The Stone Pony

As you see from most reviews you either love or hate the place. I’m in the middle, I’m a jersey guy who thinks Bruce is ok but wouldn’t kill myself to see him live. Without the history this is a dive bar with ok food and drink, and douchey bouncers. Reminds me a lot of my college fraternity house basement or any local dive bar you know.
With that said the history is here for sure. If you are a rock fan in the area it’s a no brainer, if you like fine tablecloths you should probably drive by. Here a handful of times over the last 25 years, here tonite for a local battle of the bands so only $ 10 to get in. Heard some good music, got to feel the vibe but Bruce didn’t show up to play a set
Go just to say you’ve been there…

So this is what all of the hub a bub has been about. It’s cute, nice to know it’s the there and I love the fuck that they don’t care about Unilocal reviews. Still waiting for my burger and I like the fact that they don’t claim it’s pat lafriedas newest jerk off blend. But eventually the cocksuckers who ruined the lower east side will ruin this place as well, till the revolution comes…
And the burger came, and it was like a meat cracker,… yet somehow that was ok.

A classic and fun venue. Have seen inside and outside shows here, and both are enjoyable in their own way. However the outdoor concerts get too crowded and messy. I love the history at this place and the staff has always been friendly when I go in to buy tickets.

I went to the Stone Pony to see Social Distortion on the Summer Stage. Only my second time being there in my life. Though the open air idea of the summer stage is great the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired.
But my real issue is that the place is a cash bar. In 2015 who has a cash only bar? I can see if you want to make the minimum transaction $ 10 or $ 15 to use a card. I’m okay with that. But to not take credit cards at all is a pathetic business model that could use some rethinking. You can’t even get a water that isn’t the swill at the bottom of their ice bucket if you’re not carrying cash. Get with the new millennium, Stone Pony, and pay merchant account fees. It is the cost of doing business.

Growing up as a Jersey shore girl I’ve been to many a Stone Pony show. My experiences with the Pony have always been different, but mostly OK. As many people have said, security needs to chill and can definitely disrupt a show. This past Sunday, 8÷16÷15 I saw The Avett Brothers play on the Summer Stage, and it was a very underwhelming experience due to the Stone Pony.
Trying to just get into the venue was a mess because security didn’t know where and when they should check ID’s so you had to play frogger around the clumps of people trying to get ID’d. Once finally inside we tried to find a bar that would take credit card, but couldn’t find one. Maybe there is a select bar that accepts credit cards, but I just ended up paying with cash. Make sure you have some extra cash with you if you want to easily grab a beer. The $ 5.00 Yuengling draft I was given tasted kinda funky, but I drank it anyway. I say pre-​game elsewhere. During the show security kept pushing their way through the crowd with their flashlights trying to bust people for something, ANYTHING! Calm down guys, it’s an Avett Brothers show, and you are all being quite disruptive. One security guard stood in front of my friend for a good 5 minutes with his flashlight, please move along buddy.
As for the show, I couldn’t see it at all. Would it hurt the Stone Pony to boost the Summer Stage a bit? Granted, I’m short and used to not being able to see, but I can usually maneuver myself to a position where I can see something. Not at this show. The inside stage at the Pony is much better to see an act and there are many different angles you can set yourself up. The sound quality of the Summer Stage was pretty poor for this show as well. I’m disappointed with the Pony this time around. Next time I’ll stick with seeing a show indoors and if a band I like comes to the Summer Stage I’ll just sit on the boardwalk and listen since I couldn’t see anyway.

Summer stage is awesome! I was able to catch an earlier act inside on the building and it has a great vibe. No shortage of places to grab a beer or food outside the perimeter of the venue. They even have Sierra Nevada instead of your normal terrible beers. Can’t wait to check out another show here!

