House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ – 28 Sept 2022
“The chance of a lifetime, what a great place to be.”
Nostalgia warmed the Asbury Park air, as The House of Independents filled with 40-somethings stepping back in time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the classic Get Up Kids debut Four Minute Mile. We came into that show in our 40s, grays interspersed in our hairs, back pain and job stressors dominating our thoughts, we had all long since traded in our argyle sweaters. That’s how we came into the show, but it wouldn’t be how we left, as The House of Independents transported us all back a quarter century. The sadness behind our eyes after growing up in the shadow of late-stage capitalism gave way to twinkling eyes of youthful exuberance and ear to ear smiles.
Immediately the energy was brought up as openers Sparta knocked it out of the park with their career spanning set. The El Paso trio dialed up the passion and the crowd converted it into kinetic release. Touring weeks before a new record release (Sparta releases 14 October), Jim Ward and company showed why Sparta has remained such a beloved act for 20 years. The notes and lyrics exploded from the trio throughout a setlist devoid of any filler. Sparta doesn’t need to fill in silence with stage banter and anecdotes because they are too busy slicing their way through their impressive discography. I was slightly disappointed that the band’s signature track “Cut Your Ribbon” was left off the setlist, but I was more than thrilled with every track that made its way onto the show and into my earholes.
After Sparta got everyone’s blood pumping and heart racing, the trip back in time continued as Kansas’ favorite sons took the stage. No longer lamenting high school romances, the kids in the crowd are no longer kids, we have our own kids now and those songs we thought we understood at 16 hit so much harder at 40. It was a shock to the system to realize how fantastically the songs of Four Minute Mile have held up over all these years. The earnestness that put TGUK at the forefront of the Midwestern Emo boom has not faded, the quintet still seem as gracious and humbled to be on stage as those of us in the crowd were to share the moment with them. Of all the times I’ve been lucky enough to catch The Get Up Kids on tour, this was the best of them.
It may have been 15 years since I last listened to “Stay Gold Ponyboy,” but at those first chords every turn of phrase and every cymbal crash came rushing back, along with every autobiographical imprint the song has had on my psyche. The band crushed the album, playing it start to finish, followed by the Woodson EP, although for that playthrough the band tweaked the tracklisting, allowing “Off The Wagon” to play prequel to “A Newfound Interest in Massachusetts.” The band closed out and took to the wings, leaving the aging crowd sweaty, over-exerted and hoarse, but still begging for a few more minutes of our youth. The show easily could have ended here and been an epic performance. Luckily, the band did not leave us hanging, returning for a six-song encore, the best of the rest of their discography. Beginning with Matt Pryor taking the stage alone for “Out Of Reach” before the remaining Kids pounced on the opportunity to join in with “Satellite” and crowd favorite “I’m A Loner Dottie, A Rebel.”
For a night full of highlights, the tour outdid itself when Sparta’s Jim Ward joined The Get Up Kids for “Mass Pike.” The mutual admiration was evident and the song gained a beautiful element thanks to Ward’s passionate vocals. As if there were going to be any other way for the set to close, The Get Up Kids let the fans take center stage on “Action & Action” before consistent closing cut, “Ten Minutes.”
I’ve heard people talking about rooms coming to life during a set, but on this day, this room, the crowd was brought to youth, and I for one, needed that little endorphin pump to keep the heart on my sleeve beating.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
