The Wrecks show New Jersey love at Asbury Park show

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The Wrecks rocked The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ, as part of their INSIDE: OUTSIDE tour October 30.

The venue was already packed when the first opener, indie punk band Wall Carpets, came on, treating the audience to loud, explosive songs that had the crowd jumping up and down and screaming with the band. Based in New Jersey, Wall Carpets made sure to emphasize their love for the state, even selling exclusive jerseys at their merch stand only for this show (“jerseys for Jersey”).

Keeping the excitement up, Echo Plum, a New Jersey-based indie rock band, entered the stage next. Their emotional vocals and reverb-heavy guitar melodies made their performance memorable, offering a fresh mix of quiet reflection alongside high-energy enjoyment.

After hours of heavy anticipation, The Wrecks finally came on stage, jumping straight into “Sonder.” The crowd wasted no time in joining lead singer Nick Anderson in singing the lyrics, fanning their arms up and down. Subsequent songs, including “Out of Style” and “Always, Everytime,” had the crowd jumping and swaying back and forth as one mass.

New Jersey pride was strong throughout the entire night, with The Wrecks sharing how The Stone Pony has always been a dream venue of theirs to play in. They then shared an anecdote about how drummer Billy Nally’s old band, First to Friday, beat guitarist Nick Schmidt’s old band, Half Dayz, at a battle of the bands event at the venue in 2012. After choosing volunteer audience members to represent both bands, Anderson had the crowd form a circle in the middle of the pit, declaring, “It’s rematch time motherfuckers.”

As The Wrecks launched into “This Life I Have,” the audience erupted into a mosh pit, dancing and slamming into each other. After another couple songs, including “I Didn’t Use To” from their new album, Anderson brought the tone down with a slower song, “Four,” singing it with only Nick Schmidt playing the guitar as a disco ball hanging from the ceiling spun slowly. 

As “Four” wrapped up, The Wrecks brought the energy back and the crowd was once again dancing with their hands up. Anderson’s incredible vocal range was prominent throughout the show, especially during the high notes of “Freaking Out” and “Fvck Somebody.”

While Schmidt experienced technical difficulties with his guitar, Anderson entertained audiences by spontaneously singing a cover of “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads, enlisting the help of audience member Ariel, who jumped at the opportunity and killed it on the bass guitar. With the technical difficulties sorted out, The Wrecks launched into “Milwaukee’s Best,” with Ariel diving into the crowd with a running start.

The Wrecks finished out the main set with “Infinitely Ordinary” as the disco ball returned, this time with purple lights that reflected off its surface and covered the venue’s walls. Anderson had the audience shouting “I think I could get used to this life” on repeat before finally walking off stage with the rest of the band.

It didn’t take long for The Wrecks to come back on for an encore, starting with a medley cover of “Over My Head (Cable Car)” by The Fray and “When We Were Young” by The Killers. The Wrecks closed out the night with “Favorite Liar.” As Anderson jumped into the parted crowd and started dancing with everyone, Ariel crowd surfed his way across the audience. The Wrecks left the stage promising that next time they come back they’ll play two nights at The Stone Pony.

As Anderson put it, “Not bad for a week night in Jersey, right?”

​Review/Photo By: ​Jessica Xing