Cloaca Melodia

Catherine Wheel/Letters to Cleo/Shelter/Firewater/Evelyn Forever Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ Photo: FM 106.3 staff onstage at the Snowball. L to R, Jennifer Saunders, "Sportsguy" Glenn Vistica, me, Maryelizabeth.

Convention Hall, Asbury Park, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Irving Plaza, New York, NY My WHTG colleague Glenn Vistica urged me to come along to this show. I knew the New York alt-country band The Hangdogs (especially their song "Fools Rush In"), but neither of the other bands on the bill. But I figured, ok, why not? The Hangdogs were good, so my night was made. Then Whiskeytown came out on stage, with their sprawling richness of sound and entrancing melodies. The lineup of the band was then Ryan Adams and Ed Crawford on guitars, Caitlin Cary on fiddle, Jenni Snyder on bass, Skillet Gilmore on drums, and Mike Daly as the multi-instrumentalist. I didn't know it then, but the band's lineup was in a state of flux. Apart from Adams and Cary, the band members on their latest album Stranger's Almanac were no longer in the group; Adams and Cary had just done a few shows as an acoustic duo amidst rumors that the band was breaking up, and this concert was one of the first with the newly recruited players (I also didn't realiz...

Giants Stadium, E. Rutherford, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY setlist: Be Here Now Stay Young Stand By Me Supersonic Some Might Say Roll With It D'You Know What I Mean Magic Pie Don't Look Back In Anger Don't Go Away Wonderwall Live Forever It's Gettin' Better (Man!!) Champagne Supernova Fade In-Out All Around The World Encore: Acquiesce external review: review by Peter Vamos for Jam! Showbiz >> In the intimate confines of the beautiful and ornate Hammerstein Ballroom in New York's Chelsea district, Oasis, the self-proclaimed "world's greatest band" arrived Tuesday night with only one goal in mind. To crank out their biggest and best tunes at such a volume that they crack the molded plaster lining the place. Playing the first of two nights in what will be their only headlining gigs in North America this year, the band thundered through most of their popular numbers, including Supersonic, Roll With It, Live Forever, Champagne Supernova and Wonderwall. Guitarist/songwrit...

Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ Catherine Wheel exploded onto the music world in 1992 with a 7-minute rock opus called "Black Metallic." This song synthesized the dance-rock of the Stone Roses, the moody riffing of Sisters of Mercy, and the simplified indie coarseness of the Jesus & Mary Chain into one epic expression of loosely-opaque lyrics. Its effect was anthemic on the alt-rock crowd, still reeling in the months after "Smells Like Teen Spirit" has dashed previous anthems to splinters. The band recognized the power of returning to full volume after its 90-second breakdown section, which stripped everything down to drums plus a little lead guitar and vocal noodling. The crashing conclusion of this breakdown was the song's secret weapon, the stunning amendment to the dance-rock Constitution put forth by the Stone Roses and ultimately the missing ingredient to "Fools Gold." I never had a chance to see the band live during the years immediately followin...

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

Surf Club, Ortley Beach, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY A broadcast for MTV's Live at the 10 Spot . setlist: Karma Police The Bends Exit Music Subterranean Homesick Alien My Iron Lung No Surprises Bones Paranoid Android Fake Plastic Trees Street Spirit

Birch Hill, Old Bridge, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Neil Young & Crazy Horse/Toad the Wet Sprocket/Soul Coughing/Squirrel Nut Zippers/Ween PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ Neil Young's setlist: Hey Hey, My My Crime in the City Hippie Dream Jam Big Time From Hank to Hendrix The Needle and the Damage Done Ohio Throw Your Hatred Down Rockin' in the Free World Sedan Delivery encore: Mansion On The Hill

Surf Club/Planet Surf, Ortley Beach, NJ sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Birch Hill, Old Bridge, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Mighty Mighty Bosstones/Social Distortion/Pennywise/Blink 182/Reel Big Fish/Less Than Jake Bradley Park, Asbury Park, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show -- coming soon!

Sarah MacLachlin, The Cardigans, Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple, Paula Cole, Juliana Hatfield, Once Blue, and Victoria Williams PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ Sheik performed with a second guitarist, a bass player, and a percussionist. The sound mix was terrific. Very mellow, yet you could hear every note... As a sidebar, here's a 1996 interview I did with Sheik on his birthday (11/18): Mike: One of the things I love about your album is it's not just great music--songs, I mean--but also it's such a great sonic environment. Was that the kind of thing you heard in your head when you were composing the songs, or was this something that evolved in the studio? Duncan: Well, definitely my aesthetic comes from people like Brian Eno or David Sylvian or the later Talk Talk records. Whether they're electronically produced or they're acoustic-instrument produced, I still like these things that sound really organic and moody and have their own kind of darkness. That's always been a really important part of creating recordings for me. Mike: So when you have something like in "Reasons For Livin...

Coney Island High, New York, NY This show was apparently part of the Intel New York Music Festival.

Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ In the afternoon, Better Than Ezra popped by WHTG and did an acoustic version of "Desperately Wanting" on the air. That evening I was the M.C. for the show. Before their performances, I chatted backstage with Ednaswap and was given a CD by Knockout Drops. post continues.... Although their performance was good, BTE had a touch of the rock star attitude. When I went backstage and told them I was supposed to introduce them, they merely waved me to their tour manager to set up the details. After the show, I tried to chat with them a little and they just seemed kind of bored. It was a weeknight, which was always tricky since I was on the air at 6am the next morning. I ended up only getting 3 hours of sleep before my hated alarm clock went off the next morning...

The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ this is not the correct date for this show.

