Diarrhea Planet Played Music Hall of Williamsburg with Western Medication and High Waisted, 10/4/16

Tuesday Night Follies

I was sitting at my desk last week, and High Waisted posted that they'd be opening for Diarrhea Planet at Music Hall of Williamsburg. High Waisted put out one of my favorite records of 2016, and Diarrhea Planet are one of the best live acts around right now; so I figured, "What the hell?"

If I'd known then what I know now: that I'd be used multiple times as a human step ladder by people wanting to stage dive during Diarrhea Planet's set, that I wouldn't be able to bend over and tie my shoes today, that I'd carry an impression of the MHOW stage across my ribs for the next week or so, that I'd end up with some of my favorite photos I've ever taken... I'd do it all again.

As usual, I got to the venue too early but in plenty of time for MHOW pre-show happy hour in the downstairs lounge. Steely Dan gave way to 80s hits like "Weird Science" and Peter Schilling's "Major Tom" as I sipped the one beer I'd be allowing myself for the night. I headed up into the barren and empty performance space at around 8:45.

High Waisted took the stage at just about 9, and there were maybe 10 people in the audience. But here's where bands can learn something. High Waisted started their set and played as if they were playing to a packed house. Singer / guitarist, Jessica Louise Dye, kept smiling and enjoying herself until the room eventually started to fill. Steven Nielsen (guitar), Jono Bernstein (drums), and Jeremy Hansen (bass) tossed their hair, jumped from the drum risers, and just generally brought it.

They played through songs from On Ludlow and closed the set with an aggressive version of "Miserlou." By the end of their set, there was a pretty large crowd dancing right along with Dye. That charisma that can draw people in makes High Waisted a great band to shoot; and, if theirs was the only set I saw, my evening would have been made. Luckily there was more.

Next up were Nashville's Western Medication. They're touring with their paisanos in Diarrhea Planet, but I was unfamiliar with them before last night. The band played a relentless set of post punk-influenced jams. Really the kind of stuff I'm into. Their set was also super high-energy, and they definitely won over the crowd. It's really impressive when an opener you've never heard before can play through a set and never have you counting the minutes to the headliner. Western Medication's 40-minute set felt almost too short.

The crowd pushed up front and started getting rowdy before Diarrhea Planet came out. Someone's friend named Tristan, I think, arrived; and the guys behind me all took up the chant of "Tris-Tan! Tris-Tan! Tris-Tan!" That eventually became "DIA-RRHEA! DIA-RRHEA!" and the band walked onstage showered by that chorus.

Then they started. And they pretty much did not stop for the length of their set. It was just a barrage. Song after song without a break. The crowd roiled behind me. Punching me in the spine. Pinning me against the stage as I tried to take pictures.

About halfway through the set, the stage divers -- seemingly egged on by the band, mostly by guitarist Mike Boyle -- started climbing onstage. One guy used my back and collar bone to give himself a boost. People were running up onstage, hugging members of the band, dancing. It was pandemonium. The crowd loved it. The band seemed to be loving it. I kinda loved it.

Diarrhea Planet played a little over an hour, I think. "Separations," "Ain't No Sin to Win," "Emmett's Vision," "Life Pass." Lots more. I wasn't taking notes.

I headed out to the street aching a little bit, looking like someone had just beaten the crap out of me -- which they kind of had -- and feeling pretty damn good about the whole evening. I'm probably getting too old for this kind of thing, but I hope I never feel that way.

Diarrhea Planet and Western Medication hit Bowery Ballroom tomorrow night, 10/6, with White Rope.

All the pics are up in the Flickr galleries.

Stuff, I Guess, from Pinkwash, Diarrhea Planet, Jackal Onasis, and Dentist

PINKWASH at SXSW in March

What I've Been Up To

This semi-retirement thing has been a little more difficult than I thought it would be. I no longer have the excuses of tasks, conference calls, or the occasional business trip to explain why the days seem to get away from me. Still feeling my way, I guess. I'll get myself on a regular posting / to-do schedule eventually; but, in the meantime, here's some of the stuff with which I've been distracting myself over the last week or so.

PINKWASH, "GUMDROP"

I first saw PINKWASH at the Don Giovanni label showcase back in 2015. The Philadelphia duo of Joey Doubek (guitar) and Ashley Arnwine (drums) took a bit of time to set up. Once everything was to their liking, they delivered a short set (maybe 4 or 5 songs) of absolutely devastating and cathartic noise.

