Review: Wave Gathering 2007
The Wave Gathering kicked my ass.
Running (or driving) around from venue to venue, left me tired and spent mid-way through the 3 day event, but the music experience was well worth it.
This is the 2nd year for the Wave Gathering, and it's line-up expanded from around 80 acts last year to over 160 this year. And as much fun as seeing all the great music is, another big part of this festival is just running into everyone from the local NJ music scene. It's events like this that help solidify an actual scene, and where you make new friends and run into old friends alike. The Wave Gathering is the local music scene equivalent of a family Thanksgiving dinner, only with lots of music instead of turkey. Actually, it's kind of like a buffet Thanksgiving dinner, with lots of musical entrees to choose from, and like any good buffet, you enjoy a little bit of everything.
For me, the experience began this year with running into James Dalton (aka jpat), at the Wonder Bar for badge check-in. This year, in addition to getting the badge and a schedule/guide book, each person got a swag bag. As with CMJ, I will now list the contents of the swag bag (plastic bag supplied by Jack's Music Shoppe):
a poster for Aarius Studios
the current issue of the Aquarian
pamphlet for Fuchs Audio Technology
the Aquarian Weekly Music Directory 2007 (which did not list BlowUpRadio.com for some reason...shame on them)
a flyer for Jack's Music Shoppe
a flyer for a CD & Record show
a Breaking Benjamin magnet
2 butterfinger crisp minis
Indie Tracks CD (Fontana Distribution)
Eclectic Acts CD (Fontana Distribution)
Kemado Records sampler CD
After placing the swag bag in my car, jpat and I hopped over to the Twisted Tree Cafe for dinner. I love the Twisted Tree Cafe, because they have lots of great vegetarian meals that are fresh and great tasting. Anyone who knows jpat knows he is outgoing and chatty so soon we were a table of 4 and sitting around shooting the breeze until the first act of the night began, Eren Cannata. Backed by a second acoustic guitar and an electric bass, Eren was a great start to the fest. Really catchy laid back acoustic pop.
From there I ran into Gary Wien from Upstage Magazine and wandered over to Jake & Lucy's to see Mable, a band I had been told I had to see several times by Divine Sign, but had not had a chance to see yet. It was no surprise that when Gary and I entered Jake & Lucy's, that Divine Sign were sitting there watching Mable play some country influenced acoustic pop. Finally I got to see what Divine Sign was talking about.
And that is another great thing about the Wave Gathering, it's not just seeing the acts that you know you love, it's getting to see new acts like Eren Cannata, and Mable, who can now count me among their fans.
Next it was back to the Twisted Tree Cafe to see Luke Brindley, who I had the pleasure of seeing last year at World Cafe Live, and raving about in a review of that show. Tonight he played to a much smaller crowd, but no less appreciative of Luke's music. When he broke into, "Saturday night", a song which always becomes a sing-along at his live shows, I think I was initially the only one willing to sing along (when instructed), but by the 3rd chorus, everyone joined in.
As Luke broke into his last song I realized it was already after 10pm and I darted down to the Brickwall to catch Jason Stanley. Jason used to front the band Outcry, who back in the 90's I saw very frequently. These days Jason plays out once a year at the Wave Gathering, and that's about it. It's a shame, because he's a very talented singer/songwriter. This year he pulled out a couple of old Outcry tunes (this side of anywhere, and fall), some stuff from his J's Kitchen/Gypsy Cab Drivers days, as well as some newer songs. All sounded great, except for a couple of cracks in his voice. My guess is if he played out more often the vocal pipes wouldn't have any rust on them (that's a not to subtle hint to Jason to play out more often).
As soon as Jason's set ended it was off to the races again, heading back up Cookman Ave. to catch a few minutes of Anthony Fiumano's set at Twisted Tree Cafe. I have seen Anthony Fiumano play several times now, and I am never disappointed by the musical talent he has.