Lots and lots of history here, people. The Stone Pony is quintessential New Jersey rock and roll. You can’t come here without someone leaning over to whisper that «Bruce may show up tonight and play a surprise set.» Alas, that has never happened during any of my visits, but it has been known to happen. And when it does, it just makes the Stone Pony legend even bigger.
The venue itself is great, boasting both indoor and outdoor concert floors. As it is just one block from the beach and surrounded by the bustling Asbury Park nightlife scene, there is no shortage of great food and drink to be enjoyed before or after a show. Summer concert nights are especially awesome as the breeze blows over the shore to cool the sweaty crowds.
One of my favorite things about the Stone Pony is that there is never any drama between the crowds or the staff who work here. Everyone is extremely courteous. You can get back and forth from the stage to fetch drinks, and people will generally part the way for you to move through. Bartenders are all attentive and patient. And you won’t get fleeced when you pay your tab — prices are pretty fair for a concert venue.
If you live in Jersey and haven’t seen a show at the Stone Pony, it’s time to put it on your bucket list. It’s far from the greatest venue ever, but it’s special in it’s own right. For all the gentrification taking hold in Asbury, you never quite know how long a place like this will be able to stick it out. Get here while you can!

The venue is pretty cool to see music at. I saw Cake there on 7÷10÷2015 it was an awesome performance. I’m generally not a fan of venues that require you to just stand around an asphalt parking lot, but this was set up pretty well. Bars all around with a decent selection, food in the back for reasonable concert prices portapotties available and you can even go inside the bar area and use a real bathroom. The sound was very good as well.
The one thing I have to stress that I found as a serious negative is the security. They have to relax a little bit, maybe they’re used to a bunch of Jersey guidos wildin-​out but shit I was at a Cake concert! I was disrupted several times by security pushing their way through the crowd looking for people smoking weed… and they were kicking people out for smoking weed… at a concert. Who the hell cares if people smoke weed at a concert? They definately shouldn’t care enough to disrupt everyone else by pushing through the crowd, and they definately shouldn’t eject so none from the concert for smoking weed. I get they are just doing their jobs, so it’s more a reflection of the owners and management of the establishment. I think if they find your weed on the way in they should either take it or let you bring it back to your car, but once you get it inside and the concert starts… just leave the people alone unless they are causing harm to their fellow concert goers.
But besides the ultra — intensity of the security the venue is pretty good. It’s across the street from the beach! And you can hear when the band starts from the beach too so you can just hang out on the beach until the show starts.

Ya know… this place is fine for what it is. A hole in the wall locals bar for local bands to rock out. I’ll give it that. 100% I know the pony is a legend. I get that. But it’s seriously gross.
The bathrooms are gross and it smells like crap in the whole place. The $ 15 cover at the door is a bit absurd and what REALLY pissed me off was being charged $ 3 for a ginger ale.
Now I get that not all places don’t charge for sodas, but when I paid $ 15 to get in and am being a responsible DD — I don’t wanna pay $ 3 for a damn soda, which was over carbonated anyway and tasted like crap. Also — why were children there?! It’s a BAR people. And the smoking was a hoot, especially because the doors were all open so the whole place reeked like smoke too.
I hate this place personally and only went to see a friends band play. Other than that, I’d rather hang out in a dumpster since it’s pretty much the equivalent.

The Stone Pony is not just a place that I visit when I’m craving my live music fix and am in the mood to dance. It’s an NJ music staple. I’ve grown up going to shows here and still continue to do so year after year. Apologies to Mom and Dad for schlepping 40 minutes out of your way to drop me here during the pre-​license era. It was worth it!
All sentiments aside, this place is DAAAA ISH. It’s been around for decades, but like a fine wine, has only continued to get better with age. If you are expecting something fancy and new, then turn around and go home. It’s a hole in the wall. It’s small, outdated and not that clean and I’m the first to admit that. However, this is a rock and roll mecca. The pony books some of the best names in the game and there’s always lots to be excited about on their calendar.
The summer stage is in a league of it’s own. As previously mentioned, it’s dingy on the inside which makes their outdoor stage a huge draw for most. Located directly next to the beach, there is no better place to listen to live music while watching the sun set over the ocean. They usually bring in rock/​reggae acts that mesh really well with the beach theme.
Because beer can get pricey at the outdoors vendors, I suggest kicking a few back at the nearby Wonder Bar before a show.

