by Tom Baldino
On this first full weekend of summer, Joanne and I spent a long weekend in one of our favorite places, New Jersey’s oldest seaside resort town, Cape May. As luck would have it, one of our favorite member bands, The Outcrops were performing at Rotary Park, as well as the Boiler Room in Congress Hall that weekend. With the foundations support and our attendance, they were a part of JSJBF member Carlotta Schmidt’s Asbury Park based fundraiser, the successful Fourth Wave Fest, benefitting 180 Turning Lives Around back in March.
We were happy to be able to see them at the idyllic Rotary Park, just off the bustling Washington Street Mall. Cape May has been carrying on the tradition of live outdoor performances, dating back to shows held on the wooden boardwalk there since the 1860’s. Following a devastating nor’easter in 1962, the boardwalk was replaced with a concrete promenade and seawall, and the events were moved to the current location, which was transformed into a landscaped park with the gazebo style bandstand used today.
It was a perfect evening for the show, which was well attended by a large number of vacationing families, with children romping around the grassy enclosure. This was especially nice for lead singer and rhythm guitarist Cassidy Rain, who two youngsters were part of the mix. Joining her on stage were co-founder and lead guitarist of this ten-year-old band, Bryan Schroeder, Bassist Qaasim Munoz, and drummer Samuel “Jazz” Goldstein.
Their set consisted of fourteen songs, ten originals and four covers from the early 70’s. They opened with a quartet of originals, starting with “Silence,” which certainly got everyone’s attention, while “Death at my Door,” and “Skeleton Key,” from their debut CD, Peace of Mind, weresandwiched around the more recent “Pocono Rain.” Cassidy was in fine vocal form and her rhythm guitar playing accentuated Bryan’s inventive leads.
They did a terrific version of Ann Peebles “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” and while she may not be big in stature, Cassidy’s vocals can fill the great outdoors! Another original “Bootleggers Lovin’ Blues,” was a shuffle that really benefitted from the live performance. A 1973 Doctor John tune “Cold,Cold,Cold,” was well suited to their style, with the rhythm section of Qaasim and Samuel laying down a solid foundation that allowed the band to really make this song come alive.
Two more fine originals, “Next to Me,” and “Pursuit of Your Love,” were followed by a pedal to the metal version of Freddie King’s classic “Palace of the King.” Their ode to the evils of liquor, “Drinkin’ and Losin’,” is a song where the lyrics and the music together convey really the message, and it inspired some outstanding soloing from Bryan. Next up was a spirited version of the Meters song, “It Ain’t No Use,” which really connected with the crowd. They finished the set with two of my favorite original tunes “Cryptic Blues,” and “Wishing Well.” It was great hearing these tunes live again and I’m sure the audience felt the same as many of the youngsters in attendance ran up to the open guitar case, gleefully dropping in bills from their parents.
You can follow The Outcrops at https://www.theoutcrops.com as well as most social media platforms.