Fastlane 1/27/07 (Readymade Breakup, Hero Pattern, Chris Brown, Rick Barry/Days Awake)
On Saturday night my wife and I went down to the newly re-opened Fastlane in Asbury Park. It had been a long time since I'd last been inside the Fastlane (I believe the last show I saw there had Mr. Reality and Outcry on the bill). It didn't look the same as I remembered, but it certainly didn't look bad. It was spacious, which is a good thing, except maybe to the bands playing, as a crowd that would have made a venue like the Saint look crowded, didn't make the Fastlane look busy.
We arrived while the first act of the night was on stage. I believe her name was Kiki, and she was a R&B songstress backed by a drummer, and a keyboardist who also played programmed loops and pre-recorded backing vocals. While I'm not a huge fan of her particular style of music, I think she and her "band" were really good at their sound.
Following her were a band, whose name I did not catch, that incorporated acoustic and electric guitars, along with percussion. The vocalist of this band had limited range, and every song sounded more or less the same, so to say they weren't interesting to me is to be polite. Even worse, after they had been told to do one more song by the soundguy, they finished the song and asked to do one more. The soundguy relented, putting the show even further behind schedule and hurting another band later in the evening.
Continuing the diversity of the early part of the evening, next up was a solo acoustic artist named Chris Brown. This Chris Brown, not to be confused with a more well known R&B/hip-hop artist, had all the elements of a good singer/songwriter, and was the polar opposite of the previous act. Excellent voice with lots of range, and catchy songs to go with it. I'd love to find out where he's playing next, or if he has a CD out, but alas, I didn't get to talk to him after his set, and I can't find his website (thanks to Google bringing up every site for that other Chris Brown).
During Chris' set the venue started to fill in, so by the time Hero Pattern took to the stage there was a decent crowd in the place (although because of the size, it still appeared to be pretty empty). I have watched Hero Pattern grow over the years, and what they have become is one of the most entertaining indie-rockers in the NJ music scene. Their songs are fast, catchy, upbeat rockers that make me want to pogo up and down and sing along. Over the years they've also developed some great stage presence which just adds to the rock show experience.
Following their set was the equally fun and energetic indie-pop-rockers, Readymade Breakup. They played a few cuts from their new CD, "isn't that what it's for?" (which you should all buy immediately, as it's the best album I've heard thus far this year...ok, I know we're not even a full month into the year, but I am pretty sure this album will hold up and make my top 20 list at the end of 2007). They also resurrected and reworked, "tired", a song from their early days that I always enjoyed.
The only downside to their set was 4 songs in they were told by the soundguy that they could only do one more song. I know the show was behind schedule, but seeing as there was a pretty good sized crowd there to see them, only letting them play a 20 minute set was a jip, especially for anyone who paid the $10 cover just to see Readymade Breakup. Thankfully, the crowd chanting, "1 more song" after that, shamed the soundguy into letting them play one more song. Believe me, I know what it's like to want to stay on schedule with a show, but don't blame a band that had nothing to do with the delays, and actually made life easier by sharing a lot of the same backline that Hero Pattern had already set up.
As if to add insult to injury, all the bands had taken around 20 minutes (or less) to set up their gear (which is the norm, from my dealings with booking shows). The last band, Rick Barry & Days Awake, took over 40 minutes to set up, and the band had 2 crew members with them to help setting up. By the time they finally did start playing, more than half of the crowd that had been there had left.
Now let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Rick Barry's solo performances. I've seen him solo on numerous occasions and never been disappointed. I've also seen him play with his band, The Mourning After, and it's not nearly as enticing as his solo performances, but isn't flat out boring. Seeing him playing with Days Awake, I am sorry to say that I was quite frankly bored. The songs seemed to lack the feeling, and energy that makes them so good during solo performances, and the opening cover of the Bealtes, "revolution no. 9", left me totally unimpressed. A few songs later I realized it was time to call it a night. I had high hopes that the collaboration of Rick with Days Awake would be something good, but sometimes taking two things that work well separately, just do not work as well together.
