MAll Ages Show Birch Hill

   Whenever the desire rises in me to head out to a good all ages show I immediately think of the Birch Hill Night Club in Old Bridge. Birch Hill is a campground by day and a concert hall by night. The acts they bring in usually appeal to a wide range of age groups-I’ve seen both teens and adults rocking out in the club. Also, Birch Hill has been known to pull in a great deal of local favorites and other popular acts from all over the nation. Some of these acts include Catch 22, Cold, Adema, Saliva, The Dissenters, Poison the Well, Dillenger Escape Plan, and Further Seems Forever.
   On July 16th, I went to Birch Hill and witnessed a showcase of local favorites combined with popular west coast bands as well. The first band up was The Adversity, who sort of reminded me of the band Thrice. Their style was mixed, combining metal riffs with a softer touch that was evident in their vocals/lyrics.
After The Adversity, another local band, At A Glance, took the stage. This band had great energy and really got the small crowd going. They reminded me of more mainstream, pop artists like Dashboard Confessional and The Get Up Kids.
   504 Plan was the third band up. When they started playing they reminded me a lot of the previous band but, further into their set I noticed they had more of a rock edge about them.
   The next band was The Bank Robbers, a California based group. This emo-core band came complete with a screamer and was definitely the most popular of the night. During their set, several guys got a circle going, people would jump in and out, kicking and thrashing about.
The last band I saw held the name The Years Gone By. Their sound was rather reminiscent of At A Glance and 504 Plans, and was also popular with the crowd.
   So I suggest checking out Birch Hill this season, they have some great shows coming up including Superjoint Ritual, Cold, Taproot, Type O Negative, Life Of Agony, Adema, Sevendust, Saliva, Poison the Well, Dillinger Escape Plan, Further Seems Further, and much more.
       -Erin Ziess

Red Bank
Bar Crawl

   Red Bank claims to be the “hippest town in New Jersey”. Well, I don’t know about that, but there is a lot to do there. I spent my high shool weekends browsing through its thrift stores and eating at the Broadway Diner. Having just turned 21 this June, though, I’d never been to its many bars. To remedy that, I went on a bar crawl through the town, checking out six of its bar, including one of its newest, Reds.
   First was the Dublin House. My favorite bar in Red Bank. It has a mixed crowd of old and young and seems really relaxed. The deck in back has its own bar and plenty of tables to sit and enjoy the Irish cuisine offered. Wednesday through Saturday, you can also enjoy live bands.
   After the Dublin, my friends and I headed to The Globe. With four small TVs and one big screen, there were plenty of people glued to the baseball game playing on all screens. This is definitely a sports bar-there were crossed hockey sticks and trophies lining the walls. Its not as cozy as the Dublin (its brightly lit and the tables are spaced further from one another and the bar), but the night I visited, the customers were friendlier.
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