I would have loved to watch all of his set, but I planned to see him playing with his band Saturday night, so I only caught a few songs before heading on to America's Cup to see what was billed as Joe Harvard, but really it was a scaled down version of his band playing semi-acoustically. Joe is always quick to put down his singing talent (just listen to the interview on www.lazlosden.com for proof), but in my opinion he's a good singer, and a great guitarist.
Gary Wien had recommended that I check out Mieka Pauley's set at the Twisted Tree Cafe, so it was back to there that I went. I had heard a lot of good things about Mieka's music from Gary and others, but I didn't realize how good she truly was until I heard her for myself. Wow! This is what the Wave Gathering is about. It's great to see bands I'm friends with, that I know I enjoy, but to get to see someone I might otherwise not see, and to instantly become a fan, that exposure to new music is really the most compelling thing about this festival.
Mieka wasn't just good, she was outstanding. She sang beautiful singer-songwriter songs (which she wants everyone to know are NOT about a woman being scorned), with a soulful bluesy voice that was musical ecstasy. She closed her set with a cover of Sting's, "fields of gold", that brought the song to a whole new emotional level Sting's version doesn't even come close to.
After the power of Mieka's solo set, I was ready for some fun rock and roll to take me in a different direction. Lucky for me things were running behind schedule at Asbury Lanes, so I got there to catch the end of Readymade Breakup's set. Those guys are always fun.
From there it was over to the Wonder Bar to check out the new Woodfish. They have changed a few band members since their incredible performance at last year's Wave Gathering. Sadly the new line-up, during the 2 songs I watched, just didn't do much for me.
So on I went to the Stone Pony, to catch the end of Paperback Radio's debut set. Paperback Radio is the new name for Rick Barry & Days Awake, with, I believe, 1 band member change. Now many of you remember back in January I didn't think to much of Rick Barry & Days Awake in a review I did of their set at the Fastlane. I am happy to report that the 2 songs I heard Paperback Radio do at the Pony were actually quite good, and made me wish I had caught more of their set. I am sure they will be playing in and around Asbury Park again soon enough, and I hope to be there when they do.
While heading back to Asbury Lanes, I heard what sounded like Hero Pattern echoing off the buildings of Asbury Park. As I got closer I realized what I heard was three fourths of Hero Pattern outside harmonizing on the street corner like a barbershop trio. It sounded so good, I just wanted to hangoutside and listen to it, but I didn't want to distract them, so I kept walking.
Inside the Lanes, I caught the end of the Gay Blades set. I've never much been a fan of the Blades, and their set tonight didn't do anything to change that. I know their arrogance is their act, but it seems so calculated and premeditated, and ho-hum, been there, seen that, that it just kinda bores me.
By now it was almost 1:30 in the morning and I had been up since 6am (believe it or not, I don't make money off of doing this, and have to hold down a real day job). The only thing keeping me up was the excitement of getting to see Hero Pattern, who have become such an amazing rock band over the last few years. They didn't disappoint, rocking through a 30 minute set to an appreciative late night crowd.
I left the Lanes at 2am, tired, and yet feeling this great energy having just witnessed so many good musicians playing tonight.
Saturday began with me waking up far earlier than I wanted to, thanks to my bad allergies and the high pollen count in the air. But I felt like I was still ready for a great day of rock and roll, so back to Asbury Park I headed to catch a 1pm set by the Misery loves at the Saint.
I'm not sure how I've gone as long as I have without seeing The Misery Loves, since I've known of their existence for several years, but this was my first time seeing them. Much like Mieka Pauley blew me away on Friday night, The Misery Loves blew me away with their straight ahead rock that just hooked me in. I literally got chills watching their set it was just that enjoyable.
As soon as they left the stage, I left the Saint, to dart over to the Wonder Bar to catch the end of James Dalton's set of bluesy folk.
Then it was back to the Saint to catch some of the Chilling Details post-punk indie rock set.
