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| The Jesus and Mary Chain |
Freaky Weekend
I've wanted to summarize how amazing last weekend was for a few days now, but half days for the kids and a pretty nasty back problem have been distracting me. Here are some quick notes on the weekend that was before we head into the holiday.
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| Jim Reid of The Jesus and Mary Chain |
On Thursday, I got to shoot The Jesus and Mary Chain at The Stone Pony; and it was awesome. I think, if you discount bands like The Beatles and The Beach Boys, The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Smiths are two of the bands who are responsible for most of the sounds I currently love. The wall-of-sound, reverb, and fuzz of The Jesus and Mary Chain are things in which I can always lose myself, and Thursday was no different. Being right up front, in the photo pit for "April Skies" and "Head On" has to be a 2017 highlight for me.
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| Mark Crozer and The Rels |
Thursday's openers (JMC bassist) Mark Crozer and The Rels did a set of immensely enjoyable power pop. Guitarist Shawn Lynch took the time to say hi to me before their set and spoke briefly about how much The Rels were enjoying their weeklong run with The Jesus and Mary Chain.
On Saturday, the cooldaughters each had separate swim meets in separate parts of NJ. CoolMom and I had to do some juggling to make sure everyone was covered while giving me time to make it over to Asbury Park Brewery for our Freaksgiving: A Friendsgiving Fuzz Fest.
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| The RockNRoll HiFives |
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| Dentist's Emily Bornemann and Yawn Mower. Do the robot. |
The evening at the brewery was a beautiful experience with some of our best friends -- Dentist, The RockNRoll HiFives, and Yawn Mower -- doing great sets. For The RockNRoll HiFives, it was their 100th show. I've seen a good chunk of those; and it dawned on me later that The RockNRoll HiFives played the first show CoolDad Music ever presented back in 2014. All three bands are like family around here, and it was amazing to have everybody sharing the evening with us.
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| Winner of Miss Lady Luck |
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| Outer Limits Beard Winner |
The Garden State Beard and Mustache Society were the show's main organizers and held their 6th Annual Beard and 'Stache Competition between sets. Also presenting were the fine folks at Little Dickman Records who do so much to keep Asbury interesting. The evening was a benefit for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention; and, thanks to everyone's efforts, we raised nearly $1000 to help fund the research and community building done by that organization. Not bad for a $5 show.
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| BOYTOY with The Off White's Matty Beans |
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| Von Mons |
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| The Tide Bens w/ Colin Carhart jimmy-jangling |
Speaking of Little Dickman Records and all they do, on Sunday night, the label threw a show at The Saint featuring The Off White, Von Mons, The Tide Bends, and BOYTOY. We had more swim meet stuff at home until the evening, so I walked in just after The Off White had finished. I love those guys, and they always bring it. Sad to have missed them. All of the other bands, though, were great. It had been a while since I'd seen the touring machine that is BOYTOY, and they have gotten even better. Some bands just have a charisma and a presence that can draw in a whole audience, and BOYTOY are one of those bands for sure.
It was a busy, tiring weekend for the books. I'm pretty sure all of the activity has something to do with my current back problems, but I'll take it. My back will get better, and I wouldn't have wanted to miss anything.
Pics from the whole weekend are up in the Flickr galleries and on the Facebook page.
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