I’ve been coming here for like 6 years and never had a problem, but what happened last night completely effaced all of the good times…
It was a rock show. At rock shows, people mosh. And I’m not even one of those douchebag moshers. I follow «pit etiquette.» This all being said, I was dragged out by «the head of security» (a.k.a Scumbag #1) during the second opening act while I was moshing with at least twenty other people. Keep it mind, it wasn’t even a «real» pit. It was just a reggae pit where we were all jammin’ to the music with smiles on and pushing each other and helping each other up, and I was the only one that got dragged out…
As angry as I was, I complied and did not resist. I did resort to hurling insults at him, but hey, I paid for this show (and brought six of my friends and family with me, all of whom were women) and I should be allowed to enjoy it in the manner of any typical high-​energy show. The least you could do is take a little verbal abuse if you’re going to put your hands on me and throw me out of an establishment for absolutely no reason.
So I walked with him to the door and he literally pushed me out of the doors. You really had to push me out? I’m a sensible, educated, grown-​ass man and you throw me out like I was a junkie with an attitude? Now I was pissed, so I stood up for myself and tried to walk back in to get at the cretin who just abused my good nature. At that time, my girlfriend came out to try and keep the peace, but another bouncer (enter Scumbag #2) tried to fight me OUTSIDE the club. He didn’t, and eventually my girlfriend calmed me down and we asked very nicely for us to be let back in, since we had friends inside and we did pay $ 40 for our tickets and were not even going to be able to see the band we came to see.
They finally gave in, and Scumbag #3 (Butterbean) ripped my wristband off of my arm and said I wasn’t allowed to drink and/​or mosh or else I’d get thrown out again. Well fuck him, I wasn’t drinking anyway but of course I moshed after that. And guess what? So did the rest of the crowd and I did not see a SINGLE person get thrown out for either crowd surfing or being in the pit. «Security» was actually IN the pit watching everyone mosh.
Maybe the lesson here is «don’t mosh too early and don’t enjoy the show,» but the long-​and-​short-​of-​it is I’d rather get curb-​stomped by Edward Norton than deal with these low-​life people again and give them my money.

Back bar. One bartender. My Carona had a lime in it, and that’s nice. Fuck you three times over Stone Pony!

So i debated giving this place 3 — 4 stars, my reason for wanting to give it 4 is because of the venue. The reason for wanting to give it 3 is the security here.
This place is pretty historic imo, and they do have some great shows here. There outdoor stage is pretty awesome although at the last show i went to they did have special 1% seating were you could pay another 30 dollars to sit down. I thought the seats were a great idea, i feel old sometimes and was like i could take a seat, but when i found out the price i couldn’t help but laugh, I decided that i could be like the other 99% and just move up to the general crowd.
The security on the other hand was a joke. they were alright early on but there was one guard in particular toward the end where i was asking about bathroom was just disrespectful. Like seriously you’re a security guard, you’re not above answering simple questions.

Security makes this place awful. I was screamed at by a bouncer when asked how do I get a wristband in order to have a drink. He did not want to be bothered to do his job. I also think they do a terrible job advertising for any event. It’s a shame because the location is great and they could be attracting many more guest.

