Before I get into them, I first need to express my love for the Stone Pony Summer Stage. Inside of the club is nothing short of pure NJ rock history. The walls have posters from previous shows advertising those who have played in the past from legends like Billy Idol, to Jersey icons past an present of both the mainstream and the underground scenes (Bruce, Bon Jovi, Bouncing Souls, Gaslight Anthem, Streetlight Manifesto). Also around the walls include autographed guitars and drums from all the huge rock legends who have played over the years, really just rich with history.
Outside at the "Summer Stage", it is just an amazing environment. The stage faces north, towards the back door of the club (prior to this year it faced east towards the ocean). I love outdoor shows, there is always room to breath despite the size of the crowd. At the Stone Pony, its just great. You're literally across the street from the Asbury Park Boardwalk, and you can clearly see the Atlantic Ocean from where you stand. In the skyline around you can see the hotels, the shell of the Casino and the Carousel, and even at the other end of the boardwalk the Convention Center.
Now for the show, wow. First up was Virginia's The Pietasters. They weren't as good as the last time i saw them down in Baltimore, but still really good. They played mostly songs wasn't familiar with, but they did play "Out All Night", "I Don't Want To Know", and "Freakshow". Their set felt off, probably because of the lack of the keyboard and trumpet players that they had recorded all the songs with, but that's what happens with ska bands. Also, Chris from the Bosstones came out for 2 songs on Trombone.
Second was New Jersey's own Catch-22. Now it should be noted that I and NOT a Catch-22 fan. I only like one post-Keasbey Nights album, their following release, "Alone in a Crowd". I don't even like "Keasbey" much anymore now that Tomas and Streetlight have re-recorded it, so I was not looking forward to them playing anything off that live. Their set was very tolerable. No "Keasbey" songs, a decent amount of "Alone in a Crowd" songs, and the rest i was either not familiar with or don't like (which they for the most part went hand in hand). Overall, I didn't mind them. They seamed a little off, but the trumpet player was a fill-in, which made me more tolerable of the performance. Their singer did I think a great job of balancing both singing and playing sax, not favoring vocals over horns (Like Obi in Westbound Train has been doing recently). But I can't complain about no songs off "Keasbey Nights" and they did play "Bloomfield Ave.", a shout out to my local stomping grounds.
Then....THE MIGHTY MIGHTY BOSSTONES. Oh wow they were great. I was in the front-ish for most of the set. The crowd was great and very friendly. Being outside in the sunset down the shore was just such a good feeling. They, like always, had an amazing performance. Here is what I remember of the set (in order of which they show up on my iTunes)
- Howwhywuz, Howwhyam
- The Cave
- Rudie Can't Fail (Clash Cover)
- Last Dead Mouse
- Don't Know How to Party
- Someday I Suppose
- Holy Smoke
- Tin Soldiers (Closed set with, did tribute to all the Soldiers, and did band intros)
- Mr. Moran
- Everybody's Better
- Noise Brigade (Opening song)
- The Rascal King
- Royal Oil
- The Impression That I Get
- 1-2-8 (Second song of the night)
- Don't Worry Desmond Dekker (Encore song)
- Where'd You Go?
- All Things Considered
- So Sad To Say
- Toxic Toast
- New Song (New Album due out this year!!!!)
I wish they played "Doctor D", "Awfully Quiet", "Devil's Night Out", "Old School Off the Bright", but with 110 songs on my iTunes by them, I can't really expect them to play all the songs I want. Plus they did "The Cave", can't expect more when they do that.
Really just a great set and show overall.
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