Skate and Surf 2015: Rock ‘n’ Roll, Wrestling & Hawaiian Hats

Skate and Surf Festival 2015: Three Opinions

Pop-Break.com was lucky enough to send three writers to the annual Skate & Surf Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey last weekend — Nick Porcaro (senior writer & site design), Anthony Toto (senior writer & associate music editor) and Erin Mathis (staff writer). The three of them offered wildly different views on the event, and we’re proud to give them the platform to voice them. Anthony and Nick, friends for over two decades, hung the entire weekend and are presenting their review in conversation format, while Erin attended Sunday and breaks things down herself.

Anthony Toto: Props to the organizers of Skate and Surf, this event brought two generations of music listeners together to promote the growth of music festivals in the Central Jersey area.

I thought there was a delicate balance between young upcoming acts and reunions that generally drew excitement for anyone in the 24-30 age bracket. Teenage concert attendees were also able to enjoy modern acts like: The Gaslight Anthem and The Wonder Years while witnessing established veterans like Thrice, Poison the Well, and From Autumn To Ashes.

Nick Porcaro: I couldn’t have said it better myself. Reunions were a huge selling point for this year’s festival, but there were plenty of promising newcomers and rising stars to keep the kids satisfied. To be honest, though—and this may be nostalgia talking—I’d say the veterans brought it harder than the upstarts. In particular, Thrice, From Autumn to Ashes, and Acceptance were unexpectedly fired up and invigorated after extended hiatuses.

The newer bands certainly had their chops together but there wasn’t a ton of innovation to be seen. I guess that’s to be expected at such a traditionally pop-punk, hardcore, and screamo-heavy festival, but it was especially obvious when surrounded by all these huge reunions.

AT: On behalf of both of us, we found ourselves less interested in some of the younger bands simply because they’re either still discovering their sound or they’re relying on previously heard formulas.

So when bands like Acceptance get together after a nine-year hiatus, it’s to be expected that they’ll display more passion for the material as they’re in the midst of rediscovering their original chemistry.

We’re both listeners craving innovation at the highest level. Don’t mistake us for nostalgic reviewers; we absolutely support the younger bands and we’re always searching for the next great artist.

NP: Speaking of the search for the next great artist, we may have found our new favorite pop-rock band in Diamond Youth. The Baltimore-based foursome has songwriting chops to envy and a natural charisma that shines through clean arrangements. After a Saturday afternoon plagued with poor mixes, it was refreshing to hear a band with such a full, well-balanced sound.

AT: A mutual friend of Nick and mine turned me onto Diamond Youth around 2013. Simply stated, this band is one of the best kept secrets in modern rock. I’d rank their performance on the East Stage as one of the premier highlights of the entire festival. The group is able to effortlessly merge together an array of genres including surf rock, pop-rock, grunge, and dream pop. Their melodies are breathtaking and manage to soothe the ears while raising the adrenaline all within the confines of the same set.

NP: Diamond Youth filled the slot of last year’s winning performance by What’s Eating Gilbert, serving as an approachable, lighter reprieve from the dramatics of most of the weekend’s other bands. The band’s sensibilities are VERY old school, not at all indicative of their background in hardcore music or DIY work ethic. They unquestionably won over the small-but-engaged crowd, and it would have been my pick for performance of the day…

…were it not for Thrice. A word of warning: I am extremely biased on this subject. Thrice is the reason why I picked up a guitar; their standout 2003 single “All That’s Left” marked me a music fanatic for life.

After three years apart, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Singer, songwriter and rhythm guitarist Dustin Kensrue departed the band to serve as worship director for the Mars Hill megachurch in Seattle, but before long the church figurehead was embroiled in controversy and Dustin couldn’t stand to stick around any longer. Rhythm section brethren Eddie and Riley Breckenridge tinkered around in various side projects, while lead guitarist Teppei Teranishi started a leather goods brand.

Luckily, the fire that made them a cult fan favorite was plenty evident on Saturday’s show-stealing set.

AT: Nick and I go back nearly twenty years and seeing Thrice’s name on the billboard brought back great memories of listening to The Artist in the Ambulance in his basement. Nick kept me well informed about Thrice’s output all the way through their breakup, which seemed like the cultivation of Dustin being creatively deployed of passion for the band.

