Soul Asylum 5-19-98 Seabright NJ...Tradewinds

a review from David

Dear Caged,

OK, so I just got home from the 5/19 concert in Sea Bright New Jersey (at
the Tradewinds club). This whole saga started when on some Monday in April
I heard that all week the local modern rock radio station (WHTG) was giving
away Soul Asylum tickets if you could identify the cheesy rendition of a
current modern rock hit. It was played on one of those $75 electronic
keyboards with the automatic drum beat. I listened, and as I was sitting
helplessly in my car on the way to work (sans cell phone, which I still
don't possess) I called out "Alannis Morissette, Hand in my Pocket!" Of
course, the announcer comes on and confirms my statement of fact, and
proceeds to give Soul Asylum tix to some guy named Paul.

Then, I get this idea. Since they're giving Soul Asylum tickets every day
of the week at 9 AM, and I have to be at work by 9 AM, I concoct a plot.
On Tuesday morning, I bring in my Panasonic version of the ever useful
walkman, and at 9AM, I tune in to 106.3 to listen to this fine day's
version of "Cheesy song of the day". Ah, I can barely get the station
among all the distorion and interference from the transmitters and security
devices set up to prevent corporate spies from sending out company secrets.
I listen to the DJ describe the prize, and finally, I hear the first 10
notes of... "Brimful of Asha" by Corner Shop. My hand flies frantically
for the phone, and lo and behold, I'm the first caller!!! Not only do I
win Soul Asylum tickets, but I get to meet the band afterwards.

Fast forward to May 19, 1998. After a mediocre day at work and a mediocre
day at the golf course, I cruise home to change into my Leinenkugel's Red
T-shirt and hit the road for the Tradewinds. I missed the band Evelyn
Forever, but saw some band Ozone Monday, which was supposedly everyone but
Sebastian Bach from Skid Row. They weren't that bad. But then came the
main event...

I'm not going to pretend to remember the entire set list. They opened with
"I will still be laughing", finished with some song about candy from a
stranger (is this on their new album?) Anyway, in between I know I heard
"Somebody to Shove", "Black Gold", "Runaway Train", "Just Like Anyone",
"Misery", and "Blackout". There were many others, but I don't recall the
titles. The band was in great form. I quickly recalled why I enjoyed
seeing them live. Like the MightyMightyBosstones, their live show is much
better than their recorded sound. Anyway, the show was amazing, and I
thoroughly enjoyed my 5th time seeing them.

Oh yeah, during the first hour or so of their set, Jon Bon Jovi was
checking them out from the wings. He walked past me while I was enjoying a
frosty one and checking out the performance of "...Laughing.." He was with
his wife, and damn, was he styling. Pale orange Tshirt and blue jeans.
Very low key. He seemed to enjoy himself, and wasn't accosted by anyone.
He left about halfway through the set.

Afterward, I headed for the sound booth, which was where I was to meet the
band. The place pretty much emptied out, and our friend from 106.3 WHTG
led us to the area near the stage where the band cordially made their
rounds with the 20 or so fans that were anxiously awaiting their arrival.

I met Paul, the guy who won the first set of tickets for id'ing the Alanis
song. He was there with his lovely fiancee Linda.

The first member I met was Karl. He was pretty low key. I mentioned that
I was from Minnesota, and he asked what the hell I was doing in Sea Bright,
New Jersey, and I looked him squarely in the eye and said "I don't know, I
often ask myself that question". Anyway, Karl got distracted by some
autograph seekers, so I decided to talk to Dan, who was standing there
looking bored. I don't remember exactly how our conversation went, but I
introduced him to my pals Laura and Wilko, and finally myself. Dan was
down to earth, and all around a cool guy. My friend Laura went to school
in Chapel Hill, NC, and was in a band there, and the two of them discussed
playing at the Cat's Cradle and other Chapel Hill venues. He explained to
Laura that he was in another band called... (awkward pause as he strained
to recall the name) I offered "Golden Smog?" His eyes lit up, saying
"Yeah, Golden Smog." I was glad to be of assistance.

Then I asked him how his visit with the President went. He said it was
pretty cool. They thought they were just going to play on the White House
Lawn, and didn't expect the Prez to show up personally. He said that old
Bill was a pretty good showman, and was excellent at providing a 5 minute
intro. They played "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac. Dan rolled his eyes as
he told me this, blaming Dave for this idea. He said they also played the
Inaugural ball, claiming they were the only real rock band there (dammit, I
can't remember the other bands he said they shared the billing with, but it
wasn't the one that Fleetwood Mac played at.) Another thing Dan mentioned
about his White House visit was spinning the globe in the east wing while
waiting around to meet the Prez.

I moved on to Dave, but he was pretty occupied by the autograph seekers. I
asked how his brother was doing, and he said that he was getting married
soon. (I was in the same high school class as his brother, Paul). Then he
noticed my friend Laura's cigarette pack (Parliament), and he was
impressed... "Another Parliament smoker, ... All right". She mentioned her
problems finding a place to smoke in San Francisco, and Dave immediately
comiserated. They started bitching out California, and then Dave mentioned
that there were some places in LA that let you smoke. Laura offered him
her pack, and Dave seemed impressed, like he needed a cigarette or
something. When he opened it and found it empty, he was bummed, and then
realizing the gag, said sarcastically, "thanks for the empty cigarette
pack..." Later, he signed the empty pack for her, and then the Security
guards kicked us out. When we got out to our car, Laura read the signature,
which read "Thanks for nothing, Dave Pirner"

Sorry there's not much musical review in here. Suffice it to say that they
sounded great, but I was disappointed not to hear anything off of "And the
Horse the Rode In On" or "Hang Time". Oh well. I'll just have to keep in
my memory those shows during 1990-93 in which I was able to hear "Little
too clean", "Sometime to Return", and "Spinnin" live. They're a different
band now, but they can still kick some ass.

Dave Knauff
Red Bank, NJ