I Saw Bob Mould, Ted Leo, and The Thermals and Barely Took Any Pictures, 4/28 - 4/29/16

Well, I Took a Few

Two nights in a row. Two straight nights, I headed into New York for shows without even bringing my "real camera." For the first time in a while, I went back to the roots of CoolDad Music and attended shows purely as a fan with an eye toward maybe writing about them and maybe not. Now, I couldn't go two straight nights taking absolutely no pictures; and of course I was gonna write something, especially since the whole experience felt so good on so many levels.

On Thursday, Gentleman Jim and I headed to Bushwick's Market Hotel to catch the second of two New York-area shows this week by The Thermals. Joining the Portland, Oregon band on that bill were Philadelphia's Amanda X and Thermals' tourmates, Summer Cannibals. I took no pictures.

It was pretty weird for a while there. Market Hotel is right next to -- I mean right next to -- the subway (or el train in Bushwick, I guess), and the trains pass right by outside a big window. There's a window onto the platform right behind the stage, and it makes for some dramatic images. I saw so many pictures I wanted to take. Summer Cannibals' lead singer, Jessica Boudreaux, silhouetted against that back window. Thermals' frontman, Hutch Harris, staring into a green stage light as he sang. There were a couple of photographers up front using flash; and, almost every time I muttered, "take the shot" under my breath, I'd see a burst of light.

I mentioned all this to Jim, a sound man, and he said, "We've made our fun our jobs. Kind of the opposite of 'do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life.'" And I guess that's true to an extent for me. Taking pictures at shows has really become part of the way I experience them; but it was almost as fun to say, "There's one. Oooh. There's another one," while not being weighted down with gear. It also gave me the opportunity to watch a show without fighting for a clear sight line to the band that was appropriate for the focal length of my lens.

And it was a great show to watch without all those concerns. Amanda X won me over about two songs into their set. Summer Cannibals were noisy and psych-rocky, Boudreaux a real personality on vocals and guitar. The Thermals just blew me away, focusing heavily on songs from The Body, The Blood, The Machine, which has its 10th anniversary this year, and their latest album, We Disappear. Boudreaux joined the band on guitar helping to fill out some of the album arrangements that would be difficult to play as a trio, and the crowd went berserk from the first chord.

As we drove home, I relished that feeling of having just attended -- not having necessarily just "covered" -- a show I really loved.

On Friday, Bob Mould played Webster Hall with Ted Leo. The last two times that Mould came through the area, I fully planned to have CoolMom join me. She is a fan of the highest order. As is often the case, however, circumstances made that impossible. Twice. This time, it all worked out. CoolMom finally had her date with Mr. Mould, and all would be right with the world.

It was an early show, and we took our places along the railing just after 7pm. No photo pass this time. No Sony mirrorless camera. I did bring my Lumix LX7, the camera I used for pictures here for the first year or year and a half of the blog. It's a point and shoot, so I never get hassled about bringing it into venues. We were standing first row, stage right.

With CoolMom's encouragement, I snapped a few pics during Ted Leo's opening solo set; but, for the most part, I just watched and listened as Leo charmed as he always does. He played a mix of old songs like "Me and Mia" and "Timorous Me" and new, unreleased material.

When Mould and his band, which absolutely slays and includes Jason Narducy on bass and Jon Wurster on drums, took the stage and rattled off a pair of songs from Sugar's Copper Blue ("A Good Idea," "Changes") followed by the big "hits" from Mould's latest records ("The End of Things," "The Descent," "I Don't Know You Anymore") without a pause in between, I could feel the warmth emanating from CoolMom right next to me. The band were taking no prisoners and squeezing as much as possible out of the early set.

I couldn't resist taking a few pics. Bob Mould was positioned stage left -- about as far from us as he could be -- which made me feel a little less compelled to go crazy shooting-wise, and my camera spent a good portion of the show sitting idle in my hands or in my back pocket.

By the time we got to the Hüsker Du portion of the evening, CoolMom was smiling from ear to ear; and I was letting the sonic wave wash over me. After "Hardly Getting Over It," she looked at me and said, "I always loved that song."

I screamed along with Jon Wurster, who handled frontman duties while Ted Leo played drums, on a cover of The Ramones' "Beat on the Brat" during the encore; and the whole place sang along with closer, "Makes No Sense At All."

The show ended by 10. As we walked to the car, CoolMom said to me, "When he opened with all those songs, I almost started crying." I've felt that way many times, but it's always great to be reminded how great it feels, how utterly transforming it can be, to lose yourself at a show. For me, it feels even better than nailing a perfect shot.

The shots I did take of both Bob Mould and Ted Leo are in the galleries.

Oh, Those Summer-er Ni-i-i-i-ghts!!

Tell Me More. Tell Me More.