The next time I saw them -- this past March in Austin for South By Southwest -- the sound man asked Doubek, "Could you turn down a little?"

"Um... no... I'd really rather not," was the sheepish response.

The pair released COLLECTIVE SIGH last Friday; and, just this week, released the video for single "GUMDROP." Through COLLECTIVE SIGH, PINKWASH document Doubek's coping following the loss of his mother, for whom he was the primary caregiver, to breast cancer. The song is a flood of emotion delivered through the torrent of Doubek's guitar and the artillery fire of Arnwine's drums.

The video reminds me of this thing we used to do in art class when I was a kid where we'd cover an entire sheet of paper in a water color rainbow and then paint over it with black ink. We'd use the end of a paper clip to scratch out a neon-colored line drawing on the blackness. "GUMDROP" is kind of the moving version of that, the gumdrops of the title falling across the scene and eventually morphing into pills and medication.

Check it out. COLLECTIVE SIGH is out now on Don Giovanni.



Diarrhea Planet, "Bob Dylan's Grandma"

Nashville's Diarrhea Planet -- along with Screaming Females and Titus Andronicus -- hold a special place as one of the trio of bands that were the subject of the very first post here at CoolDad Music. Since March of 2012, I've seen the band several times as they always seem to make time for a stop in New Jersey as part of their relentless touring schedule.

Diarrhea Planet's orchestral, four-guitar pop punk approach falls somewhere between big 1980s arena metal and 1990s Weezer-inspired alt-rock. On "Bob Dylan's Grandma," the band give us an origin story of sorts as they detail how a 6th grade encounter with Jimi Plays Monterey redirected a boy's interests from formula 1 and F-16s to Stratocasters.

Diarrhea Planet will release Turn To Gold on June 10th via Infinity Cat and play Brooklyn Bowl on June 9th as part of Northside Festival. Maybe they'll come visit us around here again while they're in the area.



Jackal Onasis, "Runty Little Puppy"

Credit for pointing me to this one goes, once again, to my friend Joe. I may have missed it otherwise. That would have been a shame as there's quite a bit here that slots very nicely into the "stuff I like" category.

There are the heavy, alt rock / shoegaze-y guitars of Alex Molini, the epic and expansive drumming of Jordyn Blakely, and her dreamily deadpan vocals. "Runty Little Puppy" definitely harkens back to some big 90s rock, and that's just fine with me.

Jackal Onasis will be releasing Big Deal Party via Exploding In Sound on June 24th.



Dentist, "Meet You There (In Delaware)"

Ah, Dentist. My lovely friends in Dentist. I've seen a lot -- A LOT -- of Dentist performances. When I got some previews of their upcoming Ceilings, I was thrilled to hear some things that -- to that point -- I'd never heard before. One of the new ones was the bouncy "Meet You There (In Delaware)."

It's one of those songs that worms its way into your brain and gets stuck there. In a totally good way. It's an upbeat take on our constant pursuit of fun and new experiences; but, at the same time, it acknowledges the futility of our constant quest to combat FOMO (fear of missing out).

Ceilings comes out on Little Dickman Records on June 24th. Dentist play this Saturday night, May 21st, with The Vansaders and Mack at Asbury Park Yacht Club.

Diarrhea Planet Were Back at Brighton Bar with Music Band, The Battery Electric, and Trans Charger Metropolis, 11/18/15

If You Build It

The first time I saw Diarrhea Planet at Brighton Bar (my second time seeing them in the area), I think there were maybe 8 people in the place not counting employees. It was a warm Tuesday night, and Gentleman Jim and I headed over from his old trivia night at Red Bank's Downtown. The band were all smiles about it, extremely gracious after the set, and looking forward to the next show at a basement in New Brunswick on Wednesday.

Since then, Diarrhea Planet have done what I wish more touring bands at their level would do. They've kept coming back. Two or three more shows at Asbury Lanes. A show back at Brighton with JEFF The Brotherhood, and Wednesday night's show. I'm going to say that there were maybe 100-150 people in the bar on Wednesday. A good chunk of them crowded in front of the stage for the Nashville band's set and sang along with even the new songs.

Music Band, Diarrhea Planet's Nashville paisanos, took advantage of the large-for-a-Wednesday crowd and did an impressive set of their un-Googlable garage / psych rock. Local openers Trans Charger Metropolis and The Battery Electric had a hand in upping the turnout, and both bands did what they do -- Trans Charger's Justin Normandy throwing in plenty of Pollard-eque leg kicks and Battery's Ron Santee coaxing the crowd closer and closer to the stage.

