Please Stand Back
I debated whether or not to go to the show last night. The cooldaughters had their final swim meet of the summer, and I'd been out late for Happy Mondays the previous night. But I remembered being impressed by Saskatchewan's Reignwolf when I saw them open for Dinosaur Jr. last year, so I wanted to see them in the smaller setting of The Wonder Bar. It was an interesting show for The Wonder Bar, too. Most of the touring acts that come through there have a long history, and I wanted to see what the lesser-known (when compared to acts like The Lemonheads, Berlin, and Glenn Tilbrook) Reignwolf would bring out on a Tuesday. So, right after CoolDaughter #1 finished her final event (she won, by the way), I headed down Ocean Avenue to Asbury Park.
"They told me nobody would show up," said Reignwolf mastermind and frontman Jordan Cook to the assembled crowd of 50 or 60. There were fans chanting "Jor-Dan! Jor-Dan!" as the band took the stage. Cook and his band (Stitcx on bass / guitar, Joseph Braley on drums) lit into their set of heavy blues, Cook immediately mounting the "Reingwolf"-adorned bass drum at the front of the stage as he hammered at his guitar. We all stood the requisite foot and a half away from the edge of the stage as instructed by Wonder Bar security. This would prove to be an almost farcical direction as the night proceeded.
Cook switched among several guitars, a bass, and an Explorer-shaped mandolin throughout the night. The band left for a song or two, and Cook was behind the main drum set, playing drums and guitar simultaneously. In what would be just the first breach of the security-mandated moat / buffer zone, he placed the "Reignwolf" bass drum from front of the stage onto the floor and played, standing on top of it, among the crowd as audience members held his mic for him. The band had returned by this time and held their positions onstage.
"Do you guys wanna try something we've never done before?" Cook asked the crowd. He requested an XLR extension cable for his mic, and climbed down from the stage to play from the floor.
"Let's bring the drum set down here. It doesn't need a sound system." Braley and Stitcx complied; and, soon, the trio were playing from the floor surrounded by the audience. I think I saw a member of security with his head in his hands. Cook beat his guitar into submission and wailed, along with the audience, for the remainder of the set from down there among the bar tables.
When it was done, the band climbed back up to the stage to say their goodnights.
"One more song! One more song!"
"I'll make you a deal. The next time we come through here, you all bring 10 friends... ...OK, 9 friends. Let's be realistic. We're gonna play one more song for you."
Things got set up again onstage, this time the drum set down from the riser and towards the front, the "Reignwolf" bass drum still sitting on the floor. The trio played a scorching finish that saw Cook standing atop one of the monitors playing guitar with his mic. The stage was a mess. The band were soaked with sweat. We were all just smiling, shaking our heads in disbelief.
So, yeah, I'm glad I sucked it up and went. Based on the number of photographers I saw crawling all over the place, I'm sure my pictures won't be the only ones. If I'd awoken this morning to see what I missed, I would've been kicking myself. Take a look and see what I mean.
There were also great sets earlier in the night from New York's Public Access TV and our own GayGuy / StraightGuy. Watch this space or Flickr for pictures from those performances a little later.
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