Tune In, Turn On
By Doug Deutsch
What a month October is turning out to be, with the Phillies on the verge of returning to the World Series and the Eagles starting out 5-0 (until losing to the New York Jets on Sunday). There’s so many Oktoberfest events happening all over the Jersey Shore…and did we mention Halloween is right around the corner?
Autumn is lots of fun at the Jersey Shore, with a variety of music events to choose from weekly. What follows are a few curated events to select from this weekend.
Before we get to that, a special shout-out is in order to area promoter Jerry Ryan for the excellent job he and his staff did presenting last weekend’s three-day Elephant Talk Indie Music Festival at the Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall. We attended Friday night and caught great sets by rock group Matchaponix (terrific female lead vocalist Keely), rocker/spoken word artist Erin Incoherent, hard rockin’ trio Famous and Fallen (from Delaware County, Pa. and proud of it), and longtime rock accordionist/vocalist Malcolm Tent (with adam12), who never fails to entertain (P.S. Catch Tent live at Anchor Rock Club Oct. 25). All the weekend’s proceeds benefited Hearts Therapeutic Riding Center in Egg Harbor Township, which offers therapeutic horse-riding lessons for people of all ages with physical, mental and emotional challenges. Job well done.
Pure Petty/Hard Rock Hotel & Casino: The Philly area sextet brings the music of the late, great rocker Tom Petty to life. “It’s a true honor for us to be able to celebrate the music and life of Tom Petty on his birthday at Hard Rock Café,” PP front-person Jimmy Mannix told us. “After all, where better to celebrate the life and music of an immortal musician than at a property that is synonymous with rock and roll?”
Mannix adds. “Our two sets will feature both his many signature songs and less-familiar tracks. There may even be a cover or two of other artists’ songs that Tom and The Heartbreakers did in concert through the decades. As always, we’ll do some material Tom performed with Stevie Nicks, as we have our own ‘Stevie.’ All the songs are performed with the unequaled attention to detail and authenticity that causes people at our shows to regularly say to band members, ‘I closed my eyes, and it was like I was at a Petty concert’.”
Friday, Oct. 20, 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Free. Hard Rock Café, 1000 Boardwalk, Atlantic City. Call 609-441-0777 for details.
DistroFest2/ACX1 Studios: Taking place on the site of the former Playground Pier on the AC Boardwalk, where ACX1 Studios recently opened, this two-day music festival and conference presented by Who? Magazine will feature over more than 60 music acts in all genres of music including rock, R&B, hip hop, Latin, pop, and EDM. They will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of hip hop with performances by well-known artists including Just Ice, The Force MDs and The Intruders, as well as sets by newer pop-leaning artists including Camille K, and rock groups (Sharon Lia Band and others). Friday, Oct. 20 and Saturday, Oct. 21; distrofest.com for info and tickets.
Tremours/Anchor Rock Club: From California, this duo (Lauren Andino, guitar/vocals; Glenn Fryatt, drums) play jangly, ethereal rock (some call it shoegaze) best heard on their upcoming album, “Affectation” (out Nov. 24). Also appearing: Ceremony East Coast and MOAA. Saturday, Oct. 21. 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $12. The address is 247 S. New York Ave., AC anchorrockclub.com.
Doug is the owner/operator of Doug Deutsch Publicity Services, which since 1995 has been servicing nationally touring acts, and working record release campaigns for clients. Doug also hàs experience writing for the one time shore-based weekly publication, Whoot! He also was a team member with Chip Braymes Advertising. Doug loves bicycling and aspires to bring the Blues to Atlantic City. He can be reached at ShoreLocalDoug@gmail.com and www.facebook.com/dougdeutschpublicity.
