Idles, Green Day, Stevie Nicks, Cage the Elephant Shine at Asbury Park’s Sea.Hear.Now Festival (FESTIVAL REVIEW/PHOTOS)

Asbury Park’s Sea.Hear.Now is a fairly small festival produced by Danny Clinch – two days, three stages, five acts a day per stage, and it runs from noon to 10:30 pm each day, yet it boasts one of the stronger lineups that rock with the best of Lollapalooza and ACL. The main “Surf” stage is on the beach at the North end of the boardwalk and alternates sets with the two smaller stages (“Sand” – on the beach at the south end of the boardwalk and “Park” – in the grassy area behind the Convention Center.) The two smaller stages have nearly identical time schedules and provide the festival’s only source of musical conflict. If you work hard enough, it is possible to catch all 30 bands over this past weekend from September 16-18, 2022.

The festival has a few ticket tiers (GA, GA+, VIP & Platinum). The festival is cashless and runs on a wristband scanning infrastructure. Interestingly there is a re-entry policy that allows you to return up to three times per day. Some people used that as an opportunity to head to a local bar like The Wonder Bar to enjoy a cold drink in an A/C setting.

There only people who might not have thought the festival was ideal were the surfers in the surfing competition who had to put up with the indignity of being towed by wave runners into waves that were one foot high at best. And perhaps the festers who didn’t heed the many “stay hydrated” public service announcements – there were many passed-out people over the course of the festival.

Now for the music. Saturday was headlined by Stevie Nicks and featured a more mellow supporting lineup. It was amazing to see so many Stevie Nicks fans in old concert tee shirts and flowing attire came out to support their diva. She played her solo and Fleetwood Mac hits and threw in a number of covers including Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin” and an uninspired version of “For What It’s Worth” written by Stephen Stills.

The entire 90-minute set felt a little more like a nostalgia act than a current concert. This feeling was reinforced by the backdrop of photos of Stevie in her 20s and 30s that blanketed the stage throughout her performance. Even die-hard Stevie fans thought she sounded “a little tired” throughout most of her set, though her voice is still solid. A highlight was a ten-minute plus rendition of “Gold Dust Woman” starting with an extended band intro while Stevie changed into a gold “Stevie shawl”. She encored with Rhiannon and an inspired cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” to finish the evening.

The best three performances from Saturday according to this reviewer were:

  • The Backseat Lovers – this young, soft-spoken rock quartet from Utah is fronted by Josh Harmon whose yearning voice sounds like it belongs to a much older human. The band seamlessly combines upbeat melodies with grungy guitar riffs that seemed even harder in person. They overcame early sound issues and made the most of their hour set on the Sand Stage to provide the audience with a solid dose of spirited indie rock. They are on tour through November, so catch them when you can.
  • Celisse – backed by drums and bass, she owned the Park stage for her 50-minute set of blues-based rock punctuated with solid guitar solos and urgent lyrics. She told the crowd that for years she had been attending festivals wondering when she would get the chance to fulfill her dreams and be the one performing. She made the most of it and I doubt it will be her last time on a festival stage.
  • Gary Clark Jr. – One of the most reliable performers on the Festival circuit, he used his hour as the penultimate act on the Surf stage to display his distinctive guitar playing and emotive vocals. He is as comfortable on the rock side of the blues spectrum as he is playing straight-ahead blues, which he did with the help of his band and with a special guest, Danny Clinch (SHN founder, musician and photographer), on harmonica. If you like driving rock blues, you can’t go wrong with Gary Clark, Jr.

Other decent sets were turned in by Dentist, a young local punk pop band; Billy Strings, the newly crowned Americana artist of the year and hist stellar band; My Morning Jacket, who delighted their fans with a full-hour set; Annie Dirusso, a “just starting out” angsty indie rock band that shared their good time on stage with us; The Surfrajettes, an all-female band in matching silver lame skirts and bee-hive hair-dos that played a great set of instrumental surf rock; Peach Pit, laid back guitar rock, Skip Marley, playing his own style of reggae; and Boy George & Culture Club, who brought back a lot of memories for the older ones in the crowd who sang along to every song– I had no idea how many people would “Tumble For You”

Sunday brought warmer temperatures (highs in the mid-80s), a younger and larger crowd, and a day that was absolutely packed with absolutely great rock acts culminating with a two-hour performance by Green Day. There were a lot of people who got to the festival at noon and sprinted to the rail where they spent the next eight and a half hours protecting their piece of real estate for Green Day’s 8:35 set. It seemed crazy at the time, but after their blistering two-hour set, it made a lot more sense. The beach viewing area was as crowded as it has ever been – just like it was for Pearl Jam last year.

At 8:30, the lights dimmed, and the house speakers came to life with the entire version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen. That got the entire crowd warmed up as they sang every word of that song at the top of their lungs. I’m not sure I have ever seen more enthusiasm for a fully recorded song at a concert before. Next out came Drunk Bunny – a person in a well-worn Rabbit suit – while Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” played to the crowd. He stumbled around and got the crowd to cheer and sing along. Then the lights dimmed again and the band came sprinting onto the stage. The almost two-hour set that followed felt less like a festival set and more like a full Green Day concert experience. They opened with “American Idiot” and went on to play a wide variety of their old and new material including “Holiday”, “Know Your Enemy”, “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, “Welcome to Paradise”, “When I Come Around”, “Minority”, “Basket Case”, “21 Guns”, “Wake Me Up When September Ends”, “Jesus of Suburbia” and many others.