I like to compare Thrice to Brand New in this sense that both bands started out with a heavier sounds and gradually pursued indie-esque territories. If you love Thrice, you’re a lifelong fan. If you haven’t seen them before, I thought their performance was a pretty effective introduction to non-familiar listeners.

NP: The crowd-pleasers came fast and often, with little time spared for audience banter. While this practice may strike some as impersonal, I thought it was a smart strategy. They made the most of an hour-long time slot.

AT: When I watched Dustin sing “Stare at the Sun,” I saw a frontman rediscovering his love for the material. His body language spoke volumes of how Thrice enjoys each other’s company once again. If you were a lifelong fan, you had every reason to walk away satisfied. However, they’re all a little bit older now so it wasn’t necessarily the most exciting stage performance but the music was performed to perfection. I think their laidback attitude was miscontrived by a few reporters but I could understand if anyone walked away uninterested because it’s a niche sound.

NP: Thrice may not have the most enthralling stage presence, but there were plenty of acts across the weekend to pick up the slack. Attila frontman Chris “Fronz” Fronzak repeatedly goaded the audience into crowd-surfing and circle pits, Four Year Strong commanded us to sing along and jump around with f-bombs and fervor that would make Dave Grohl proud, and Manchester Orchestra’s keyboard player used every spare moment he had to air guitar like a boss.

AT: Let’s not forget about The Wonder Years. I think it’s safe to say they are carrying the flag for modern pop-punk. The crowd interaction was simply superb as a few thousand people proceeded to simultaneously jump away right from the opening note.

NP: Man, the Wonder Years whip crowds into a frenzy like few others. I took a raincheck on their set since I gassed myself moshing to their sarcastic-yet-sweet sounds the last time I saw them, but I could hear the audience screaming every word from across the festival area. Charismatically self-loathing frontman Dan “Soupy” Campbell stopped only for an injury in the audience, a predicament the band never takes lightly. For that, they must be applauded.

That being said, I was impressed with the lack of incidents over the weekend. As with last year, the generally unorganized promoters were nevertheless able to keep the peace. Any carnage was relegated to the squared circle placed smack-dab in the middle of the festivities.

Yep, that’s right—there was professional wrestling. And how!

AT: My last compliment for The Wonder Years—Soupy was generally pumped to know X-Pac and Scott Hall were in attendance at Skate and Surf. He screamed, “If they could ‘too sweet’ me, that would be insane!”

NP: Yes! Gaslight acknowledged Jake “The Snake” Roberts as well.

Out of place or not, Jersey Championship Wrestling provided a surprisingly necessary diversion from Saturday and Sunday’s jam-packed music scheduling. As Anthony and I started fading Sunday night, we figured we’d wander over to the ring to catch a match. You wouldn’t believe what we found ourselves in the middle of…

AT: Nick and I needed a break from the music and I knew there was a chance we’d witness the main events of JCW’s showcase. Seriously, we wound up seeing Jake “The Snake” Roberts and X-Pac wrestle in a six-man tag team match. Yes, JAKE “THE SNAKE” ROBERTS! How badass was it to witness the DDT?

NP: So badass.

AT: Plus, X-Pac brought his D-Generation X attitude while proceeding to “too sweet” everyone in the audience.

NP: And let’s not forget Santana Garrett, a firecracker female competitor formerly of TNA and quite the impressive talent herself. But the REAL highlight, at least for me, was Sunday night’s main event—an “Asbury Park Street Fight” between Jersey’s own Joey Janela and one of the nastiest hardcore wrestlers on the planet, Nick Gage. With the JCW Heavyweight Championship on the line, Janela and Gage risked life and limb for the entertainment of a few loyal fans. We were pried away from the Gaslight Anthem’s headlining set long enough to witness one of the craziest spots I’ve seen in the flesh, a 20-foot drop from Janela to Gage off the top of a big rig. Onto grass. No padding here, guys…

AT: All joking aside, they literally took the fight into the streets of the Asbury Park boardwalk. About 50 wrestling fans, including Nick and myself, ran out of Skate and Surf to witness this glorious mayhem, and we all ran back into the festival like a bunch of warriors in Braveheart once they brought it back to the ring.

