I needed to go back to the shore while on vacation to see my parents, so it was great I could time this visit with a Monday night show in Brick. My pal Bob Shedd booked this one at the old Brick VFW, one of seemingly numerous VFW halls in Brick, where bands like Breakdown, The Casualties, Righteous Jams, and many others have played over the years. After leaving the shore in an absolute downpour, I got up to Brick and got lost because my GPS crapped out. However, I started recognizing some landmarks and made it to the show without much problem. I missed Secret Police and a few other openers.
After catching up with some friends and meeting some members of Stick Together and Beware (whose singer was rocking an ill ICEBURN shirt), Born Annoying played. Born Annoying have former members of bands like Get Real, Ensign, and Staring Problem. They are hard to peg musically in a live setting. They seem to bounce between bands like Black Flag and Corrosion of Conformity, but with some newer influences. I need to check out their demo.
Beware were up next. This band has been hyped to death in the past six months and I was not that into their demo. A friend told me they were a lot better in a live setting, and they were definitely right. Beware were energetic, reminding me a lot of Chain of Strength. At one point, they did a Uniform Choice cover.
Stick Together were the headliners for this show and they were pretty good. Their influences range around bands like Release and Four Walls Falling a lot. They are a band I will probably rarely listen to, but they are enjoyable live.
