Last night was something special for me, it was the last ever show by
E. Town Concrete. The Jersey boys who I considered my favorite band from about 1998 - 2004 called it quits last night. As soon as I heard about the show a few months back I bought some tickets. However, I didn't do much planning besides that and on Saturday I still didn't know how I was getting to the show in Sayreville, NJ.
The problem was I don't have a car and my only other option was taking the train. Except the closest train is in South Amboy - about a 15 minute drive to the venue. So even if I took the train I would still need a ride to the venue. The whole week before I called all my old friends in Jersey to see if anyone was down to go but everyone had other shit going already. The day of the show I called my former college roommate, Andre, and he said he was down.
After I knew I had a ride I headed for the first train to South Amboy. I ended up pulling into town at about 6PM - right on time. Dre said he would be a little late so I figured I'd see him around 6:30 or so... or so I thought. Come 7:45 and I'm still waiting for him but by 8PM we were on our way... finally.
We got to the show and put down a couple of 22's in the parking lot. Then we headed into the Starland Ballroom just before
NJ Bloodline was taking the stage. We ordered some Yuengling's ($9.45 a pop, ouch) and waited for Bloodline to start. I always dug Bloodline and I've seen them play a few times back in the day. Sadly, this was not the same band. They sounded like crap to be honest and that hurts me to say.
NJ Bloodline played a painfully long set. After they finished it was time for the big "special guest", I think it was supposed to be a surprise but everyone knew who it was. As the curtain lifted none other then
Hatebreed was standing on stage. The whole place immediately went apeshit. I'm not nearly as big of a fan as I was back in the "Satisfaction" days but these bastards still put on one hell of a show.
They only played about 5-6 songs but that's all they needed. The entire time they played 75% of the floor was a pit - it was insane. I was happy they stuck to a short set, they're a huge band and they could have stole the show. But tonight was about ETC and they understood that... hell, that's why they were there. They don't really play too many small venues these days unless it's for a good reason and this was a great one.
After the brief set by Hatebreed the curtains dropped and the
E.Town banner was raised. It was getting close to that time... the last time. For the record the last show marks the 15th time I've seen ETC. The funny thing is amongst E. Town fans that's actually a low number. The band has one of the most loyal fanbases I've ever witnessed. When the crowd is yelling out the names of songs only recorded on cassette demos in 1995 you know they're the real deal.
E. Town took the stage with "The End" by the Doors playing - it was awesome. As soon as they busted into the first song everyone went fucking crazy. All the Jersey tough guys started bashing each other. ETC was on point last night and played shit I've never heard live before - shit from the 1995 cassette demos. I was a bit drunk but I'm pretty sure I heard them play "Full Effect", "Ashes 2 Ashes", and "ETC" at some point. I just remember thinking "Holy shit, I can't believe they're playing this" several times throughout the set.
At one point the guy standing next to me said "Man, I hope they play Dirty Jer-Z and Heart Of The Wolves", I told him I was thinking the same thing. Literally within seconds of his comment they went into "Dirty Jer-Z" and then followed that up with "Heart Of The Wolves", that guy must have telekinetic powers. I was so excited to hear "Dirty Jer-Z" as I literally asked Ant to play it at every ETC show I've ever been to since "
Second Coming" (my favorite album ever). This was only the second time I've ever heard them play it live.
Shortly after that I looked at the clock and realized it was getting late. You see, in Shitville NJ the last train to NYC leaves at 1AM, which meant I had to leave around 12:30 or so. As 12:30 approached I started to head out when I looked back at the stage and Jamie Jasta (Hatebreed) came onstage. I decided I had to stick around to hear Jaime and Ant do "Battle Lines" live. Just before that the crowd started to mellow a bit but as soon as they saw Jamie and Ant side by side they stepped it up a notch.
Then I had to leave and I know I missed a lot but Jaime and Ant doing "Battle Lines" together isn't a bad last memory to have. I would have preferred to hear "One Life 2 Live" as my last ETC song but I wasn't so lucky. Anyway, I get to the train station at 12:58 and the train is literally pulling in at the exact minute we got there. Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the tracks.
I jumped out of the car and ran towards the, still moving, train. As it came to a stop I had to crawl underneath of it to get to the other side - I think it was still moving at the time. Once I made it across and got to my feet I hauled ass to the front of the train, luckily the dude saw me and waited for me as I ran forward. I caught my back on the undercarriage of the train and have a nasty gash from it.
Once I got on the train I found a seat and passed out. I ended up back in NYC and headed back to Brooklyn where there was a party going on at my apartment. I walked in and was greeted by a stranger - the place was fucking trashed. I retreated to my quarters and chilled out for a minute before heading back to the party and downing some wine.
But fuck all of that shit - this is about E Town. It's a fucking shame that they're done. They were just too fucking good last night to stop now. Please leave comments and let me know what happened after "Battle Lines". Hopefully this won't be the last thing we hear from Elizabeth's finest.
ETC - RIP
Ant $
Delux
Teddy P.
Eric D.
