Caroline Rose Played Wonder Bar with ZeniZen, 7/26/19

Caroline Rose by Rose Lamela

Loner

Words and pics by Rose Lamela

It was February of 2018 and my new love for Instagram paid off. It introduced me to a new artist that released an album that caught my eye originally because of its humorous cover. It was Loner from Caroline Rose. I listened to it twice in its entirety. I instantly connected with Caroline Rose's music. Loner is an upbeat album with pop influences unlike some of Caroline's prior work which is more country. The unique thing about this album is, even though it’s something you can dance to, the lyrics to a lot of the songs are dark and sad. Her music made multiple playlists I created for friends in the past two years, and I always bring her up to anyone looking for new music.

Asbury Park finally became a stop on her tour this year. This was the show that I would not miss as I needed to hear Loner live. It was my soundtrack last summer; and, since this summer is so reminiscent of last summer, a live show became very fitting. It made everything jibe together so I could make sense of some of the things around me. I needed this.

Asbury is an hour's drive for me. It's a good drive usually filled with some summer shore traffic, but it's a good time to catch up on thoughts. I have been taking this drive since I was 17; and, every time I do, it seems to coincide with my need to think things through and rock out to music. I love Asbury Park despite how fast it is changing. I keep bringing that up, but I do have a very complicated relationship with this music city. 

I was feeling a little lost when I got to Wonder Bar Friday night as we did not acquire a photo pass for the evening. I wear my cameras as my uniform, and it's my defense for being at shows alone. It makes me feel less of a Loner. I stood there awkwardly, and I tested out the camera on my iPhone I rarely use. I have become  accustomed to listening to music with my finger on a shutter, but Friday night was different.

ZeniZen opened for Caroline Rose, and I was excited to see someone playing a keytar. I enjoyed their R&B/Jazz sound. What seemed to be a very empty place began to fill up as soon as they hit the stage. They played a few songs from their latest release, Australia. I especially enjoyed the song "Follow the Leader." The drummer of the ensemble (sorry I forgot your name) was celebrating a birthday. Caroline Rose came out with a bunch of lit up cupcakes, and we sang happy birthday at the end of their set.

ZeniZen

When Caroline Rose came on, she started her set with my favorite song. "To Die Today" is a very intense song both lyrically and musically. It was so much better live as it escalates as it approaches the chorus. I am usually waiting through a band's / artist's set before I get to hear my favorite tune. I think that hearing this song first set me up mentally to be able to take it all in.

Caroline Rose

Caroline Rose

Caroline is an amazing performer and extremely funny which is no surprise if you have seen any of her music videos. She was dressed in her red workout gear resembling the album's cover. Her banter and connection with the audience makes for an incredibly intimate experience. Her bandmates kept her vibe going as they all danced and played their instruments with all the passion with which these songs were written. They started to play "Money" and suddenly stopped mid song for some audience engagement and Caroline Rose's rendition of Aerosmith's "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" played on a Kazoo. After we forgot that they'd interrupted the song, they went right back into "Money" for an epic close. She played a short encore after hiding behind a curtain to exaggerate the silliness of encores and left us all feeling like we part of special night.

After the show, I bought one of my favorite albums on vinyl. I was a little shy to get it autographed, but it was worth it. Caroline Rose was so easy to talk to. I introduced myself and told her I was writing for CoolDadMusic.com. She genuinely laughed and commented on how cool the name of the blog is. I thanked her for a great performance and walked off with a newly signed album.

Nice!

I drove back and, once again, listened to the album in its entirety. It sounded different to me. My thoughts were quiet and more introspective as I made my way home accompanied by an album that has helped me tune out the world around me. I always wonder how much time artists spend thinking about how their work helps other humans get through hard things in life. From one loner to another, it has totally worked its course.

White Reaper Played Wonder Bar with TWEN and Dentist, 6/19/19

White Reaper

The World's Best American Band

Back in May of 2015, I went over to Asbury Lanes on a rainy Wednesday night. Openers that night were Roy Orbitron and Glycerine Queens. The headliner was a rock band from Louisville, Kentucky called White Reaper. The street out in front of the Lanes was torn up. It was pouring. I think there may have been rain leaking through the ceiling in some spots. There were, maybe, a dozen people there who weren't in one of the bands.

