Asbury Park, NJ – 18 April 2025
The Calm And The Chaos Converge
This scene is a hell of a thing, huh? There aren’t any other genres where a lucky bastard like myself can go to a fairly small venue in Asbury Park, NJ and see five legitimate legends take the stage together with one hell of an opening cast for under $40? But here I am, on a beautiful Good Friday catching LS Dunes with a killer supporting cast including Night Sins and From Indian Lakes. An energy of weird lined the streets, an anxiousness building up that led to a queue of static energy waiting to unleash
It would be easy to suggest that the absurdly talented group of Anthony Green (Saosin, Circa Survive), Frank Iero (My Chemical Romance), Travis Stever (Coheed and Cambria), Tim Payne and Tucker Rule (both of Thursday) had such a devoted following only because of their other endeavors, but to say LS Dunes themselves haven’t earned it would be a gross underestimate. Past Lives and Violet were absolutely fantastic records. and Asbury Lanes was brimming with anticipation as the crowd prepared to experience a collective catharsis.
Opening act Night Sins shot out of a cannon to tee up the crowd for what was to come. The dark-wave creation of Kyle Kimball performed as a four-piece tonight, with Kimball showing off his “Out Of Step” abdomen tattoo peeking out of his leather jacket. The baritone vox of Kimball over the innovative dark and dancy synth work melded into one another to create something the crowd didn’t expect but certainly enjoyed. If John Hughes directed the dance scene from 13 reasons Why, Night Sins could craft a perfect soundtrack.
Following Night Sins, From Indian Lakes took the stage. FIL had flown largely under my radar, until last year’s dreamy slice of genius, Head Void. The songs I recognized played pretty accurate to the studio release. While incense burned at the feet of the bassist, the band performed the shoe-gaze infused indie-rock they’ve been perfecting since forming 15 years ago.
The band performed a fairly static performance, the band members moved less than 3 feet from where they started throughout the entire set… they didn’t need to explore the space, the music moved the crowd. I can’t imagine they have a resting heartbeat above 18, because their performance was so impressively laid back. The quartet didnt have much in the way of stage banter. FIL mastermind Joey Vannucci remained aggressively bashful, saying very little beyond saying “we’re pretty chill,” hinting that they had enjoyed some cookies earlier and jokingly apologizing for having gotten a bit hot-tempered when responding to someone in the crowd (they did not). From Indian Lakes were stunningly reserved compared to the headliners, but that dichotomy allowed FIL to showcase their skillset and what made them the perfect contrast and perfect balance to LS Dunes.
Before LS Dunes took the stage, the crowd felt heavy with excitement, the room vibrated in a silent anticipation, the low hum of a fuse on an explosive preparing to pop. When the 5-piece hit the stage, the crowd tightened up, and the room detonated into utter catharsis. The crowd’s passion ricocheting off the walls, matched by the manic energy of Anthony Green. Green was convulsing across the stage, oscillating his signature voice from howls to melodies with complete abandon.
We all know the pedigree of the members on stage, but tonight those previous incarnations mean nothing, because LS D steals the moment, making the past meaningless and the present perfect. There was glee and chaos, crooning and baying. It was the most heavenly of the circles of hell, just as the gods intended.
The setlist, evenly distributed across both of the band’s releases, took up 75 minutes, but there was no one in the crowd who would have complained if it went on for another 3 hours. Everyone inside Asbury Lanes knew we had witnessed a moment we would never let go of. The exquisite sin of this pleasured release will last a lifetime.
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/