Jersey boys

Andy's anniversary gift to me this year was a surprise trip to New Jersey to catch The Last Summer on Earth Tour with three of my favorite artists (Guster, BNL, and Ben Folds Five), which I seemed destined to miss due to our relocation to CA. 

 The boardwalk at sunrise. 

To picture it at night, imagine drunk people wearing too few clothes and too many layers of spray-on tan. 

 Us on 3 hours of sleep. 

 Rewarded with a spotting of The Situation. 

After going back to bed for a few hours and then spending much of the day enjoying the beach during waking hours, we headed up to the show, where we were rewarded with a pre-show bonus set in the Reverb eco-village. That's Adam (Guster), Ed (BNL) and Jim (BNL).

Our seats, courtesy of Ryan (Guster) by way of our friends Ross and Cookie (Ryan's parents). During the Guster set, we were joined in our row by a couple of the Guster wives and kids who are touring with the band this week. It was kick seeing the kids watching their dads on stage.

 Before Guster's set was a comedian/singer named Boothby Graffoe. 

 A shot of Kevin Hearn for my mother. 

 My Guster guys. 

 Ryan

 And his characteristic head tilt. 

 After Guster was the recently reunited Ben Folds Five. 

Another mini Guster set between mainstage sets. The intimate setting and the crowd singing along were pretty cool. 

 BNL, the headliners. 

 Another shot of Kev.

 Jim and Ty (on drums)

 Ryan coming on to play with BNL. 

 Brian on the bongos for "Brian Wilson."

After the show, we went backstage (after a bit of a delay) and got to chat with some of the BNL and Guster guys, as well as thank Ryan for the tickets. We also chatted a bit about our move to CA, driving across country with the girls, and what it's like to travel on a tour bus with the 7 Guster kids. 

We finally got back to our hotel around 1 a.m. and slept for a few hours before heading back to the airport. I neglected to mention that our hotel was right next to the MTV "Jersey Shore" house. They give tours. I did not take one.