Heart Bones Played The Saint with Real Dominic, Dentist, and Lowlight, 3/7/20

Heart Bones at The Saint

Hot Dish

I wrote some things about Heart Bones' debut LP, Hot Dish, here a few days ago. It was the first album review sort of thing I've done here in quite a while. Ever since it came out, Hot Dish has been a goto album for me; so I was understandably excited by the prospect of having any involvement with Heart Bones' show at The Saint. Chris Dickman and I booked the locals and spent the last few months extolling the virtues of Heart Bones to anyone who would listen to us. And, damn, Asbury showed up. It was a packed Saturday at The Saint from the moment that Dentist took the stage to kick things off.

It's been about a month since Dentist played locally as a full band. The early crowd was large and enthusiastic. The band have recently holed up to work on some new songs. They brought three of those out on Saturday. My initial impressions are that Dentist continue to get better and better. It's hard for me to put into words, but the new songs reveal a clear evolution of the band's songwriting and sound while keeping all of those things that we love about Dentist. I'm looking forward to being able to sit down with the new tracks and give them a proper listen.

New York's Real Dominic was next. Dom Rabalais puts on a show that incorporates burlesque, metal, club music, projected visuals, multiple costume changes, dance, athleticism, and a giant sword. For, maybe, the first few seconds, the crowd didn't know what was going on. After that, they didn't care and just got swept up in the freakiness. Real Dominic had an accomplice who was taking video of all the proceedings, they passed me the camera as Dom called them onstage; and I used it to shoot a workout routine that consisted of Real Dominic doing calisthenics and pushups with another human being on their back.

Heart Bones had the 10pm slot. In keeping with the band's 80s aesthetic, Sean Tillmann and Sabrina Ellis took the stage in Members Only Jackets. The pair's chemistry was evident from the get-go. They cycled through dance moves that had the appearance of being both choreographed and utterly spontaneous. They laughed with each other throughout the set and, at one point, got the whole crowd moo-ing in unison. Tillmann took out his phone and took a video from the stage to send a hello back home to the band members' significant others.

The energy of the already infectious Hot Dish tracks ratchets up to 11 during the live performance. "Open Relations," "Claws '87," "Beg for It," "Little Dancer," "This Time It's Different," and everything else from the record had the crowd moving and sweating right along with the band. A cover of The Jets' "Crush on You" was a blast as well. I've said it before, but Tillmann and Ellis are two of the most "all-in" performers you'll ever see. That creates a connection with the crowd that few other acts can achieve. More than one person told me after the set (and this is 100% true) that Heart Bones are their new favorite band. I was still getting texts saying the same thing the next day. So there you go.

After a short break, local heroes Lowlight came on to take us into the wee hours of Sunday morning with a late set. They sounded absolutely epic. They grabbed the crowd, nearly spent from a few hours with the gas pedal stomped firmly to the floor, and shook them awake for one, final push. People left with the strains of "Horsefoot" or "Bones" still ringing in their ears and probably even forgot they'd be losing a precious hour of sleep to daylight savings time.

Nights like Saturday give me the energy to keep going, not only here at the blog but also just day-to-day. A pair of touring bands coming through and willing the Asbury crowd over to their side. Two of the absolute powerhouse local acts from town. Our friends at The Saint and Little Dickman. All at a packed house. It doesn't get any better.

All of the pictures from the evening are up in the Flickr galleries.

New Stuff from Old Friends: Lowlight, Dentist, Screaming Females

Friends & Family

Some CoolDad Music mainstays have been putting out some cool stuff lately, and I decided to get off my ass and tell you about it.

Lowlight, "Coastlines"

Lowlight had a big summer. August saw the band head out on a jaunt around the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. They released their fantastic Endless Bummer LP on September 13th, and they capped everything off with a triumphant weekend at Asbury Park's Sea.Hear.Now. Festival just as the summer was officially drawing to a close.

Well, there was one more thing. As September gave way to October, Lowlight released the video for Endless Bummer and live set standout, "Coastlines." Using footage gathered from that August tour, the band give us a glimpse into life on the road and time spent with friends. The song is a twangy, rocking rambler that I've loved from the moment I first heard it. It's the perfect soundtrack to Lowlight's mini road movie and, really, to any of life's literal or figurative journeys.

And we get some bonus RockNRoll Hi-Fives in there, too.

Lowlight will be at The Saint in Asbury Park on Halloween with America Part Two, Shred Flintstone, Idle Wave, and Blaise.

Endless Bummer is out now on Telegraph Hill / Gruesome Twosome.



Dentist, "Someone Like You"

At our show with A Giant Dog, Dentist, and The RockNRoll Hi-Fives at The Saint back in July, Dentist treated us to a new song they'd been working on. They took "Someone Like You" into Oceanport's Simple Sound Studio; and, yesterday, the band released the single accompanied by a new video.

