REVIEW: Three Metroland Writers Discuss The Wild Honey Pie’s Ken Vasoli Pizza Party

Oct 3

09/25 @ Tinker Street Tavern, Woodstock

“I’ve seen a lot of shows that hold a special place in my heart but driving an hour to Woodstock to watch the lead singer of one of my favorite bands play a stripped-down set for 100 people definitely ranks among the most memorable.”

The Wild Honey Pie was back Upstate with another of their patented Pizza Parties, this time with lead singer and bassist Ken Vasoli of The Starting Line. If you haven’t been following along at home dear Metroland reader, you can learn about the work The Wild Honey Pie does here or read one of our previous reviews here. If you have been following along at home, good job. A+ for you.

Vasoli was rolling solo for this show to celebrate the release of The Starting Line’s new album Eternal Youth and Metroland writers Corey Dempsey, TJ Foster and Alex Foster (no relation) were in attendance. On the way out the door, they filled out an exit survey and we’re here now to share the results with all of you out there in Metroland. Does that work? Is it a place? Was trying to do an EQXland type thing right there. You know what, fuck it. Let’s get down to business.

What is your two sentence review of the show?

Alex Foster: Pouring rain can ruin plenty, but not standing arm’s length from The Starting Line’s frontman in a tavern smaller than my basement. Kenny lived up to his lyrics “you can have the best of me” by giving us a night to remember.

Corey Dempsey: When I hear that an emo band that I loved in high school is releasing a new record, I typically respond with an audible groan. From what Vasoli played last night, I can honestly say I’m excited to listen to Eternal Youth.

TJ Foster: Pizza, ice cream, and singing along with the vocalist of my all-time favorite Drive Thru Records band? These are a few of my favorite things.

What was the best music-related moment of the evening?

AF: It was surreal to watch Vasoli play “Ready” 15 feet from me. I still remember being hypnotized by the melody when I first heard it during my junior year of high school. It has an uncanny ability to pull you out of reality and slow down time. Happy to confirm the feeling was even more powerful tonight than it was when I listened on my Discman.

CD: There’s something really special about these Wild Honey Pie shows where artists that are typically playing to 500-1000 people are in a small tavern with only 100 people. When Vasoli threw it back to the Say It LIke You Mean It acoustic track “The Drama Summer,” he took his microphone and guitar down to the floor and performed it from the pit. 100 grown ass adults that used to wear eyeliner and tight black band T-Shirts from Hot Topic (yes, I’m describing myself, thank you for asking) surrounded him and sang every word.

TF: It was that moment between the first song and the last song when he played all of those other songs. And if that feels like a cop out answer, it’s because I was the last one to take this survey and Corey and Alex already claimed both of my favorite moments.

What was your favorite non-music related moment of the evening?

AF: I’ve seen a few interviews where Vasoli explained he’s not one for talking during his band’s shows. Given that, his between song banter and crowd work was surprisingly sharp. Hearing him clarify that he “absolutely rips on bass” despite playing the entire set on guitar gave me a good chuckle.

CD: Upvote for Alex’s thoughts. Ken’s banter and presence was on point. He started the show by providing the crowd with probabilities for the evening’s events. He placed dropping a guitar pick at 60% (for you betting fans at home that’s -150) and a cracked voice at 80%. The real value bets were forgotten lyrics at 40% (+150) and a broken string at 20% (+400). If anyone at FanDuel is reading, you need to make these kinds of bets available immediately! On second thought, please don’t. I lose enough money betting on Dalton Kincaid anytime TD scorer every week.

TF: While I third (?) my friends’ comments above, I’d have to say the entire vibe before the show. Everyone—including Vasoli!—was loitering around the tavern and conversing in such a natural manner, it felt like everybody knew everybody. Even the antisocial bastards like myself ended up chatting with complete strangers and exchanging business cards or clinking glasses that were filled with the strongest of drinks named after each of TSL’s records. Seriously though, that adult Shirley Temple didn’t fuck around.

Speaking of crowd work, what was the best piece of crowd interaction tonight?

AF: As the crowd sang along to the intro of “The Best of Me,” I noticed a gentleman joking with his friend by mimicking a leap off the stranger’s shoulder in front of him to start crowd surfing when the instrumental intro dropped. Watching middle-aged men joke about the antics of their younger years at pop-punk shows filled me with such joy.

CD: When our editor and boss TJ Foster forgot that he was there as a journalist and professional by screaming at Kenny, ‘What’s your favorite Converge record?’ To be fair, I kind of made him do it. Peer pressure is a beast ain’t it, TJ! And shit, we’re right back in high school again. Thanks Ken!

TF: Yeah man, both the peer pressure and the aforementioned Shirley Temple really took over for a minute. My favorite piece of crowd interaction was when he dedicated “Ready” to a father/daughter in the audience, who showed up early just to give Vasoli a copy of Based on a True Story on vinyl, because apparently he has never gotten his hands on his own sophomore record. What can I say? I’m a sap.

Wild Honey Pie shows are not just about the music, but the food and drink as well. So, tell us about the provisions they provided.

AF: I’m always pro-pizza and a slice or two of Paulie Gee’s pizza really hit the spot. A lukewarm Naragansett was a close second. Those two things together did a great job of helping me pretend I was back in college rather than pushing 40, wondering how bad my night blindness was going to suck on the ride home.

CD: They were slinging specialty cocktails named after The Starting Line albums. The “Direction” was like a Dirty Shirley with Maker’s Mark and holy hell was this thing strong. We’re talking like three sips and I was feeling like Frank the Tank in Old School. Thankfully we had backup Spindrift Shirley Temple to water that thing down.

TF: I’ll be honest, I’m a little skeptical of most “vegan versions of non-vegan foods”—I’m all for it in theory, I’ve just found very little I’ve enjoyed which says more about me than anything else. But that “pepperoni” pizza with the hot honey last night was almost as banging as the music. I lost count of how many slices I had, but it was definitely a higher number than my two year old daughter can count to.

What was your favorite The Starting Line lyric to scream at Vasoli?

AF: “We got older, but we’re still young.” I don’t think screaming any other words could capture the feeling of seeing an artist I’ve loved for over two decades on the eve of releasing their first new record in 18 years. I’m pretty sure we connected spiritually when I yelled it at him.

CD: “2/12/99.” Real ones know how that line finishes.

TF: “Ready” is a top three Starting Line track for me, and being able to scream the word salad at the end of that one along with Ken was pretty awesome. I also thoroughly enjoyed standing next to Corey and screaming out “The Best of Me”. Be still, our emo hearts.

Any closing thoughts for the readers at home?

AF: I’ve seen a lot of shows that hold a special place in my heart but driving an hour to Woodstock to watch the lead singer of one of my favorite bands play a stripped-down set for 100 people definitely ranks among the most memorable. Eternal Youth feels like the perfect title for the new album. I don’t think Ken ages either vocally or physically and I’d be happy to do this again in my mid-50s if it takes that long for another album to drop.

CD: Pizza, drinks and screaming lyrics in a room full of like-minded individuals was really fun y’all. Let’s do it again sometime.

TF: My closing thoughts? Follow The Wild Honey Pie wherever you like to follow people. Find out when their next show is and go to it. Doesn’t matter who is performing. It’s one of the coolest, most down to earth experiences you’ll have at a show, I promise you.