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The Long Island newfound glory boys have been busy spreading their bouncy, cool-kids-table-type pop-punk across the nation with stints on the Warped Tour and opening gigs with Gym Class Heroes and Bowling For Soup. They’ll drop a new record on Sept 14. The vacation-begging lead single, “I’m Not Alone,” - which is a few spins away from 1,500 on their MySpace - is an anthem-worthy slice of teen melodrama the scene used to get from Sum 41 and Good Charlotte. There will be no emo-screaming allowed when the gang headlines The Mill Hill Basement (300 S. Broad St., Trenton) tomorrow night, and that’s promising. Show starts at 7. Stay opens. Tickets cost $10. All-ages.
With Travis “Rev. T Sinister” Nelson’s City Gardens upbringing and survival tactics after the flash-in-pan ska-boom of the 1990s, there isn’t much that can keep the singer away from a stage these days. The riot-rousing rank-n-filers have long been considered one of the top rudies in the state since rising from the ashes of Inspector 7’s 2001 break-up - using longevity, a style that springs from island traditions, 2Tone side-kicks, metal guitar and an Oi!-landish punk temper and middle-finger-popping position to keep the band’s drive alive and ska fans on their toes. A supportive fan base that’s swung their arms and circle-pitted with the gang when flying solo or playing alongside The Toasters and The Voodoo Glow Skulls for nearly a decade now is also in tow. But the thinking here is that that notion by too many that ska should have been dead and buried when the scene moved into the millennium, is probably the major motivation to The Stompers’ durability and everlasting shelf life. For fans of Madness, Bad Manners and Fishbone. The slap-happy skins play two sets at The Record Collector (358 Farnsworth Ave., Bordentown) tomorrow night. Show starts at 7:30. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door. All-ages.
The lethargic, low-fi indie-rock strolling found on the New Brunswick band’s “It Shouldn’t Be That Hard” – its most-spun MySpace track – feels like Spoon or Luna playing cowboy and Indians with Lou Reed. The foursome hit up their hometown watering hole - The Court Tavern (124 Church St., New Brunswick) - tomorrow night. Show starts at 7. Jac, When I was 12 and The Proud Flesh open. Tickets cost $8. 21-plus.
The cavernous “Die With You” – which was recorded at Philly’s Trocadero Threatre - is the type of sludgy, Black Sabbath-inspired rock ’n’ roll that has these Riverside kiddie crash-corers thinking rock opera. According to their MySpace page, a rock opera remains on the back burner as the teens continue to record their first full length. The idea of a rock opera seems to represents the band’s pendulum-style musical thinking - as they swing from arcane metal to emotional indie. The fresh-faced foursome headline Championships Sports Bar and Grill’s (931 Chambers St., Trenton) 2nd Annual End of Summer Bash Saturday afternoon. Show starts at 2. Massively Ill, The August Infinity, Jack The King, Far Off Topic, The Second Coming Of Angry Beard and Man Up Houston round out the bill. Tickets cost $10. All-ages.
Malcontent with the state of the New Jersey loud rock scene, these head bangers sought out to be “one of the hardest, most aggressive metal bands” around. And they deliver with a brute-tallic pounce that meshes Pantera-styled thrash and the twisting guitar master stroke of Iron Maiden with the harmonious choruses of Shadows Fall. It’s “American metal,” said God Forbid’s Doc Coyle, who’s quoted as being “impressed” by the screamers EP, “Malice To Alice.” “Modern American Metal has heaviness, groove, and intensity,” he said. “(Saint Avarice) have a certain technical ability that they strive for and it's present in the music. American Metal has a little more grit to it, it’s a little more closer to the ground, a little more working class and I think that’s where (Saint Avarice) are coming from.” They break-it-down with tracks off their yet-to-be-released full-length “The Disease You Breed” at Championships Sports Bar and Grill (931 Chambers St., Trenton) Saturday night. Show starts at 9. The KMX Band, Power Theory, Sinister Realm and Betrayus play, too. Tickets cost $8. 21-plus.
The exhausted lead-singing wail, down-tuned guitar buzz-sawing and feathered female vocal harmonies this Keansburg post-punk trio churn out has this messy, Pixies feel to it perfect for left-of-the-dial programming. College rock circa 1995 – nice! Sounds like Dinosaur Jr., Husker Du and Throwing Muses, too. They’ll headline The Court Tavern (124 Church St., New Brunswick) Saturday night. Show starts at 7. The Gazelle, Little Mike, Joe Wilson & His Band and Small Town Scoundrels round out the bill. Tickets cost $8. 21-plus.
The former McCarter Theatre tech-head honed his superior seven-string shreds sound-checking for Bruce Springsteen and the Beach Boys in the ’70s and ’80s – eventually landing a sponsorship deal with Ibanez and ads in Guitar World where the mop-top virtuoso was photographed in 1982 defining gravity. His work back then in Bricks Mortar was more R&B-ish new wave Doobie Brothers and psychedelic than blues, but that’s where his musical standing sits now. A music teacher at the Pennington School, Bushnell now ranks among the top blues-guitar talents in the tri-states and a legend around Trenton. He’ll headline The Record Collector (358 Farnsworth Ave., Bordentown) Saturday night. Show starts at 7:30. Tickets cost $10 in advance, $12 at the door. All-ages.
Without Sebastian Bach at the helm, what’s the point, right? Guessing any band – especially the pride of Toms River - that toured in its heyday with Gun ’N Roses is worth seeing 30 years later. Maybe you’ll also fit in those cheetah-printed leather pants again? No new music since 2006. Still coked-up and heavy-as-hell glam-rock-type stuff you can beat your old lady to. And the ’80s were a blur anyway. So it wouldn’t be too sad to spend your beer money at The Stone Pony (913 Ocean Ave., Asbury Park) Saturday night where Skid Row is headlining. Show starts at 7:30. Frankenstein 3000 and Scarlet Carson open. Tickets cost $25 in advance, $30 at the door. All-ages.
The greased-up monster-mashing rock ’n’ rollers from Trenton open for Canada’s The Brains at Asbury Lanes (209 4th Ave., Asbury Park) Sunday night. Show starts at 8. Tickets cost $8. 18-plus.
Scott Frost’s On The Beat concert listing appears in The Trentonian and at www.trentonian.com every Thursday. If your band is playing around town, email the On the Beat web line at djscott111@aol.com.