And then back to the Wonder Bar to catch Agency's set of rock intensity.
And, like a ping-pong ball, I was back to the Saint for Status Green's set.
Now I was probably the last person to jump on the Status Green fanwagon (they never sent me a copy of their CD, and despite people telling me to see them live there always seemed to be a conflict until I caught them at the Asbury Music Awards last year), but now that I have seen them a few times, I can honestly say they are a really fun infectious pop-rock band.
After Status Green's set, it was over to the Stone Pony, for what I consider to be the centerpiece of the Wave Gathering. Arlan Feiles and His Lone Orchestra, along with a bevy of local musicians as special guests, performing the music of many musicians that came from NJ.
In addition to Arlan and his band playing a few of his songs, and an amazing rendition of Bruce Springsteen's, "jungleland" (which even got festival co-founder Gordon Brown on to the stage to sing), they ripped through covers of songs by Blondie, Paul Simon, Melanie, Ricky Nelson, Patti Smith, Blues Traveler, Count Basie, Donald Fagan, and more, bringing to the stage such local talents as Rick Barry, April Smith, Anthony Fiumano, Alex Brumel, Rob Tanico, and James Dalton, among others.
The two most amazing covers during this set were Val Emmich taking on Frank Sinatra and making it his own, and Status Green covering Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.
6pm rolled around and it was back to the Wonder Bar this time to see The Crayons. Keith C. originated The Crayons many years ago, and in the last few years has been living in Albany, NY, which meant few shows from The Crayons around here. Last month however, they did their first show back in NJ as a band, and tonight they were back as an acoustic duo with Mike on drums and backing vocals.
I have always been a fan of The Crayons, and tonight was no different, except the lack of sleep and my allergies (made worse by the high pollen count lately) started to catch up with me, and I felt myself fading out and my eyes starting to close. I forced myself to stay awake, but by the time the Crayons set was done, I knew I was done too.
So home I went for what I thought would be a short nap before heading back for some more rock...but alas it was not to be. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until Sunday morning. The mind was willing to hear more rock Saturday night, but the body was not.
But Sunday I was revitalized and ready to hear some more music. I Arrived back in Asbury Park just in time to catch Mick Chorba from the Dipsomaniacs play at the Brickwall. It's always fun to see Mick playing be it solo, with the Dipsos, or with his other band, the Successful Failures, and on this day he decided to play some new stuff from a forthcoming Dipsomaniacs album. The new stuff sounds great, and hopefully the new album will be out sooner then his joking release date of 2009.
From the Brickwall, it was on to the Surfside Grill to see Sounds Of Greg D.
While Sounds Of Greg D put on a great set of tunes from their new CD, "my little monkey got caught", as well as few new songs, the real story here is the Surfside Grill. I watched what I presume to be one of the owners, go around table to table and tell people that the Surfside Grill is a restaurant and that if you aren't going to by some food you will have to leave. With all due respect to the Grill, which I understand is a restaurant, there are several things I wish to point out. First, most of the tables were not being used, I don't think anyone would have minded getting up if paying customers came in to eat, and two, you agreed to have Wave Gathering artists play at your restaurant, with that comes the knowledge that not everyone is going ot be there to eat. To my surprise, I was the only one that was not asked to leave since I had not purchased anything during Sounds Of Greg D's set. I related this story later in the day to some musician friends who said that the owner was probably scared of me because I look like the quiet type that could explode at any moment. I hope my friends were kidding.
Heading back to Cookman Ave. to catch what I thought was going to be Readymade Breakup at the Wish You Were Here courtyard, instead I caught a few songs of an interesting solo acoustic artist who played and sang along to a drum track.
From there I headed over to America's Cup to try catch some of the Commons set, only I ran into Keith from the Commons outside the venue. Apparently things were running behind schedule there. I stuck around for a few minutes talking, but then realized there was music to be heard, so back to the Brickwall I went to see Arlan Feiles playing solo. As much as I enjoy seeing Arlan playing with his full Orchestra, it's also nice to see him strip the songs back to just him and a guitar or piano (depending on the song).
