Review: Wave Gathering 2009

How do you review a festival that is 3 days and has over 180 bands playing in over 20 venues in a one mile radius of Asbury Park?

It’s not easy.

I love the Wave Gathering, now in it’s fourth year of showcasing bands, both local and touring. It’s just barely controlled chaos, and with the weather this year, at times uncontrollable chaos.

It’s a place where I get to see old friends, and make new ones. Really, that’s one of the most compelling aspects of the Wave Gathering (besides the amazing live bands performing), is getting to talk to musicians and music fans, some that I’ve known for years, some that I just met over the course of the weekend.

You see this isn’t one of those fests where bands show up, play their set, and then go home, nor is it a fest where people come just to see the bands they know. Everyone hangs out trying to soak in as much music as they can. In chatting with people I got a myriad of suggestions of bands I had not seen before that I should try to catch, and while I didn’t love every band I saw, I was thankful for the opportunity to see many bands I don’t get to see.

In running into musicians, the two phrases I think I said most often during the Wave Gathering:

“When/where are you playing?”

And

“Sorry I missed your set.”

With there often being 4 or more bands playing in different venues simultaneously, I think I said the second statement a lot.

While it’s impossible to see all 180+ bands, I did manage to catch quite a few including:

Bobby Strange, Domenick Carino, Shane Cooley, Colie Brice, The Creetons, The Milwaukees, Christian Beach, Howard Jennings, Joe Whyte, Anthony Fiumano & Tommy Strazza, Christine Martucci, Matt O’Ree, Cook, Outside The Box, The Reveling, Val Emmich, Red Wanting Blue, Sam Sims, Status Green, Joshua Van Ness, Deena & The Laughing Boys, Avi Wisnia, Lisa Bianco, George Wirth, Second Dan, The Bloodsugars, Anthony Fiumano & The Medicine Chest, Wellbaby, Alex Brumel & Janel Elizabeth, The Soul Project, Ken Shane, Jo Wymer, Joe Harvard, Arlan Feiles, Alice Leon, Rock Wilk Word, Tommy Fuller, The Amboys, Christine Kelly, Twice (Jaymie Gerard & Geb Zurburg), Mike Black, Luke Brindley, Rick Barry, Quincy Mumford, Bess Rogers, Stacie Rose, Danny White, Jeannie O’Neill & Thomas Martin, Tunnels To Holland, and several acts whose names I didn’t catch (note to bands: you are playing a festival, say your name after every couple of songs.)

Before I get into a day by day breakdown, I think it’s important to take a moment to recognize the people who work so hard to make this fest happen. As someone who has helped put together outdoor festivals I know a lot of work goes into the planning and the execution. The organizers of the Wave Gathering, as well as everyone else involved, those working at the badge check in, people working the door, people running sound (many in venues that don’t generally have bands), people posting signs with updates of who is playing where, etc…, many people make the Wave Gathering what it is, and it’s important to say thanks to all of them.

THANKS!



Friday night was a gorgeous evening, and Cookman Ave. looked so alive with many bands playing outdoors.

I got to see Bobby Strange outside of Paranormal Books, Domenick Carino inside of Synaxis, Shane Cooley played at both Plan B and America‘s Cup, Colie Brice with an amazing band at Market In The Middle, The Creetons outside of B Unique Clothing, The Milwaukees at The Saint, Christian Beach at Twisted Tree Cafe, Howard Jennings and Joe Whyte at Old Man Rafferty‘s, and closed out the evening at Synaxis with a set from Anthony Fiumano & Tommy Strazza.

All of these acts were amazing, but I think I was most impressed by two acts I had never seen before that are at the opposite end of the musical spectrum.

The Creetons with their fiercely entertaining punk rock set, and later that night, the rootsy upbeat folk-rock of Christian Beach (accompanied by mandolin and percussion).

Mix all that great music with a nice meal at Old Man Rafferty’s, and it was a great start to the festival.



Saturday I arrived just in time to catch the end of Christine Martucci’s set at the outdoor stage on Cookman Avenue. I love the fact that they closed off Cookman Avenue and tried to create a street fair environment on Saturday. And while there was some rain, there was some sunshine too (most notably during Val Emmich’s set). Hopefully next year the weather will be nicer, and with a few modifications (which I’ll get to later in my review), this could be a huge part of the fest. Not that they still didn’t get several hundred people out there in the crappy weather, but had it been good weather I think it would have been several thousand.

Also on the outdoor stage I saw sets from Matt O’Ree, Outside The Box, The Reveling, Val Emmich, and Red Wanting Blue.

Unfortunately, there were no other official Wave Gathering shows going on during Saturday afternoon, but Twisted Tree Café did have an open-mic going on where I caught some music by Cook, Sam Sims, and a wonderfully talented young woman who I later found out from Gary Wien (The Penguin, NewJerseyStage.com) was Emily Grove. Again, if you are playing a festival it’s a good idea to say your name frequently between songs. I was in Twisted Tree for at least a half hour (eating their wonderful food), and didn’t hear her mention her name once.

I also caught Bobby Strange playing outside of Paranormal Books again, this time with a special guest “jamming” with Bobby on wind instruments. This “free spirited” woman certainly did make the set “interesting”.

When I got back out to watch Status Green on the outdoor stage, I found out the rain moved them into Mattison Park, a venue way too small for a bands as popular as Status Green. Feeling like I was packed in like a sardine, I ultimately stood outside and enjoyed several of their songs from across the street where you could still hear them fine.

