The Jersey Shore from Asbury
Park to Wildwood long has attracted pretty good music despite (or perhaps because
of) the proximity of NYC. In my younger days I occasionally drove there to
clubs, notably to The Stone Pony in
Asbury Park. In recent years, though, I’ve neglected the Shore in favor of
closer venues or NYC, but my favorite surf band unexpectedly turned up on the
schedule of The Wonder Bar, the
second most famous club in Asbury Park, so I hopped in my Chevy and aimed
southeast.
It doesn’t take much to be my
favorite surf band since it typically isn’t my preferred style of music. I’ve
been on a surf board no more than twice in my life. However, Messer Chups is actually good at it, and
the group intermingles horror themes with ironic humor. This being Halloween
month, I didn’t want to miss them live. Messer Chups is from St. Petersburg,
Russia – not normally regarded as a surfing capital. The band is on tour to
promote the new album Taste the Blood of
Guitaracula.
The drive down reminded me why I
generally skip Shore venues these days. Rush hour(s) traffic was inescapable
given the timing. I fully understand why anyone whose only experience of NJ has
been crawling along the Garden State Parkway while trying to cross three lanes
of snarled traffic so as not to miss an exit has a negative opinion of the
state. Judging NJ by this is a bit like judging Los Angeles by rush hour on the
405: not entirely unfair, but mostly.
From my home address, it is actually easier and quicker to get in and out of
Manhattan than Asbury Park. I sympathize with the poor souls who commute along the
route every day for work.
The Jersey Shore is not really
like…well… Jersey Shore or movies
like Don Jon. But as with the highway
stereotypes there is a kernel of truth under the pile of rubbish. In denim
shirt and jeans and a corduroy jacket I was overdressed, excepting a few of the
younger women in their dancing dresses. Strangely, I was not outside the age demographic
in The Wonder Bar. There was no dominant
demographic. There was the full range of barely legal to white-bearded veteran
fans of the original surf bands such as The
Ventures or Dick Dale. There were college students, bikers, those odd
middle-aged men in berets, and old hippies reeking of pot. I could not have stood
out by any method short of wearing a beanie with a propeller. I wear one of
those only on special occasions.
Anyway, after the opening band The Black Flamingos were done – being a
hometown group they had their own fans present – Messer Chups stepped up and put on their usual good show. It was
worth the drive, but I probably won’t be making it again any time soon. At
least the trip back was largely traffic free except for the bear waiting for me
in my driveway. I opened the car window and turned up the volume on the Messer Chups cd. He moseyed out of the
way: not a surf rock fan, I guess.
Messer Chups – Magneto
It's been a pretty good while since I've seen some live music. Most of the acts around here are either cover bands, or country oriented (no interest). The better acts do play Dallas, but I haven't seen anyone playing over there aside from Yes, some months back, that I'd care to see.
ReplyDeleteMesser Chups reminds me of The Cramps to some degree. They didn't play surf music per se, but included some of that in their punk rockabilly mixture along with some horror tropes.
The Cramps did have a sound in a similar enough vein that (if the band were still around) a double bill with Messer Chups would make sense.
DeleteDistance is always a factor in those decisions – not just absolute miles but time, and my willingness to expend time is lower than it was when I was young. Because of traffic the trip to Asbury Park was 2.5 hours; it was 1.5 hours back. I usually go alone to venues like The Wonder Bar just so I don’t put a guest through a boring car trip. In NYC (1.5 hours if traffic isn’t killer) I usually go with a friend, though. I’m guessing that’s a comparable time allowance for you to Dallas, but, as you say, that helps only if someone is playing whom you want to see.