Ladies and gentleman! Children of all ages! Welcome to the home of freaks and geeks, metalheads and hippies. Welcome to Asbury Park, NJ. Welcome, to the Carnival of Madness.
Step right up and challenge the man on stilts to a foot race. Gather close as the sideshow freakshow teases and taunts your grasp on reality and takes over your sense of normal. Experience all it means to be DTS (down-the-shore) with your heartbeat harmonizing to some of the best bands to dominate your rock radio dial. Kicking off the Carnival of Madness tour in a town drenched in music history, infamous and otherwise, seemed all too apropos, and the “screw you Super Storm Sandy” attitude and Jersey swag was happy to welcome this tour with its open (big muscled and tanned) arms.
Skillet rockin’ it out!We As Human set the pace and warmed up the mostly still standing in line crowd, but woke up the neighbors and those tanning on the beach with just the right amount of rock and roll assertiveness. The momentum was set and the energy continued to climb all the way up to the headlining band, Shinedown. Please hold. We’ll get there.
The carnival setting, cut with sideshow acts and local flavor, danced beautifully around the music on the ‘larger than you’d think it’d be’ Stone Pony outdoor Summer Stage. Bands changed sets flawlessly and painlessly with a mix of old school and “I can’t believe they’re playing this. Nice!” tunes. The rowdy crowd was kept at bay just long enough until the next band opened up and stirred the venue with its own brand of trouble. Next up was Sevendust, assuming the role of Papa Roach for this stop on the tour. Those on line for We As Human had now entered The Pony fresh and ready to rock. Sevendust did not disappoint.
A humbled Sevendust talked with the crowd between songs and expressed their gratitude to be in Jersey and to be a part of this tour. They acknowledged each band that would be taking the stage and asked an already-putty-in-their-hands crowd to open up a circle and just walk around it. A visual to express the pace and the continued motion of the 7D set, the circle picked up speed and exploded like a Molotov cocktail. Vocalist Lajon Witherspoon calmed the masses with a haunting version of “Angel Son”, layered with deep intense emotion and solid harmonies. Sevendust stuck around and huddled under a Monster Energy tent for a public meet and greet towards the end of the night. (Ending the night with some 7D luvin’ sent me home with a smile. They are a handsome group of fellas!)
Visually, the last three bands one-upped the previous almost without intention. In This Moment followed Sevendust and the beautiful Maria Brink debuted a new live show to include the Blood Girls and smoke machines.
Her boys in the band elevated the energy of the set and the sex-drenched masked Blood Girls mimicked Maria’s routine in perfect choreographed unity between her skull mic stands. As the sirens blared, Maria returned with her now infamous ‘WHORE’ dunce cap and the crowd roared back at her “…I can be your whore!” It was a beautiful thing. The theatrics worked and complimented the flow of the show as a whole. The surprise of the tour (for me at least, your new favorite Jersey blonde journalist) was Skillet.
Following the fiercest blonde in metal – Maria – was a tough luck of the draw, but Skillet’s innate badassery of a chick drummer and guitarist, along with two sharp dressed men in all white three-piece suits toting a cello and a violin, respectively upped the already exceeded ante of a visual performance. But wait. There’s more. As if by magic (or hydraulic risers) the dueling guitarists began rising towards the sky in concert with the melody of the music. John Cooper, lead vocals and bass, kept up with the crowd and offered some positive words to the fans about the power and message of music.
Shinedown!Overall, the Carnival of Madness kickoff in Asbury Park was met with a happy and energized crowd mirroring a group of musicians that were more than willing to entertain and so humbled to be playing together. This blend of talent appeared polished and professional and full of rock ‘n’ roll explosiveness and left the occasional-concert-goer and the full time festival fan completely fulfilled. Aside from the city ordinance that pushed the set times a bit earlier than expected, generally the day seemed smooth and the Carnival of Madness will continue to roll on, wreaking havoc throughout. Buy a ticket. Step inside. Welcome ladies and gentleman! Children of all ages! It’s the Carnival of Madness and its one helluva ride!
By: Stina Marie Harris, Senior Journalist
Photos by: Debra Muller
Get your tickets to Carnival Of Madness and check the dates HERE!