White Reaper at Asbury Lanes in 2015

None of that stopped White Reaper from giving it everything they had. Early in the set, guitarist / vocalist Tony Esposito smacked bassist Sam Wilkerson in the nose with the headstock of his guitar. Wilkerson bled for the entire set and never slowed down. Ever since that night, I've been a fan.

On a rainy Wednesday night in June of 2019, White Reaper came back to Asbury park for a headlining set at Wonder Bar. Joining them for this one were Boston-born / Nashville-based, TWEN, and local faves and best CoolDad buddies, Dentist. Following the success of The World's Best American Band and some past stops in Asbury Park -- including a slot on one of the Front Bottoms' Champagne Jams, White Reaper played to considerably more than a dozen people. Wonder Bar packed out pretty nicely with the area in front of the stage taken up by fans dancing and singing along.

Dentist started things off; and, honestly, there isn't much more I can say about them at this point. For my money, they're absolutely one of the best and hardest working bands to come out of Asbury Park in the last five years or so. Their consistent touring has paid off not only by reaching new fans but also by allowing them to hone their chops as a live band. What looked like it might be a pretty lightly attended first set of the evening ended up drawing a good crowd from every nook and cranny of Wonder Bar to the stage.

Dentist

Dentist

Dentist

TWEN are accompanying White Reaper on this tour. Founded by singer Jane Fitzsimmons and guitarist Ian Jones, they played on Wednesday as a four-piece. The band's sound is hard to define. It's dreamy and psychedelic, but it also has heaviness and complexity that keep things interesting. The live performance was impressive, and the entire band clearly enjoyed themselves onstage. On Thursday, TWEN announced that their debut album, Awestruck, would be out on 9/20 via Frenchkiss.

TWEN

TWEN

TWEN

The crowd edged up towards the stage as White Reaper came out. The band's set included songs from an unannounced (I think), upcoming album like recent single "You Might Be Right" along with older selections like "B.T.K." (an audience request / audible) and a cover of Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket," a song from the era that clearly provides White Reaper with a good deal of inspiration. The intro to crowd favorite "Judy French" was an aborted / fake out cover of Brian Adams's "Summer of '69." At one point, guitarist Ryan Hater suggested that it might be ok if the crowd jumped around a little bit; and that set people bouncing for most of the set.

White Reaper

White Reaper

White Reaper

White Reaper are heavily influenced by the era when rock and pop were essentially the same thing -- Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick. Their power-pop rock is loose in its feel and amazingly precise in its execution. The band play up the arena-sized rock theatrics, even in an intimate bar on the Shore.

Wonder Bar

White Reaper

White Reaper

The White Reaper tour rolls on with a stop at Philadelphia's World Cafe Live on Saturday, 6/22. They'll be co-headlining that one with the like-minded Sheer Mag. Thin Lips join.

All the pics from Wednesday are up at Flickr.

Nicole Atkins Played Wonder Bar with Low Cut Connie, 11/25/17

Nicole Atkins

Goodnight Rhonda Lee

I stuck my earplugs into my ears and stood there in my sort of muffled isolation. It was warm, too. As usual, I'd arrived at Wonder Bar just as the doors opened; so, at this point, I'd been standing in my picture-taking spot for over an hour.

"What am I even doing?" I thought.

I have those thoughts sometimes as I stand there with my doofy camera bag, alone, sweating even though I'm not doing anything, having arrived super-nerdily early, waiting for the show to get started. On Saturday, things were exacerbated by the fact that my back had been giving me problems all day, and I wasn't even sure if I was going to make it out. I'd thrown back a probably ill-advised amount of ibuprofen, though, and decided to fight my way through it.

Then, at around 8:30, Philly's Low Cut Connie took the stage. For forty-five mintues or so, I forgot everything that was making me cranky. I snapped pictures with a big, stupid grin on my face as the band barreled through their set. Frontman Adam Weiner banged the keys on Shondra, his upright piano. At times, he delivered sermons while standing on his piano bench or after having made his way to Shondra's highest point.

Low Cut Connie

"If you stick with Low Cut Connie... If we all stick together... We can't looooooooooooooose!"

