Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Asbury Park



I was in Asbury Park last night for the Butthole Surfers show at the Asbury Lanes.

Now i know this is a "music" blog but Asbury is a town i used to run in pretty heavy. Living right next door in "The Grove", Ocean Grove that is...

I went a bit early and met some friends for some pre show drinks and it had been the 1st time i have actually been out and about in the day time in a long time so I took some time to check out the town and man has A.P. really changed a bunch in the last few years.

anyone who knows AP will know what I'm talking about (unless your one of the money hungry assholes making it an unaffordable place to live anymore) and those who don't won't give a shit.

Now i didn't leave this town on my own but had to go out of some very unfortunate circumstances. And there seems to be a lot of that going around lately but the day i left was not a happy one so before i left with a very heavy heart i took my shitty digital camera and walked the grove and up and around the boards of Asbury because i know i wasn't going to be hanging around my old haunts anymore.

I had a lot of good times up and around that area when i lived with my one time lady friend and Mother of my Children, and for a short while another one i once called my brother who has been MIA for a while now with his own "life" problems.

I lived within walking distance of a bunch of great bars that are almost all gone and few cool clubs that some are still around but i hardly ever hear of many great shows anymore, but hell, even if i did i live far enough away now that i almost never take the drive. Last night was the exception.

Anyway, I was feeling nostalgic for a time and place that no longer exists and couldn’t believe how much things have changed, not only in Asbury Park but in my life as well. So on that day I left I took these crappy pictures and I’m gonna share them with you now.

Not exactly a paradise but I called it home….




















































Yours truly on that fateful day, looking like the asshole that i am....



never fear, i will be back with more music whenever the fuck i feel like it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I've seen my city go to hell too. They've rebuilt and improved for the ones with lotsa $$$ but it still ain't the same. These PICS show vast space waste and tons of litter. Good photo essay.
Thanks
MikelJ

Funky16Corners said...

Cool post T.
I'm a little older than you and I remember going to the Asbury boardwalk (before the riots) to go on the rides and go to Howard Johnsons with my Nana. I even remember seeing movies at (I think) the St. James theater which was an old-style place with balconies and such.
There was even a summer where my Dad worked the wheel of fortune in the arcade by the convention hall.
Those days are gone...
L

Anonymous said...

its sad---- i grew up near there, and remember it being sort of vibrant and not as bad. i guess the carousel is gone? very very sad. coney island isnt in much better shape. as i understand it , a developer is going to disney-fy it, plus condos!

ra