The Bouncing Souls celebrated their 25^th anniversary this weekend at the Stone Pony (also, btw, celebrating their 40^th). I graduated from high school in 1989 (25^th anniversary. Yep. Olde.), and for a few hours Friday and Saturday I rolled around Asbury Park like 18 year old me let loose on the Jersey Shore. Well, not really; but I did see friends old and new. There were crazy flashbacks, dreams realized, and lots of rock and roll. Cue up the Wayne's World do-do-do's, we're going in.

Friday “the LaRocks” and extended family rolled out on the Asbury beach to kick back and enjoy the sun, the sand, the waves, and eavesdrop on Stony Pony Summer Stage. Frisbee, football, soccer (or post-World Cup around here “futbol”), and a ton of ice cream later, I headed over to Asbury Lanes to catch up with “man about town” the CoolDad himself and a set fromSmalltalk. I've been looking forward to this little slice of Modern Rock at the Jersey Shore. This was such a great mix of a night out's variables: Beautiful weather, family, friends, and music. Such a great mood, and Smalltalk didn't disappoint. They carve out space in my high school years. Take me back to Brooklyn, and I'm fiddling with the radio dial to hear WDRE and WHTG. During those days, I rode BMX bikes endlessly; and, much like I had visions of what it would be like to live in Southern California, I wondered what it would be like to live in a shorefront town. After six years in Jersey, I got to experience it. I felt a sense of community. The faces I see are familiar; and, although I only know a few people here and there, I feel like I belong.

CoolDad and I headed over to the boardwalk and the Asbury Park Yacht Club to catch up with locals The Battery Electric for a denim clad assault that reminds you why you like guitars and whiskey. More friends, way too much nerdy Venture Brothers talk, and a sweet, low-hanging moon rounded out my stay on the shore that night.

As I stood there with the light breeze blowing in off the ocean and TBE's thunder in the background, I couldn't help but think that some sort of unknown bucket list moment had occurred. The concrete jungle of my childhood and the weird industrial two block radius of L'Amour, the Rock Capital of Brooklyn, didn't have this view. For those not familiar with L'Amour, the proper pronunciation is your best New Yawk accent and say "La-Moores." So there I was drifting back and forth through time and space; and all I could say was, “Thank you Asbury. For a little while you felt like home." Alright, there's still a Saturday to get through.

My main man and truest believer, Timbo Slice, and I played hockey Saturday morning. There was another kid playing at the rink while we were there; and, by wild coincidence, he turns up later with his folks going to the Pony for his first concert. Crazy. T. Slice is a Bouncing Souls veteran; and for the third summer in a row, gets to see one of his faves. Big Mikey B. and Ann made the trek in from Brooklyn to join us for what is the start of a few T. Slice birthday excursions. We strolled along the boardwalk, on up to the Convention Hall, and back around past The Wonder Bar. I told them how much fun I've been having here over the last few years.

Tickets in hand, we rolled in early for Ted Leo, met up with CoolDad at the barrier. We made new friends up front while Ted Leo strummed his way through his first bill with the Bouncing Souls. Strange that two NJ locals with such storied histories haven't crossed paths sooner, but that was now a thing of the past. We rocked, some danced, and we all tried new rhyming phrases around "Colleen." T. Slice set conclusion: “Ted Leo was great, just needed drums."

From there we dined on what seemed to be nine-foot Stone Pony hot dogs and bounced around to The Menzingers. I dig The Menzingers, having seen them a few times, including a very memorable Home For The Holidays set. The crowd was starting to pack in tight, the energy picking up, and T. Slice went from happy to “when are the Souls coming on." Such a fanboy. Don't blame him. I was getting feisty, too. The sun setting over the stage was gorgeous, and another beautiful night was rolling in. As wave upon wave of crowd surfer cruised overhead, T. asked when would he be old enough to try it. Someday, buddy. I'm sure it's in your future.

During a round of cheese fries, we met a few aspiring cooldads ready to bring their kids along for the things they love most. We traded stories: how you got to this moment and how you are bringing along another generation of music fans. Then dusk turned to night, and The Bouncing Souls hit the stage.

The kids, mine included, went nuts. We'll sing along forever. Rolling through a greatest hits set that included a break for cake, we rocked and rolled, shouting choruses as loud as we could. The Bouncing Souls have been one of my constant companions over the last twenty odd years. We've grown together. Sweet to continue to share it with my man, and all the friends that gathered Saturday night. Our crew expanded around us with more enthusiasm until finally we let it all hang out for "True Believers." That's our jam.

We filed out into the streets of Asbury, tired and hungry. Some of us might have been lucky enough to make it to the Korean Taco joint. CoolDad has words on that. His night carried on. I on the other hand was headed home with T. Slice in tow. I thought, if high school me could know that we'd be doing this 25 years later, I'm sure he'd be as happy as I am now. True believer.

The Bouncing Souls Played The Stone Pony Summer Stage w/ The Menzingers and Ted Leo, 7/19/14

Home for the Summer

The Bouncing Souls celebrated their 25th anniversary as a band on The Stone Pony's -- a venue celebrating its own 40th anniversary this year -- outdoor Summer Stage on Saturday. The band had help from Ted Leo and The Menzingers. It was a cool and beautiful evening, and the whole night really brought home for me what a wonderful little musical community we have here in our area.