"Someone Like You," like a lot of Dentist tracks, presents a sunny, smiling face to the world; while something slightly more melancholy sits just beneath the surface. Dentist have their sound so dialed in at this point that creating dreamy, reverby, crunchy pop seems almost effortless for them.

The Sean Bell-directed video reveals that Dentist's pop expertise doesn't translate to home improvement. The clip features power tools, an attempt to hammer a screw into a block of wood, and comedic gore. It's also probably the only 3-minute song to feature a lunch break.

Dentist are currently out on tour with Brick + Mortar. That run makes its final stop at the new Lanes on 11/2.

"Someone Like You" is available now from Cleopatra Records via your digital platform of choice.



Screaming Females, "Ancient Civilization"

Here's something I probably should have told you about by now, but I'm getting in just under the wire. This Friday, 10/18, Screaming Females will release Singles Too via Don Giovanni Records. The collection brings together around 15 years' worth of non-album tracks including early 7-inches and digital-only releases. Download and CD versions of the album will add 6 covers, including songs originally done by Neil Young, Taylor Swift, and Patti Smith.

This morning, Screaming Females released the final pre-release track, "Ancient Civilization." The song originally appeared, I think, on a 2013 split with Wisconsin's Tenement (which I own). It's a doomy storm of Marissa Paternoster guitar heroics from right around that time when I took my buddy to see Screaming Females, Tenement, and Waxahatchee at the old Asbury Lanes and he just about lost his shit.

Screaming Females have a couple of area shows this weekend. They play a set at OctFest 2019 at Knockdown Center in Queens on Saturday, 10/19. On Sunday, 10/20, the band headline the Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market after party at Championship Bar and Grill with Dusk and Freya Wilcox & The Howl.

Singles Too is out Friday, 10/18, via Don Giovanni.

North Carolina to New Jersey. Not Much Sleep.

Superchunk at Merge 30

Merge 30 / A Giant Dog

"Was it what you wanted?" Gloree asked me during the wee hours of Tuesday morning after we'd just witnessed A Giant Dog, Dentist, and her band -- The RockNRoll Hi-Fives -- play a sold-out Saint in Asbury Park. Little Dickman and I had put together what, for me, was the show of a lifetime.

I sat there, my t-shirt drooping under the weight of my sweat, and said, "The bands are happy. The venue is happy..."

"NO!" Gloree said. "Was it what YOU wanted?"

"Yeah..." I said as an irrepressible smile came across my face. "More."

Back up a bit.

Monday's show was just the topper to six days of shows, friendship, and good times. Last Wednesday, I headed down to Carrboro, North Carolina for Merge Records' 30th anniversary festival. The RockNRoll Hi-Fives put me up in their new home for the whole weekend. We went to all the shows together. We played in the Merge 30 kickball game. Then, we met up back in Jersey for the rock and roll oven of peace and love that was the show at The Saint.

I could write a book-length review of the whole Merge 30 festival / Saint show. This is the Internet, though; so nobody really wants that. But I'll give some notes and observations.

Wednesday

Mac McCaughan welcomes the crowd to Merge 30.

Beautiful show at the lovely Carolina Theatre in Durham featuring The Mountain Goats, Hiss Golden Messenger, and H.C. McEntire. The always gracious press team at Merge got me a last-minute photo pass so that I could shoot from the pit in front of the stage. The chorus to The Mountain Goats' "This Year" -- "I'm gonna make it through this year if it kills me" -- has become a sort of mantra to me.

H.C. McIntyre

Hiss Golden Messenger

The Mountain Goats

Ran into Titus Andronicus at the after-party at Motorco. That was a theme of the weekend. Artists were out and about among the crowds, accessible, and just as into everything as everyone else in attendance. Escape-ism and The Rock*A*Teens played that one. I was in a Rock*A*Teens cover band with Gentleman Jim Norton for about 2 weeks a few years ago.

Escape-ism

The Rock*A*Teens

Thursday

Laura Ballance kicking off Night 2

Things moved to Carrboro's Cat's Cradle for the remainder of the fest. There's a big main room and a smaller back room. Since I always need to get and maintain a "good spot" for photos, I made the executive decision to cover the main room only. Regrets? Well, obviously, missing all the acts in the back room (like Will Butler, Telekenisis, Torres, Spider Bags, Mike Krol, and more) and missing out on the opportunity to schmooze with artists in the courtyard between the venues. Oh, well. That's the cost of doing a job that nobody ever really asked you to do.

I love Swearin', and I don't think I've seen them since a Shellshag release show at Maxwell's about 6 years ago. I was texting pics and video of Lambchop's set to Lambchop superfan, Renee Maskin, back in Jersey. New Merge signees, Sacred Paws, turned in a stand-out set of globally-influenced pop. I started going pretty hard during Fucked Up's set. Lead singer Damian Abraham is simultaneously intimidating and super-sweet. Once they got into selections from David Comes to Life, I lost my shit.