Soulful, boozy, breakneck, barroom rock and roll. That's what Low Cut Connie do so well. Weiner is a wild emcee, sometimes making his way into the audience to hug everyone in his path while the rest of the band go wild on stage.

Low Cut Connie

There were plenty of people in Nicole Atkins's hometown crowd who sang along with "Back In School," "Boozophilia," "Shake It Little Tina," and "Revolution Rock N Roll." Even those who may have never experienced Low Cut Connie before seemed to get caught up in Weiner's whirlwind -- playing piano while standing up on the bench, throwing his sweat into the crowd, grinding Tillie. By the time it was all over, I didn't even notice my back. The cure for what ails ya, I guess.

Low Cut Connie

Amped and ready to go, I waited for Nicole Atkins. I've followed her career since before starting CoolDad Music. I still remember taking CoolDaughter #1 to brunch one Sunday where Atkins signed the top of my girl's takeout box. CD1 still has that in her room. Atkins relocated from Asbury Park to Nashville a couple of years ago, and this was a holiday homecoming show for her.

Nicole Atkins

Nicole Atkins

This summer, Atkins released her fourth studio album, Goodnight Rhonda Lee; and, after three extremely solid efforts, she's really found herself, I think. The album is soulful with hints of country and rock. It places the focus squarely on Atkins's formidable voice, where it should be. Album standouts like "Listen Up!," "A Little Crazy," and "Sleepwalking" translated beautifully live, especially the Roy Orbison-influenced "A Little Crazy" which Atkins co-wrote with Chris Isaak.

Nicole Atkins

Atkins peppered the set with old favorites like "Maybe Tonight," "The Way It Is," and "Cry Cry Cry." She bookended the evening with covers, opening with Can's "Vitamin C" (which Atkins released as a b-side to "Vultures" back in 2010. I somehow acquired a signed copy of the single and can't remember how I got it.) and closing with her rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes." As usual, her voice was mesmerizing; and friends, family, and strangers alike seemed to get pretty caught up in it. I did anyway.

"What am I even doing?"

On Saturday, I was spending the evening with two great artists -- one of whom, you could say, was an early inspiration for CoolDad Music. I felt about 1000 times better walking out of the Wonder Bar than I did walking in; and, really, what more can you ask from a show.

Pictures from both sets are in the Flickr galleries and on the Facebook page.

Shows TONIGHT, 7/31, from Dentist, Las Piñas, Partner and Nervous Triggers, SHUT UP, Big Butt, The Turnbucklers

Dentist hit the beach at Anchor's Bend tonight as part of a beautiful and stacked Monday night in Asbury.

Monday Funday

Just a quick note to point out that there are two great Asbury Park shows tonight for what looks like it's gonna be a beautiful evening to be down by the beach.

Little Dickman Records Presents Dentist / Las Piñas / Partner at Anchor's Bend, 7pm, FREE

Little Dickman Records continue their summer-long 5th anniversary celebration (and a big few days) when they bring a truly international trio of bands to the beach at Anchor's Bend. The free show kicks off at 7pm and features our good good buds and Little Dickman recording artists, Dentist.



Joining them on the bill are Las Piñas, a surf duo on tour all the way from Argentina.



Rounding things out for this one is Windsor, Ontario duo, Partner. They describe themselves as post-classic-rock. Whatever they do, it sounds pretty good.



Happy Mondays Presents Nervous Triggers / SHUT UP / biggbutt / The Turnbucklers at Wonder Bar, 7pm, FREE

Over at Wonder Bar, the rejuvenated Happy Mondays series goes punk with sets from Nervous Triggers,



relative newcomers, SHUT UP,



New Jersey grunge-influenced alt rock band, biggbutt,



and tireless, Central Jersey punk trio, The Turnbucklers.



Did I mention that both of these shows are free? Did I mention that they're in walking distance of each other? See you later.

Parquet Courts Played Wonder Bar with Beth Israel, 12/9/16

Parquet Courts

Human Performance

When I saw the announcement that Parquet Courts would be playing Wonder Bar, I got really excited. They're one of those bands I've loved for several years but, for one reason or another, have never gotten a chance to see live. And whenever there's the opportunity to see a band like them without having to hump it into Brooklyn or Manhattan, I jump at it.

