Pop Break Live: The Bronx, Plague Vendor, The 68 at House of Independents in Asbury Park, NJ
Indian summer continues in New Jersey and it’s an absolutely perfect day for a ride to one of my favorite places to be, Asbury Park. The plans for today include, hanging with friends, watching the annual Zombie Walk and going to see the Hardcore Punk band The Bronx at House of Independents, a good day indeed!
The Bronx are a hardcore punk band from Southern California formed in 2002 and include band members Matt Caughthran on vocals, Joby Ford on guitar, Ken Horn on guitar, Brad Magers on bass and Dave Hidalgo (Social Distortion) on drums. The Bronx are a ATO Records recording artist and are currently touring in support of their latest studio album The Bronx V which was released this past September and is their fifth studio album to date.
The band took the stage to “White Tar” off their 2003 album and it was full on musical assault from that point forward with a diverse setlist of songs including “The Unholy Hand,” Youth Wasted,” Broken Arrow,” and “Stranger Danger” to name a few. With the exception of the first and last songs of the night Bronx front man Matt Caughthran did the entire show from the crowd in the pit, which was absolutely fucking sick!!
The combination of Matt Caughthran’s raspy hard-edged gruff voice, the social and political message and the driving chords and choruses of his band mates made this a visceral, primitive, raw experience which reminded me of how punk used to, and should still be! I thank Matt and his band mates for years of great music and for remaining true to the scene!
Check out The Bronx’s website at Bronxxx.com for additional info
Setlist:
Sore Throat
Youth Wasted
Heart Attack American
Two Birds
Rape Zombie
Knifeman
The Unholy Hand
Six Days A Week
Shitty future
Broken Arrow
Under The Rabbit
Rib Cage
Night Drop At The Glue Factory
Around The Horn
White Tar
Stranger Danger
Side Effects
They Will Kill Us All
White Guilt
History’s Stranglers
The L.A. based punk band Plague Vendor provided support for this show, they are a Epitaph Records recording artist formed in 2010 and include members Brandon Blaine on vocals, Jay Rogers on guitar, Mike Perez on bass, and Luke Perine on drums. Their latest album Bloodsweat was released in 2016 and comes after their highly regarded debut album “Free to Eat” which was released in 2014. Plague Vendor has been featured on BBC1, the Carson Daly Show and has played some rather major gigs including Riot Fest.
Plague Vendor started their set with “Anchor to Ankles” off their latest album and continued with a blazing set including “Jezebel,” Chopper,” No Bounty,” and “Credentials”. This is a legit and unique punk band with an angry and desperate sound fueled by Brandon Blaine’s vocals and the cutting and sometimes melodic instrumentals of his band mates. I thought Plague Vendor was a great addition to this show!
For more info on Plague Vendor visit the bands website at Plaguevendor.com
Setlist
Anchor to Ankles
No Bounty
Black Sap Scriptures
Got it Bad
Break Dance On Broken Glass
Nothing Wrong
Plague Vendor
Pain In My Heart
Jezebel
Chopper
Ox Blood
Credentials
Opening this show was the punk band called 68 who hails from Athens Georgia and is a Good Fight Records recording artist, they are touring in support of their new album Two Parts Viper which was released this past June. 68 is a rather unique band in that it has two members, Josh Scogin on vocals and guitar and a new drummer who goes by the name Nikko. I was floored at how much noise (good) these two guys made, and by how stylistically tight they were considering the drummer is new. I thought 68 were a great, as did the rest of the crowd in attendance!
For more info on 68 visit the bands website at weare68.com
In closing I would like to thank The Bronx, Plague Vendor and 68 for the incredible music, House of Independents for hosting this event and allowing the coverage, and last but not least their awesome Security team who were totally courteous and professional at all times. To see what’s going on at House of Independents check out their website at houseofindependents.com
