Photos: Al Mannarino | Words: Bill Bodkin
Eddie Vedder stood onstage at the third Sea.Hear.Now Musical Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He looked out into the sea of 30,000+ people and opened up about the past year and a half – talking about time and plans lost to the pandemic, about returning to the stage and about life itself. You could tell, as he combed his hands through his hair, that he was taking this moment on stage to process everything in front of him and everything he and the band had been through.
And in that moment, we were all Eddie.
Like the venerated frontman and grunge icon, all those attending Sea.Hear.Now 2021 were processing our worlds from the past 16+ months. For many of us, this was the return to the realm of live music in nearly two years. As we entered the gates and showed our documentation and saw live music for the first time in seemingly eternity, we like Vedder were physically and emotionally processing everything — past, present and future — our time in quarantine, of plans and promises and loved ones to the pandemic, to social and political strife, to the anxieties of everyday life and even as something first world as being back at a large scale music festival.
And then like Vedder, we all needed to let it go.
Following Vedder’s speech, the band broke into “Corduroy” off their Vitalogy record. The song, whether the band intended it this way or not, was the perfect song to play after his talk. The immediacy, the anxiety, the stress and the energy of the opening riffs perfectly followed by the bombacity of Eddie Vedder’s vocals and Mike McCready’s blazing guitar work, were the sonic catharsis everyone needed.
Vedder’s vocal explosion paralleled the expulsion of nearly two year’s worth of our collective heartache and heartbreak. At that moment, it felt like we could all finally let loose and allow ourselves to be immersed in more than just worry and fear. It felt almost like a spiritual moment as the song ripped through the salt-laden air across the city that Bruce built, as the full moon shone on the glassy Atlantic Ocean which kept seeping its way into the concerts.
In this moment, a moment only music could create, it felt like a massive reclamation was happening. It felt as though the soul of a city, a scene, a sonic form of entertainment and the souls of tens of thousands of people had returned back to its body. In that moment, no matter how fleeting it was, it felt like things maybe just might be alright, that things might just be getting better.
Sea.Hear.Now 2021 was not just a musical festival it was a revival. If you get a picture in your head of a revival of a spiritual gathering with people dancing, singing, and feeling alive … well that was Sea.Hear.Now 2021.
You could feel it during Matt and Kim’s set – their first in nearly two years – as the duo was nearly jumping out of their skin in excitement with every beat they dropped. You see it as Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears took a Sunday afternoon crowd to church and converted hundreds of fans with crackling guitar solos and fat brass interludes. You could taste the excitement from Grouplove, making their New Jersey debut, as they fed off the crowd and reciprocated the energy back during their big hook laden set. Even veterans like Billy Idol and Patti Smith had an extra bounce in their step as they were visually reveling being in front of a crowd again.
The passion and vibrance exuding from the stages found its way throughout the festival grounds. People were able to shed the nerves of entering Sea.Hear.Now 2021 – vaccination card and records in hand – when they saw the familiar sites of the James Bradley statue adorned in surf gear and they could taste the late summer salt water breeze. Many of us were not only able to reconnect with friends and family we hadn’t seen in eons (as one does during SHN), but also reunite with the people artists, production team, promoters, photographers, journalists, bartenders, servers and undeniable characters that make the Asbury music scene of the most important in the world. It was hard not to fight back tears seeing those people once again – because it was a signal that things were finally getting back to normal.
Sea.Hear.Now 2021 wasn’t just a musical festival. This was a revival – of a city, a music scene, and our souls. It was a watershed moment that maybe, just maybe, the world is healing despite all the chaos that surrounds us at all times. And like any good revival, music was at the absolute center of it.
Day 1: The Return
Walking into Sea.Hear.Now 2021 was quite the experience. As always, the staff that checks you in is always some of the friendliest humans you’re going to meet at an event like this.
Examination of IDs and vaccination records and negative COVID tests were expedient yet thorough — a welcome sign for all those (like this writer) entering their first mass attended event like this in two years.