This one had an early start for a Friday. Doors at 7. I figured it would be packed, and I'm always early anyway; so I got there just as Wonder Bar were letting people inside. It was about an hour until Philadelphia's Beth Israel took the stage. Onstage, the trio were pretty deadpan and low key. I'd call their sound experimental garage rock, maybe. There were moments of almost poppiness that emerged from the noise. All together it was an interesting and really enjoyable set.

Beth Israel

Beth Israel

Parquet Courts came on at around 9:15 opening with Sunbathing Animal's "Dear Ramona." They progressed through a set that was heavy on selections from this year's fantastic Human Performance but that also included quite a few early favorites like "Borrowed Time," "Master of My Craft," and "Light Up Gold II" from 2012's Light Up Gold.

The three Parquet Courts vocalists each bring a different personality to the band. Guitarist Andrew Savage can be wired and manic on a song like "Paraphrased." Bassist Sean Yeaton goes from wildly swiveling his head while playing to being stoic and mechanical during "I Was Just Here" or when singing some carefully timed backing vocals. Guitarist / keyboard player Austin Brown does kind of a laid-back rap on "Captive of the Sun" or a rhythmic lecture on "One Man No City." There are times when the three sing together; and, for a band whose sound is sometimes built around a calculated messiness, there's a precision to these moments that reveals how much effort Parquet Courts put into their arrangements. Drummer Max Savage is a huge part of the band's sound, taking the songs through varying styles like punk, post punk, and more laid-back indie rock.

Parquet Courts

Parquet Courts

Parquet Courts

The band made several mentions of the fact that this was their first-ever trip to New Jersey. Wonder Bar, as usual, kept the big-screen TVs on at the bar during the entirety of the set. Those are visible from the stage, so that gave the band the opportunity to catch up on whatever basketball game was on during breaks between songs or when dealing with technical issues. They made a few jokes about how New Jersey had lost its basketball team to Brooklyn, even including the line "No Basketball Team / No City" in "One Man No City." They're funny guys, and it made for a fun, communal set.

Things were done by about 10:40; and, I have to say, I could learn to love early shows like that, especially when they're as great as last night's. I've been sleeping too long on seeing Parquet Courts live, and I'll try not to make that mistake again. Looks like their current tour brings them to Philly at the end of January. And let's hope their first trip to Jersey wasn't their last.

Pics are in the Flickr galleries.

Well Wisher Released a Pair of Tracks and Played Wonder Bar with Weakened Friends, Doc Emmett, and The North American, 11/14/16

Last Night, I Said, "I'll Go"

Well Wisher are Natalie Newbold and Erik Kase Romero of dollys along with Mike Linardi of ROMP, Toy Cars, and more. Last night they played their very first show, and it came hot on the heels of the release of their first two singles. Unsurprisingly, Well Wisher display a knack similar to dollys for tightly-crafted pop; but Well Wisher's approach is definitely more power pop / rock and roll.

Well Wisher were joined on last night's bill by Portland, ME's Weakened Friends, Doc Emmett -- a project featuring members of Toy Cars and Goodbye Tiger, and The North American. It was a solid evening of East Coast indie rock and one of the most well-attended Monday nights at Wonder Bar in a while.

Check out the new tracks from Well Wisher...

...and, while you're at it, why not give a listen to the latest from Weakened Friends,

Doc Emmett,

and The North American?



Pics from the evening are on the Facebook page and will be available in the Flickr galleries as soon as Flickr stops sucking.

Tacocats, Dudes York, Sharkmuffins, Primitive Finkses, and Zombies, Asbury Park, 10/1/16

Saturday, Asbury Park, I Think It Was the First of October

Rainy, lazy weekend. I'd been feeling kind of under the weather, and the weather hadn't been helping. I decided to get off my ass, though, and head down to Asbury Park and get some pictures of the 2016 Zombie Walk.

The amount of available parking at around 3pm was pretty amazing to me. I guess the weather kept some people away. There were plenty of zombies prepping by their cars and milling through the Grand Arcade as I made my way over to Beach Bar to catch a bit of Philly surf band, The Primitive Finks. First, though, I stopped by Anchor's Bend to say hi to my friend, Johnny Frana.