On Saturday night my wife and I went down to the newly re-opened Fastlane in Asbury Park. It had been a long time since I'd last been inside the Fastlane (I believe the last show I saw there had Mr. Reality and Outcry on the bill). It didn't look the same as I remembered, but it certainly didn't look bad. It was spacious, which is a good thing, except maybe to the bands playing, as a crowd that would have made a venue like the Saint look crowded, didn't make the Fastlane look busy.
We arrived while the first act of the night was on stage. I believe her name was Kiki, and she was a R&B songstress backed by a drummer, and a keyboardist who also played programmed loops and pre-recorded backing vocals. While I'm not a huge fan of her particular style of music, I think she and her "band" were really good at their sound.
Following her were a band, whose name I did not catch, that incorporated acoustic and electric guitars, along with percussion. The vocalist of this band had limited range, and every song sounded more or less the same, so to say they weren't interesting to me is to be polite. Even worse, after they had been told to do one more song by the soundguy, they finished the song and asked to do one more. The soundguy relented, putting the show even further behind schedule and hurting another band later in the evening.
Continuing the diversity of the early part of the evening, next up was a solo acoustic artist named Chris Brown. This Chris Brown, not to be confused with a more well known R&B/hip-hop artist, had all the elements of a good singer/songwriter, and was the polar opposite of the previous act. Excellent voice with lots of range, and catchy songs to go with it. I'd love to find out where he's playing next, or if he has a CD out, but alas, I didn't get to talk to him after his set, and I can't find his website (thanks to Google bringing up every site for that other Chris Brown).
During Chris' set the venue started to fill in, so by the time Hero Pattern took to the stage there was a decent crowd in the place (although because of the size, it still appeared to be pretty empty). I have watched Hero Pattern grow over the years, and what they have become is one of the most entertaining indie-rockers in the NJ music scene. Their songs are fast, catchy, upbeat rockers that make me want to pogo up and down and sing along. Over the years they've also developed some great stage presence which just adds to the rock show experience.
Following their set was the equally fun and energetic indie-pop-rockers, Readymade Breakup. They played a few cuts from their new CD, "isn't that what it's for?" (which you should all buy immediately, as it's the best album I've heard thus far this year...ok, I know we're not even a full month into the year, but I am pretty sure this album will hold up and make my top 20 list at the end of 2007). They also resurrected and reworked, "tired", a song from their early days that I always enjoyed.
The only downside to their set was 4 songs in they were told by the soundguy that they could only do one more song. I know the show was behind schedule, but seeing as there was a pretty good sized crowd there to see them, only letting them play a 20 minute set was a jip, especially for anyone who paid the $10 cover just to see Readymade Breakup. Thankfully, the crowd chanting, "1 more song" after that, shamed the soundguy into letting them play one more song. Believe me, I know what it's like to want to stay on schedule with a show, but don't blame a band that had nothing to do with the delays, and actually made life easier by sharing a lot of the same backline that Hero Pattern had already set up.
As if to add insult to injury, all the bands had taken around 20 minutes (or less) to set up their gear (which is the norm, from my dealings with booking shows). The last band, Rick Barry & Days Awake, took over 40 minutes to set up, and the band had 2 crew members with them to help setting up. By the time they finally did start playing, more than half of the crowd that had been there had left.
Now let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Rick Barry's solo performances. I've seen him solo on numerous occasions and never been disappointed. I've also seen him play with his band, The Mourning After, and it's not nearly as enticing as his solo performances, but isn't flat out boring. Seeing him playing with Days Awake, I am sorry to say that I was quite frankly bored. The songs seemed to lack the feeling, and energy that makes them so good during solo performances, and the opening cover of the Bealtes, "revolution no. 9", left me totally unimpressed. A few songs later I realized it was time to call it a night. I had high hopes that the collaboration of Rick with Days Awake would be something good, but sometimes taking two things that work well separately, just do not work as well together.