊗ [4]
Sketch 9: Dave Gets Mad/Appreciated
Dave Song

Don’t Go £ [3]
 Sketch 9: Dave Gets Mad/Appreciated

Don’t Go £ [2]
 encore Demons ℵ [7]
Terrified £ [6] Terrified £ [5] Mona Lisa ¶ [3] encore
Sketch 10: COVID

When We Were Stars Ø
 Sketch 10: COVID

Keep Going  Ø
 Bury Me ¶  Do You Love Me ω [6]
Black Balloon Ø [2] Black Balloon Ø Terrified £ [4]
Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [11] Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [10] encore 2

Encore: Dumpster Set

Encore: Camp Fire Set

 Hang On ⊗ [5]
Happier ≅ [8]
Happier ≅ [7]
Amsterdam © [5] Amsterdam © [4]

 

3/23/2019–Fillmore 1/11/2019–Free at Noon 11/1/2018–White Eagle Hall
Diane © [2] Hard Times £ Long Night € [4]
The Captain ⊗ [3] Ramona © [5] Happier ≅ [4]
Terrified £ [2] Mind Kontrol £ [2] What You Call Love ω [3]
Airport Song ℵ [6] Manifest Destiny ⊗ [5] I Spy (haven’t heard since 2004) ≅ [2]
Gangway € [2] Terrified £ Endlessly € [2]
Hello Mister Sun (w/horns) £ [2] Look Alive £  Airport Song ℵ [5]
Overexcited (w/horns) £ [2] Satellite ⊗ [6] Hello Mr. Sun (new) £
Stay with Me Jesus ω [3] Overexcited £ Stay With Me Jesus ω [2]
Satellite ⊗ [7] encore Doin’ It By Myself € [4]
Doin’ It By Myself (w/horns) € [5] I Spy (not broadcast) acoustic ≅ [3] improv Levi’s bar mitzvah
Look Alive £ [2] Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [6]
Backyard (w/strings} © [2] ** from the new album Do You Love Me ω [5]
Amsterdam © [3] Rocketship (never before) ℵ
Window (w/strings & showed the original music video) Manifest Destiny ⊗ [4]
LOST AND GONE FOREVER
20th ANNIVERSARY SET		 Amsterdam (not since 2004) © [2]
What You Wish For ≅ [2] Ruby Falls ⊗ [2]
Barrel of a Gun ≅ [6] Ramona © [4]
Either Way (w/strings) ≅ Satellite ⊗ [5]
Fa Fa (w/horns & Stephen on flute) ≅ [3] Barrel of a Gun ≅ [5]
I Spy ≅ [4] improv-“False encore” song
Center of Attention ≅ [2] This Could All be Yours ω [5]
All the Way Up to Heaven (not since 2004) ≅ [2] “encore“
Happier ≅ [5] Mind Kontrol (new) £
So Long (w/strings) ≅ Two Points for Honesty ≅ [3]
Two Points for Honesty (w/strings) ≅ [4] Demons ℵ [6]
Rainy Day (w/strings) 2nd encore
encore Jesus on the Radio (acoustic, no mics) © [2]
Rocketship (w/strings) ℵ [2]
Hang On ⊗ [3]
Great Escape ℵ
Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [7]

 

