Cloaca Melodia

Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ.... The WHTG Snowball.   Here's an interview I did with John Easdale a couple of weeks before this show. Mike: So first, the basics--where are you from originally? John: I grew up in Wayne. Mike: Is that where Dramarama started? John: Yes, everybody in the band was originally from Wayne for the most part--our first couple of drummers were from Wayne, but [later Dramarama drummer and former Blondie drummer] Clem Burke, I guess, is from Union. We were pretty New Jersey based. The four of us who stayed throughout--from the beginning to the end--we all went to the same high school. Mike: Do I remember correctly that you guys had a record store at one point? John: Yeah, actually, Chris Carter--the bass player--and Tommy--who was the sixth member of Dramarama, he was the keyboard player, acoustic guitar player, and background vocalist--they opened a store when they got out of high school called Loony Tunes Records on Route 23. I was their first employee. I use...

Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ..... sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!    

Garden State Arts Center/PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ.... I wrote a contemporaneous review of this concert for injersey.com. Here it is. Sometimes seeing a concert is better in the intimate setting of a nightclub or other smaller room. However, sometimes larger venues--while still not ideal--can contribute small touches which can make a show more fascinating to watch. Seeing Tori Amos perform at the Arts Center held several such unintentional touches--like the fireflies which occasionally buzzed in from the wooded areas which surround the amphitheater, blinking on and off like nature's contribution to Tori's light show. The show was also full of intentional details which distinguished it from previous New Jersey performances--to date, Tori had only played indoor halls, like the Count Basie Theater (Red Bank) and the State Theater (New Brunswick). The Arts Center, with its soaring ceiling, expansive stage, and combination seating (the actual seats plus the lawn area), was a...

The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ.... Ween was billed as The Jimmy Wilson Group. I'm certain this was the date I saw them (although they did perform on this date). I recall them playing two McCartney/Wings songs, and the show went of for a good while. Very good time.

PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ...... I wrote about this show for injersey.com when I was a music and movie writer for them. Here's my review. Jackson Brown made a triumphant and nostalgic return to New Jersey with a show at the PNC Bank Arts Center. And Browne's fans were out in force to see the man responsible for beloved '70s hits like "Doctor My Eyes" and "Running On Empty." Despite rain earlier in the day, even the lawn area was thick with concertgoers. You have to give a guy like Browne a lot of credit. Even though most of the audience was coming for his classics, Browne wasn't about to turn his show into a greatest-hits parade. He put out a new album earlier this year, Looking East , which combines the personal committment and mellow charm of his '70s output with a high-tech, '90s feel (the CD of Looking East is available with flashy enhancements of interactive text, words, and pictures for your computer). And yet, Browne is no cran...

Mighty Mighty Bosstones/Fishbone/NOFX/Pennywise/Dance Hall Crashers/Goldfinger/fluf/1000 Mona Lisas/Blink 182 Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ..... More so than any show I've been to in recent memory, this concert was not focused so much on the songs as it was on the performances. Most of the time when you go to a show, you're primarily motivated by an interest in one or many of the artist's songs. Concerts by jam-bands like the Grateful Dead or most blues musicians, on the other hand, are more performance oriented. You go to see the performance of the entire show more than simply to hear that song in a live setting. That's why Deadheads could stomach going to umpty-ump shows by the same band. This evening headlined by the Butthole Surfers at Convention Hall turned out--surprisingly--to be more of a performance show. Although certainly many concertgoers were motivated to go by some individual songs (notably the several popular singles by The Toadies or the Butthole's current hit "Pepper"), the real story was the sheer intensity of the Rev. Horton Heat's rockab...

Garden State Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ.... Here's a contemporaneous review I wrote for injersey.com: The tour was named "Summerland," after the song of the same name on Everclear's Sparkle and Fade album. It's the song that obviously has a lot of meaning to the band--not only the tour but the album itself gets its name from the song. It sure works as a tour name. The lyrics "Let's just leave this place/and go to Summerland/Just a name on the map/sounds like heaven to me" are perfect for the package tour, Everclear's movable feast of music. And doesn't "sparkle and fade" describe any concert? Glittery and dazzling while experienced, but fading into the memory of those who participated... Opening up the four-band bill was Atlantic Records artist 7 Year Bitch, a female punk foursome. The amphitheater was still fairly empty and the setting sun was still shining brightly as 7 Year Bitch took the stage. Despite the audience apathy in the ...

Donovan's Reef, Sea Bright, NJ.... It was a benefit concert for the Sea Bright Dune Grass Committee called Dunesday. It was an all-ages benefit with mostly local bands going from noon to 8 PM. Headlining was the Australian band Frente! (that's Angie and Simon from Frente! with me in the picture below), and also performing were Brian Kirk and the Jirks, Love Pumps, Makers of Fine Clocks, Kid with Man Head, Jump the Gun, Mr. Greengenes, The Velcrows, Night Fever, Buck Fifty, Rope Tree, No Luggage, AWOL, September Child, and The Discontent.  

Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ.... Poe was supposed to perform but she got sick. Here's a contemporaneous review I wrote for injersey.com: Seeing a show at The Tradewinds while the summer is in full swing--when everything is open and place is humming with people--is sort of like the Jersey Shore's answer to Disneyland. With the waterfall, fountain and faux rock formations, and the multiple bars, building facades, and all the colors--it gives a show an extra festive dimension. The crowd was thick at The Tradewinds for the Seven Mary Three concert, and many of the audience members looked ready to get hit with a loud dose of rock 'n' roll. Likely if any band could make the crowd forget the festive environment, Seven Mary Three would be it. But despite the pumped fans, Seven Mary Three gave an uneven performance which was merely adequate--with high and low points which were both higher and lower than most concerts. Lead singer Jason Ross has an annoying tendency to scream lyric...

Metro Lounge/Cheers/Hooligans/Gemini Lounge, Long Branch, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ.... I remember Lach playing " Ain't It the Most " as some people were talking over his performance and ignoring him.

Surf Club, Ortley Beach, NJ.... Surfstock 3. Joan Jett was MC for the show.

Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Sidewalk Cafe, New York, NY sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!