The Toasters ft. Coolie Ranx

This past Saturday, the Ska is Dead! tour found itself, once again, at Showcase Live! in Foxboro, MA. For those familiar with the Boston area, we who live in Boston find this annoyingly out of the way. I’m spoiled, as I can bike to the Middle East in about 10 minutes. So driving 45 minutes to a show is pretty much something I moved to Boston in order to not have to do anymore.

But I digress.

The line-up this year was:

• The Boston Jolly Pirates
• The Brunt of It
• Hub City Stompers
• Deal’s Gone Bad
• Pilfers
• Voodoo Glow Skulls
• The Toasters
• Mustard Plug

Solid line-up, and a person into the ska scene would probably find little to complain about here. I didn’t, anyway.

The BJP were up first; I’m not very familiar with their material, though I’ve seen them live a few times. For some reason, this year all the sets seemed particularly short. The Pirates blew through their set, but being the first band, there wasn’t much dancing or anything yet. Still, another solid performance from these guys.

I was equally unfamiliar with The Brunt of It and Hub City Stompers. Brunt were good, though I wasn’t inspired to go buy their merch. HCS had a rather confrontational vibe to their music, and their on-stage persona, which I appreciated. A little antagonism toward the crowd isn’t always a bad thing.

Deal’s Gone Bad play what they call “pub rocksteady.” Sounds about right. I’d heard them on comps and such things, and after this show, I definitely need to check out their albums. They remind me of the sort of material the Pietasters are putting out these days.

The Voodoo Glow Skulls are, to borrow a meme, one of the consistently great live acts out there. I’ve caught them a few times before, and their energy and tight musicianship is fantastic. Tonight was no different. I hope that some people in the crowd got turned onto their music if they hadn’t  been into them already. They busted out gems like “El Coo Cooi” and “Charlie Brown,” as well as newer cuts like “DD Don’t Like Ska.” I would have liked to hear “The Band Geek Mafia” or “Voodoo Anthem,” but you can’t win ‘em all.

I love the Pilfers. They’re not for everyone, sure, but I think they’re great, and them being back together, even for as few shows as they do, is awesome. They were great here, kicking out songs like “What’s New (Here We Go Again),” “Hypnotized,” “Agua,” “Yakuza,” and others. Crowd participation was lacking at some points; the kids seemed to have a hard time following instructions during “Show No Fear.”

I’ll take this moment to address that the crowd seemed to lack interest for much of the night, at least from where I was standing- against the stage for 6 of the 8 bands. This was a marked difference from last year’s Ska is Dead show, at the same venue. I don’t know what it was, but there were a fair amount of people who stood near the stage, center of the crowd, simply watching the band with their arms crossed. Odd, and disheartening. Ska shows, if nowhere else, are places to just let it go and dance! Mustard Plug would even tell you how later that night. (“Skank By Numbers”)

Anyway, the Toasters followed the Pilfers. Bucket is looking pretty old these days, but that voice has still got it. He did the requisite “Two-Tone Army” and “Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down,” as well as “East Side Beat.” They brought out Coolie from Pilfers (and ex-Toasters) to song on “Run, Rudy, Run” and “Dub 56,” which was really cool.

Finally, Mustard Plug closed things out with their set. They played the hits, along with more unusual cuts like “Mendoza.” Another consistently fun band live, they were great. Dave even knew all the words to “Skank By Numbers,” which isn’t always the case; the “We’d like to stop and thank our roots…” part seems to throw him, in my experience. No matter, the crowd all knows the song, and can sing it for him.

All in all, Skanksgiving 2 was a whole lot of fun. This is a great tour, and you should check it if it comes your way. I would say I enjoyed last year’s more, but still, no regrets at all. Definitely worth the trek.

Last note: While at the show, I met Christa, who is a graphic designer here in Boston, and has a blog here. Some really great stuff there, and she’s done design work for Mark Lind & the Unloved, Far From Finished, and more. I highly encourage you to check it out!

Update: I got a few crappy pictures on my phone. You can check them out here.

Under the Influence vol. 3

Unusual entry today. Instead of an album, I’m going to talk about two 7″ records that came out this year.

First up, is volume 3 of Suburban Home’s Under the Influence series. The UTI series features notable artists covering songs they find to be influential to them. Volume 3 finds Mustard Plug covering the Fugazi classic “Waiting Room,” and Bomb the Music Industry! taking on Pavement’s “Gold Soundz.”

Fugazi is a pretty beloved band. Even if you don’t know their catalog, you have probably had a friend press “Waiting Room” on you. The song is an absolute classic. Mustard Plug, as is their way, throw a bit of ska on it. It doesn’t necessarily improve the song, but it doesn’t hurt it. The vocals hit it pretty spot-on, and the addition of the horns makes for a fun addition. Overall, the song doesn’t out-do the original (naturally), but it’s not a bad cover by any means.

I have to say, I was wary when I heard Bomb the Music Industry! was covering Pavement. Mostly because, despite my most valiant efforts, I cannot get into Pavement. Much like similarly-hyped band Neutral Milk Hotel, I think they are absurdly overhyped. But, as Jeff Rosenstock writes in the notes for their cover, he figured a straight-up ska version of a hipster classic would really drive the indie rockers up a wall. Odds are it will, but it makes the song a lot better than the original. In my own biased opinion, of course. At any rate, it’s a damn fine ska number.

Mike Park/O Pioneers!!! split 7"

Next up is a split 7″ from Mike Park (ex-Skankin’ Pickle, the B. Lee Band, the Chinkees; also founder of Asian Man Records) and O Pioneers!!!, also on Suburban Home. Mike contributes an acoustic number (most of his solo work is acoustic) entitled “Rise Up.” It’s a catchy song, with Mike’s distinctive vocals and guitar, along with a harmonica here and there. The gang vocals for the chorus fit the song’s try-to-be-optimistic vibe with voices imploring the listener to “Rise up/Tell me everything will be alright.” Fans of Mike Park’s solo releases will not be disappointed here.

O Pioneers!!! throw down on the other side with a rocking, poppy soung called “Stressing the Fuck Out.” The gruff vocals have smoothed out some since I first checked out the band, giving them a nice balance of harsh edge and actual listenable singing. The song itself is great, with its propulsive drumming and intermittent guitar under cries to “calm down!/Everything will be alright!” A response to Mike Park’s request on the other side, perhaps? At a rate, this song would be a great introduction to O Pioneers!!!. It definitely gets me excited for their Neon Creeps full-length.

This is definitely a record to pick up for fans of either artist. And it comes with a code for an MP3 download of the songs, which is a trend I love.