6/16/2016–Fillmore 11/21/2015–Wellmont 4/24/2015–TLA
What You Wish For ≅
 Ramona © [2] Demons ℵ [3]
Satellite ⊗ [4] Satellite ⊗ [3]  Center of Attention ≅
Doin’ It By Myself € [3]
 Simple Machine € [2]  Doin’ It By Myself €
Barrel of a Gun ≅ [4]
 Happier ≅ [3]  The Beginning of the End ⊗
Ramona © [3] Hercules ω [2]  Ramona ©
Never Coming Down € [3] Careful / “Chariots of Fire” © [2]  Gangway €
Architects & Engineers ω [2] Doin’ It By Myself € [2]  Endlessly €
Lightning Rod ⊗ [2] The Captain ⊗ [2]  Stay with Me Jesus ω
Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [5] Kid Dreams €  Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [3]
Do You Love Me ω [4] Homecoming King © [2]  Do You Love Me ω [2]
Dear Valentine ⊗
 Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [4]  (Everything I Do) I Do It for You [Bryan Adams cover]
That’s No Way to Get to Heaven ω
 Do You Love Me ω [3]  Hang On ⊗ [2]
Red Oyster Cult © [2] Never Coming Down € [2]  Lazy Love €
Mona Lisa ¶ [2]
 Demons ℵ [4]  Hercules (with Kishi Bashi) ω
Manifest Destiny ⊗[3]
 Two Points for Honesty ≅ [2]  Satellite (with Kishi Bashi) ⊗ [2]
Simple Machine € [3] Happy Frappy ¶  Simple Machine €
Airport Song ℵ [4]
 Ruby Falls ⊗  Never Coming Down €
Kid Dreams €[2]
 Lazy Love € [2]  Two Points for Honesty ≅
Demons ℵ [5] Barrel of a Gun≅ [3]  Diane © 
This Could All Be Yours ω [4] This Could All Be Yours ω [3]  Careful © 
encore “Improv”
 “encore” (“Zombie Jews”)  This Could All Be Yours ω [2]
Long Night € [3]
 Long Night € [2]  “encore”
Bad Bad World ω
 One Man Wrecking Machine ⊗  Long Night €
What You Call Love ω [2]
 Manifest Destiny ⊗ [2]  Manifest Destiny ⊗
Fa Fa ≅ [2] Airport Song ℵ [3]  What You Call Love ω
encore “boooo” Careless Whisper [George Michael cover]  Happier ≅ [2]
Jesus on the Radio ©

 

7/20/2013–PNC Bank Center 7/5/2004–Starland
The Captain ⊗ Happier ≅
Architects & Engineers ω I Spy ≅
Homecoming King © Airport Song ℵ
Come Downstairs and Say Hello © [2] Demons ℵ
Do You Love Me ω Amsterdam © 
Airport Song ℵ [2] Come Downstairs and Say Hello ©
Hang On ⊗ Barrel of a Gun ≅
Demons ℵ [2] Mona Lisa ¶
Satellite ⊗ Red Oyster Cult © 
Barrel of a Gun (with Ed Robertson) ≅ [2] California Dreamin’ [Beach Boys cover]
This Could All Be Yours ω Fa Fa ≅
Jam (with Ben Folds)
Backyard (with Ben Folds) © 
All the Way Up to Heaven ≅


Ø Oh La La (2024)                              -7/10
£ Look Alive (2019)                            -2/10
€ Evermotion (2015)                          -3/11
ω Easy Wonderful (2010)                -4/12
⊗ Ganging Up on the Sun (2006) -2/12
© Keep It Together (2003)              -3/13
≅ Lost and Gone Forever (1999)   —
ℵ Goldfly (1997)                                    -5/11
¶ Parachute (1995)                              -6/11

 

Parachute

  1. “Love for Me”
  2. “Eden”
  3. “Scars & Stitches”
  4. “The Prize”
  5. “Dissolve”
  6. “Cocoon”

Goldfly

  1. “Perfect”
  2. “Medicine”
  3. “Grin”
  4. “Getting Even”
  5. “Melanie” (unlisted bonus track)

Keep It Together

  1. “Keep It Together”
  2. “Long Way Down”
  3. “Two at a Time” (hidden track)

Ganging Up on the Sun

  1. “C’mon” – 3:51
  2. “Empire State” – 4:59

Easy Wonderful

  1. “On the Ocean”
  2. “This Is How It Feels to Have a Broken Heart”
  3. “Jesus and Mary”
  4. “Do What You Want”

Evermotion

  1. “Expectation”
  2. “It Is Just What It Is”
  3. “Farewell”

Look Alive

  1. “Summertime”
  2. “Not for Nothing”

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The Mountain Goats (Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 1, 2025) [GUSTER]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Guster, The Mountain Goats, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on August 1, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: January 24, 2025] The Mountain Goats

Back in I have been wanting to see The Mountain Goats for a long time (my friend Andrew got me into them, jeez, like ten years ago).  They have played in the area nearly every year since I first heard about them but for one reason or another I never saw them. Usually it’s scheduling conflicts and occasionally the show sold out before I heard about it.

