Wreaths, gods, Silverbird, and Roy Orbitron Played the Wonder Bar, 3/28/15

Wreaths headlined a solid bill at Wonder Bar on Saturday.

Saturday

It was another practice for the band with no name on Saturday. After I was done rocking, CoolMom, the cooldaughters, and I headed to Asbury Park for some dinner. As we ate, the temperature dropped precipitously as the wind kicked into high gear. It made for a raw evening.

After dinner, we went our separate ways. The coolwomen headed out for some cupcakes, and I made my way over to Wonder Bar. Saturday featured a diverse but really well put together bill with Wreaths, gods, Brooklyn's Silverbird, and Trenton's Roy Orbitron.

I was particularly excited to see Roy Orbitron and to meet frontman Conor Meara, with whom I've corresponded electronically for a while, face to face. Their set was short but impressive. Roy Orbitron combine familiar elements of rock and Americana into a unique sound that's actually kind of hard to explain. It works, though -- especially in a live setting. Don't even listen to what this guy says.

I'd heard good things about Silverbird, and they were the only band from whom I'd never heard a note. They alternated between heavier bluesy jams and more poppy indie rock. They did it all really well. If you've read this blog for any length of time, then you'll know the poppier stuff appealed to me right away; but the whole package was something I want to get into a little more deeply.

gods brought free copies of their new EP along, and I saw a lot of people sticking them into their backpacks, purses, and coat pockets. The band's psychedelic garage rock sounds like it's gotten a little heavier since I first saw them back in January of 2014. The crowd had gotten pretty large by this point, and the music had gotten pretty loud as gods rocked the house.

Wreaths closed things out. This would be the first time I'd seen Wreaths in a while, and the fog machine was pumping. Two people used overhead projectors to send swirls of color across the band and a sheet at the rear of the stage. The light show complemented Wreaths' extended Krautrocky jams. The crowd had swelled, and it wasn't that easy maneuvering for a spot to get pictures. As I wove through the crowd, I saw lots of people dancing or swaying, sometimes with their eyes closed, as the music droned over them.

I headed back to the car in the sub-freezing temperatures, cold but impressed at how four such different bands could blend together so well. I've definitely seen my share of shows that seemed thrown together, but this one obviously had some thought behind it. It's nice when everything works like that.

Here are some highlights. Check out the rest in the galleries.