Swearin'

Lambchop

Sacred Paws

Fucked Up

Superchunk were otherworldly. The main set consisted of a song off of each Superchunk release in chronological order. Sabrina Ellis (more on Sabrina later) joined the band to sing her part on "Break the Glass." Damian came back during the encore for "Our Work Is Done" and stuck around, joined by Swearin's Allison Crutchfield, for "Slack Motherfucker." I was screaming into Damian's mic along with the rest of the people up front.

Superchunk and Sabrina Ellis

Superchunk, Damian, Allison

Superchunk

Friday

Kickss Golden Messenger w Andy the Grumpire

Friday afternoon was the Kicknic, organized and emceed by Jersey City's Dancing Tony. 3/4ths of The RockNRoll Hi-Fives and I were on Kickss Golden Messenger, while Evren kicked for the Ballfield Dogs. Kickss Golden Messenger won with a walk-off basekick by yours truly in the bottom of the 5th. By now, I could barely walk.

Friday in the main room started in mellow fashion with William Tyler's intricate and beautiful guitar work. He went electric -- and actually sang -- on a cover of East River Pipe's "Make a Deal with the City." Merge honcho / Superchunk guitarist and vocalist, Mac McCaughan, joined Tyler for the final piece.

William Tyler and Mac McCaughan

Imperial Teen had reunited from various points on the map to play only their second show in over two years and brought the fun.

Imperial Teen

This was the evening I was most looking forward to as it featured both A Giant Dog and Titus Andronicus. I've gone through the last couple of years with this giant, gaping hole somewhere inside me; and both of these bands are able to fill in all that space and get me a little bit (ok, a lot bit) outside myself when they play.

A Giant Dog's Sabrina Ellis lays it all out there, and -- even though I did snap hundreds of pictures during their set -- I found myself just absorbing it all during a few moments. I thought, "Geez. For a photographer, I have my eyes closed an awful lot."

A Giant Dog

A Giant Dog

Titus Andronicus played a set that consisted exclusively of their releases with Merge. That meant no The Airing of Grievances, The Monitor, or Local Business. It also meant that they closed out the set (before covering "I Wanna Be Sedated," that is) with the suite of "Mr. E. Mann," "Fired Up," and "Dimed Out" from The Most Lamentable Tragedy, which is one of my favorite and, for me, one of the most cathartic live music things ever. 

Titus Andronicus

Titus Andronicus

Oh, I also don't want to forget to mention the mesmerizing set from Wye Oak right between A Giant Dog and Titus Andronicus.

Wye Oak

Saturday

The Spinanes

Merge held a free day party on Saturday. We bopped in and out and caught Joyero and the highly-anticipated closing set from The Spinanes. Destroyer's Dan Bejar, Lambchop's Kurt Wagner, all of Superchunk, and other artists were among the crowd.

Joyero

Saturday night was interesting. There were intimate -- And, really, even in the large space of the main room, they felt intimate. -- acoustic sets from Destroyer and longtime CDM favorite Waxahatchee. The crowd was respectful and attentive for both. Katie Crutchfield brought Mary Lattimore out for a few songs to accompany her on harp.

Destroyer

Waxahatchee w Mary Lattimore

Washington DC's Gauche are another recent signee that took advantage of the opportunity to impress. Defiant and danceable post-punk. The revelation of the festival for me was Nigeria's / UK's Ibibio Sound Machine. The crowd went apeshit. Frontwoman Eno Williams sings in both English and the Nigerian language Ibibio. Williams was visibly moved by the crowd's response to the set.

Gauche

Ibibio Sound Machine

Ex Hex closed out the festival. They've added bassist Michelle Mae which allows Betsy Wright to join Mary Timony on guitar. The new setup really works. And the hard rock riffs, high kicks, and sweet harmonies with Laura Harris are all still there.

Ex Hex

Ex Hex

Sunday

Flew home. Went to watch CoolDaughter #1 swim the 100m breastroke in the Junior Olympic finals. She finished 8th even though she was recovering from a mean stomach bug.

Monday

When Chris Dickman and I confirmed that we'd booked A Giant Dog for The Saint a few months back, I was incredulous. I knew immediately that I wanted Dentist and The RockNRoll Hi-Fives on the bill. When that all came together, it was like a dream come true.

We busted our asses promoting this one, and damned if we didn't sell out The Saint on a Monday night. The crowd arrived and packed the place out early. The RockNRoll Hi-Fives and Dentist played to a basically full house. CoolMom came out!

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives

The RockNRoll Hi-Fives

Dentist

Dentist

Once again, A Giant Dog gave us everything; and I greedily ate it up. I can't thank them enough for what they do. From the first seconds of their set to the end, when Sabrina was crawling along The Saint's bar, it was literal and figurative heat. It was sweat and wild abandon. Beautiful.

A Giant Dog

A Giant Dog

A Giant Dog

So, was Monday night what I wanted? The whole damn six days was what I wanted and what I needed. And I'm gonna keep heading out there, looking for it, trying to make it happen as long as I'm able.

I'm uploading the many hundreds of pics from the last week to Flickr as we speak.