Going back up Cookman Ave., I decided to stop in and catch part of April Smith's solo set at the Twisted Tree Cafe.
Not only did she sound great, but she invited Joshua Bartholomew up to sing one of his songs and he was fantastic also.
From there it was over to the Stone Pony to see Alex Brumel with his new band. I raved about Alex's CD release show back in November of last year, but because of college, this was his first time playing back in NJ. It was great to see him playing some new songs as well as many from his self-titled debut album, and his new band is outstanding.
Allie Moss played next at the Pony and it was great to finally see her live. She has a great voice, and after hearing her rendition of "rubber ducky" I'll never be able to hear that song the same way again. Her more loungey, sultry version, made the song sound almost dirty (then again, I have been told numerous times I have a warped mind). Mid-way though her set Ingrid Michaelson, who was supposed to sit in on the entire set but got lost getting to the Pony, arrived and, along with a bassist, they played several more songs together. For the last song Ingrid said, "let's end this with a bang", which had everyone in the Pony clapping along to the song.
It seemed rather fitting that the set end with a bang, as it was also the end of the Wave Gathering for me. With work the next morning, and the allergy/sleep problem on Saturday, I decided to make it an early night and bask in the afterglow of a great weekend in Asbury Park.
Sure, there is still room for growth and change with the Wave Gathering, many people pointed out that some acts got to play several time during the fest, which didn't leave as much room for other acts, and a trolley would still be nice to get around between the various clubs (as walking from the Saint to Asbury Lanes just doesn't sound like fun), but the Wave Gathering still managed to do what very few festivals do well, bring a scene together to hang out and hear a lot of great music.
Kudos to Gordon, Adam, Scott, Larry, and everyone else who's hard work made the Wave Gathering possible.
The Wave Gathering kicked my ass.
Running (or driving) around from venue to venue, left me tired and spent mid-way through the 3 day event, but the music experience was well worth it.
This is the 2nd year for the Wave Gathering, and it's line-up expanded from around 80 acts last year to over 160 this year. And as much fun as seeing all the great music is, another big part of this festival is just running into everyone from the local NJ music scene. It's events like this that help solidify an actual scene, and where you make new friends and run into old friends alike. The Wave Gathering is the local music scene equivalent of a family Thanksgiving dinner, only with lots of music instead of turkey. Actually, it's kind of like a buffet Thanksgiving dinner, with lots of musical entrees to choose from, and like any good buffet, you enjoy a little bit of everything.
For me, the experience began this year with running into James Dalton (aka jpat), at the Wonder Bar for badge check-in. This year, in addition to getting the badge and a schedule/guide book, each person got a swag bag. As with CMJ, I will now list the contents of the swag bag (plastic bag supplied by Jack's Music Shoppe):
a poster for Aarius Studios
the current issue of the Aquarian
pamphlet for Fuchs Audio Technology
the Aquarian Weekly Music Directory 2007 (which did not list BlowUpRadio.com for some reason...shame on them)
a flyer for Jack's Music Shoppe
a flyer for a CD & Record show
a Breaking Benjamin magnet
2 butterfinger crisp minis
Indie Tracks CD (Fontana Distribution)
Eclectic Acts CD (Fontana Distribution)
Kemado Records sampler CD
After placing the swag bag in my car, jpat and I hopped over to the Twisted Tree Cafe for dinner. I love the Twisted Tree Cafe, because they have lots of great vegetarian meals that are fresh and great tasting. Anyone who knows jpat knows he is outgoing and chatty so soon we were a table of 4 and sitting around shooting the breeze until the first act of the night began, Eren Cannata. Backed by a second acoustic guitar and an electric bass, Eren was a great start to the fest. Really catchy laid back acoustic pop.
