On March 29, just feet off of the famous Atlantic City boardwalk, Anchor Rock Club hosted a night of genre-defying music presented by Silver Stain Booking and Be Here Now. It was the first time Rowan-based Silver Stain Booking organized a show in the entertainment hub of the Jersey shore. Despite being held in a more traditional venue than some of the other independent concerts in the local music scene, the energy and intimacy of the crowd made for a show that would make any regular at some of Glassboro’s concerts feel right at home.

Opening the show was the Neanderthals, a self-described psychedelic city-rock band drawing inspiration from Japanese pop in the 1970s and Psychedelic rock like Tame Impala. Their most recent single “Tokyo Express” was one of the several originals in their set. It was the Neanderthal’s second time performing at Anchor Rock Club, having played a Halloween show back in the fall. 

“I think it was different, it’s hard to say it’s better, but it was different, because at this one we had four originals, last time we had one or two originals. So, like we’re starting to finally get our sound and we’re finally trying to get to where we want to be. It was exciting. It was different from other ones because we did so many new originals and the reception was pretty good. So we were excited. We were happy with tonight’s performance,” said the band’s singer John Caoir Manson. 

Known by the mononym Caoir (pronounced like care), the singer had finished writing some of the material performed only months or even weeks before the concert. Playing new or unreleased songs was a nerve-wracking ordeal for the singer, as was the case for the song “A Peaceful Rest of Time.” 

Performing second was Max Volante, a New Jersey-based producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, as well as the creative alter ego of former Rowan student Max DiPierro. According to Volante, the name has a variety of meanings in a few different languages, but the decision to use it came from his family. Max’s Father used to perform in a band named Go Go Volante, which is where the name originally came from. 

Volante has been making music solo for the better part of the past decade. His approach to production, composition, and recording is unique: playing all the instruments and mixing by himself in the studio, only enlisting trusted friends and musicians to aid him in his live performances. 

“I don’t do many shows. So this show was like a one-off. It was an opportunity to get active again trying to do it [perform live]. I put together a group of friends who agreed to play with me and we only got to rehearse once. So it was kind of like, I knew it wasn’t going to go perfectly, but I’ve always been scared of performing. And this was the first time that I felt very excited to perform. And it was a really good event with a great venue,” said Volante. 

The third act, Shark Earrings, is a band representative of the Rowan independent music scene. Headed by singer and 22-year-old music business major Sammi Kantor, Shark Earrings had audiences dancing to their unique blend of pop-punk, hardcore, and a touch of ska when Kantor brought out her saxophone during a few songs. Kantor and bassist Max Adams are also the duo behind Silver Stain, the booking company that helped to organize the event. Kantor also currently runs the Rowan Alternative Music Club (RALT). 

“The funniest was the 800-meter relay because we brought back an old one that we hadn’t played, and it’s our least favorite song, so it was a joke. They were playing a prank on me. But other than that, probably Wake Up Wake Up,” said Kantor about her favorite songs of the night. 

The crowd’s energy grew as the night went on, with mosh pits forming during some of Shark Earrings’ final songs. Finishing the evening out was Total Knock In or TKI for short. A band whose genre is an amalgamation of modern emo and post-hardcore music. 

TKI is comprised of Michael Palmentieri, Mathew Cirigliano, and Tre Landwehr who are a trio of Atlantic Cape Community College students. The group initially bonded over their shared love of new-wave music which led to the creation of The Pineys, the group’s former project which leaned more towards the new wave genre. But the trio’s venture into hardcore was welcomed by the crowd at anchor with open arms. 

“We headlined tonight, which we weren’t expecting. Afterward, people were asking for autographs and stuff, which we never really experienced before. It was a really good show, you know, we played good,” said Palmentieri.

Seeing members of the crowd wearing TKI’s T-shirts made for an additional morale boost for the band, who recently released their first music video for their single titled “Semester.” 

Both Silver Stain and Be Here Now will continue to host shows throughout the rest of the school year with more potential collaborations on the way. Silver Stain’s next show will be at The Speakeasy on April 4th and Be Here Now regularly posts new concerts small and large over their Instagram page @beherenow_co.

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