The Saint Is Asking for Help

I spent my 45th birthday at The Saint.

I've Been Thinking...

About a week and a half ago, The Saint, a twenty-one year old musical institution on Main St. in Asbury Park, put up a GoFundMe campaign (LINK) with the goal of raising $25,000 "to keep The Saint on track to ensure stability and growth."

I'm going to admit, when I first saw this, I was a little conflicted.

I do love The Saint. When Asbury Lanes shut down for "renovations," a quick look through my photo galleries revealed that Asbury Lanes was the site of most of my pictures. The Saint was second. From a photographer's point of view, The Saint has the best lighting in Asbury Park, hands down. They bring through an eclectic selection of acts night after night, and they're willing to take chances on bands. The staff have always been great to me. There have been weeks when I've been at The Saint three straight nights.

But, as I say, I was conflicted. The Saint is a private, for-profit business; and, if they can't make it, then isn't that just the way it is? Isn't that the risk you take when you run a business in our society?

Yeah, but...

...but, as I thought about it, I thought about how much I value independent, non-corporate venues. I thought about the gaping hole that's been created by the shut-down of Asbury Lanes. I thought about what Asbury Park would be like if huge, corporate promoters actually controlled everything. I didn't like that vision of the future.

Do I personally love every, single thing that comes through The Saint? Of course not. How could I? Some weeks they put on seven or eight shows, squeezing in a late show here or making room for an all-ages matinee for some band of teenagers there. But I've loved plenty of stuff there. My buds in The Battery Electric played a "secret show" there last year on a night that just happened to be my birthday. The Men and Purling Hiss blew me away on a cold, wet Wednesday night one October. Wreckless Eric, Holly Miranda, Nicole Atkins, Wesley Stace, The Everymen, Emily Kinney, Dogs on Acid, local after local after local. I met some of my very best friends for the first time ever at The Saint.

There's something valuable there. Valuable in a larger sense than just the bottom line of some place that has bands and sells beer.

I'm not going to tell you what to do. This isn't an advertisement or a call to donate to The Saint. I will ask you, though, how you'd feel if the only places left in Asbury Park were run by national promoters. I'll ask you how you'd feel if there were no more small and intimate places with great lighting and great sound where you could stumble on some band who just happened to be stopping in Asbury Park.

The Saint could raise their full $25K and still fail to make a go of it. 100%. Are you willing to place a bet on them?