From there I ran into Gary Wien from Upstage Magazine and wandered over to Jake & Lucy's to see Mable, a band I had been told I had to see several times by Divine Sign, but had not had a chance to see yet. It was no surprise that when Gary and I entered Jake & Lucy's, that Divine Sign were sitting there watching Mable play some country influenced acoustic pop. Finally I got to see what Divine Sign was talking about.
And that is another great thing about the Wave Gathering, it's not just seeing the acts that you know you love, it's getting to see new acts like Eren Cannata, and Mable, who can now count me among their fans.
Next it was back to the Twisted Tree Cafe to see Luke Brindley, who I had the pleasure of seeing last year at World Cafe Live, and raving about in a review of that show. Tonight he played to a much smaller crowd, but no less appreciative of Luke's music. When he broke into, "Saturday night", a song which always becomes a sing-along at his live shows, I think I was initially the only one willing to sing along (when instructed), but by the 3rd chorus, everyone joined in.
As Luke broke into his last song I realized it was already after 10pm and I darted down to the Brickwall to catch Jason Stanley. Jason used to front the band Outcry, who back in the 90's I saw very frequently. These days Jason plays out once a year at the Wave Gathering, and that's about it. It's a shame, because he's a very talented singer/songwriter. This year he pulled out a couple of old Outcry tunes (this side of anywhere, and fall), some stuff from his J's Kitchen/Gypsy Cab Drivers days, as well as some newer songs. All sounded great, except for a couple of cracks in his voice. My guess is if he played out more often the vocal pipes wouldn't have any rust on them (that's a not to subtle hint to Jason to play out more often).
As soon as Jason's set ended it was off to the races again, heading back up Cookman Ave. to catch a few minutes of Anthony Fiumano's set at Twisted Tree Cafe. I have seen Anthony Fiumano play several times now, and I am never disappointed by the musical talent he has.
I would have loved to watch all of his set, but I planned to see him playing with his band Saturday night, so I only caught a few songs before heading on to America's Cup to see what was billed as Joe Harvard, but really it was a scaled down version of his band playing semi-acoustically. Joe is always quick to put down his singing talent (just listen to the interview on www.lazlosden.com for proof), but in my opinion he's a good singer, and a great guitarist.
Gary Wien had recommended that I check out Mieka Pauley's set at the Twisted Tree Cafe, so it was back to there that I went. I had heard a lot of good things about Mieka's music from Gary and others, but I didn't realize how good she truly was until I heard her for myself. Wow! This is what the Wave Gathering is about. It's great to see bands I'm friends with, that I know I enjoy, but to get to see someone I might otherwise not see, and to instantly become a fan, that exposure to new music is really the most compelling thing about this festival.
Mieka wasn't just good, she was outstanding. She sang beautiful singer-songwriter songs (which she wants everyone to know are NOT about a woman being scorned), with a soulful bluesy voice that was musical ecstasy. She closed her set with a cover of Sting's, "fields of gold", that brought the song to a whole new emotional level Sting's version doesn't even come close to.
After the power of Mieka's solo set, I was ready for some fun rock and roll to take me in a different direction. Lucky for me things were running behind schedule at Asbury Lanes, so I got there to catch the end of Readymade Breakup's set. Those guys are always fun.
From there it was over to the Wonder Bar to check out the new Woodfish. They have changed a few band members since their incredible performance at last year's Wave Gathering. Sadly the new line-up, during the 2 songs I watched, just didn't do much for me.
So on I went to the Stone Pony, to catch the end of Paperback Radio's debut set. Paperback Radio is the new name for Rick Barry & Days Awake, with, I believe, 1 band member change. Now many of you remember back in January I didn't think to much of Rick Barry & Days Awake in a review I did of their set at the Fastlane. I am happy to report that the 2 songs I heard Paperback Radio do at the Pony were actually quite good, and made me wish I had caught more of their set. I am sure they will be playing in and around Asbury Park again soon enough, and I hope to be there when they do.
