Live @ Maxwell’s in Hoboken
There were points in the evening that brought me to tears. I found myself longing for the ‘good old days’. We all pine for them. We remember when gas was cheaper, food tasted better, the oceans were clean, the air was safe and the fun was just more fun.
Aviso Hara and the crowd that gathered tonight at Maxwell’s represented a time before the current downfall of our music scene. The 90s were amazingly fertile with bands and venues. Back then no one would have dreamed of the closing of CBGB, Luna Lounge (and now talks of Sin É being not long for this world) or the dwindling of Hoboken clubs to but a few.
It was a time when NJ bands dominated the east coast indie music scene. We’d all travel to Wilmington NC for Memorial Day weekend (well, week actually) for WE Fest. An annual celebration of indie music that oddly, though 600 some-odd miles away, brought the NJ scene closer together.
Certain events would solidify it as a true community. Finding strange drummers sleeping in your beach house. Watching a dozen or so drunk Marines beat the living shit out of each other at 2:00 AM. Sleeping under someone’s kitchen table or on a lazy boy recliner and being happy to do so as band after fabulous band kicked you in the gut.
I was there the night of what Aviso Hara singer Ralph Nicastro refers to as “that whole evil crippled thing.” A seemingly fine young gentleman in a wheelchair turned into a belligerent drunk as he accosted the women and grabbed the mic in an attempt to sing along with the band.
It was a sad night at Maxwell’s in 2001 when Aviso played what they called their last show. We all heckled them in disbelief. Even the band’s in-between song banter appeared to mock the idea of a true breakup. But, as the years went by, and their other projects such as The Slow Wire and Sparks Fly From a Kiss began to gain momentum, it appeared that they were in fact serious.
To say I’m a fan is an understatement. Their bombastic, heart-felt and finely-crafted CDs (Goodnight Sweetheart, Made From Scratch, Our Lady Of The Highway) are in constant rotation in my life. So imagine my delight when rumors of them playing gigs again reached my inbox.
They hit the stage tonight and picked up right where they left off years ago. Their music is as unique and poignant today as ever. Strong hooks and classically constructed songs that never lose the listener as they simultaneously steer off into other worlds of sonic delight.
Nobody, not even the band, can be sure how long this reunion will last. Those of us who have been there from the beginning are hoping it lasts for a good, long time.
See Also:
Aviso Hara
The Slow Wire
Sparks Fly From a Kiss