Diarrhea Planet were all-out with their orchestral guitar rock from the beginning of their set until the last strains of their cover of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck." The crowd went all-out right along with them, at one point hoisting frontman Jordan Smith over their heads for a little crowd surf. A couple of years ago that would have been an impossible move.

It's nice to see a band's work to build a following outside of their hometown and the big cities pay off. It can't be an easy thing, but it looks like Diarrhea Planet have built themselves a nice little midweek tour stop on the Jersey Shore.

Links to pics of all the sets are below.

Diarrhea Planet

Music Band

The Battery Electric

Trans Charger Metropolis

Diarrhea Planet Came Back to Asbury Lanes w/ Music Band, Black Wine, and gods (PHOTOS), 6/6/14

Nashville Meets New Jersey

On Friday, Nashville's Diarrhea Planet brought their orchestral guitar pop punk arrangements, along with friends Music Band, to Asbury Lanes as they hit the East Coast on their way to NYC's Governor's Ball Festival. This was the fourth time I'd seen Diarrhea Planet in the area in the last two years or so, and frontman Jordan Smith mentioned several times that Asbury Lanes was his personal favorite East Coast venue.

Two New Jersey bands got things started with impressive sets. Asbury Park's gods opened with their psychedelic, a-bit-tighter-than-garage rock. With bands like The Parlor Mob and Black Jesuses on the members' résumés, it was no surprise that every band that took the stage after gods had to take a moment to praise their set. Similarly, Black Wine played a set ranging from pop to hard rock -- the band's trademark "no core" -- that made people put down their drinks and listen. Again, praise from the visiting bands was effusive.

The Nashville portion of the evening got started with garage-psych-and-roll trio Music Band. The band bring a bit of a southern twang to their sound that works really well. It was their first trip to Asbury Park -- maybe New Jersey -- and they couldn't say enough good things about the city, Asbury Lanes, or the Asbury Lanes staff. As the set ended, Diarrhea Planet's Evan Bird did some photo bombing from behind one of the amps and popped out to "Ice" Music Band guitarist Harry Kagan.

Diarrhea Planet took the stage and opened with "Separations" from 2013's excellent I'm Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. Despite their name, Diarrhea Planet take their playing / performing very seriously. Guitarists Smith, Bird, Emmet Miller, and Brent Toler all get chances to play lead -- sometimes simultaneously -- and can fill a place like Asbury Lanes with arena-sized hooks. Smith is constant energy, bouncing around the stage or playing from his knees when not shouting lyrics along with his bandmates. In addition to songs off of the band's two LP's like "Babyhead," "Kids," "Cigarettes," and "Warm Ridn'," we got crowd favorite and first-ever Diarrhea Planet song "Ghost With a Boner" and a new song or two.

Yesterday, Diarrhea Planet were in New York taking their close-up with an early slot at the Governor's Ball Festival. Tonight, they go a little more intimate with an officially-sanctioned GovBall after-party at Glasslands in Brooklyn. Let's hope we made them feel welcome enough in Asbury that they'll come see us again.

Here are some pics. Check Flickr for more.

The So So Glos and Diarrhea Planet Played Asbury Lanes with Elevator Art, 9/2/13 (PHOTOS)

BLOWOUT

If you think of the summer as the year's weekend, then Labor Day is like the mother of all Sundays. Folks are winding things up after vacations, relaxation, or constant partying. It may be a little difficult, then, to get worked up for one, final party on the day that you're loading up the car in preparation for your return to reality. But those of us who found that last reserve of summer energy and made it out to Asbury Lanes on Monday night got an evening that I'm pretty sure we won't forget for some time.

Except for a little humidity, it was really a beautiful evening on the boardwalk after a dreary, rainy day. CoolMom and I had some pre-show drinks, and the beautiful evening kind of had us lamenting the fact that we hadn't spent more time on the beach this summer. September is here, though. It's usually a beautiful beach month, so we've still got our chance.

We walked into Asbury Lanes just as last minute fill-ins Nick Berry and Darrin Bradbury were concluding their set. I'm sorry I missed them, but I'll make sure to check out Bradbury's Ka Kool EP. As the acoustic duo stepped down from the stage, Elevator Art began setting up for what would be their last local set before calling it quits.

