Weekend: DAMNED IF YOU DO…
Last call: Rob Dye, whose Open Jam has been a staple at The Downtown since the days of its old incarnation, hosts what’s being billed as the last in his long-running series of sessions this Sunday. Fair Haven songstress (and Island recording artist) Laura Warshauer, herself a veteran of these Sunday soirees, appears downstairs at the Downtown for the next three weekends.
It’s that time of year again — the post-holiday doldrums, when tapped-out consumers traditionally crawl beneath the covers for the next several weeks, and promoters of arts/entertainment events do very little to entice them otherwise. Take that thought and times it to the nth power here in white-knuckle 2009, and you’re left staring out at a cultural no-man’s land; a tundra fit only for the damned.
Or maybe not. The Damned, old Blighty’s purveyors of goth music hall and surviving members of punk’s Class of ‘77, announced a few days ago that tonight’s long-awaited date in Asbury Park — a show that was to have been relo’d to the Wonder Bar from a still-shuttered Stone Pony — has been cancelled due to an undisclosed illness. According to the Pony website, full ticket refunds are available at point of purchase, and the band has indicated that they plan to return Stateside late in 2009.
The venerable punk/goth institution The Damned — led by Captain Sensible and Dave Vanian, seen at the left of the photo — has seen its voyage to our fair Shore CANCELLED for this evening.
On the other hand, this weekend’s other Pony refugee show continues apace, as Johnny Winter returns to Asbury Park from the land of Phil Gramm; reminding this “nation of whiners” about the real meaning of the blues. Arguably one of the surliest and most monosyllabic interview subjects ever, the lanky albino roadmaster is poised to let his most eloquent fingers do the ’splaining in a Saturday night set at the Wonder, with the Billy Walton Band and the Jon Klein Combine sounding the keynote, and local wonders Outside the Box batting cleanup in a special late show at 11:30pm. Tickets are $30 at the door (or $10 after 11:30), or reserve for $27.50 right here.
Well, if Mr. Johnny Winter says winter is summer and down is up, we’re not inclined to argue. In fact, there’s actually some other stuff going on this weekend; Continue Reading and find out where they keep it all hid.
Winter Wonderland: Texas note-twister Johnny Winter testifies blueswise at Asbury Park’s Wonder Bar, this Saturday night.
VIENNA FINGERS: New Jersey Symphony Orchestra Best of Vienna. It’s got a good beat, and yes you can dance to it — any musicologist can tell you that the conservatory lofts, ballrooms and recital chambers of vintage Vienna were the American Bandstand of their era; a laboratory for the latest dance crazes, be they a pizzicato polka or a signature Strauss waltz. For their first Red Bank event of 2009, conductor Edwin Outwater and the NJSO conduct a time-tripping tour of Austria’s most melodious municipality, conjuring a traditional Viennese New Year celebration beneath the spectacular chandelier and freshly painted proscenium of the remodeled Count Basie Theatre. Tickets for Saturday’s 8pm performance range from $17 to $55 and are available not from the Basie box office, but by calling the orchestra’s own hotline at 1-800-ALLEGRO.
Toasters, regifted: Too timeless to be flushed with fashion, too much fun to ever really go away, ska always finds a way to be there when we need it bad. New Brunswick-bred ska toasters Bigger Thomas would like to remind everyone that they’ve been serving the public for more than 20 years, in a Saturday night stopover at Long Branch’s Brighton Bar that also spotlights cult legend King Django.
BREAKER, BREAKER: The Break Contest at ???. With all that’s been happening (or not) at the Stone Pony, we’re hesitant to pass along the word that this annual Battle of the Bands will be hosted as planned by the Asbury Park landmark — suffice to say that it pays to monitor the event’s MySpace page for the most up-to-the-minute info. This is no ordinary competition down at the VFW hall, of course, but an event affiliated with the Bamboozle Festival — with the winner gaining the opportunity to perform a high-profile set at that annual Meadowlands melee on May 2-3. $15 gets you in to support your fave local combo for the Sunday all-ager (doors are set to open at noon), with additional heats pencilled in for every Sunday through February 8. There are Saturday semifinals on March 7 and 14, plus the main-event finals on the weekend of April 18 and 19. Band signup info can be obtained at the Break’s website.
It’s your birthday, Joe Harvard — and the Asbury Lanes is subbing for Chuck E. Cheese’s on Sunday night as host venue for a 50th to remember.
IVY LEAGUE: Joe Harvard 50th Birthday Party at Asbury Lanes. “Your acid keystrokes are near and dear to my own sensibilities,” writes punkrock poobah and genre-film journalist Patrick Veil of The Sex Zombies — evidently we had him at the first mention of C.H.U.D. — “I would love to contribute in any way I can.”
In addition to operating one of the finest and funnest punkrock units up and down the Shore, Veil brings a resume that includes stints at venerable horror/scifi journals Fangoria and Starlog, as well as an actual job with Jersey dream factory Troma Pictures. Still, it’s been weeks since we last heard from him about the glories of writing for Red Bank oRBit. It could be that we scared him off with our ironclad strictures regarding life as a contributor (in retrospect, the parts about the blood oath and the frat-style hazings were a bit harsh), but if you’re out there reading this, drop us a line.
The Sex Zombies will be among the invited guests on Sunday night as Joe Harvard marks his 50th year in this vale of woe at the Asbury Lanes. A linchpin of Boston’s music scene for eons before taking his act to Asbury Park, Harvard could have trekked on up to Cheers or somesuch to celebrate, but made the right call and chose instead for Asbury’s atom-age alterna-arts odditorium (to say nothing of kitschy-kool kegler’s kathedral). Ten dollars makes you an instant friend of Joe, and gets you access to sets by Keith Monacchio, Jo Wymer, Mike Noordzy and the aforementioned Sexbies.
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January 02, 2009
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