NP: As a recently relapsed wrestling fan, I was happy to see any enthusiasm at all for JCW’s offerings at Skate and Surf. They certainly filled a vacant sideshow slot from last year’s festival, and I hope to see them return again next year.

AT: Absolutely, the wrestling scene helped the festival maintain an enjoyable aesthetic in the midst of a cold Saturday night or a hot Sunday.

NP: And as the weather shifted, so did the crowd’s energy. Although I was more excited for Saturday’s lineup, Sunday’s audience proved larger and more vital. Anthony and I arrived on Sunday just in time to see Acceptance, a generally forgotten Seattle pop-rock band who hadn’t graced a stage in over nine years.

I had no idea what to expect, having never seen the band before or heard much about the reunion apart from Skate and Surf’s initial response. But any misgivings I held were vanquished in an instant, as frontman Jason Vena climbed atop the kick drum to a rapturous round of applause before belting his ass off. Starting with “Take Cover”, the punchy opening cut from the band’s sole album, Phantoms, Acceptance dominated their early time slot on the World stage. Vena practically glided across the ground, missing nary a note with pure joy across his face.

You couldn’t help but be swept up in the positive energy, and longtime fans surrounding me were freaking out. None of us thought this would happen—and yet here they were, with a new single in tow, sounding studio-perfect. The band’s three guitarists played flawlessly off one another, never becoming excessive or unbalanced, while the rhythm section held four-on-the-floor grooves and bursts of punk rock speed together with equal precision. Acceptance’s brand of pop-rock may not be immediately impressive to more discerning listeners, but it is not to be ignored. Their songcraft is second to none.

AT: Right off the bat, this crowd was comprised of teenagers and twenty-somethings all genuinely ecstatic to watch Acceptance. The slogan “reunion show” could often be misconstrued for cashing in on nostalgia, however, this performance completely shunned away that stereotype.

Even if you weren’t a fan of Acceptance prior to their reunion, witnessing this musical reconnection take place on stage served as one of the pivotal moments of Skate and Surf. You couldn’t start the day on a better note. Truth be told, there was a genuine look of appreciation gleaming from the eyes of Jason Vena. The band seemed blown away by the audience response. The shock factor all on their faces said it all.

Talk about the perfect mix—would we rank this as the best-sounding set of Skate and Surf?

NP: Oh, most definitely. As much as Skate and Surf prides itself on its punk, screamo, and hardcore lineage, the more straight-up rock bands fared best this year, in no small part due to better mixes. I don’t know if it’s a sound guy thing or a genre thing, but the difference was night and day. Manchester Orchestra, Diamond Youth, Dropkick Murphys, The Gaslight Anthem, and Thrice all had solid mixes, while Four Year Strong and American Nightmare especially suffered. The latter’s sound consisted of screamed vocals and a kick drum, with bass and electric guitars at a whisper. I know that’s not what the artist intended.

AT: I think there was an ugly combination of power outages and poor sound quality compromising bands on the East and West stages including American Nightmare and even Big D and the Kids Table.

NP: To be fair, they’re an especially hard band to do justice. With a full horn section, keyboards, and backing singers, Big D had the largest ensemble of the weekend.

AT: Speaking of large ensembles, I’m going to call Manchester Orchestra my favorite act of the entire weekend.

NP: While I disagree, I fully support your decision. They had me itching to revisit their discography post-haste.

AT: They somehow achieved the perfect sound mix on the World Stage.

NP: I’m always impressed when guitarists manage abrasive tones without deafening their audience, and these guys nailed it. Same with Cloud Nothings, albeit on a lesser scale. The thick seas of distortion perfectly complemented Andy Hull’s crackling, almost nasal singing voice.

AT: Keyboardist Chris Freeman was simply the highlight of Manchester Orchestra’s set. His charismatic ability to subconsciously lose himself to the musical background defined the band’s highlight reel performance.

NP: I love seeing musicians surrender to the power of their handiwork, especially when it comes across as genuine, not calculated. That’s exactly how Freeman came across.

Hey, tell me a bit about what I missed from Poison the Well. I’m sure they had plenty of charisma to offer.

