SOUL ASYLUM
w/ The Jellybricks & Tony Ryder
CLUB XL
Saturday August 18th 2018

Things opened up nicely for me on this day and I was able to head out to Club XL for the first time and see a band I have't seen in nearly 25 years.  I First saw Soul Asylum back in 1993 when they played Hershey Stadium alongside The Spin Doctors.  This was during the "Runaway Train", "Black Gold" era when the band was at its peak.  That evening they stole the show easily from the Spin Doctors and out did the openers who were the Screaming Trees.  On this night, 25 years later the stage was there's and there's alone along w/ some local support.  

Being my first time at Club XL I must say its a real nice venue.  John Harris has done a nice job of opening a venue in the Harrisburg area to rival that of clubs like Chameleon club among others.  I can see most acts that hit Reverb or Chameleon making stops here.  I arrived in time to have a quick look around to see the VIP sections, the outdoor area w/ a guy grilling as well as the bar area which is a very big size.  The sound system was put in by Justin Hershey and its state of the art sound.  

After a quick look around I wandered up towards the stage for the opening act of the evening.  Tony Ryder, a guy who I've known of for, well probably as long as I've known of Soul Asylum.  I used to go see a band called Coal. back in the day and he was the vocalist.  I recall they released one ep w/ about 5 or 6 songs on it.  I just pulled out my copy and if i recall it was "Gone away" that had the band on teh radio. He went on to be in numerous groups including Wayne Supergenius and currently The April Skies.  Tony opened the night beautifully w/ just him and his guitar.  He whipped through about a 30 minute set that felt like 10 because of how good it was.  

Next up were Harrisburg's own The Jellybricks. Once again these guys have been around for what seems like forever and they continue to put out new materiel.  I've never been what you'd call a fan of the band, however I've never really given them the chance to make me on either.  I do respect the hell out of them though, they all sing which leads to incredible harmonies especially on chorus's and frankly they all seem to have songs they sing lead on.  The band blasted through an hour long set which included their hits like "Rock N Roll Suicide", "Probably Me" and arguably  their biggest hit to date "Who is God".  The set closer "Teenage Wasteland" was done nearly perfectly.  The band has some amazing energy to go along w/ their endless stream of material.  They must have played 12-15 songs. On this evening I'll admit i was ready for Soul Asylum however the Jellybricks put in what i'd say was the right touch for this show.   They wet our whistle for the headliners very well.  I"ll be looking to get them on a 717 Entertainment show in the Future.

The stage was set and as set up was going on we noticed the Drummer had already taken his perch and its none other than Micheal Bland who used to drum in Prince's New Power Generation.  So before the band even began we had a nice nostalgic moment.  The lights went out and one by one the band entered stage right w/ vocalist Dave Pirner being the last one w/ a smile on his face he sorta waddled out on stage.  The man is said to know how to drink a bit and in between songs that would show, incredibly it didn't affect his performance one bit though.  The band said "hello" and began the evening w/ "Misery" off the Grave Dancers Union follow up record "Let Your Dim Light Shine".  Dave would sort of stumble through the speaking moments of the show, sometimes using the mic stand to hold him up however when the songs began it was as if he was a different person.  Didn't miss a note nor word.  The band played heavily from Grave Dancers Union including the big hits "Runaway Train", "Black Gold" and "Somebody to Shove".  The follow up disc "Let your dim light shine" was given lots of attention as well w/ the afore mentioned "Misery" along w/ crowd favorite "String of Pearls", "Just like Anyone" and "Shut Down".  One thing I learned was just how deep of a catalog the band really has.  They played many deep cuts not even on any records including "Spinnin" among others.  After nearly 90 minutes and 20+ songs the band finally left the stage after ripping through "April Fool".  Such an incredible performance and surreal experience to see the boys in harrisburg.  

SET LIST:
01. "Misery"
02. "Bus Named Desire"
03. "Lately"
04. "Spinnin"
05. "Watcha Need"
06. "String of Pearls"
07. "Homesick"
08. "Freak Accident"
09. "Closer to The Stars"
10. "Hopped up Feelin'"
11. "The Beginning"
12. "Shut Down"
13. "Black / Gold"
14. "Runaway Train"
15. "Without a Trace"
16. "Doomsday"
17. "Freaks"
18. "Just Like Anyone"
19. "Somebody To Shove"

ENCORE:
20. "Eyes of a Child"
21. "April Fool"