The evening began, and the Wave Gathering returned to be all over the place. I caught Joshua Van Ness at Synaxis, Deena & The Laughing Boys at America‘s Cup, Avi Wisnia at the Annex at the Brickwall (which is way too dark an narrow a venue for my tastes), Lisa Bianco at Market In The Middle, George Wirth at America‘s Cup, Second Dan at Plan B, The Bloodsugars and Anthony Fiumano & The Medicine Chest at The Saint, Wellbaby at America‘s Cup, and closed out the evening back at Synaxis for Alex Brumel & Janel Elizabeth.

The real highlights for me were Second Dan (technically just lead singer Dan Rosen), where I had a rare opportunity to hear the band’s songs stripped down, and Anthony Fiumano & The Medicine Chest who did the opposite, by taking his acoustic songs and making them band songs. This turned out far better than expected, and allowed Anthony to take on a different stage persona then he would for an acoustic set. For the set he really became a frontman, and not just a singer-songwriter with a band.



Sunday saw me return to the Wave Gathering in time to catch The Soul Project‘s jazz brunch at Market In The Middle. It was more of a New Orleans funky rock brunch for the Wave crowd.

Then it was on to Synaxis to see Ken Shane, Plan B for a set from Jo Wymer, back to Synaxis for Joe Harvard, over to Twisted Tree Café for another yummy sandwich and a sets by Arlan Feiles and Alice Leon. From there I went to the Saint and caught Rock Wilk Word, a spoken word artist. I like spoken word, but I was looking for rock, and that wasn’t it. Maybe next year a separate stage for spoken word acts so I know what I’m getting into when I go there.

Back to Cookman Ave. and outside of Carmine’s for some of Tommy Fuller‘s set, the back to the Saint for The Amboys.

I was going to head out to catch Twice in front of Carmine’s but the pouring rain told me that wasn’t happening. A few phone calls (thanks Gary!) and I found out Twice was moved to America’s Cup.

I arrived at the Cup in time to catch the end of Christine Kelly‘s set, and then saw Twice (Jaymie Gerard & Geb Zurburg) and Mike Black.

Then it was over to the Showroom to catch the latter part of the Writers In Progress featuring Luke Brindley, Rick Barry, Quincy Mumford, and Bess Rogers.

I went back to Twisted Tree Café for more great food and sets by Stacie Rose, Danny White, and Jeannie O’Neill & Thomas Martin.

And ended my night at The Saint with a set from Tunnels To Holland.

The highlights for me Sunday was the electrifying set by The Amboys, and my first opportunity to see Twice, an amazing duo made up of singer-songwriter Jaymie Gerard, and Echofission frontman Geb Zurburg. Both The Amboys and Twice I look forward to seeing again soon.



As much as I do enjoy the Wave Gathering (and if it's not apparent from everything I have already said above, I love the Wave Gathering!), I do have some constructive criticism.

For some reason Live Nation venues (Paramount Theatre, Stone Pony, and Wonder Bar) were not a part of the festival this year. I do not know why the venues were not a part of the fest (although my suspicion is that Live Nation opted not to be included), but I think it would be good for everyone if they are. I hope Live Nation venues return to the fest next year.

Without those afore mentioned venues, there were very few venues that were not on Cookman Avenue. The Saint is only a couple of block walk from Cookman Avenue on a main, busy street, but the 2 venues on the boardwalk and the even more isolated Asbury Lanes, seemed too far away from where the bulk of the performances were. This kept me from seeing the bands that were at the Lanes, Langosta Lounge, or the Watermark. I hope next year with the inclusion of the Live Nation venues that there will be more of a reason to head to that part of Asbury Park.

Also missing this year was the shuttle bus they had last year, which would have made it easier to access the Lanes and the boardwalk.

The outdoor festival on Cookman Avenue on Saturday was a lot of fun, despite the rainy weather, but there are several things they can do to make this better next year.

First, they only had the one stage operating from noon until 6pm, with no other events going on. That's six hours with only one option for who to see. I totally understand that the organizers wanted people to enjoy the outdoor festival, but some of the bands that played on the outdoor stage weren't really my cup of tea. Thankfully, Twisted Tree Cafe had an open-mic going on where I saw some great musicians when the main stage bored me, but having other shows going on simultaneously, as they do the rest of the fest, would have been better.

Also, if you are going to only have one stage for music at one end of Cookman Avenue, it's best not to spread out the food vendors for several blocks. Pack them all in as close to the stage as you can. The vendors more than a block from the stage were totally being ignored, because most people were not walking that far from the stage (and who could blame them since that's where all the music was happening).

A better solution would be to have two stages, one at each end of Cookman, giving people a reason to walk the full length, and adding more musical options.

And lastly, please don’t put mellow singer-songwriters on late at night. People are already tired so no matter how good a singer-songwriter is, it’s just too mellow for that hour. A perfect example was Alex Brumel & Janel Elizabeth, who played at 11pm. They are an amazing duo, but several people came over to me telling me that while they liked their music they were leaving because the mellow music wasn’t helping them stay awake. Mellow early, rock late…always a good rule of thumb.



Despite my constructive criticism, the Wave Gathering remains my favorite music festival. There is no better way for a music fan to spend 3 days then in Asbury Park during the Wave Gathering.

I’m already looking forward to the 5th anniversary next summer!


www.wavegathering.com


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