Parlor Mob 5.28.11 The Stone Pony | Asbury Park, NJ

Words by Amanda Remling | Photos by Rod Snyder

Asbury Park, NJ — After swayin’ along to Only Living Boy and Ruby the Hatchet, the packed crowd at the Stone Pony was ready for the The Parlor Mob to step into the venue’s iconic spotlight. Their chants were finally heard as 10:00pm rolled around and holy hair flippin’ did the Mob take the stage!

Right from the start of the set the band commanded the crowd, and had their fans immediately rocking to awesome guitar riffs and solid drums. Mark Melicia’s haunting vocals sounded even better live than off the album.

www.theparlormob.com

With every song off their 2008 LP And You Were A Crow, the crowd devotedly sang along to every word. I’ve never seen so much hair swinging at a show. Between the band and the crowd’s heavy head nodding, the Stone Pony probably had enough hair on its floor to donate to three dozen hairless puppies.

Total naturals on stage, the Parlor Mob supplied fan favorites like “Can’t Keep No Good Boy Down,” “My Favorite Heart to Break” and “Tide of Tears.” Mark Melicia whipped out his harmonica for “Real Hard Headed,” sending the crowd and the band’s midriff baring girlfriends wild.

The Pony was an intimate setting for The Parlor Mob (as could be seen by the numerous teens I saw sucking face during the entire show). The fans at the Memorial Day weekend show will be able to say that ‘I saw them way back when, in a sweaty crowd of music hungry and horny teens.’

The guys in The Parlor Mob don’t just go through the movements of what a rock show should be. The band puts a lot of heart into performing, and their fans definitely appreciate it. Once the set was finished, the crowd was practically deafening with their demands of “one more song.” And how could the band say no? Per the request of the wild crowd, The Parlor Mob returned on stage playing “Hard Times,” “When I Was an Orphan,” and more for their ravenous fans.

By the end of the night the crowd had evolved into some sort of extreme bobble head doll, not ready for The Parlor Mob to leave the stage any time soon. The band is dripping in so much sweat that it’s easy to see how musicians stay so skinny (they sweat more than a guido getting his GTL on). Unfortunately every good show must come to an end. After listening to old favorites and some badass new ones, it’s obvious that fans will be following The Parlor Mob with their tongues hanging out waiting for their new album to drop.

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