Two Nights with Titus Andronicus and Control Top, 10/11 & 10/12, 2019

Titus Andronicus at Asbury Park Brewery

Asbury Park Brewery & Monty Hall

Last November, Titus Andronicus played Asbury Park's House of Independents. I, of course, made it out to that one. They also played Monty Hall in Jersey City the very next night. I had a ticket to that, too. The Asbury show was great. I was going through a real tough time then; and when Patrick Stickles got the whole room to chant "COOL-DAD! COOL-DAD!" it felt pretty nice, I gotta say.

The next night, I got in the car and headed out to make the drive up to Jersey City. I think, maybe, CoolMom had just gotten back from a business trip. My dad was in the hospital. I got to the corner of Hance Avenue and Newman Springs Road, where I'd normally make a left to head to the Garden State Parkway. I just kinda mindlessly turned right and headed back home to spend the evening with the family.

It's been a year, and I still have my ups and downs. After 38 days on the road, though, Titus Andronicus made their way back to New Jersey for two shows this weekend; and I wasn't missing either of them.

On Friday, the band played Asbury Park Brewery. Once again, CoolMom arrived home from a business trip that afternoon. We said hello to each other, enjoyed some pizza; and I headed out.

I love that the brewery has become a spot for bands who would probably otherwise skip Asbury Park on tour. It's not really my favorite place to take pictures, though. I just don't feel like I've figured it out. Something about the darkness, the blue lighting, the view into the storage / green room behind the performance area. I'm just rarely satisfied with the shots I take there.

On Friday, my thought process progressed from "I'm not bothering with a camera" to "I'll just bring the point and shoot" to "Well, maybe the crop sensor and one lens" to "I'm bringing the full frame and two lenses." I'm happy I finally settled on that.

Philadelphia's Control Top opened the show. Their debut LP Covert Contracts is one of my favorites this year, and I couldn't believe I hadn't seen them yet. They didn't disappoint. I'd put their sound somewhere between hardcore and post-punk. Lead singer / bassist Ali Carter is ferocious on the mic and delivers on the post-punk basslines. Al Creedon coaxes some wild sounds and noise from his guitar. Alex Lichtenauer is not only Control Top's virtuoso drummer, but they also run Get Better Records which features Control Top along with bands like Potty Mouth, Worriers, The HIRS Collective, Bacchae, and more.

Control Top at Asbury Park Brewery

Control Top

Carter put down the bass and made her way through the crowd during "Covert Contracts," climbing up on barstools and pallets, getting in audience members' faces to scream the song's chorus. Creedon's guitar on "Straight Jackets" sounded just as urgent as intense as it does on the record.

Super blurry and dark shot of Ali Carter in the crowd.

Control Top

Control Top

Control Top

Patrick Stickles came out a little after 9:30 and made his usual request that the crowd remain respectful and non-violent for the show -- "No macho bullshit." Just to set the tone, he started the evening with a solo rendition of "To Old Friends and New" from The Monitor. The rest of the band -- Liam Betson (guitar), Chris Wilson (drums), RJ Gordon (bass) -- joined him and launched into "Just Like Ringing a Bell," the opening track to this year's An Obelisk. Like most of that record, the song is a fast-paced rocker. The crowd got into it and went pretty hard. Everyone respected Stickles's wishes to keep things fun.

Titus Andronicus at Asbury Park Brewery

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

That remained true for the whole night. I remember, back at the old Lanes five years ago, bracing myself against the stage in anticipation of the onslaught that would follow "FUCK YOU!!!" during "Fear and Loathing in Mahwah, NJ" and still going home with a huge bump on my head from smashing it into my camera. I remember my whole ribcage being covered in bruises after an evening of being crushed against the stage at Warsaw. I even remember being picked up off the floor after ending up at the bottom of a scrum at Monty Hall a few years back. Titus Andronicus crowds have certainly grown up, at least around here.

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Stickles introduced a pair of Local Business tracks -- "Ecce Homo" and "Still Life with Hot Deuce on Silver Platter" -- by pointing out that they hadn't been played in NJ in about five years. He called it a risky move, but the crowd rewarded the band with some real enthusiasm.

