High Energy
by Dee on 9/20/21The Wonder Bar - Asbury ParkWhat a great gig energy performance! Will definitely recommend
Venue
In his 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus wrote that "All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning. Great works are often born on a street corner or in a restaurant's revolving door." 15 years later Richard Wayne Penniman wrote "Wop bop a loo bop a wop bam boom", an undeniably powerful vocalization that on any given Wednesdayin any given situation, civilized or otherwise, is still fully capable of setting somebody's stuff aflame. Over ten years and seven long players into their career, White Denim are still in the relentless pursuit of a thread - in other words, a wick.Â
The Austin, Texas band have carefully and continuously studied the greatest records ever made, but they write songs just dumb enough to drink, dance, and fight to. Theirs is a music that aims for the whole body, while equally satisfying the mind. While it has morphed, expanded, and even burst apart, White Denim's sincere and human drive and ability to spark true rock & roll exhilaration have been unerring constants of the band's 10-year existence.
"White Denim are one of the best live bands you will ever see if you live to be a million. That's not excitable hyperbole, merely a bald statement of undeniable fact..." -- Time Out
"The last great rock & roll band!" -- The Guardian
What a great gig energy performance! Will definitely recommend
What a crazy show! These fellas were on fire from beginning to end and never seemed to lose any steam along the way. I love the paradise for its intimate feel and they consumed the venue with their electric vibes đ¶ I would definitely see them again đ
Seems everyone left the gig with a smiling jaw agape.
Cold day still brought out the fans. Being in the Shelter is like having your own personal concert space. White Denim played for the crowd with enthusiasm as if it were a much larger venue. Incredible sound and an overall great show!
Band is so unappreciated - cannot wait for them to come back.
These guys are one of the most underrated bands I have had the pleasure of seeing. Their music is fantastic but experience of seeing them live is amazing!
What a show, White Denim is so fun to watch as they deliver classic rock and roll
I hate to have to leave anything less than 4 or 5 stars, and I rarely do. I wanted so much to like these guys live as much as I do on studio recordings. But in person, their sound is muddy, and they are not able to capture any crowd energy. What's more, after listening and watching closely, I'm fairly certain that they used a rhythm guitar loop on occasion, and possibly even background vocal loops. They have talent, it's just disorganized and misdirected.
Great set, non stop music. really tight performance. After seeing White Denim six times this was the first time with their new line up. Very interesting to see how they did the old songs without two guitars.
This was the second time I saw White Denim on this tour. Once in Philadelphia in April and this show at The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ. First of all let me say, I love this band, I love their music, I have all their albums and have been into them for a few years now. I was a little disappointed at this show, however. The opening act (Gods) was a bit unoriginal and although musically they were solid, they didn't belong on the same bill as White Denim. So this started the night out on the wrong foot for me. In April, White Denim had a second guitar player and a different drummer. While the drummer change didn't seem to make a difference, the lack of the second guitar player really did. The band also seemed like they were a whole lot less energetic than they were in April and this show sounded like a cover band of the show I saw in Philadelphia. Everyone has an off day, oh well. Now all this being said, I would still go and see White Denim again, second guitar player or not. As far as the Stone Pony being so exalted, on par with other places of similar character, it is only just average at best. There are worse places to go, but then again, there definitely are better. Given another act that I like coming to play there, I would probably skip it for another venue unless I had some other reason to be down there.