Let’s suppose that you haven’t been to the Jersey shore before. I don’t necessarily blame you – it’s not a national destination, but rather a series of beach towns that serve local metropolises like New York and Philadelphia. But some of these towns are somewhat famous: Atlantic City is known by many because of its history and due to it being the host city of the Miss America pageant forever. And if you’re a rock fan, you’ve probably heard of Asbury Park because of Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen grew up in the greater Asbury Park area, and made it famous with his very first album, Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. I had never been there as its more to the north of where most Philly people go “down the shore.” But one of our friends said that we needed to go, and more specifically, that we needed to go to the Stone Pony and see a show. The Stone Pony is the rock bar venue that gave birth to Springsteen, Southside Johnny, and the entire Jersey Shore sound. It’s a bit legendary, and one of those venues that are on the rock pilgrimage tour. You know, if you’re a Catholic you did the pilgrimage in Europe, hitting all the local cathedrals and sites where miracles occurred. If you’re a rocker, you go and hit the venues and famous places that made rock ‘n’ roll history. The US is full of these sites: Memphis is a good example with that city housing Sun Studios, Stax Records, Beale Street, and of course, Graceland. It’s a cool place to go and see the historical rock sites. And many other cities boast similar attractions. Nashville with the Ryman, South Broadway, the Grand Ole Opry, and the like. Austin with Antone’s, 6th Street and the Continental. New Orleans with Tipitina’s, Bourbon Street and Jazzfest. But if you’re further north, you need to find other sites that can fit the bill. And that’s where Asbury Park and the Stone Pony come in. The town is about an hour and a half from Philly, and there are enough hotels that you can come here even during the non-high season months when the shore is hopping. And the Stone Pony is open year-round, with shows going all the time. We decided to go to the Stone Pony after an extended delay due to the Covid stuff. Our friend saw that Low Cut Connie was playing the Pony (that review is upcoming) on a Saturday night in December, and we bought tickets. We stayed at an old hotel that had allegedly been refurbished call the Berkeley. It was about a 3-block walk from the hotel to the Pony, so we were set. And the hotel and the venue are both just off the boardwalk. After arriving and seeing a big group of people in the lobby getting ready to attend a wedding (from all appearances, Tony Soprano still lives in NJ), we took a stroll on the boards. It wasn’t too cold, and some restaurants and bars were open, making for a somewhat lively walk. If you haven’t been to the mid-Atlantic coast in winter before, here’s a quick description: windy, cloudy, spitting rain half the time, and ultimately giving way to a feeling of “let’s get the hell out of here.” There was an interesting old casino building that covered the boardwalk and has some shops and restaurants inside, but like all of Asbury Park, it could use a scrub and refresh. And that’s my overall impression of Asbury Park. While there are some impressive renovations and new construction underway, overall the place has seen better times. Like Atlantic City further south, it’s an odd amalgamation of high living and rundown. I’ve heard Atlantic City described as Camden by the Ocean, and while that’s not really fair, it does render enough truth to make the moniker stick. Asbury Park is a lot like Atlantic City absent the casinos. Clearly, it had a big heyday, but it’s also mostly living on borrowed time. In a world of unlimited time, I don’t think I would go back there again, and in a world of limited time, I can pretty much guarantee it unless, of course, there is a great act playing at the Stone Pony. Anyway, we get on the boards and within a block we stumble upon Madam Marie’s! You should know about Madam Marie from the Springsteen song, 4th of July Asbury Park (Sandy), but if not, listen and you shall learn: We didn’t see Marie herself, nor did we venture inside. Like all astrologists, I’m sure that there is good theater inside, but if they could really predict the future, they wouldn’t be holed up in some chintzy little shop on the boardwalk in Asbury Park since 1932. Anyway, she got a cool paintjob for her place, and I wish her well. We kept on rolling and ended up heading over to the Pony to catch a glimpse during the daylight hours. LCC was in there doing their sound-check, so we couldn’t go inside, but we got a view of the outside and I took a few pics. Later on, we did head in, of course. A couple of things struck me about the venue. It was the first show that I’ve seen post-Covid that didn’t require either a mask or a vax card. In Phil Murphy’s New Jersey! Rant and rave about Florida (and don’t do it around me, because I’ll tell you that Florida is the most free of all the states in the union right now), but Phil Murphy was Mr. Lockdown. How did that happen? I don’t know, but a sold-out show at the Pony was done completely pre-Covid style. In fact, it was done pre-Paris style as there wasn’t even a metal detector to check for weapons. Hoo boy! The Pony is a rectangular space, and the stage is centered on one of the long walls. The stage is small, and the ceiling above it is low – more on that in the LCC review. And there doesn’t appear to be a dressing room for the artists as they came in through a side door from outside of the bar. Speaking of bars, the Pony has 3 of them. That’s a huge plus, and not just for my imbibing friends. It helps to spread out the crowd, and allows people some well-deserved space. The Ardmore Music Hall could use some help in this regard, and that’s not the only venue that falls prey to the one-bar only concept. The other interesting thing about the Pony is that two of the bars are basically in adjunct rooms that are a bit separated from the main entertainment space. That’s another good thing for those who want to hear the music as opposed to hearing their neighbors talking about some inane thing going on in their life. Finally, there is one elevated section a little back from the stage that allows part of the crowd to see the stage from further back. While I don’t usually gravitate to those kinds of spots, I do when my buddies all think it’s a great idea. How about the sound? All in all, pretty damn good. It’s about what you would expect from a rectangular venue, which usually have the best sound (check out the theaters and philharmonic concert halls that have amazing acoustics, and then tell me I’m wrong). It also has a lot of guitars and memorabilia hanging on the walls, which gives you something to talk about and check out prior to the show. And it has this big painting inside in case you forgot where you were or who made this bar famous: One last thing: we grabbed a space on the rail and pretty quickly, a guy who was standing up behind us got a bit into my face. I had 20 years and a lot less tattoos on me than this guy, and so I said, hey, no problem, if this is your spot, we’re good hanging behind you. Anyway, we got to talking and this dude and his girlfriend were very cool. They see a ton of shows, and were headed to Athens, Georgia to see Driver-By Truckers in January. In fact, they were so gung-ho on Athens that they’ve got me thinking about the next stop in my non-stop rock pilgrimage, and that means we’re headed to the home of the Dawgs. Alrighty, enough on Asbury Park and the Pony. Let’s get back to some music, shall we?
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AuthorMy name is Bill, and I live in the greater Philadelphia area. I love music, and I have a lot of opinions. This site is primarily focused on music, but sometimes I get off track. I hope you enjoy. Archives
November 2020
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