Green Day threw in a few covers as well: “Rock And Roll All Night” by Kiss, “Knowledge” by Operation Ivy, and “Shout” from the Isley Brothers. The entire band was impressive, but the two who stood out the most were bassist, Mike Dirnt, who flew around the stage in such a way that one fan said, “that is how every bass player in every punk band should play”; and Billy Joe Armstrong, who dazzled with his guitar solos, clean and clear vocals, and enthusiasm for being alive. Armstrong continually reminded the audience that this was their last chance to let it all hang out and have an epic summer weekend.

Almost all of the other bands that played on Sunday put on great shows. Here are the highlights.

  • Cimafunk – the Cuban funk band wowed the rock-centric crowd with a variety of funk songs with a Cuban twist. Erik Alejandro Iglesias Rodriguez seems like he was born to front a band. He loves the spotlight and has enough energy to bring everybody on his mission to share a good time. And, just when you think the energy might be dissipating just a fraction, his bandmembers are all there to ensure the show stays turned up to 11 – especially the female horn section of Ilarivis Garcia Despaigne on Trombone and Katerine Ferrer Llerena on tenor saxophone who keep the vibe pumping with their playing, singing and strutting. It is not easy to get a crowd of rock and punk followers whipped up into a dancing frenzy, but for Cimafunk, it was a piece of cake.
  • Andy Frasco & The UN – Perhaps the band was best described from the stage by Frasco himself, when introducing the song “Dreams” when he said, “We were supposed to just be a bar band, but I guess we made it!” Frasco has a laser-focused drive to wring every drop out of life, and his band makes that abundantly clear. He takes chances, plays with abandon, and sings his heart out at a frenetic pace. He set the tone for the show by shotgunning a beer, chugging some Jack Daniels and ripping into the frenetic party that is an Andy Frasco & The UN show. The show included, bringing up the Ocean Avenue Stompers, a local brass band, dragging his bass player across the stage by his ankle, insisting that all the musicians (even the Stompers) switch instruments, climbing up the scaffolding of the stage until the cord wouldn’t reach any higher, leading a “high, Richard Simmons-like” calisthenic warm-up for the audience, creating an impromptu hora in the middle of the audience, and 10 other maniacal things that have been edited out of this story. The show ended with his lead guitarist being carted off the stage by the medical staff because he seemed to have seriously injured his knee on the last song. 
  • IDLES – They were probably the hardest rock band to have ever played the festival. They are a five-piece rock band that hails from Bristol, England. One can debate whether they fall into the punk, post-punk, or hardcore genre, but there is no debating that every song they played was moshable. They are well-known as a band that takes care of their audience. This was evident from the beginning of the show when lead singer Joe Talbot parted the audience (he commented that he felt like Moses) and had them form a respectably-sized circle and decreed it the mosh pit. He urged everyone to take care of each other and respect those outside the circle, and then set them off to their song “Colossus”. At one point, when he realized the fill-in drummer was going to be a significant step down, Talbot explained to his bandmates and the crowd, “sometime worse is better”. Unfortunately, the band will be taking about a year off, but if they do come back, they are worth a night out.
  • Courtney Barnett – She has quietly become one of the most consistent indie rockers on touring today. Her real-world lyrics and thoughtful songs are as underrated as her guitar playing is. She commands the stage, and she, her drummer, and bass player can rock out when they need to. She has also evolved her sound without losing the freshness that she burst on to the scene with. You can really hear this in her new-ish song “Turning Green”. She only had an hour, but made every minute count.
  • Michael Franti and Spearhead – Speaking of making every minute count, Franti presided over the lovefest that each of his concerts becomes. He sings/preaches of love and community building and has the most gentle and accepting way about him. He is a true man of the people and always climbs into the crowd or brings the crowd to him. But, no matter the interaction, he ensures that all who attend his shows feel loved, supported, and included.
  • Cage The Elephant – It seemed criminal that they only got an hour, but they seemed to shoehorn in all their hits to that time slot. They opened with a particularly twangy version of “Broken Boy”, stretched out a great, growly version of “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” and closed with a particular rocking version of “Teeth”.
  • Calder Allen – The 19-year-old from Austin opened the Surf stage with a solid 45-minute set of original songs. He was put at a slight disadvantage as his setlist blew away during the second song of his set, but he handled it calmly, like a pro, and got the attention of the Green Day squatters and won them over. His smooth, twangy vocals and thoughtful ballads have the edges sanded down in exactly the right places. You can hear a good example of this in his song “Crush”.
  • The Vansaders – They are one of the two indie rock bands that opened Sunday’s festival. They are Asbury Park locals and have been on the scene since 2015. This is the third iteration of the band, but it seems like they have congealed and are producing quality songs that fit right in with the Jersey shore vibe. They were a nice fit as an opener for Green Day and are definitely worth checking out. Unfortunately, this reviewer could only stay for the first half of the gig as there was another Asbury Park indie rock band that was playing at the same time.  Lost In Society – They are the other local Asbury Park band that opened Sunday. They played on the Sand stage and the second half of their set was a great display of indie rock chops. They started as a high school band in 2004 and have been sharing their music ever since. They were edgy enough to be interesting but weren’t so hard to cross into the hardcore zone.

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