We were up against an 11pm curfew at the brewery, but Titus Andronicus managed to squeeze "The Battle of Hampton Roads," "A More Perfect Union," and "Titus Andronicus Forever" in just under the wire. The crowd danced and smiled all night. I got a few more shouts out from Patrick. It all got me pretty fired up for Night 2 in Jersey City.

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

On Saturday, I got into Monty Hall at Around 8. Control Top took the stage at around 8:30 and absolutely brought it again. Carter made her way into the crowd again, kicked and screamed on the floor, got interactive with the crowd, tore off the flowy gown she was wearing over her dress and threw it into the audience. I dig this band.

Control Top

Control Top

Control Top

Control Top

Lighting was meh again, so the pics are a little dark and noisy. What can ya do?

Titus Andronicus played a set that stuck pretty closely to the one they played at the brewery. That was fine by me. Once again, the crowd was raucous but respectful. It got pretty hot inside the venue, and Stickles eventually ended up shirtless. The band left the stage following "Titus Andronicus Forever;" but, this time, the crowd managed to get them back out for an encore of "Titus Andronicus."

Titus Andronicus at Monty Hall

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

I drove home listening to sports talk radio recap the Yankees' win over the Astros in Game 1 of the ALCS. As I listened and drove, I thought about the hundreds and hundreds of bands I've covered here over the last seven years. I thought about becoming jaded and wanting maybe to pack it all in. And I thought about how, after all of that, things always come back around to where they started for me. How, after years of trying to keep this site "relevant" (whatever that means), after years of ups and downs, this whole thing is all just really about me fan-boying out to my favorite bands.

Too many pictures from both nights are up in the Flickr galleries.

Weekend Fun with Algebra II & Heart Bones

Algebra II at Asbury Park Brewery

AP to NYC

This past Friday night, I headed over to Asbury Park Brewery to catch the release show for Algebra II's debut album, Why Would Anyone Think This Goes Here? The album is the culmination of six years of making music together for Maggie Pakutka (guitar / vocals), Gabby Evergreen (cello), and Lewie D'Avanzo (drums, bass). I've dug Algebra II's combination of sweetness and noise for a while now.

Their vibe, I think, is best summed up by a little story. A couple of years ago, I booked Algebra II for a show at the Asbury Hotel. They went on last. There was this guy in a big, red MAGA cap hanging around the bar and making scrunched up faces at the other bands who played that night. When Algebra II was setting up, he noticed the cello and said something like, "Aah... Here we go. Finally, some good music." But once Maggie dug into her SG, Lewie started banging the drums, and Gabby started dragging her bow across the strings, the guy stuck his fingers in his ears and ran out. It really was good music, and the rest of us had a fantastic time.

On Friday, Algebra II put together a bill that included some of Jersey's finest bands. There were happy birthday balloons and tiny party hats. We got the shoegazy dream pop of New Brunswick's Resounding NO, the jangly power-pop of Bloomfield's Joy Cleaner, and the loud, folky, indie rock of Jersey City's Long Neck. The evening culminated with Algebra II playing their new record front to back. In addition to good music, the whole night was full of some really good feeling; and those are always the best shows.

Resounding NO

Joy Cleaner

Long Neck

Algebra II

Algebra II

On Sunday, Chris Dickman and I headed up to (le) Poisson Rouge in Manhattan to catch Heart Bones. Sunday afternoons on the Parkway headed towards NYC are never the best, so Chris and I decided to roll the dice with New Jersey Transit. Surprisingly, the train was only about 20 minutes late and we made it to the show in pleeeeeenty of time. I'm gonna say we were the first two people in the venue, which isn't unusual for me; but Chris -- justifiably -- thought I was nuts.

Anyway...

(le) Poisson Rouge is in the heart of my old NYU student stomping grounds, and I always love going back to Greenwich Village. When I went to school there, (le) Poisson Rouge was the legendary Village Gate, and I saw a few shows in the upstairs performance space. Shows at LPR take place downstairs, and Sunday's show was set up in-the-round, with the stage in the middle of the room.