I felt pretty damn disrespected and embarrassed tonight at The Stone Pony. The bouncers at this club need a lot more training because as far as I know the California Department of Motor Vehicles issues legal licenses to those who can pass a driving test. My current California drivers license (yes current, not expired) was issued to me on 12/​10/​2009 and sure, obviously the government updates new security features every so often, but that is not my duty to know when or in what capacity they do it. Pretty sure bouncers should know something like that when they’ve chosen to look at IDs all night long as a career choice. We all just trust them to do what ever the hell they do with their cool flashlights when spotting a fake ID.
Tonight, I walked into The Stone Pony, the bouncer asks for my ID and I hand it to him like I’ve done at least 200 times or so at various 21+ establishments in the last 5 years. The bouncer embarrassingly hands it back back to me and asks «Do you have something else?» As in another form of ID because he thinks mine is fake. My mind was blown… Because had I known my ID was fake when sent to me in the mail from the DMV 5 years ago, I would probably feel guilty driving my car around, showing it to bartenders and bouncers all over the place. More importantly, I would feel really terrible that I got caught with a fake ID tonight and run the hell out of there. I said «You think my ID is FAKE?! I’ve had it for 5 years and just so you know this has never happened to me ever before in my life. I’m 33 years old!»
Needless to say I took my business elsewhere and won’t ever be back.
WARNING: Be sure to have a very new ID for their bouncers that have all the goody security upgrade marks on them so they don’t have to use their brains to think.

Even though it looks like a hole in the wall, the Stone Pony is a rock’n’roll venue brimming with history. This is an intimate standing room only type venue with a great variety of talent coming through here over the years. Prices are pretty reasonable and I enjoy how close the stage is to the crowd. I have some great memories of the Stone Pony.

History is one thing, but the real question is if you want to see a show here. I was so excited to go for the first time. I saw They Might Be Giants with Moon Hooch and it was a great time.
The tickets were not too rough in price. I ended up paying $ 32 per, including all of Ticketmaster’s ransoms. The drinks were also not crazy expensive. I paid $ 14 for a beer and three waters, in bottles, but nice and cold.
The layout is kind of nice. The venue is wider, rather than deep, which means everybody is close to the stage. If the act knows to play to the sides as well as straight ahead, you get great views. In back, there is an outdoor area including a bar and stools. You can actually sit back there and get a pretty good view of the show. The size and shape makes it comfortable, but really allows the music to fill the whole place.
There’s a restaurant way off to the side, but I never went in.
The decorations are super bare bones. The floor is concrete. The walls are painted black. There are signed guitars all over the walls, but it’s too dark to read them. The place feels a little dingy. Except the bathrooms, which are super fancy and clean and have attendants– which I hate.
Parking was not hard on a summer Thursday.
I’ve only seen one show and liked it a lot. I got the feeling that this is a venue that highlights a great act, but will not elevate an inferior one.

If it’s the only place to see a band come through I will. I’m not gona lie… it’s a $h!thole. They used to have metal festivals between here and the bar across the street but alot of the metal shows calmed down after a bunch of tough guy D-​bag scenesters killed some dude jumping him. I think that was the night after I saw A Life Once Lost (ironic) and Napalm Death with Dead to Fall… yeah that was a long time ago. This is another venue that has basement type poles that hold up the place in the middle of where the pit usually is. The place is small so it can get loud. No matter where you are in the venue you should be able to see whatever act is on stage.
After reading some of the other reviews I can honestly say I had no clue they serve food. I would never think of putting anything that come from the Pony in my mouth.

My first time at this famous venue at Asbury Park.
Saw Jason Newsted’s return with his own band «Newsted». Sound quality was like a 3.5÷5.
It is a pretty small venue, smaller than Nokia Theater in the city for sure. Really just kind of a really large bar. But it made for the ability to get up close and personal with the band.
I’d definitely return as there seems to be a good amount of pretty famous acts playing.
*Also — beers are pretty cheap — $ 6 for a Sam Adam’s seasonal definitely not bad.

It’s been several years since I was last here but this is a great venue. Right on the beach for one, which will always earn points in my book.
Some of musics legends have either played or started here. I was at the beach the weekend after Clarence Clemmons died and it was amazing to see all the mementos and tributes that people were leaving.