The Holidays bring a lot of joy to family and friends, it is the time of celebration and reflection. Outside the family, bands also take part in the holidays by celebrating the season with holiday shows. One band that brings together everyone and spreads the word of love and joy is Good Old War. Performing three shows along the northeast for their holiday shows, Good Old War had a lot to celebrate this year. For the Asbury Park show, Good Old War had local duo Jackson Pines open the show. With acoustic guitar and upright bass, Jackson Pines soothed the crowd with their folky anthems. It wouldn’t be a surprise to start seeing these two show up on multiple bills in 2018.
From Northeast Pennsylvania, Petal played next. Kiley Lotz played a solo set which not only calmed the room down to a murmur, but also empowered the women in the audience. It takes a lot to stand in front of a crowd and pour out your inner-self, especially alone, but Kiley embraced it and told the crowd to let go of the fear and proceeded to play a powerful set with all eyes on her.
Good Old War had a reason to celebrate this year. They release a new e.p. called Part Of Me and with Tim Arnold fully back in the band, the trio sounds better than ever. For over a hour, Good Old War played about 23 songs ranging from all their albums. There are three things guaranteed at a Good Old War show. One, dancing, two, smiles, and three making friends with complete strangers. Each show is always filled with joy, holiday show or not, and Good Old War always knows how to bring the crowd together. For smaller shows like this, Good Old War will play their encore in the crowd, but for this night something was added. A female fan got down on one knee and proposed to her boyfriend. If any show deserves a proposal it is a Good Old War show and during a holiday show, it proves that Good Old War brings the love out of people.
Favorite Sights & Sounds 