Good Fuck (Tim Kinsella and Jenny Pulse) were the scheduled openers, but had to cancel because of an emergency. Simon O'Connor of Simon Doom filled in with a solo set backed by tracks from his iPhone. I saw O'Connor's other project, Spiral Heads, open for Sweet Spirit a few weeks back; and I've been digging his post-punk influenced songs.

Simon Doom

I caught Heart Bones when they came through on their Dirty Dancing tour at the end of last year and I had a blast. On Sunday, Sabrina Ellis and Har Mar Superstar took full advantage of the in-the-round setup by having the audience walk circles around the stage as they played to all corners. That highly-interactive aspect of the show, combined with the eminently danceable songs (check out singles "Little Dancer," "This Time It's Different," and "Disappearer"), made for another joyful evening.

Heart Bones

Heart Bones

Heart Bones

Afterwards, Chris and I stopped for pizza at the place I went to almost every day during my freshman and sophomore years of college and then headed back to Jersey like a couple of snails on NJT.

CoolMom was out of town on Sunday, so I stayed up super late editing pictures. That made Monday pretty much a lost day, and I couldn't really finish this up before heading to CoolDaughter 2's swim meet on Tuesday. But you've got it this morning, so now you can rejoice. All the pics will be at the Flickr account.

Ed The Punk Celebrated His Birthday with School Drugs, Nervous Triggers, Tiki Torture, Sunny Gang, and Dumpweed at Asbury Park Brewery, 1/4/19

Ed by Doug Dresher

Scene and Herd

Words and Pics by Doug Dresher, Special Coverage for CoolDad Music

What event could be so unique as to bring out five bands all with authentic punk attitudes and aspirations of ripping off the collective faces of the audience? Well, that would be Ed Wood's 21st birthday bash.

Held at the Asbury Park Brewery; and, I think, sponsored by his parents, the show found Ed's friends and fellow Asbury Punk associates assembled to celebrate the birthday of one of the main fixtures of the Asbury Park punk scene. I can happily report that it was an excellent party -- if you like this sort of thing.

The evening started with Dumpweed with their straight-ahead guitar-heavy punk. Fueled by the inspiration of Green Day, but without the faux British accent, Dumpweed set the tone for the evening. Young and ready, they were both focused and loose as they enjoyed their set. I think the bass player had a new bass, and that is always cool to see.

Dumpweed

Dumpweed

Ed / Dumpweed

Sunny Gang came on with their rap/punk Los Angeles sound, "All I wanted was a Pepsi" snarl. The singer, unaffected by gravity, provided the syncopation against the distortion and whipped the audience into a post-pizza and cake frenzy.

Sunny Gang

Sunny Gang

Third up was Tiki Torture. Surf punk, whammy bar twanging, extended instrumentals, and 1960's garage ethos let the crowd surf and taste the salt water.

Tiki Torture

Tiki Torture

Then came the big acts.

Nervous Triggers, manifesto-quoting political punk. You'd better have studied your current events, and you'd better take notes. There will be a test. I've seen Nervous Triggers a few times in the past year, and they keep getting tighter. Most interesting is the trance-like stare of singer, Jay Insult, as he contorts and tells you his truth. Honest and sincere, the music is as fierce as their politics and as enjoyable as ever. New Brunswick transplants to Asbury Park, they are a little older and, thus, wiser.

Ed / Nervous Triggers

Nervous Triggers

Nervous Triggers

This was my first time seeing School Drugs. Anger-fueled, some masked, straight ahead old-school CBGBs hardcore. From the first note, you know that it may not be safe to be too close to the stage; and, as small as it might have been, the circle pit was inhabited by many.

School Drugs

School Drugs

School Drugs

School Drugs

This Asbury Park music scene (I still miss the original Asbury Lanes) has something to say. As an older fella, I find it most interesting that such old-school hardcore is back. Perhaps it never left, and I didn't know where it was hiding.

And a good time was had by most. Friends, parents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, photographers, locals, and friends stopping by for the party.

Good Times

Happy Birthday, Ed. Keep moving forward and remember to enjoy the ride.

Give Doug a follow on Instagram and check out his full album from the evening over at Flickr.