The sea of people on line for food, drink and merch were staggering at times and walking the boards to see Hirie present a set that evoked visual and sonic memories of Tragic Kingdom-era No Doubt (seriously, they were incredible) almost felt like an alien experience.
Yet, it wasn’t until the familiar tunes of White Denim started humming across Bradley Park stage did things start to feel right. The Austin-based band (who also did an afterparty at Wonder Bar that weekend) ripped through their catalog of bluesy psych rock and man it was wonderful to hear James Petralli rip — vocally and on guitar — through one of the band’s best tunes, ‘In Dreams.’ If you’re into blues, psych rock, jam or guitar-driven wonderance, White Denim is the band for you.
Speaking of a slice of guitar-driven heaven, Dr. Dog’s presence on the Sand Stage was a loaded performance and sadly it will be their last performance in New Jersey. The band announced they would be retiring and honoring their final dates — culminating with a multi-night stand in Philadelphia in the fall.
The announcement of Patti Smith at Sea.Hear.Now should come as no surprise to those who follow the works of festival co-founder Danny Clinch. Smith is featured heavily through his last book (simply entitled Clinch). Smith’s joy to be back in the performance sphere radiated off the stage. She spoke about her love, and more importantly her mom’s love, for the legendary Stone Pony. The iconic artist regaled the crowd with her classics “Because the Night” and “Dancing Barefoot” while also performing covers of Bob Dylan’s “One Too Many Mornings” and “Gloria” by Them.
If there was a band that blew everyone away with the sheer energy and ferocity of their performance, it was undoubtedly The Avett Brothers. Admittedly, the band has always been one of my musical blindspots, so for an uninitiated listener like myself, their set converted me to instant fandom. The Avetts brought it. The velocity and passion the band put into the first three songs of their set, “Satan Pulls the Strings,” “Live and Die,” and “Laundry Room” were delightfully bewildering. It left you mouth agape wanting more of the foot stomping, hand clapping, revivalistic set they were crafting. Run, don’t walk to see them in concert.
If one could harness the sheer energy from the excitement Matt & Kim brought to their set, it could’ve lit the whole boardwalk up. The duo injected samples and covers of DMX’s “Party Up,” AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” and even some Van Halen into their wave-your-hands-in-the-air-and-party-like-you-just-don’t-care set. There was good reason for this endless exuberance as it was their first show in close to two years — due to both the pandemic and a knee injury Kim suffered. Giant beach balls and blow up dolls were also a part of the set and you had to be there to fully understand and appreciate it.
The almighty Pearl Jam was the headliner of Night 1 and quite frankly, they were the draw for the festival. Vedder admitted on stage they had never played Asbury Park before which was a shocking revelation given the band’s lengthy career and the importance of Asbury — even during its worst days — to the development of touring bands. The set started a bit slower and more unfamiliar with the live debut of “Quick Escape” and “Seven O’Clock.” Both songs appear on their 2020 release Gigaton (which Vedder explained was a play on how much they planned on touring in 2020).
But once “Corduroy” hit, things worked into a wonderful groove of hits (“Better Man,” “Evenflow”) and new material (“Superblood Wolfmoon,“”Take the Long Way”). Of course the night could not end without a tip of the cap to Bruce Springsteen as Vedder brought a number of local singers to help him out with a cover of The Boss’ “My City of Ruins.” For the thousands of fans bedecked in Pearl Jam gear who waited nearly two years to see Pearl Jam on the beachfront of Asbury Park — the wait was worth it.
Day 2: Yeah, We’re Back
The next day … things felt different. It felt as if that reclamation I spoke of earlier had inspired the masses to let loose. Dancing on the boardwalk or in the sand, drinks held high in the air in celebration, necks whipping back as laughter filled the festival grounds — the nerves, tension and anxiety of the first day faded into the ether. People were there for fun and fun was absolutely on the menu for Day 2 at Sea.Hear.Now 2021. The revival was in full effect.