A crowd of fans, friends, and family filled the floor for the Toms River six-piece. They did an emotional set that included fan favorites "Lesbian Father," "Tent City," and recent single "Bear 141." CoolMom turned to me several times to remark on the band's great energy and, especially, on vocalist Maureen McGowan's performance. Each of the members displayed some significant musical chops and showed why this band has become so popular on the local scene. Good luck to all of them in whatever comes next.

I love it when CoolMom comes out with me because, well, I love her with every fiber of my being; but it also means I get to have a few drinks. While we do get some great shows in our area, the fact that we live out in the 'burbs means that we almost always have to drive. That can present a few issues for those of us who are responsible, but enjoy an adult beverage now and then. It can also present issues, in New Jersey at least, for minors who drive to all-ages shows like the one last night. More on that in a moment.

Nashville's Diarrhea Planet took the stage at around 9:30. Unlike the show I reviewed as this blog's first post, the band were at full four-guitar strength on Monday night. They played a set heavy on selections from their just-released I'm Rich Beyond your Wildest Dreams like "Separations," "Babyhead," and "Kids." Old favorites like "Ghost With a Boner" also made the setlist.

Diarrhea Planet are, quite simply, a great rock band. Their four-guitar assault references hard rock, arena rock, metal, 90s alt rock, punk, and pop punk. They bring an energy and abandon to all of their shows that infects the entire audience, whatever its size. We can only hope that Diarrhea Planet see fit to make our area a regular stop on their East Coast swings.

The Brooklyn-via-Brooklyn So So Glos, whose Blowout could be my favorite record of 2013, closed out the evening. They opened with "Diss Town" from that album, and got the crowd -- especially two seventeen year-old guys up front -- moving immediately.

"You know," said lead singer / bassist Alex Levine, "we played a show at Shea Stadium last night. Sold out. Boston the night before. Sold out. Night before that, Boston. Sold out."

Referencing the less than sell-out Mother of All Sundays crowd, he said that the band were getting back to their DIY roots on Monday. He said he looked forward to an intimate evening. The band took every advantage of their ability to interact with the crowd, talking with individual audience members and choreographing audience participation.

At one point, one of the seventeen year-olds, citing New Jersey's "probationary driver's license" restrictions, asked if the band couldn't finish in time for him to drive himself back to Middletown before his state-imposed curfew. Levine had the young man call his mother; and, from the stage, promised to make sure that her son got home safely and legally, getting the entire band's agreement to drive him home.

That problem resolved, the band completed a fantastic set heavy on Blowout tracks like "Lost Weekend," "Xanax," "Blowout," "Wrecking Ball," and main set closer "Son of an American." They also included Tourism / Terrorism standout "My Block." For the finale / encore, The So So Glos brought Diarrhea Planet back on stage for a version of the Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right" during which just about every member of the audience got a chance on the mic.

I went into yesterday with those typical Sunday-type blues about having to return to the aggravation of being a corporate lackey in the morning. For a few hours, though, music and a sense of community washed over me and took my mind off of anything other than just having a great time out with some great bands and the lovely CoolMom.

Thanks to Speak Into My Good Eye and Asbury Lanes for making the evening possible.

Enjoy your fall. And if you ever see that The So So Glos or Diarrhea Planet are coming to your town, make sure you get yourself out there. You won't regret it, no matter what night of the week it happens to be.

Final Summer BLOWOUT with The So So Glos and Diarrhea Planet at Asbury Lanes

Asbury Lanes. Tonight.

It's been a weird summer here at CoolDad Music HQ. Lots of time spent at the beach, but not much time spent on the beach. CoolDaughter #1's trip to Eastern Zones and CoolDaughter #2's tonsillectomy meant that we didn't do our usual road trip this year. And since that heatwave in July, it's pretty much felt like fall for the last five or six weeks.

In another week or so, school, swimming, soccer, etc., etc. will be upon us. But before all of your schedules fill up, there's one, last chance for some summer fun at the Shore.

Thanks to our friends over at Speak Into My Good Eye, The So So Glos and Diarrhea Planet are bringing their co-headlining tour to Asbury Lanes tonight; and both of these bands are fantastic live acts. I can honestly say, having met members of each band following area shows, that they're also a bunch of great guys. Local bands Ba Babes and Elevator Art (who will be playing their last local show prior to disbanding) will be providing support.