I had even more or less given up on seeing them (if you miss a band more than half a dozen times it’s practically a sign from the universe).  But here they were opening for Guster!

I was really excited to finally see them, and I was equally excited/surprised to see that the drummer for The Mountain Goats is Jon Wurster who I have seen with Superchunk and Bob Mould and have therefore seen him five times!  (I thought I’d be seeing him with Superchunk again this fall, but I didn’t realize he had left the band!)

The band was a three piece with multi instrumentalist Matt Douglas playing everything and John Darnielle (the master Goat) singing and playing guitar and keys. (more…)

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Stars / Lydia Persaud (Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, September 28, 2024) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Christine Bougie, Lydia Persaud, Stars, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on September 28, 2024| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 18, 2024] Stars / Lydia Persaud

I have been a fan of Stars since about 2004.  Seeing them live in 2022 was amazing.  And I couldn’t wait to see them again.

But since they were playing at Union Transfer, there was no way I was going to the Stone Pont Summer Stage to see them.  Frankly, that sounds like a terrible place to see an intimate band like Stars.

Lydia Persaud opened again.  I didn’t really like her last time.

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Pixies / Modest Mouse / Cat Power (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 20, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Cat Power, Modest Mouse, Pixies, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on August 20, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 20, 2023] Pixies / Modest Mouse / Cat Power

I saw Pixies for the first time in 28 years at The Stone Pony Summer Stage and it was glorious.  I’ve since seen them two more times and I don’t feel the need to ever see them again.  Even though each show has been very good, and there is some mixing up of songs, I feel like I’ve seen everything they’re going to show me.

I would see Modest Mouse every time they came around.  The shows are totally different and each one feels like a new version of the band.

I have never really liked Cat Power (blasphemy!).  She just doesn’t do anything for me.

With this line up, the nays overrode the yeas.

Recently I looked to see how much the tickets were, just in case I wanted to go and I found out it was sold out.  So good for all of them.

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The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, August 18, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Lucius, Shakey Graves, Steve Gunn, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The War on Drugs on August 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: August 18, 2023] The War on Drugs / Shakey Graves / Lucius / Steve Gunn

My wife and I saw The War on Drugs as our first show after the pandemic.  And it was wonderful. We were seated in a terrible seats at The Met, but the show was chill and mellow and we sat far away and the music swept over us.

I wasn’t sure if we’d want to go to this show, though because Stone Pony Summer Stage is a questionable proposition.  It’s a lovely venue but depending on the crowd, it can be terrible.  Plus, I know that standing around for four bands can be exhausting.  Especially since I wanted to see Lucius, but not necessarily Shakey Graves.

Steve Gunn is a musician who I thought I didn’t know, but I have seen a Tiny Desk of his.  He plays a kind of slow acoustic guitar with an eastern-style drone. It’s slow and addictive but I don’t think I’d want to stand to hear it.

Lucius is a band that I’d like to see live but somehow keep missing, as they play every stage that I’m not going to.

Shakey Graves and Lucius were both at the Guster festival this past weekend.  Which is kind of crazy.  I had said that I didn’t want to see Shakey Graves, but when I re-read my thoughts about his Newport Folk performance from a few years ago, I remembered that I thought he’d be fun to see live–he’s great at getting the crowd psyched up.

But, honestly, we were happy to stay home on a Friday night.

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The Head and the Heart / The Revivalists (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, July 9, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, The Head and the Heart, The Revivalists, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage on July 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 7, 2023] The Head and the Heart / The Revivalists

My wife and I saw The Head and the Heart at the Met Philly in 2019.  Here’s what I wrote:

I had quite possibly the worst concert experience of my life at this show.  And I want to reiterate it had nothing to do with the band.  There may have been a song or two in the middle that I wasn’t too excited about, but overall, they sounded great, played some really fun songs and seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

I wouldn’t mind seeing them again to make up for this show, but I probably won’t.   I also feel like I never want to go to the Met Philly again.  I feel like it attracts the wrong crowd–rich people who are looking for a night out rather than fans of music.

Re-reading the review I spent 2/3 of it complaining about the people around me. They were loud talkers and drinkers, completely louder than the band at times.