Johnny

The Primitive Finks wear rubber monster masks even when it's not the Zombie Walk, so they fit right in with the day's overall theme.

The Primitive Finks

Then, I moved out to the boardwalk to get some shots of zombies. There were lots of people taking pictures.

Jeff Crespi

...and some pretty cool costumes.

I headed back home to fuel up before Saturday night's show at Wonder Bar featuring Tacocat, Dude York (both from Seattle), and Sharkmuffin. The show struck me as a real "Lanes Show" (something I'll probably have to stop thinking now that we've been without Asbury Lanes for a full year), so I was kind of worried what the turnout would be like at Wonder Bar. The overall party atmosphere of the day and the strength of the bill, though, seemed to generate a good amount of walk-up business, which was cool.

Sharkmuffin were playing their first-ever set at Wonder Bar and were impressive. I've really enjoyed watching how they've become part of our little scene here in Asbury Park, playing and supporting local shows while bringing some new faces into the crowds. Our buds from Little Dickman -- local stalwarts -- were there, of course; but so were some of Sharkmuffin's family, Brooklyn friends, and Little Dickman label mates. Just lots of warmth and fun.

Sharkmuffin

I wasn't familiar with Seattle's Dude York before Saturday, but they honestly kind of blew me away. Guitarist Peter Richards and bassist Claire England traded off on lead vocal duties as the band powered through a set of catchy, heavy pop rock. At the end of the set, Richards went audience member to audience member to let everyone who wanted take a turn screaming into the mic.

Dude York

Tacocat, whose album Lost Time has been a favorite of mine this year, brought their tongue-in-cheek approach to some pretty serious issues to what ended up being a relatively packed house. Singer / lead tambourinist, Emily Nokes, is a charismatic emcee, punctuating every beat to every song with her dance moves. She and the rest of the band churn out fun, poppy, punky songs about street harassment, mansplaining, menstruation, girls who love horses, and Dana Scully while the whole crowd bops along.

Tacocat's song "Bridge to Hawaii," which deals with the seasonal affective disorder that can creep up on residents of Seattle, and Peter Richards's "Capitol Hill" button from earlier in the night had me thinking wistfully of all the great moments CoolMom and I had together back when we were living in Seattle in the 1990s.

Tacocat

Just an overall great day and night in Asbury Park. Today is the one-year anniversary of the closure of our beloved Asbury Lanes, and it truly sucks that it's gone. It's easy to get caught up in looking backwards. I do it plenty. But there are still chances to make great memories if you look past the corporate bullshit and the scene bullshit and just focus on the music and, most of all, the people you love.

All the pics from the day are over at the Facebook page and in the Flickr galleries.

Black Mountain Played Wonder Bar with Ruby The Hatchet, 6/28/16 (PHOTOS)

Black Mountain

Asbury Rocked

Vancouver's Black Mountain came to Wonder Bar on Tuesday, June 28th. It was the beginning of a Northeast / Mid-Atlantic leg of their tour that features Philly / New Jersey band Ruby The Hatchet.

The Wonder Bar appears to be undergoing some significant external renovations. I'm not sure if the work necessitated the disabling of the air conditioning system, but the combination of lots of bodies and some hard rock music made for a sweaty evening.

The quasi-local and growing stature of Ruby The Hatchet ensured that the room was packed out early; and the band turned in a wild set of doomy, bluesy rock. Vocalist Jillian Taylor does a great job of conveying the band's occult-inspired vibe onstage, appearing to lose herself as the music swirls around her when she's not singing. Taylor and the rest of the band, though, revert to gracious autograph signers as soon as the music stops; and there were more than a few fans waiting for their chance before the band even left the stage.

Black Mountain had their own set of devotees waiting for them when they took the stage as people held up camera phones or simply clutched albums throughout their set. Stephen McBean and Amber Webber traded vocals over McBean's guitar experiments, heavy doses of psychedelic keyboards, and the inspired drumming of Joshua Wells. The Wonder Bar shook as Black Mountain delivered one of the loudest sets I've heard in a while.

Black Mountain and Ruby The Hatchet head to Philly's Union Transfer tonight before making their way to NYC's Bowery Ballroom on Friday. Check out some of the pics from last night below. The rest are in the Flickr galleries.