I did a review of The So So Glos performance at Maxwell's a few months ago along with write-ups on the latest albums by each of the headliners over at Speak Into My Good Eye. You can check those out before the show.

The So So Glos Played Maxwell’s With The Everymen & Kid Karate
Album Review: The So So Glos – Blowout
Album Review: Diarrhea Planet – I’m Rich Beyond Your Wildest Dreams

So study up. Suck it up and come out on a work night to say goodbye to summer. Come find me.

I'll buy you a beverage.

3-Day Weekend Edition

Labor Day 2013

It's taken me a lot longer than I expected to shake off the dust (literally) following my trip to LA for FYF Fest. If you haven't already, you can check out my recaps and some pics of:

Day 1
Day 2

I've got several hundred pics I never posted in the interest of keeping CoolDad Music load times manageable. Still trying to figure out what to do with those.

Anyway, to the business at hand.

Summer's ending, and we've got a huge Friday night of music ahead of us to kick off the holiday weekend followed by a Monday BLOWOUT.

Bergen County Folk Pop / Pop Punkers, The Front Bottoms, are playing a sold out show tonight at The Stone Pony.



If you missed out on those tickets, though, there's still plenty to do.

Later this evening, you can head over to Langosta Lounge if you'd like to catch The Ribeye Brothers.

Langosta's sister location, The Berkeley Bar, will be hosting The Riverwinds and Harper's Fellow.

And the Brighton Bar in Long Branch has got New Brunswick's Sink Tapes. I'm going to see if I can't make it to that one following the Front Bottoms show.

The big event of the weekend for me, though, will be taking place at Asbury Lanes on Labor Day when The So So Glos (from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn just like yours truly) and Nashville's Diarrhea Planet send Summer 2013 packing with a punk rock bang. That bill will also feature the last local performance by area favorites, Elevator Art.

I hope your summer was everything you wanted it to be. Start sharpening those number 2 pencils and...

...Rock on.

New So So Glos Video

"Lost Weekend"

I've been trying to run more regularly lately. This weekend I did my usual 5K while listening to one of my favorite albums of 2013, BLOWOUT by The So So Glos. When I came back, I sat at my desk and searched for a video for album standout "Lost Weekend" to share with all of you. Well, it wasn't out yet.

It's out now.

Boys from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The Mets. This one's for my Dad.

And do not -- DO NOT! -- miss The So So Glos when they play Asbury Lanes with Diarrhea Planet on Labor Day.

Diarrhea Planet and Patrick Stickles Cover Bruce Springsteen

"Born To Run"

I think I read an interview somewhere once where Patrick Stickles said that his bandmates sometimes give him a hard time for his Springsteen fandom. Well, just two days after I had a chance to catch Diarrhea Planet at Long Branch's Brighton Bar, Stickles joined the Nashville band on stage at Shea Stadium for an impassioned and sincere rendition of Bruce's best-known song.

That emotion paired with the four-guitar assault of Diarrhea Planet basically wins the Internet today as far as I'm concerned.

Happiest Place on Earth Edition

Friday Disney Blogging

This was supposed to be the long weekend of the NJEA convention, so we've had this trip to Disney World planned for several months.  The convention, which I think takes place in Atlantic City, was canceled; but school remains closed.  The trip came at a good time, I guess, as we got out of New Jersey just as the nor'easter was arriving.  It's felt a little strange being here, though, knowing that some areas in our town, including my parents', are still without power and that many people are still worse off than that.

Sandy, the associated lack of power and Internet connectivity, and this trip have made for some light blogging.  When I get home, I hope to get back into a more normal groove in a lot of ways.

Until then, I'll continue asking all the cast members here whose name tags indicate that they hail from Sandy-affected areas how their families made out in the storm and enjoying the fact that the cooldaughters are having a good time.

The Stone Pony in Asbury Park reopens tonight.  If you're going, bring along some non-perishable food items to donate.

Rock on...

Punk Pops’ Night of Pop Punk in Asbury Park

Titus Andronicus, Screaming Females, Diarrhea Planet at the Stone Pony, March 4, 2012

I love Asbury Park.  The boardwalk area between Convention Hall and the Casino has changed a bit in recent years, adding some new restaurants and stores, but Asbury still retains that contrast between the run-down, almost ruined, old structures and the beauty of the beach that gives it its charm.  I’ve come to view my proximity to this place as a real gift, and I try to take advantage of it whenever I can see music at the Convention Hall, the Paramount, or the Stone Pony.