The Saint, Asbury Park, NJ billed as The Jimmy Wilson Group

John Easdale/Jill Sobule/Burlap to Cashmere/Coward/My Drug Hell/Weston/Holy Hand Grenade Surf Club/Planet Surf, Ortley Beach, NJ Below is a contemporaneous review of this show I wrote for injersey.com. post continues.... Surfstock 4, the July 4th concert at the Surf Club in Ortley Beach, was a worthy successor to the fine previous shows on the beach. This year, sponsoring radio station FM 106.3 selected bands to give the show a well-rounded diversity of styles, and the approach seemed to work well for most audience members. The whole of Surfstock was greater than the sum of its parts, and each performer contributed a great deal to the fun and energy of the event. Not only was the music terrific, but the atmosphere was appropriately party-like. The weather was ideal, the crowd was eager and receptive, and the bands and artists themselves were largely accessible to fans--most of the performers strolled around the beach when they weren't on stage, gladly signing autographs or simply c...

Paramount Theater, Asbury Park, NJ   setlist for Sinead O'Connor :   The Emperor's New Clothes  Your Spirit Sings  I Am Stretched on Your Grave  Only one way to be free  Englishman John  I love you  This is to mother you  Sign to you ??  Thank you for loving me + Last day of our acquaintance  In this heart (my love)  She's changing ??  I am something ?  He moved through the fair  ( source )     

Iggy Pop/Tonic/Sponge/Rev. Horton Heat/Bloodhound Gang/Puzzle Gut Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ Photo : Emerson Hart of Tonic performs on the Stone Pony stage.

Beastie Boys/Bjork/Radiohead/Foo Fighters/U2/Sonic Youth/Alanis Morissette/Patti Smith/The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion/Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals/Rancid/Pavement/Blur/Michael Stipe & Mike Mills/Taj Mahal/De La Soul/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones/Eddie Vedder & Mike McCready/KRS-ONE/Noel Gallagher/Porno for Pyros Downing Stadium, Randall's Island, New York, NY sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ Goddamn, I wanted to hate Third Eye Blind live. At WHTG, we were playing "Semi Charmed Life" quite a bit and listeners really dug it. Hell, I dug it. Before this show, we had set up a meet & greet with some contest winners. The opening act, Long Island rockers Coward, were terrific guys--very friendly and personable to us station people and our listeners. One of our contest winners was in a wheelchair, and the Coward boys took an extra minute to give this listener some attention. post continues.... By contrast, the members of Third Eye Blind looked and acted as if they just woke up and wanted to be elsewhere. Which may well have been true, but hey, guys: suck it up. Your duly-appointed representatives made a commitment for you to greet some listeners, so do your duty, if not with a smile, at least without a grimace. They also ignored the listener in the wheelchair. Jackasses. So I was all set to hate their performance. But, I had to admit, they ...

Birch Hill, Old Bridge, NJ Sweet's setlist : "Come to California," "Get Older," "Divine Intervention," "Walk Out," "Winona," "Into Your Drug," "Girlfriend," "Back to You," "Someone to Pull the Trigger," "Over It," "Time Capsule," "Until You Break," "I've Been Waiting," "Hollow," "Where You Get Love," "Sick of Myself," "Evangeline," "We're the Same," "Do Ya," "I Almost Forgot," "Thought I Knew You," "Does She Talk?," "Moonage Daydream," "Holy War" ( source )

Beck/Cheap Trick/Toad the Wet Sprocket/Luscious Jackson/Matthew Sweet/Kula Shaker/Paula Cole/James/Huffamoose/The Caulfields/Matchbox 20/Space/Sqirrel Nut Zippers/Reel Big Fish/that dog. E-Center, Camden, NJ sorry, Mike has not yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!

Stone Pony, Asbury Park, NJ Here's an interview I did right before this Stone Pony concert, originally for injersey.com: Reel Big Fish is not just a band--it's an addiction. Their songs are quite catchy, and their style is hugely entertaining--it sounds like a bunch of guys having a great party, and you can't help wanting to crash it. It's hard not to get involved in the loopy sense of fun. The band plays a ska-punk blend, similar to labelmates Goldfinger. Unlike their friends in Goldfinger, though, Reel Big Fish includes not only the traditional rock instruments of guitar (Aaron Barrett, who's also the lead singer), bass (Matt Wong), and drums (Andrew Gonzales), but also two trumpet players (Scott Klopfenstein and Tavis Werts) and two trombonists (Grant Barry and Dan Regan). In 1995, Reel Big Fish put out a local record, Everything Sucks, in their native Southern California, and were quickly signed to Mojo Records soon after. Their latest effort is Turn the Radio O...

Mercury Lounge, New York, NY setlist: Rescue Bedbugs & Ballyhoo Altamont People Are Strange I Want To Be There (When You Come) Back Of Love The Killing Moon I'll Fly Tonight Just A Touch Away The Cutter Evergreen Lips Like Sugar Over The Wall Nothing Lasts Forever Do It Clean

Birch Hill, Old Bridge, NJ I met coworkers Jon, Betsy, and I believe also Amy to grab a bite before going to see the Femmes. However, by the time we got to the Birch Hill the place was absolutely packed, wall-to-wall. As a matter of fact, it was uncomfortably packed. Probably fire-code-violating packed. post continues.... After just a few songs, we all decided it would be best to head out of there. That was easier said than done, and it took awhile to accomplish. We eventually made out way to a door to the back patio, and from there to the connecting door to the dance club at the Birch Hill site. So we busted a move through the sparsely-populated dance floor to get to the main entrance and fled the scene. Disappointing not to see the whole set, but due to the enormous time it took to move through the crowd, we likely saw at least have the set despite our decision to depart.

Tradewinds, Sea Bright, NJ I haven't yet written about this show... feel free to add your own recollections if you were at this show!

Continental Arena, E. Rutherford, NJ sorry, I haven't yet written about this show... add your own comments if you were also there!