review.

The Ergs - Hindsight is 20/20 My Friend

2010 will be forever known as the year that my nerdrock dreams came true, as I experienced one of my all time favorite bands The Ergs! LIVE IN CONCERT!!! This album was released as a compilation of all their 7inches when they broke up two years ago. Unfortunately, though I’d been listening to that band for a while before they broke up I never got to experience them live. I was first exposed to the beauty of this compilation by my friend Lindsay Sanderson. When we were dating, this album was played constantly as she drove me back and forth from school. She was the first person to really get me into this band, and I am very thankful that she joined me on my pilgrimage to New Jersey to see them almost a month ago now. In the time leading up this concert, I had played their split with Lemuria which Adam kindly gave me as a gift a few months ago along with Lemuria’s “Ozzy” a number of times. It is the two songs from that split, “Introducing Morrisey” and a cover of the Gin Blossom’s “Hey Jealousy” that open this album. At this point, I honestly cant tell you how many times I’ve listened to these two songs in the past few months. It was during this time that I would be constantly reminded of the fact that I would never see one of my favorite bands, and I finally became comfortable with this fact after seeing Mikey Erg perform a solo acoustic set at the fest. In addition to this this appearance, Mikey also performed a Weezer cover with Bomb the Music Industry!, the “woahs” on Paint It Black’s “Shell Game Redux” and most importantly “Only Babies Cry” with Paul Baribeau, which The Ergs! cover of this is featured on 20/20. This song had a huge part in me picking up the acoustic guitar again and performing as a solo artist, as I performed it a few times over the past two years. Seeing these two perform this song together was such a significant thing for me to witness. After I returned from The Fest and was informed that The Ergs! were reuniting for a one time only cancer benefit, I was quite ecstatic to say the least. Unfortunately, my friend Holly Morrison told me soon after this that the tickets already went on sale and that they sold out in seconds. Again I was put back at square one, acknowledging that I may never see this band. Luckily, they added a matinee show and my cycle of utter confusion continued. The tickets were released in three installments this time and Holly and I attempted for the first time to no avail. The next day, my heart dropped as the clock struck 6pm and I was sitting in the basement computer lab of the UMass Boston library. As I listened to hindsight, a confirmation screen appeared in front of my eyes and I couldn’t believe what was happening. I had four tickets to see The Ergs! on their home turf at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, New Jersey! I took the time to breathe as I called my brother, Holly and Adam who was initially supposed to go before he found that he couldn’t attend due to schoolwork. In the weeks leading up to the event, I had a hard time realizing what was happening. It wasn’t until I walked down the boardwalk of Asbury Park, that I realized what was actually happening. Walking into the “Lanes” which is a bowling alley, utilized for concerts, I saw Mikey and things were put into perspective, I WAS SEEING THE ERGS! The band took the stage and began their set with “Books About Miles Davis” which was the first Ergs song I really fell in love with, also a part of this compilation. I performed this song alongside “Only Babies Cry” a number of times in 2009 and had an equal role in getting myself to explore my voice as a solo artist. The set continued with adequate selections from just about all of their albums which came to roughly forty songs total. I left the club drenched in sweat, in the same state of confusion that encompassed me when I had entered. In what seemed like a flash, I had finally witnessed one of my biggest influences in music and life. I can only hope that at some point I will be able to experience this band again, because I must say that it was life-changing.