Last night, three other cooldads and I headed out to the Stone Pony to see Titus Andronicus.  This was the opening night of what Titus Andronicus frontman, Patrick Stickles, has called the Screaming on Planet Titus tour with Screaming Females and Nashville’s Diarrhea Planet.  It was an all-ages show, so cooldads were the outliers demographically.

Since it was a Sunday, the show came at the end of a busy day of swim meets, birthday parties, and typical weekend work for all of us.  We managed, though, to meet for a pre-show meal and drinks.  We all pretended to be joking when we started yawning at around 7:15.  Turning down an after-dinner coffee may not have been the best idea.  For my part, I was happy to let the fact that Titus Andronicus are a band I’ve attempted, and failed, to see live over the last two years carry me through the night.  We made the short walk over to the Stone Pony in time to catch the first set from Diarrhea Planet.

On Sunday night, Diarrhea Planet were a five-piece band featuring three guitarists.  Ironically, they were down one guitarist because their drummer had been overcome by digestive problems and couldn’t make the gig.  Guitarist number four took over drumming duties and did a fine job.  Even with just the three guitars, the band created a wall of impressive, hooky noise.

Diarrhea Planet, with their brand of pop punk that focused mostly on drinking beer, provided an interesting contrast to the emo, multi-movement songs of Titus Andronicus.  Songs were short.  Most had to have clocked in at under two minutes and, as one of my companions suggested, “got really good and then ended.”  Diarrhea Planet brought a youthful energy to the not-really-that-crowded room and proved a good start to the night.

New Brunswick’s Screaming Females were next and outperformed my high expectations.  Their brand of 90’s-inflected noise rock hit home for all of the cooldads.  Guitarist, vocalist, and sole female, Marissa Paternoster, is a tiny package containing a huge voice and some serious guitar chops.  The rhythm section of the power trio, while somewhat overshadowed by Paternoster’s fronting, were also exceptional.  The band ripped through a set of tight, well-crafted rock and roll complete with several examples of Paternoster’s guitar heroics.

With the renewed interest in Carrie Brownstein through Portlandia and her new band, Wild Flag, the timing of Screaming Females upcoming album, scheduled for release in April, couldn’t be better.  The Females also draw heavily on the music of J Mascis, Doug Martsch, and even Billy Corgan in getting to their sound; but they bring a personality and energy all their own.  Don’t be surprised if their new album is a breakout for them.

Titus Andronicus took the stage at about 10 p.m.  After dinner and two solid sets from the openers, some of the cooldads clearly had Monday morning on their minds at this point. 

Now five members that, according to Stickles, had only been together for the last six days, the Glen Rock, NJ band acknowledged their return home to Jersey with a punkish cover of “The Boys Are Back In Town.”  They followed that with a couple of songs from their debut, The Airing of Grievances, and then brought out the new material.  Stickles alluded to the fact that one of those new songs, standout “Upon Viewing Oregon’s Landscape With The Flood of Detritus,” would soon be available via the Internet.  We’ll see.

Halfway through the set, Stickles broke a guitar string.  He answered audience questions and bantered while the rest of the band vamped behind him as he struggled with the change.  As he pointed out, it was a “real” moment for a band with few if any roadies or “slaves” to do these types of things for them.  The episode briefly drained some energy from the room, but the band got back on track and finished strong, tearing through several highlights from 2010’s excellent, The Monitor, including that album’s 14 minute closer, “The Battle of Hampton Roads.”

Despite admitting to knowing only thirteen songs, this incarnation of Titus Andronicus played a one and a half hour set (including string change) and sounded better than I’ve heard them in live recordings.  They also left everything on the stage.  Stickles’ father was in the crowd.  I’m not sure where the high school principal’s musical tastes run, but he had to be pleased with his son’s work ethic if nothing else.

A quick word about the venue:  The Stone Pony is iconic, of course, in the annals of Jersey rock.  Even Patrick Stickles couldn’t get through the night without mentioning The Boss on stage.  Signed guitars and old show posters line the walls.  On Sunday, though, it struck me as a little staid.  While, as a cooldad, I appreciated the strictly enforced “no mosh” policy, watching security break up the action time after time was kind of a downer.

Asbury Park and rock music:  the night was a great change-up to the usual Sunday routine.  I missed the Mrs.  She would have loved it, but someone had to stay with the kids.  Next time.