"Do you mind if I stand here?" she asked me in her Scottish burr. "I'm visiting from Glasgow, and I can't believe Primal Scream are playing in a venue this size. I'll move if you need to take pictures."
"Don't worry about it. I'll shoot around you."
I let her slide in at just about center stage, and she and her friend went absolutely bananas throughout the entire set by Scottish psych-rockers Primal Scream. It gave me kind of a warm feeling inside to see people so overcome by the idea that they were literally close enough to touch one of their musical idols. More on all that in a minute.
There was lots of competition on a busy weekend for last night's show at The Stone Pony. Those that did make it out to the venue, though, got two performances that, together, shaped up as one of the best nights of the year for me so far.
Acid, who I'd just seen last Wednesday at The Saint, opened. They always come with attitude and just some really great songs -- "Dead," "Rock 'n Roll Genocide" -- and last night was no different. When he wasn't playing, Bobby "Special K" Kennedy deadpanned his way through the set. "Here's our big hit single that you've never heard before. Lucky you." If you haven't yet heard the band's gritty, glammy, "The Jesus and Mary Chain meets Cheap Trick" vibe, do yourself a favor and pick up either the band's self-titled debut or their recently released (Is it actually released yet? I don't know. They were selling it last night.) Tales of Contempt.
As the place got ready to welcome Primal Scream, the crowd tightened up in front of the stage. The lights went down; and, as Bobby Gillespie, Simone Butler, Andrew Innes, Martin Duffy, and Darrin Mooney took the stage, my Sottish friends went into a frenzy that would last the rest of the evening and then some. The band opened with "2013" (now "2015"), "Can't Go Back," and "Jailbird." That last one had the whole place bouncing and singing along.
Throughout the set, frontman Bobby Gillespie came to the edge of the stage right over us to shake maracas, jingle a tambourine, or exhort the crowd to clap and sing along. I looked to my left; and, when her hands weren't covering her mouth in disbelief, my friend was waving her arms above her head and smiling. I looked a little further down to my left and saw Amy from Little Dickman tossing her hair around as Innes solo'd right in front of her. Acid guitarist Johnny Firestone was a whirlwind in the crowd.
The band closed the main set with, by far, their biggest hit, "Movin' On Up," from their stone classic Screamadelica. The group sing along of "...my light shines on!" was almost religious.
Primal Scream came back for a three-song encore comprised of "I'm Losing More Than I'll Ever Have," the fantastic "Loaded," and another crazy communal sing along for "Rocks." They closed the final song with one of those extended noise drones that I always love. As they left the stage, bassist Simone Butler handed me one of her picks. I handed it to my Glaswegian friend just as she finished tearing Gillespie's set list from the stage.
When the show was done, Asbury Lanes hosted an after-party. Several of us made our way over there, and I spotted my friends from the audience dancing in front of the stage. After a little while, Gillespie and the rest of the band came in. My friends got to take pictures with him, and he gave them both big hugs and spent time chatting. I got that warm feeling again. Here was a guy that just concluded a long tour in a foreign country taking the time to hang and to acknowledge his fans at 1 AM in an old bowling alley on the Jersey Shore.
I can't think of a better way to kick off what feels like it just might be an amazing summer of music and fun and joy here in our little home by the sea.
Here are some highlights from both of last night's sets. The rest are in the galleries.
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