Ariana Grande Played The Count Basie Theatre, 8/17/13

And CoolDaughter #2 And I Finally Got Our Burrito

"This is just unacceptable!"

That was the 6-year-old CoolDaughter #2 upon seeing the crowd -- huge line, no available seating -- at the Red Bank location of Surf Taco.

"Can we pleeeeease go to that other one by the beach?"

So we headed back to the car to make our way to West End and the, usually, much less crowded Surf Taco outpost. As we walked, I became aware of the marked increase in well-dressed teen and pre-teen girls walking around the borough of Red Bank. This didn't surprise me, as CD #2 and I were out on our little burrito expedition together because CoolMom and CoolDaughter #1 were heading for the sold-out Ariana Grande concert at The Count Basie Theatre.

Ariana Grande is probably best-known for playing the lovably air headed Cat Valentine on Nickelodeon's Victorious and its spinoff Sam & Cat (which unites the Victorious and iCarly universes in kind of a 'tween Laverne & Shirley). Grande is also an absolutely huge social media presence with just short of 9 million Twitter followers and something like 80 million views of "The Way," her top 10 hit with rapper Mac Miller.

As CoolDaughter #2 and I neared the Long Branch Surf Taco, it became apparent that this was not our night. Brighton Avenue and the surrounding side streets were closed to through traffic for a car show and concert. The tears started flowing (hers). I doubled back on Ocean Avenue; and, against my better judgement, headed for Pier Village. Miraculously, we quickly found a parking spot and made our way to Shaka, the Hawaiian-themed purveyor of burritos and shaved ice. I always feel like I'm cheating on Surf Taco when I go there.

As we sat down to wait for our order, the texts from CoolMom (sitting in the cheap seats with CoolAunt while the girls sat in the orchestra) started coming in:

CM: "[CoolAunt] and I in nosebleed seats, 2nd from top row...packed!!"

CD: "Sold out. Will be lots of screaming."

CM: "No shit!! Insane!!"

Other than a few dark pics, that was the last we heard from them until they got home at about 9:30pm. The show, I guess, was pretty short. Understandable, given that Grande's debut album isn't even out yet. CoolDaughter #1 loved the show. CoolMom and CoolAunt were happy that The Count Basie Theatre serves wine.

CoolDaughter #2 and I had our burritos -- "Surf Taco is better, I think," she said -- and followed them up with a couple of delicious gelatos by the beach on the wonderfully cool, late summer evening.

Here are a few photos of the show. All photos by CoolMom from the upper-balcony.

Mother / Daughter Bonding Edition

Not Going to See Ariana Grande Friday

CoolMom and CoolDaughter #1 will be joining CoolAunt and CoolNiece in Red Bank tomorrow for Ariana Grande's sold out "Listening Sessions Tour" stop at the Count Basie. I am sure they will all have a wonderful time.

I, on the other hand, will be shopping for some of these:

as I try to convince CoolDaughter #2 that she really will love The Obvious, Black Wine, and Ether Sunday at Asbury Lanes.

That show is all ages, right? At least 6 and up?

Rock on.

David Byrne & St. Vincent Played The Count Basie Theatre, 6/28/13 PHOTOS

Love This Giant

I hadn't read anything about an opening act so I wolfed down my sushi deluxe and bolted from the restaurant, telling CoolMom and our friends I'd see them at the theater. I hate to be late. Turns out I had nothing to worry about. David Byrne and St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) wouldn't actually take the stage until about 8:30.

Prior to the show, Byrne's voice came over the PA to tell us that he and Clark encouraged picture-taking, video-recording, whatever means anyone felt they needed to remember the evening. He asked that we please just be considerate of our neighbors and, maybe, not view the entire show through the screen of our portable electronic device. It was excellent advice, because viewing the entire stage and each of the carefully choreographed movements of every person up there is really the only way to truly appreciate the work that's gone into producing the Love This Giant show.

The pair took the stage with their 8-piece brass band, Clark sporting a new, brass blonde hairdo to complement Byrne's white hair and to complete the overall feel, maybe. They opened with Love This Giant singles "Who" and "Weekend in the dust," and then each performed one of their solo songs: St. Vincent's "Save Me from What I Want" and Byrne's "Overtones."

Throughout the show, every person on stage appeared to have bits of choreography for each song. Byrne danced as only he can. Clark shuffle-stepped around the stage like a windup doll or made boxes with her hands when she wasn't playing guitar. The rest of the band marched, high-stepped, twirled, or bobbed their instruments up and down in time with the music. During St. Vincent's "Marrow," the band, including Byrne, lay on the stage, leaving only Clark standing at the mic with her guitar.

Talking Heads classics like "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" and "Wild Wild Life" got the biggest ovations during the main set. During the latter every person on stage marched in a circle, taking turns at the mic.

The first time I heard Love This Giant, I'd expected Byrne's influence to predominate given his stature as a performer. But the more I listened, the more obvious it became that the record is a true collaboration. The arrangements, and especially all the brass, really do say "St. Vincent" at various points on the album. When Clark performed her own "Cheerleader" last night with the band, it fit in naturally with the the Love This Giant material like "I should watch t.v." and "Outside of space and time."

The crowd stood throughout both encores. The first started with St. Vincent's "Cruel" and ended with "Burning Down the House." The second saw Clark surrounded by the carefully placed horns for "The Party" and closed with "Road to Nowhere."

