The Stone Pony music club in Asbury Park, New Jersey has endured since 1973. It survived the economic depression of Asbury Park, the change in the music business, the Covid years and so many other challenges; so Sunday night’s (July 9th) reports of a storm that might cause coastal flooding colliding with the sold-out Revivalists/The Head And The Heart double bill was no big deal – just another punch to roll with.
The set times were originally announced as: Tangiers Blues Band at 7 pm, The Head And The Heart at 8, and the Revivalists at 10, but with the weather on the way, The Stone Pony did what it always did and pivoted to beat the storm. They dropped the opener and switched the order of the bands so The Revivalists went on at 6 and the Head And The Heart followed at 7:30. At almost any other place, with almost any other crowd, this would cause mayhem, but Jersey did what they always do — they showed up. Somehow, the entire crowd seemed to either be informed of the change that was announced about 30 minutes prior to the start of the show, or they were completely understanding and celebrated both acts without complaint.
The Revivalists took the stage promptly at 6 pm, and although there was a line of folks filing in during their first two numbers, Summerstage (the Stone Pony’s outdoor venue) was filled to capacity within minutes. There were three questions on every Revivalists fan’s mind: 1) would the weather hold out; 2) would they have time to play any of their old songs; and 3) given the lack of tall things on stage, what would Michael Giradot jump down to his keyboards from.
Well, the weather did hold out; and although they played an abbreviated set – 11 songs that lasted about 75 minutes – it was filled with a mixture of old songs and a few new ones from their 2023 release Pour It Out Into The Night. As for #3, it was the first time in this reviewer’s experience that Giradot didn’t jump, but still provided the same enthusiasm he brings to every show.
The band started with a bang by playing the fairly upbeat “All My Friends” which got the crowd dancing and singing along. Next, they played “Don’t Look Back” and “Down In The Dirt” from the new release which the crowd seemed to know almost as well. By the time they got midway into the set, they stretched out “Soulfight”, with excellent solos from Ed Williams (with his right index finger flying around his silver sparked pedal steel guitar adorned with what seemed to be purple inlaid felt), and bassist, George Gekas, sporting a recently re-sculpted physique, but in his customary wide-bass stance.
On the tenth song, The Head And The Heart joined them on stage for a super-fun rendition of “Kid”. They finished the show with crowd pleaser “Wish I Knew You”. Although 65% of the crowd seemed to be there for The Head And The Heart, the crowd was especially attentive to The Revivalists’ set and was treated to a very solid performance. It has been a joy to see this band grow in popularity, professionalism, and musicianship over the years. It wasn’t too long ago that they played at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC and couldn’t afford to bring Giradot along. Now they could fill Rockwood 100 times, are all accomplished soloists, and their sound is anchored by the combination of David Shaw’s voice and Giradot’s keys.
As for the weather, the gathering and waning clouds mixed with the Jersey Shore’s twilight engineered a better light show than one could imagine and treated us all to one of the more beautiful evenings at an outdoor concert that this reviewer can recall.
At 7:40, The Head in The Heart bounded onto the stage and started their 18-song, 100-minute set with “Glory Of Music II”, and the crowd immediately responded with unconditional support. They concentrated on their 2022 release, Every Shade Of Blue (at least six songs were from that album), but played their more popular hits as well. The crowd was predominantly white, but showed its diversity in other areas (age, sexual orientation, etc…); however, they all had one thing in common, they seemed to be able to sing almost every word of every song.
The band is fronted by Jonathan Russell, with Matt Gervaise and Charity Rose Thielen rounding out the vocals. Although all the vocalists support each other, there were times when it felt more like a battle than a cooperative effort that left this reviewer wanting to hear more from Rose Thielen’s microphone. The band is rounded out by bass, drums, and Kenny Hensley on piano. Although the three vocalists dominate the front of the stage, it is Halsey’s bouncy, key-pounding style that defines the sound of the band.
The rain started coming down lightly into the second half of the set during “Family Man”, but the crowd was unwavering in their support with no visible movement towards shelter or even to put on rain gear. As the rain increased, so did the emotional intensity of the band, especially from Gervaise who sported a “Bruce Springsteen for President” shirt. He told the crowd how special it was to be playing at the Stone Pony to such a supportive crowd and ranked the current show as one of his favorites of all time. He then told a story of being a 16-year-old in Southern California and learning to drive on his family’s well-loved VW Beetle – so well-loved that you could watch the road go by through the rusted-out floorboards. Taking that car out on his own was his first taste of freedom, and there was one cassette in that car and it was Bruce Springsteen’s Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. He spoke of how much playing in Asbury Park meant to him and went into a cover of “Growin’ Up”, the second song on that 1973 album.
After bringing the Revivalists up on stage, the band played a three-song encore just as the real rain started to fall. In character, the crowd continued their unwavering support through solid versions of “Virginia”, “Shake” and a rocking version of “Rivers And Roads”, which sent the crowd singing all the way to their cars in the pouring rain.
Sometimes outdoor concerts can be tricky, especially double-billed concerts in the wake of severe weather. However, on this night, there were no tricks that could be thrown at The Revivalists, The Head and The Heart and the Jersey Shore crowd that weren’t easily overcome. If you were there, you know.
Photos by Nancy Lasher
