Knocked Loose at Stone Pony Summer Stage Asbury Park, NJ 10/6/24

They demanded the biggest wall of death New Jersey has seen – and they delivered.

Review by Lara Ziccardi

Published on October 18, 2024

Knocked Loose is currently on their Fall 2024 tour with special guests The Garden, Drain, and Militarie Gun. Tour kicked off October 4th in Columbus, OH and is expected to run until November 11th and end in Washington D.C. The Kentucky based hardcore band brought their tour to The Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, NJ on October 6th. Lara Ziccardi, concert photographer and host of WMSC alt-rock music show My Emo Phase, headed down the shore to catch the show. 

 

 

I am very fortunate that I had the opportunity to photograph Knocked Loose three separate times – the first at Hammerstein Ballroom when they opened for Motionless in White, their sold out Brooklyn Steel show, and most recently, at The Stone Pony Summer Stage. The more Knocked Loose shows I shot, the more intense the crowd gets.

 

Within minutes into the set, a garbage can was thrown in the air. To my knowledge, no one was hurt. I found out about this after the show, the first three songs I was in the photo pit! This is just the beginning of the intensity at these shows. I loved seeing Knocked Loose outside – the last two times I’ve photographed them were inside. Summer Stage is such a fun venue to cover and I’m sad it’s getting cold out because of how much I enjoy shooting outdoor shows. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s always going to be an intense mosh pit at a Knocked Loose show – but since it was outside there was a lit more room (obviously). There wasn’t just one or even two – there were three separate mosh pits during the show. I’ll never forgetting going into the crowd and standing in between two of them. It was exhilarating and horrifying at the same time. 

 

 

One of my favorite moments in the set was “Moss Covers All” into “Take Me Home” – off their new record You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To.” On the album, they go into each other pretty seamlessly. The guitar in “Take Me Home” is so eerie and catchy – I’m so happy that I was able to hear it live. An honorable mention for “Don’t Reach For Me” as well. The setlist for the fall tour had more off of You Won’t Go Before You’re Supposed To – playing nine songs off the album. For the spring tour, they only played three. I’m really excited that they played more tracks off the new album, I’ve been really looking forward to hearing more songs off of it live. 

 

I do have to say I think the show at Brooklyn Steel back in May may have been bit more rowdy. Another quality I love about Knocked Loose shows is that everyone is moving – no matter where you stand, you will be moving. I love the feeling of flowing with the crowd. I do have to say, most of the time I get pushed and shoved  but it’s so freeing to be with people that move to their music. 

 

 

Guirarist Issac Hale told the crowd, “I want you to look at the person next to you and start shoving them.” Meanwhile, I’m standing in the middle of the crowd. To bring you into my shoes,  I am five foot one with a very expensive camera in the middle of this giant moving crowd. As soon as Hale urged the crowd to grow more and more intense, a very kind person saw me with my camera and wrapped their arms around me. We both held into each other while the crowd got more rowdy. A water bottle was thrown into the air and got the both of us and our section wet. To the random kind person that helped me, thank you! There were so many people who would always help me when I’m navigating the crowd. While that being said, some of the people can be a little intense. From the most people I’ve talked to and  interacted with they seem to care about themselves and the people around them. 

 

 

Hale also wanted to “see the biggest wall of death New Jersey has ever seen” during “Everything is Quiet Now” – and how the Stone Pony crowd delivered. The crowd parted so widely and when the beat dropped everyone ran towards each other. Sadly, I did not get any photos of the wall of death, I was being safe sanding towards the outskirts of the stage. But believe me when I said it impacted me a little all the way over there. 

 

 

Knocked Loose is one of those bands that are not for everyone – their music is intense, passionate, and at times may seem aggressive to an average listener. Their songs are so much more than their sound, especially when you read their lyrics and process what their expressing in their music. While that being said, I always think about the people that say that their music has saved their life. At the end of the day, that’s what music is all about. While this may be my third time photographing Knocked Loose, I always want to capture their shows and tell you all about them. I love telling you who I’ve met that night, what songs they played, and most importantly, what happened. They are one of the most fascinating bands and crowds I’ve photographed. I highly encourage you to see them – if you can handle it! 

 

Photographs by Lara Ziccardi