I'd won tickets to the show from Live Nation a few days before. Swim meets and poor planning, though, meant that CoolMom couldn't join me; and my +1 went unused. Heading out solo did give me the opportunity to leave early and stake out my place in the front. I knew I'd see plenty of familiar faces.

Almost immediately upon arriving, I saw the guys from Corrina, Corrina right up front. I'd be seeing more of them as the evening progressed -- mostly as they surfed atop the crowd during the sets by The Menzingers and The Bouncing Souls. I met our barricade neighbor from one of last year's Home for the Holidays shows leaning on the rail just like she'd been in December. Scotch LaRock showed up, his boy wearing the shirt he'd had autographed by Greg Attonito at the Play Date show a few weeks back. Chris from Speak Into My Good Eye joined us for a while before disappearing into the sea of bodies during The Menzingers set.

Ted Leo came out at around 6:30 and did a solo electric set featuring favorites like "Timorous Me" and "Me and Mia." He played new songs -- one so new, he had to stop a few times to remember the chords -- and a song or two from his project with Aimee Mann, The Both. He talked about seeing The Bouncing Souls in Newark when he was younger and noted that this was the first time in the band's twenty-five year history that they'd ever shared a bill. He had several fans (like me) up front who clapped in time in all the right places and sang along. Even those less familiar with his work looked like they were won over by the end.

The Menzingers took the stage at just about 7:30, I guess. Things went absolutely bonkers in the pit. The band played a full 15-song set; and, almost from the first guitar notes of "I Don't Wanna Be An Asshole Anymore," people started cruising overhead into the waiting arms of the beefy security contingent manning the buffer zone. Hey, Brian! Hey, Luke!


Everybody around me sang every word. The LaRocks headed for environs more appropriate for second-graders; and Chris R. disappeared into the fray, fist-pumping and screaming along. I held firm and tried to take some pictures. A few security guys came into the audience to set up a perimeter around the mosh pit, but there was plenty of leakage.

Little did I know that what I'd just experienced was only an amuse-bouche when compared to what was coming for The Bouncing Souls. My December friend from the front directed a couple of guys and me to set up a bro-proof wall around her so that she could enjoy the show in relative peace. I did my best; but, as the band broke into "Hopeless Romantic" after taking the stage at around 8:45, the heave of the much-larger-than-indoors crowd brought me to the realization that my efforts at protection (and picture-taking) would be futile. I did what I could through, I think, "East Coast! Fuck You!" but I beat a path toward the back soon after.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the set. Compared to the eclectic sets the band usually play in December, Saturday's show was a nice greatest hits collection that included "Lean on Sheena," "Manthem," "Lamar Vannoy," a cover of "Do You Wanna Dance," and "True Believers" among others. And I do prefer getting sweaty up front to watching things from a distance, but at some point -- and after a couple of Converse-induced near concussions -- self-preservation comes into play.

The band and The Stone Pony shared a cake in celebration of their respective anniversaries. Family and friends of both were onstage for the entire set. I found the LaRock boys again and we sang along with the rest of the show from a safe distance.

When the show was done, the gates to the street were thrown open and I made a bee-line for the boardwalk and some Korean tacos. As we all walked away we could hear the exhortations from the stage to be respectful to the surrounding community, and I'm sure everyone had no problem abiding by that one.

After tacos, it was over to Asbury Lanes for the after party where a good chunk of the familiar faces from the Pony had made their way. A young man getting ready to ship out for navy bootcamp asked me if I'd seen any of The Bouncing Souls come through. He wanted to get his poster signed before he left home. I pointed him in the direction of Pete Steinkopf. A few minutes later, he came by -- absolutely beaming -- to show me Pete's signature.

Alabama's Lee Bains III and The Glory Fires and local favorites Lost In Society each delivered rowdy and sweaty sets to the big, late-night crowd. Bains was among the crowd, mauled as he shredded away on his SG. Lost In Society's Zack Moyle scaled one of the speaker towers, leaping back down to the stage at the end of his band's set.

It was an uplifting night -- a party from beginning to end that celebrated the thriving music community we have here in our backyard. I'm really happy that -- over the last two-plus years -- I've gotten to know some of the people who work so hard to keep it going. They've all given us a great summer of music so far; and I'm glad that, thanks to The Bouncing Souls, they got a night to celebrate.

You can see my pictures from the night up at Flickr. See you at the next show.

Happy Labor Day

Hope You Enjoyed Your Weekend

I say this every year, and I believe it:  I was able to grow up in an affluent New Jersey suburb, to have my teeth straightened, to go to the doctor when I needed to, to have my dad coach my baseball teams, to take vacations with my whole family, and to earn a degree from a private university not only because my parents worked so hard, but also because my dad was in a union.

Whatever your own opinions, take a minute today and think about all the people who helped build the country.