Everclear Celebrates 30 Years of Sparkle and Fade at Asbury Lanes
Everclear returned to the Jersey Shore last weekend to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their debut album Sparkle and Fade. Art Alexakis and company brought along Local H and Sponge for a night of nostalgic 90s alternative rock, and the sold out Asbury Lanes crowd loved every minute of the show.
Sponge kicked off the night with a high-energy set. The Detroit-based band led by Vinnie Dombroski may have only played six songs, but they made the most of it and included three of the biggest songs of their 30+ year career—“Plowed”, “Molly”, and “Wax Ecstatic”. If you aren’t familiar with the band, I highly recommend checking out Rotting Pinata which is one of my favorite albums from the 90s.
Local H was up next, and this duo sure proved that less is more. They were by far the loudest band of the night as theirs drums and guitar riffs rocked the house. The crowd ate up their minimalist, grunge-rock style and sang along to most of their set which included “Wolf Like Me”, “High-Fiving MF”, and their biggest hit, “Bound for the Floor”. It’s also been 30 years since Scott Lucas’ band dropped its debut album, and I don’t know how I hadn’t seen them live until now. But I will make sure to be there the next time they come through Jersey.
And then it was time for Everclear to take the stage. They ended up playing Sparkle and Fade in its entirety over the course of their set. The crowd sang along to the album’s most popular songs like “Heroin Girl” and “You Make Me Feel Like A Whore” and was excited to hear the rarely played “My Sexual Life”. Alexakis’ acoustic rendition of “Strawberry” was also quite beautiful. The band made sure to include other favorites from their catalog like “Father of Mine” and “Wonderful”, and were joined by Lucas for a snippet of Zeppelin’s “Communication Breakdown”. “Santa Monica” was the obvious choice to close out their performance, and it was fantastic. Alexakis was joined by Dombroski on vocals and they sent the crowd home very happy.
Should you go see this tour when it comes your way? F@ck yeah! It runs through November 2nd before Everclear heads to Australia for the rest of the year. And as always, go check out all three of these great bands wherever you stream your music.
Local H
Sponge
Coverage from October 18, 2025 at Asbury Lanes in Asbury Park, NJ.
All photos are © Michael Campanile Photography and cannot be used without permission.