AT: Poison the Well were the definitive reunion act of Skate and Surf.

NP: Meanwhile, I was drinking a beer in the VIP lounge…at least I got to interview Acceptance in the process. It’s the little things sometimes.

AT: I said this on Twitter: they received the best crowd reaction by far. Guitarist Ryan Primack rocked a White Lion t-shirt. I think that says it all right there.

NP: Let’s talk about the crowd. Were you feeling it? I recall The Story So Far having an insane turnout. Their cult continues to grow year after year…

AT: Absolutely. Once frontman Jeffrey Moreira jumped into the audience, the crowd proceeded to surf away like a high tide crashing across the shore. The pits were massive but the back and forth lyrical shouts from the crowd gave me goosebumps. Poison The Well’s set took place in the middle of the day and this crowd was ready to give them every ounce of their energy.

NP: With all this talk of side stages and opening acts, we managed to almost completely avoid the headliners. What gives?

AT: Let me throw this out there–is it fair to call The Gaslight Anthem the heir apparent to Bruce? The crowd came out in droves to witness NJ’s latest homegrown phenomenon.

NP: Hold your horses—that title is The Hold Steady’s for the taking.

I cannot tell a lie: I don’t see the appeal of The Gaslight Anthem, but they sure pleased the Sunday night crowd with a long and wide-ranging setlist featuring several old rarities and covers. As headlining sets go, it got the job done. And Dropkick Murphys were ever the consummate professionals, contributing the sort of performance that makes it plain and clear these guys have been rocking around the world for 20 years.

But neither act really THRILLED me. There was a distance, if ever so slight. The raw energy shared by the best Skate and Surf moments was lacking in both sets.

AT: Central Jersey most certainly loves Bruce Springsteen and the genre pop punk. That’s where Gaslight Anthem finds a successful balance, and the crowd reaction would dictate Gaslight as the festival’s premier act. They brought Asbury Park together Sunday night. But if we’re considering the best acts of the weekend, I’ll still give the advantage to Manchester Orchestra.

NP: It’s gotta be Acceptance for me. Who surprised you the most this weekend? Did anyone?

AT: Not to sound repetitive, but again—Manchester Orchestra. While I expected a solid show, they seriously surpassed my expectations. Their set was a prime example of a musical bliss.

NP: It really was something else. As for surprises, I have to give it to From Autumn to Ashes. While I won’t be running to Hot Topic to pick up their back catalog any time soon, the recently reunited Long Islanders went all scorched earth on the GameLoud stage with a clinic on how to balance chaos with order. Welcome back, dudes.

AT: Absolutely. They are masters of the post-hardcore sound. There’s something organic about hearing the originators reclaim the throne. It’s not even worth comparing: From Autumn to Ashes stands heads and shoulders above their countless ripoffs.

NP: Well, that pretty much settles it. Another year, another Skate and Surf, another confirmation that music was better when we were kids. Now GET OFF MY LAWN! I kid, I kid. I’m looking forward to what acts, both old and new, will show up in Asbury Park next year.

Think you’ll be back for another round? I know I will. There’s something comforting about festivals like Skate and Surf. They’re not drowning in corporate sponsorships. They feel local.

AT: Absolutely, I’ll give props to the location from a convenience standpoint. It was easily accessible and we really experienced no travel issues. I approve of the festival’s layout as I never felt overwhelmed by the crowd. Everything was within walking distance. It wasn’t unrealistic to walk from the GameLoud stage to the East and West stages.

NP: That reminds me…one word of advice for next year: fix the sound bleed between stages, please. 2014 worked out just fine, but the extra stage this year messed things up.

AT: Make sure those ticket scanners are prepared for the influx of concert attendees next year.

NP: But all in all, I’d say it was a very successful weekend. Wouldn’t you?

AT: I absolutely give my approval to Skate and Surf. The sound issues are correctable – it sucks bands like Dads were victims of an awful sound system. The crowd never felt hostile, it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves, and there was no anxiety about missing top acts as they were spaced out. I loved walking down Ocean Avenue and hanging out in a relatively perfect park for a music festival.

NP: Music and Asbury Park go hand in hand. Here’s hoping this festival sticks around for a while longer.

All photos on this page credit: Joseph Vulpis

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