Following the final encore, the theater erupted in an ovation the likes of which I, personally, haven't seen there before (well, maybe Morrissey). Clark looked truly amazed (I don't think she was "Swifting.") and Byrne -- who'd been fun and down-to-earth all night, executing every wild dance move and playing theremin with his foot -- simply laughed and bowed.

I probably had plenty of time to enjoy my dinner like a normal person, but I would've kicked myself if I'd missed anything.

Here are some pics.

David Byrne / St. Vincent: Love This Giant in Little Old Red Bank

Tickets Still Available

New Wave icon and musical innovator David Byrne joined forces with sweet-voiced guitar shredder Annie Clark to produce 2012's Love This Giant. The album is a full-on collaboration between the two and features a full brass band.

The pair are bringing their elaborately choreographed show to Red Bank's Count Basie Theatre; and, judging from the set lists I've seen for the tour, the show features plenty of Talking Heads and St. Vincent along with the Love This Giant material. It should be interesting to see those well-known songs translated into the Love This Giant format.

A quick check just prior to this post revealed that there are some good seats still available.

If you make it out, come say hi to CoolMom, our friends, and me. I'll buy you a beverage.

If you can't make it, then watch this space for a review. Well, do that anyway, I guess.

Morrissey Review Up at SIMGE

Count Basie Last Night

Did another piece for Speak Into My Good Eye.  This time, I did a review of Morrissey's show in Red Bank last night.

What I didn't mention in the review is that after our duet of "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" on the way up to her swim meet at Rutgers a couple of weeks ago, CoolDaughter #1 now roams the house singing about how happy she'd be to die by my side.

Is that a good thing?

Morrissey. Red Bank. Tomorrow.

I Know, Right...

Moz Coming to the RB Edition

Morrissey Ticket Friday

Morrissey will be bringing his 2012-2013 tour to little, old Red Bank, NJ on January 15th when he plays the Count Basie Theatre.  Tickets go on sale today at noon.

It's also the last day of November, and 2012 has entered the home stretch.

So rock on...

Fiona Apple Is an Extraordinary Machine

Fiona Apple at The Count Basie Theatre, Red Bank, NJ, October 15th, 2012

Both of my daughters were born in Red Bank, NJ.  They're quick to point that out at any mention of the town.  They also know that they share that birthplace with William "Count" Basie.  The kids have no idea who that is, but they know that they've performed a few dance recitals and seen several musicals and ballets at the Red Bank theater that bears his name.

When I was a kid, the place was known as The Monmouth Arts Center.  Right around the time I went to high school, I think, it got its current name.  It's a really nice vaudeville-era theater with a capacity of around 1500.  In the last five or ten years, restoration projects have resulted in new, historically accurate seating as well as restoration to the theater's paint job.

The Count Basie hosts lots of performances by the New Jersey and Monmouth County Orchestras.  There are a few musical productions a year by Red Bank's Phoenix Productions (High School Musical, Legally Blonde, etc.).  Several national acts per year move through Red Bank on their way to and from New York City.  I've seen B.B. King, George Carlin, and Louis CK there over the years.  Last Friday, I noticed that Fiona Apple would be playing The Basie.  The convenience of the show and the quality of Apple's latest album, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, made it impossible for me to pass on this one.

Apparently, not everyone in the area felt the same way I did.  Granted, it was Monday night; but I was surprised to see the orchestra barely three-quarters full.  I'm not sure what the balcony looked like, but I'd expected a sold-out show.

As an opener, Apple's touring band took the stage one by one, fronted by her guitarist Blake Mills.  They played Mills's brand of mellow, country-tinged folk pop.  Mills is an excellent guitar player and used an interesting set of gutiars, from a Danelectro (a brand that originated in Red Bank, NJ) to several  that looked like he had cobbled them together from various Stratocaster and Telecaster parts.  They closed their set with a really great cover of "Sleepwalk."

Apple took the stage at around 9:15 and opened with "Fast As You Can" from 1999's When the Pawn...  Her angular, jittery movements gave the impression of an energetic bird on the stage -- a bird that could sing both booming lows and otherworldly highs.  She took to the piano for the next two songs, and did an excellent rendition of 1996's "Shadowboxer."  Even at 35, Apple is able to fill a song that she wrote as a teenager with soul and emotion.

The Idler Wheel... is Apple's most stripped down album to date.  It retains much of the jazz and Broadway influences of her earlier work.  The songs, though, are mostly Apple on piano accompanied by various forms of percussion (including, apparently, bottles being thrown down a flight of stairs).  The songs from that record, though, -- especially "Periphery," "Werewolf," and "Every Single Night" -- became something even more when accompanied by Apple's movements, commitment, and the full band.

Throughout the show, Apple urgently fiddled with her long hair, tying it in a bun, putting it into a ponytail, letting it flow freely.  She swilled water like she'd just come in from the desert.  There was a single moment other than her final "Thank you" when Apple acknowledged the audience. She approached the mic, panting, following an instrumental jam that saw her pounding the stage on all fours.  She started to say something about the disorientation of emerging from the ocean and just cut it off with, "F*ck it! Nobody ever knows what I'm talking about!"  The show lasted ninety minutes.  There was no encore.

Apple showed everything you would have expected last night:  her quirky, introverted personality, her commitment to her music, and her immense talent.  The Count Basie Theatre provided an excellent venue for her particular style -- much better than Terminal 5 in New York where she'll spend the next two evenings.  I only wish it had been sold out.