MUSIC

Jack Antonoff, Bleachers muscle up a Jersey sound at Shadow of the City in Asbury Park

Chris Jordan
Asbury Park Press

How Jersey was the set of Jack Antonoff and Bleachers at the Shadow of the City festival Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park?

It was so Jersey that Bleachers had, not one, but two saxophone players. The sax, thanks to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, is the de facto legacy instrument of the Jersey Shore.  

Antonoff, a native of New Milford and Hillsdale, noted the Jersey Shore-ness of his band's sound prior to playing the track “I Miss Those Days,” which merged a sax riff from Evan Smith with sprite keyboards taping into a Beach Boys' “Pet Sounds” vibe.  

“This horn sounds like New Jersey and now we get to play it in New Jersey,” Antonoff said.

Jack Antonoff of Bleachers on the Stone Pony Summer Stage on Sept. 11, 2021, during the Shadow of the City festival.

Long awaited

The show was a long-awaited homecoming for Antonoff and his fest, which also featured Japanese Breakfast, Beach Bunny, Claud, Blu DeTiger and Long Beard. There were also sundry games and events, and a trailer that contained a replication of Antonoff's childhood room parked outside the Summer Stage entrance.

The sold-out fest was canceled last year due to the coronavirus outbreak and postponed from this spring to Saturday. Attendees had to provide proof of vaccination to enter.

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Antonoff, a former member of the band Fun, has also worked with Taylor Swift, Lana Del Ray, Lorde and more. He co-produced an unreleased Patti Scialfa track, “You're A Big Girl Now,” and Scialfa's husband, Bruce Springsteen, appears on the track “Chinatown” from the new Bleachers album “Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night.”

Alas, there were no guest performers on “Chinatown” Saturday night, but the song was prefaced by Antonoff's version of “Jersey Girl,” a Tom Waits song popularized by Springsteen.

 Antonoff, who looks like he's been hitting the gym, resembled the pumped up version of Springsteen, circa 1986, when he took his jacket off. That ended when Antonoff couldn't see the audience from stage and he put his glasses back on.

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Two other covers, the Waterboys' “The Whole of the Moon” and Depeche Mode's “Just Can't Get Enough” added to the '80s vibe. Up-tempo pop rockers, “I Wanna Get Better,” “Don't Take the Money” and “Stop Making This Hurt” charged up the crowd to end the show.

We're in the shadow no more. 

“A big part is this album is about my relationship with growing up here, going into the city, thinking I was missing everything but then finally getting to a point where I realized all my instincts, all of my feelings and the reason I write music in my life have to do with wanting a little bit more which comes from being right outside of the center of world,” Antonoff said. “That's the best place to be.”

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com.