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| Oh! Snap! What a year for Fruit & Flowers |
by Matt Chrystal
2016 will probably be remembered by most for some real WTF! Moments but there were still a ton of good times and a whole bunch of great shows that made me say "OH! SNAP!"
For my "Best of 2016 List," I figured I take a look back on some of the touring acts that came through the area this year.
Geez. Do you have any idea how hard it is to narrow down a year's worth of radness and badassery down to only 5 Oh! Snap! Shows???
Does anyone still say Oh! Snap!??
Did anyone ever say Oh! Snap!??
The phrase is an exclamation of surprise, happiness, and many other emotions.
See also "Wow!" "Whoa!" and "OMG!"
Well anyways, these are the 5 shows that I went to in 2016 that made me say "Oh! Snap!"
1. Matthew Logan Vasquez at the Saint in Asbury Park, NJ. July 27, 2016
The former frontman of Delta Spirit, Matthew Logan Vasquez, had just played a critically-acclaimed guest-filled set at the Newport Folk Fest and then played in front of thousands when he reunited with John McCauley of DeerTick and Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes to perform a set as the indie-supergroup, Middle Brother. Next stop: A solo show at the Saint in Asbury Park.
In an interview prior to his coming to the Garden State, I asked MLV how he psychs himself up for small club gigs again after playing such giant events. He responded with, "I love clubs. I cut my teeth in clubs. Clubs are the real thing. It's not bloated. It's just real connection the whole time. Homie, more clubs please!"
But really what else was he going to say, right?
Turns out there was nothing else he coulda said, shoulda said or needed to say.
Clad in Hawaiian shirts, MLV and his band took to the stage, looked out at the maybe dozen folks that came out on this Wednesday night and proceeded to blow the roof of the place! And he looked like he was having the time of his life doing it.
The band tore through a mix of tunes from his Solicitor Returns album, his Austin EP, some Middle Brother songs and a few choice covers. He took requests, jumped on the bar, and slow danced with the bartender as he led a sing-along in honor of her birthday. He let audience members take over on lead vocals, invited the opening act (Brother Andrew) back up to play and even got the crowd to partner up for a some country two-stepping. At points during the show, he stood triumphant atop the drum kit while getting everything he could out of his guitar.
He closed the show by shredding and screaming out a cover of "In the Pines" that would have made Leadbelly and Kurt Cobain jump up, high-five and say "Oh! Snap!"
2. Thelma & the Sleaze at APYC in Asbury Park, NJ. May 5, 2016
Little Dickman Records came through big time in bringing the goods to Asbury Park in 2016. They somehow got Nashville’s Thelma & the Sleaze to come play a free show at APYC on their night off from touring with Eagles of Death Metal. Oh! Snap!
The band was absolutely killer in every great way possible. Throughout their set, I pictured them as vampire vixens straight out of some Tarantino film where they seduce the entire crowd with their music and stage show, only to destroy all the fools for even thinking they had a chance to get close to them. Then they throw back some jars of moonshine and go right back to playing rock n roll. Ok, I'm getting lost in my own fantasy here but TATS put on an intense, fun show that can seriously kick everyone's ass.
Also, you should follow them on Instagram and Twitter as front-woman, LG will keep you entertained with every ridiculous video she posts. Oh, and they just put out an Xmas Sampler with the soon to be hits "StripClub Christmas" and "Buttstuff."
3. Fruit & Flowers at the Anchor’s Bend in Asbury Park, NJ. July 8, 2016
Again, Little Dickman Records introduced me to so many great new emerging indie-bands in 2016.
Fruit & Flowers blew me away at LDR’s summer showcase which also featured Sharkmuffin and a surprise set from San Diego’s The Soaks.
Fruit & Flowers are the kind of band, that back in the day, I would have stayed up all night to catch them on MTV’s 120 Minutes or I would have called in to request them on the Video Jukebox Channel (anyone remember that one?)!
They are a band that I would make sure to track down at a festival, get there early for if they are opening a show or stick around for if they are playing late.
