I’m going to save you a few hundred bucks. Take that dough that you were planning to spend at Lollapalooza/Governor’s Ball/some other large-scale late-summer multi-stage music festival and put it back in your pocket. Now set 40 bucks aside, because I’ve got the quick, easy, healthy alternative to that big corporate juggernaut. You can thank me later.
Shadow of the City was hatched back in 2015 by musician Jack Antonoff. (That’s Jack Antonoff as in the guitarist from fun, the frontman from Bleachers, the ubiquitous super-producer who co-writes hit songs for Lorde and St. Vincent and Taylor Swift.). All credentials aside, Antonoff still comes off like your average, unassuming New Jersey record store nerd, and Shadow of the City is his annual musical homecoming.
The setting is Asbury Park’s historic Stone Pony. If you’re unfamiliar with the neighborhood or the venue, you’re missing out on a great little piece of musical history. Imagine a punk rock, nose-pierced version of Amity Island from Jaws- that’s Asbury Park. And now imagine the East Coast version of The Viper Room or The Whisky A Go-Go, which just as much history- that’s The Stone Pony.
Ok, full disclosure, The Stone Pony Summer Stage can be hit or miss in terms of sound quality. I saw Jane’s Addiction at The Pony two summers ago, and they sounded fantastic. I saw Dinosaur Jr on the very same night and the sound was awful. Basically, it’s a good venue but with no guarantees. Being that the stage is only a block away from the beach, it probably depends on which way the Atlantic Ocean air is blowing on that particular night.
That being said, Shadow of the City 2021 was absolutely stellar from beginning to end- in sonic quality, and in the performances. This show never feels like a big corporate event- more like a big backyard party- and yet every artist sounded as full and clear as your own bedroom stereo.
And that brings me to the artists. So yeah, even though there are no Eminem or Beyoncé sized names on the bill, SOTC always delivers a solid and diverse lineup full up upcoming pop-rock artists. And because the lineup is closely cultivated by Antonoff himself, you can be sure that you’ll see artists with serious chops- not just performers who are resting on their marquee value. Almost all of the artists I caught this year made a point of thanking Jack during their sets- and those little thank yous sounded so much more genuine and heartfelt than simply, Hello New Jersey. You can tell the performers are grateful for the platform, and their energy was infectious. Beach Bunny lived up to their name and got the surfer kids singing along. Japanese Breakfast got flags flying across the crowd with their nerdy-cool dance moves.
Bleachers were the headlining act this year (as they’ve been for four out of the festival’s five years.) And if you’re still on the fence – just trust me, buy the ticket and get a good spot, because I’m now convinced that Bleachers are the most underrated live band in modern rock.
I’d caught their live show a few times in the past, and they always bring the energy. But their two-hour set at Shadow of the City was something else entirely- it was warm-summer-night magical. For more than 20 songs, you would swear that they were the biggest band in the world.
And to hear the Asbury Park crowd screaming along to so many songs, you couldn’t help but scream, too. This is the sort of energy that you will only really find in a hometown crowd – a feeling that this band belongs to this town and this venue, and anywhere else they go in the world, they are just on loan from New Jersey. Even by hometown standards, Bleachers were on fire. They played a good chunk of their three studio albums, they covered a little Bruce, and Jack even threw in a little solo rendition of the fun. single Carry On. At 10PM, Bleachers closed their set and the entire day with the one-two-three punch of I Wanna Get Better, Don’t Take The Money and Stop Making This Hurt. By that point, fair to say that even casual fans had become full-time devotees, and the diehard fans were going bananas. I’m giving you the heads up for 2022: Bigger is not always better, and Shadow of the City is one of the best fests on the east coast. -BRI