Photos and Review by Porter Byers

It was truly, a legendary night at Asbury Park’s Wonder Bar on August 4. Invigorating winds blew down the boardwalk as local band Fungkshui prepared to open the show for Eggy on a perfect evening at the Jersey Shore. The word “legendary” is often used with excessive liberty, but just think about it. Wonder Bar is an institution so vital to the best music town on the eastern seaboard, that The Boss himself has performed there many times, and stopped by as recently as last Sunday to help celebrate the venue’s 20^th anniversary.

Eggy themselves are legends in the making. Their talent is so unmistakable that their show was a star-studded event as Phish lyricist and so-called fifth member Tom Marshall was in attendance alongside his Osiris Media cofounder and CEO, RJ Bee. While Eggy is certainly carving out their own place in the world of music, this show was undeniably the unofficial preparty on the eve of Phish’s three-night run in Atlantic City. Guitarist Jake Brownstein told the tiedyed audience that in fact, Eggy is performing an actual preshow (and hosting a brunch?) at the Bourre on Saturday.

Fungkshui took the stage against the backdrop of the famous Tillie, and warmed up the crowd with some excellent tunes. The band has been making waves, especially in the wake of their Umph aftershow at the Stone Pony earlier this summer. Some fans in attendance had even traveled long distances just for the opening set. 

Eggy brought down the house with uplifting songs and extensive grooves. Their lone cover of the evening was Dawes’ “Comes in Waves” and their jams featured a number of teases, including The Band’s “Chest Fever.” Keyboardist Dani Battat said, in an English accent, they wrote “Tom Corn Walker” during their nascent visit to Iowa from the perspective of a curious outsider. Drummer Alex Bailey laid down a masterful solo before the crowd-pleaser closed out their set. Zugzwang, in the band’s rotation since 2019, served nicely as the encore.

Speaking of statewide debuts: this was Eggy’s first show in New Jersey. Perhaps they will pen a song about an Englishman observing any number of New Jersey stereotypes…