The sun hadn’t even set in the background of the patio they were performing on, and it felt like they were playing their last show ever and had to make it count. Frontwoman, Caroline Yoder, was completely immersed in the moment and the music and had the moves like Jagger even while getting herself totally wrapped up in the microphone wire. The band was pretty damn amazing. Oh! Snap! I couldn’t get enough.
4. Xponential Music Fest (Day 1) at the Camden Waterfront in Camden, NJ. July 22, 2016
Oh! Snap! A major festival with a diverse line-up of exceptional talent that I didn't have to travel across the country for!
I stood on stage and watched as White Denim attempted to match the intensity of the July sun with a blazing hot set of psych and fuzz that made me wonder why they were opening the fest instead of headlining it.
Father John Misty treated the crowd to a verbal tirade about taking a moment to be "profoundly sad" and then went on to rage against the symbolism of having a warship floating in the harbor as a backdrop to a festival which he stated was more like a cookout than a rock concert.
He played one rambling impromptu song with no chorus followed by a few more political tirades and covered Leonard Cohen’s "Bird on a Wire" before walking off stage leaving a baffled audience in his wake.
Shawn Colvin and Steve Earle were up next. And just like their album, I felt the duo just did not work. Colvin sounded strong but Earle reminded me of someone’s dad singing along to the radio in the car. I just wanted him to be quiet so I could hear the actual song.
Night fell and attendees were herded into the pavilion where Kurt Vile put on a solid set that segued in and out of folky dreamscapes and Crazy Horse-esque reverb soaked jams.
Day 1's headliner, Ryan Adams, came out and made a joke that Vile's hair looked like "two mops had crashed into each other." The crowd was still bewildered from Father John Misty's set earlier in the day and had almost zero reaction.
Adams won everyone over quickly with witty stage banter, self-deprecating humor and, most importantly, with an epic set of music that spanned his vast catalogue. Die-hard fans were satiated and new converts were made with every heroically posed guitar solo.
Adams has been a target of Father John Misty on twitter in recent times, and I felt that he made it his personal mission to take the attention away from that train-wreck that was FJM's earlier "show" and put on a performance that would leave everyone talking. Oh! Snap! Mission accomplished!
5. Joe Fletcher at 10th Ave Burrito Company in Belmar, NJ. November 13, 2016
Singer-songwriter and alt-country folkie, Joe Fletcher, is my hero so I had a lot of fanboy Oh! Snap! moments at this early afternoon show. It was cool just to see him play at a taco joint in Belmar, but I got all giddy like a schoolgirl when he gave me a shout-out saying he enjoyed my interview with him and about how I had reminded him about a few songs he hadn't played in years so he was going to play them now. Also, in my interview with him, I likened his songwriting to my other heroes like Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt,; so when he covered a song from each of those artists, I went from saying "Oh! Snap! This is awesome! This is awesome!" over and over in my head to actually yelling it out loud. By the time he encored with "I'd Never," the other patrons had finally turned away from watching football and left the free buffet to sing along to the chorus, "I'd never gotten on this ship if I'd known it was gonna take me home. I was never meant for life on land and I can't make it on my own."
Oh! Snap! That was a good show… and some good tacos!
Honorable Mentions:
Band of Horses at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ. June 7, 2016
During their Acoustic/Electric Mirage Rock Tour in 2012, Band of Horses played a set of music at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC that sounded so beautiful I was moved to tears (Hey, shut up. I’m a sensitive guy).
Fast forward to June 2016, I was walking into Vintage Vinyl to grab a copy of BOH’s new album, Why Are You Ok?, when I saw a poster on the door that the band was playing a free in-store performance that evening.
Oh! Snap! Why is Band of Horses playing in Fords, NJ?! How did I not know about this?
Who cares! I know now!
They played a great acoustic set that lasted a little over thirty minutes with selections coming from several of their albums. I wasn't moved to tears at this one (and, to be honest, I still have yet to connect with the new album) but I got to experience this intimate show in a local record store with my three year old daughter on my shoulders so it was a still a special Oh! Snap! show for me in 2016.
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