I would like to see The Head and the Heart again, I think.  Although it turns out they released a new album last year and I didn’t even know it.  So, I guess I won’t miss them that much,

I just checked and this show is sold out, so I guess they won’t miss me either.  And it really sounds like an event I don’t want to be at.

The Revivalists are a band that get some airplay on WXPN.  I do like one of their songs but overall their vibe is a little too retroey for me.  They are probably a very good fit with The Head and the Heart, although I feel like they veer in a direction I don’t enjoy as much.

 

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Trey Anastasio Band (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, July 7, 2023) [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Trey Anastasio, Trey Anastasio Band on July 7, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: July 7, 2023] Trey Anastasio Band

I’ve seen the Trey Anastasio Band twice and each time was a fun event.

Try plays originals and Phish songs and his band is always top notch.

It’s also one of the few ways to see Trey up close, since I can never get close at a Phish show.

Trey had announced these few shows in July, but I didn’t really want to go to the Stone Pont Summerstage to se see his band.  Although I do love watching Cyro Baptiste on percussion.

I reconsidered going a couple of weeks ago, but it had sold out.  So good for Trey.  And besides, I have Skating Polly to see.

 

 

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The Used (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, June 12, 2023)

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Don Broco, Girlfriends, Pierce the Veil, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The Used on June 15, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 12, 2023] The Used

I didn’t know The Used at all.  Which is crazy since they’ve been around for 20+ years.

My son told me that he was excited to see them as well–there were a few of their songs that he really liked (and he bought a shirt).

Pierce the Veil went off the stage around 7:45 and The Used came on around 8:15.  It seemed like a lot of the (younger, female) crowd left after PTV, but the crowd for The Used was loud and intense as well.

Their stage setup was adorned with flowers–including “picture frames” of flowers that surrounded their amps and drum set.

They came out on stage and lead guitarist Joey Bradford (who joined in 2018) was wearing a butcher’s apron.  Bassist Jeph Howard (who has been with the band since the beginning) seemed to be wearing a pith helmet (or a bucket hat).  I enjoyed his look which to me was quite nerdy and then he would scream some really growly vocals.   Drummer Dan Whitesides (been with the band since 2006) played loud and furious.  (more…)

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Pierce the Veil (The Stone Pony Summer Stage, Asbury Park, NJ, June 12, 2023) [THE USED]

Posted in Asbury Park, NJ, Don Broco, Girlfriends, Pierce the Veil, The Stone Pony, The Stone Pony Summer Stage, The Used on June 14, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 12, 2023] Pierce the Veil

After everything I’d seen, I was fairly certain that Pierce the Veil was the headlining act tonight.  They seem to have been the headliner on most of the shows of this tour.

So, when the recorded music stopped playing and the stage lights went on, I assumed we’d be getting The Used.  Then a recording of (what turned out to be) El Rey the Vicente Fernández song started playing.  I didn’t think The Used would be playing a Mexican song, but what do I know?

After a verse of so, out came Pierce the Veil and in came all of the other people who thought The Used were up next.  It was like a swarm around us.

By this time the rain was coming down in buckets, and I think everyone was super excited to jump around.

Pierce the Veil has their first new album out in seven years, so they were clearly going to focus on this album.  But when I looked up the setlists, I saw that they were only playing for an hour–ten songs in total, so it couldn’t be all new songs.

They opened with a new song, “Death of an Executioner” which got everyone rocking out immediately.  It was very cathartic.  Then they followed it with a massive crowd pleaser.

“Bulls in the Bronx” is one of the first songs I’d heard by them and I loved everything about it.  The vocals, the catchy chorus, the intensity of the loud parts and, best of all, the lovely Spanish/acoustic guitar part in the middle.  Which they did play live (although not quite as acoustically as it could have been.  But it still sounded great.

Pass the Nirvana plays really nicely with the loud/quiet sounds and the repeated intense screams of “I Can’t Hear You” is a fun part of the song.  And the crowd absolutely loved screaming that super loudly.

Vic Fuentes asked if anyone had brought their emergency contact with them during weather like this–a nice intro their song “Emergency Contact.”  It was at this point that I realized that the woman who had just moved in behind me was screaming every word very loudly.  Pretty much right in my ear. (more…)

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