While heading back to Asbury Lanes, I heard what sounded like Hero Pattern echoing off the buildings of Asbury Park. As I got closer I realized what I heard was three fourths of Hero Pattern outside harmonizing on the street corner like a barbershop trio. It sounded so good, I just wanted to hangoutside and listen to it, but I didn't want to distract them, so I kept walking.
Inside the Lanes, I caught the end of the Gay Blades set. I've never much been a fan of the Blades, and their set tonight didn't do anything to change that. I know their arrogance is their act, but it seems so calculated and premeditated, and ho-hum, been there, seen that, that it just kinda bores me.
By now it was almost 1:30 in the morning and I had been up since 6am (believe it or not, I don't make money off of doing this, and have to hold down a real day job). The only thing keeping me up was the excitement of getting to see Hero Pattern, who have become such an amazing rock band over the last few years. They didn't disappoint, rocking through a 30 minute set to an appreciative late night crowd.
I left the Lanes at 2am, tired, and yet feeling this great energy having just witnessed so many good musicians playing tonight.
~~~
Saturday began with me waking up far earlier than I wanted to, thanks to my bad allergies and the high pollen count in the air. But I felt like I was still ready for a great day of rock and roll, so back to Asbury Park I headed to catch a 1pm set by the Misery loves at the Saint.
I'm not sure how I've gone as long as I have without seeing The Misery Loves, since I've known of their existence for several years, but this was my first time seeing them. Much like Mieka Pauley blew me away on Friday night, The Misery Loves blew me away with their straight ahead rock that just hooked me in. I literally got chills watching their set it was just that enjoyable.
As soon as they left the stage, I left the Saint, to dart over to the Wonder Bar to catch the end of James Dalton's set of bluesy folk.
Then it was back to the Saint to catch some of the Chilling Details post-punk indie rock set.
And then back to the Wonder Bar to catch Agency's set of rock intensity.
And, like a ping-pong ball, I was back to the Saint for Status Green's set.
Now I was probably the last person to jump on the Status Green fanwagon (they never sent me a copy of their CD, and despite people telling me to see them live there always seemed to be a conflict until I caught them at the Asbury Music Awards last year), but now that I have seen them a few times, I can honestly say they are a really fun infectious pop-rock band.
After Status Green's set, it was over to the Stone Pony, for what I consider to be the centerpiece of the Wave Gathering. Arlan Feiles and His Lone Orchestra, along with a bevy of local musicians as special guests, performing the music of many musicians that came from NJ.
In addition to Arlan and his band playing a few of his songs, and an amazing rendition of Bruce Springsteen's, "jungleland" (which even got festival co-founder Gordon Brown on to the stage to sing), they ripped through covers of songs by Blondie, Paul Simon, Melanie, Ricky Nelson, Patti Smith, Blues Traveler, Count Basie, Donald Fagan, and more, bringing to the stage such local talents as Rick Barry, April Smith, Anthony Fiumano, Alex Brumel, Rob Tanico, and James Dalton, among others.
The two most amazing covers during this set were Val Emmich taking on Frank Sinatra and making it his own, and Status Green covering Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons.
6pm rolled around and it was back to the Wonder Bar this time to see The Crayons. Keith C. originated The Crayons many years ago, and in the last few years has been living in Albany, NY, which meant few shows from The Crayons around here. Last month however, they did their first show back in NJ as a band, and tonight they were back as an acoustic duo with Mike on drums and backing vocals.
I have always been a fan of The Crayons, and tonight was no different, except the lack of sleep and my allergies (made worse by the high pollen count lately) started to catch up with me, and I felt myself fading out and my eyes starting to close. I forced myself to stay awake, but by the time the Crayons set was done, I knew I was done too.
