By Jeff Crespi, Rock At Night New Jersey

Live Review: Ham by the Pound with Shark Earrings, Frankie Mermaid, and Jwalttz at House of Independents, Asbury Park, NJ – January 5, 2023

At a time where Asbury Park, NJ is getting ready for some major events like Light of Day, I usually seek out some smaller local shows to cover. Just the name Ham by the Pound is interesting enough, so I checked out their show at House of Independents. Performing in support of the band were Shark Earrings, Frankie Mermaid and Jwaltz.

The night started with Shark Earrings, an alternative/indie rock band from South Jersey. The band is fronted by Sammi Kantor–and what a frontperson she was. There’s nothing better than a frontperson with personality. They played a really cool set before giving way to Frankie Mermaid, another cool indie band from New Jersey.

The crowd was young but incredibly fun and active with dancing, head shaking and moshing. Unfortunately, during Frankie Mermaid’s set a pileup happened, and underneath it was Mike from Shark Earrings laying there with a bad knee injury. The show was paused to allow medical attention as Mike was taken away on a stretcher. Don’t be alarmed because  I spoke with his mom on the way home. By the time the show ended he was fixed and eager to get something to eat at WaWa’s.

Jwalttz, a local favorite, then took the stage accompanied by some other talented musicians from another local band Sonic Blume. It really amazes me sometimes to see how talented these musicians are at such a young age.

It was time for Ham by the Pound to play led by their front man Evan. They played a great set including their new single “Moonshower”. A local four band show on a Thursday night, in the freezing cold, didn’t stop a few hundred youngsters (and some of us older folk) from venturing out to see some great live music.

Before the show I stopped into the Capitoline across the street for a $5 bar pie and ran into some local peeps to chat. Asbury Park is such a great town for just about anything. Go check out these bands, they won’t disappoint.

PHOTO GALLERY

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Jeff Crespi

My passion for music has led me to become a major professional music/concert photographer here in New Jersey. My heart is in the local scene but I am known for photographing the biggest and the smallest of bands from Kiss at MSG to three bands I never heard of in a basement. I have been married for 35 years and have two kids 25 and 21 both are incredibly artistic. I was a born artist all my life, photography just became another creative outlet for me.

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