Remember Jones is the best. When they come to a show and perform, they always, always make a massive impression. Frontman Anthony D’Amato was dressed as only he can and his band followed suit — with bold yellow and purple outfits — boldness that only could be matched by their music. D’Amato is one of the best singers you’re going to hear and his showmanship is the definition of charisma and panache. It’s a matter of when, not if, for this band to become a national treasure.
Black Joe Lewis and The Honeybears were in a similar situation as St. Paul and the Broken Bones in 2019. Both performed Sunday afternoon sets at The Sand Stage as the sun blazed over the crowd. Both were bands that people had heard of, but weren’t exactly fluent fans of. Yet, both bands, by the end of their set had a lot of people heading over to Spotify and adding them to their queues. This band just brought it. The fat horn section combined with screaming guitar made for an old fashioned beach dance party.
Billy Idol was in the role The B52’s were in in 2019 — the “throwback” role. I guess someone forgot to tell Billy that, though. Idol came out on stage with the same trademark snear and swagger that made him an undeniable icon in the ‘80s and a staple of the touring scene till this very day. Were “Mony Mony,” “Rebel Yell,” “White Wedding,” and “Dancing with Myself” absolutely kill? You bet your best leather jacket they did. Idol was a showman through and through and putting this out into the universe … his new music is absolutely worth checking out.
Grouplove made their New Jersey debut (a fact I couldn’t believe) on the Park Stage. The symbiotic relationship between the crowd and band was palpable. As the crowd got stoked for anthems like “Tongue Tied” the band got even more excited to play. You could see the band bouncing all over the stage — smiles engraved on their faces — even from far the far reaches of the Park Stage grounds. Their anthems hit all the right spots for a crowd who was raising their craft beers and Liquid Death waters in the air. A perfect later afternoon set if there ever was one.
When Sea.Hear.Now announced their return for 2021, they had the unfortunate news that a number of artists had to bow out. However, there was good news, Orville Peck (amongst others) had been added to the show.
Here’s the thing about Orville Peck. One does not simply watch Orville Peck perform, one experiences it. Sauntering onto the Surf Stage with his patented fringe-laden Lone Ranger mask, green leather chaps, a cowboy hat and a massive white guitar, Orville Peck demanded and commanded the attention of the audience. But it wasn’t the look and the swagger that hooked the crowd, it was the voice. Our photographer commented he sounded like Elvis Presley reborn, to others it evoked sonic imagery of Chris Isaak, Johnny Cash and any great Country Western singer that cut a piece of vinyl in the ’40s and ’50s. There was an inherent bluesiness mixed with the right elements of shoegaze to the set that was near mind bending in its originality. Orville Peck converted all the masses that afternoon and we’re all better for it.
Dirty Heads are no strangers to the huge swath of jam/reggae heads that populate the greater Jersey Shore. The crowd was into the Heads big time, celebrating both vocally and herbally throughout the set. As the cold ocean air rolled into Asbury Park, reminding us of autumn’s impending presence, Dirty Heads laid in some thick beats and irie rhythms that were the choicest cuts for a late summer evening. While everyone loves their hit “Lay Me Down” do not sleep on their cinematic reggae/hip hop/funk nugget “Super Moon” which is so good live, especially with a full moon in the background.
Smashing Pumpkins closed out the night and they wasted no time ripping into the hits. The band was in a position that was quite unenviable — closing out a festival on a Sunday night.
However, when Billy Corgan (adorned in face paint) soared into “Bullet with Butterfly Wings” he grabbed the attention of the tens of thousands of fest-goers clad in hoodies and long sleeves t-shirts and never let go. “Cherub Rock,” “Today,” “Ava Adore,” “Zero,” “Tonight, Tonight” and “1979” all captivated the crowd and sent the masses home happy after being treated to a hell of a rock show.
