---

With only a few hours to go until the biggest beach concert in Asbury Park’s history, the city was quiet this morning — although more festival-goers were filling town by the hour.

“I thought it would be a little bit busier,” said boardwalk bartender Dave Pinto, although “in the last half hour, it’s tripled,” he added. Pinto, Katie Roberts and Drew Rayner were working at the new, still-nameless bar adjacent to Pop’s Garage and Langosta Lounge.

The bar is holding its soft opening this weekend, focusing on hydrating the thirsty public. When asked what they had stocked most of for this weekend, all three tenders responded in unison, “Beer.” The bar is hoping to catch festival-goers who want a drink on their way to Convention Hall.

Those working at the city’s businesses weren’t the only ones surprised by the lack of crowds this morning. Many who had come to town for Bamboozle, like the Penamonti family of State College, Pa., were happy to find parking spots right near Cookman Avenue.

“We were surprised,” mom Sherry Penamonti said.

The Penamontis are staying at the Chateau Inns & Suites in Spring Lake and driving to the festival each day. Daughters Ashley, Holly and Melina are going to the concerts with their father, Bob. They made the journey from State College to Asbury Park mainly to see Mac Miller, a Pittsburgh rapper, they said.

Lorelei McKenzie and Audrey McCroskey journeyed from Dallas, Texas, for the festival. They were lugging backpacks and suitcases down the boardwalk this morning on their way to a hotel.

“I’ve never been to a three-day festival before and I really like the bands,” Lorelei said of her decision to make the journey from Texas to New Jersey. “Mostly the Foo Fighters. Also, I’ve never been up north before so that’s probably why I wanted to come here.”

The girls estimate they spent about $1,200 each on their journey.

“We decided this is our vacation,” McCroskey said.

Cory Asraf, owner of Third and Ocean Vintage Beachwear, said most of the clientele he’s had in the past two days were Bamboozle ticket-holders who were excited about seeing Skrillex, the Foo Fighters and Bon Jovi. He’s even gotten international customers.

“Yesterday, I had a girl here from Brazil who was going crazy, loving Asbury Park,” Asraf said.

His store offers vintage clothing, screen-printed shirts and henna tattoos, which have proven to be popular among the Bamboozle crowd.

Asraf also lives in town and shared the local perspective of dealing with the crowds, which could climb to 40,000 per day this weekend.

“It’s like a hurricane is coming,” he said. “People are like, ‘I’m going to my grandma’s house. I’m stocking up on food.'”

Like Hurricane Irene last fall, Bamboozle could turn out to be “not that big of a deal,” Asraf said. “Already it’s going well. It’s as busy as they’re saying but it’s not that much of a [mess].”

For a gallery of photos from this morning, click here. Bamboozle’s doors open at 5 p.m. today and 2 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday.

---