So home I went for what I thought would be a short nap before heading back for some more rock...but alas it was not to be. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until Sunday morning. The mind was willing to hear more rock Saturday night, but the body was not.
~~~
But Sunday I was revitalized and ready to hear some more music. I Arrived back in Asbury Park just in time to catch Mick Chorba from the Dipsomaniacs play at the Brickwall. It's always fun to see Mick playing be it solo, with the Dipsos, or with his other band, the Successful Failures, and on this day he decided to play some new stuff from a forthcoming Dipsomaniacs album. The new stuff sounds great, and hopefully the new album will be out sooner then his joking release date of 2009.
From the Brickwall, it was on to the Surfside Grill to see Sounds Of Greg D.
While Sounds Of Greg D put on a great set of tunes from their new CD, "my little monkey got caught", as well as few new songs, the real story here is the Surfside Grill. I watched what I presume to be one of the owners, go around table to table and tell people that the Surfside Grill is a restaurant and that if you aren't going to by some food you will have to leave. With all due respect to the Grill, which I understand is a restaurant, there are several things I wish to point out. First, most of the tables were not being used, I don't think anyone would have minded getting up if paying customers came in to eat, and two, you agreed to have Wave Gathering artists play at your restaurant, with that comes the knowledge that not everyone is going ot be there to eat. To my surprise, I was the only one that was not asked to leave since I had not purchased anything during Sounds Of Greg D's set. I related this story later in the day to some musician friends who said that the owner was probably scared of me because I look like the quiet type that could explode at any moment. I hope my friends were kidding.
Heading back to Cookman Ave. to catch what I thought was going to be Readymade Breakup at the Wish You Were Here courtyard, instead I caught a few songs of an interesting solo acoustic artist who played and sang along to a drum track.
From there I headed over to America's Cup to try catch some of the Commons set, only I ran into Keith from the Commons outside the venue. Apparently things were running behind schedule there. I stuck around for a few minutes talking, but then realized there was music to be heard, so back to the Brickwall I went to see Arlan Feiles playing solo. As much as I enjoy seeing Arlan playing with his full Orchestra, it's also nice to see him strip the songs back to just him and a guitar or piano (depending on the song).
Going back up Cookman Ave., I decided to stop in and catch part of April Smith's solo set at the Twisted Tree Cafe.
Not only did she sound great, but she invited Joshua Bartholomew up to sing one of his songs and he was fantastic also.
From there it was over to the Stone Pony to see Alex Brumel with his new band. I raved about Alex's CD release show back in November of last year, but because of college, this was his first time playing back in NJ. It was great to see him playing some new songs as well as many from his self-titled debut album, and his new band is outstanding.
Allie Moss played next at the Pony and it was great to finally see her live. She has a great voice, and after hearing her rendition of "rubber ducky" I'll never be able to hear that song the same way again. Her more loungey, sultry version, made the song sound almost dirty (then again, I have been told numerous times I have a warped mind). Mid-way though her set Ingrid Michaelson, who was supposed to sit in on the entire set but got lost getting to the Pony, arrived and, along with a bassist, they played several more songs together. For the last song Ingrid said, "let's end this with a bang", which had everyone in the Pony clapping along to the song.
It seemed rather fitting that the set end with a bang, as it was also the end of the Wave Gathering for me. With work the next morning, and the allergy/sleep problem on Saturday, I decided to make it an early night and bask in the afterglow of a great weekend in Asbury Park.
Sure, there is still room for growth and change with the Wave Gathering, many people pointed out that some acts got to play several time during the fest, which didn't leave as much room for other acts, and a trolley would still be nice to get around between the various clubs (as walking from the Saint to Asbury Lanes just doesn't sound like fun), but the Wave Gathering still managed to do what very few festivals do well, bring a scene together to hang out and hear a lot of great music.
Kudos to Gordon, Adam, Scott, Larry, and everyone else who's hard work made the Wave Gathering possible.