ATP Festival in Asbury Park, NJ-Day 3

I thought I'd take a few photos of Asbury Park a little further off of the boardwalk. Allow me to reiterate a previous point-the decrepit condition of this place really is actually breathtaking. You just don't expect to see this kind of urban situation in a seaside town.
And the clouds were absolutely on board with my perspective.



Asbury Lanes, an old bowling alley. We tried to spend some time in here, but it was full of drunken festival goers on the last night of the festival and it frankly smelled kind of funny. Plus, people were singing karaoke to Springsteen songs and doing a very bad job of it.

The Wonder Bar. I don't know what the story is with that smiling face, but it seems to be the unofficial logo of Asbury Park; it's all over the place here.
The first band we saw was Earth. Very long songs, all instrumental, slow and brooding. Kind of droney, sludgy rock. With cello! Check out one of their songs here.
I was surrounded by professional photographers with professional photography equipment while I took these. With my iPhone. I found it rather amusing.
These kinds of photos do not play to the iPhone's strengths, so you have to rely on lighting to give you interesting shots like this. It is best to abandon the notion of capturing detailed shots of performers with this much darkness present.
This is a shot of Manorexia, a modern classical group and a favorite of Lara and myself. They had 3 violins and a cello, a percussionist, a piano player, and Jim Thirwell, the composer and an absolute musical legend, on samples and keys. This music is not for everyone, but if you want to hear music that sounds like a minimalist rendition of a 1970's spy soundtrack, here you go: Armadillo Stance.
After the performances, we went to get dinner. While walking around, something caught my eye...
"Is this what I think it is?" I wondered.
Free Sushi...? Street sushi?

Although the ocean is nearby (as is a very fancy Japanese restaurant from which the sushi likely originated), I knew this was a trap. We ate at a great Cajun restaurant and returned to the Asbury Park boardwalk.
This is a shot of the inside of the Convention Hall at the end of the evening.
And, at the far end of the boardwalk, a dilapidated casino.

So, there you have it. I am about to drive for six hours! Thanks so much for reading this weekend; it was an absolute pleasure. I am sure I will have at least a few more guest blogs from a horror convention before the month is over. Until then!

-Blog Tech