Wreckless Eric Played The Saint w/ Ron Santee (The Battery Electric) and Paul Rosevear, 6/24/14 (PHOTOS)

Wreckless Eric at The Saint

Songs and Stories

A singer and a guitar. Sometimes acoustic, sometimes electric. That was last night's show at The Saint, and it made for an intimate evening of songs and storytelling.

Readymade Breakup's Paul Rosevear got things started and played his songs about family and fatherhood for many of his own friends and family members who were among the crowd for his set. Rosevear charmed, peppering his set with some of the stories behind his songs. The Battery Electric's Ron Santee did songs ranging in style from rock to rocksteady to soul and also had several friends in the crowd. He lamented not being an expert storyteller like so many other singer-songwriters, but his story of the inspiration behind the song "Maybe" -- seeing a best friend for, perhaps, the last time -- gave some weight to the intimate number.

Wreckless Eric took the stage just after 9:30 and played, what he called, the songs he's written that nobody likes. His set drew from his mid-80s work with the Len Bright Combo and his 1993 LP, The Donovan of Trash, as well as some of his earlier work. Everyone in the small crowd sang along when he played his very first, and most well-known, song "(I'd Go) The Whole Wide World."

He spoke of how Asbury Park always reminded him of his home back in Newhaven, England and warned how success and development could end up changing it. He talked -- and sang -- of how the records produced by Joe Meek changed his life as a boy. There were observations about traversing the US late at night by car and seeing 5-mile long, chemically-laden freight trains and SYSCO trucks. The crowd laughed and shouted back at the stage. Mostly, though, there were songs -- many of them darker, wittier, more experimental than the simple two-chord pop of his classic hit.

When it was done, Eric came down from the stage to a few cries for an encore. Never a fan of the music business and its conventions, Eric told us he wouldn't be leaving the stage just to come back for one more. He did sign records and chat with the remaining crowd, though. Then, I guess it was back to the car for another late-night drive to the next stop.

Here are some pics. More at Flickr.