Photos and Review by Jeff Palmucci
Less Than Jake Photos HERE
Reel Big Fish Photos HERE
Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish brought a full night of ska-punk to the House of Blues in Boston last Thursday. I’ve always enjoyed this kind of music, just for the pure fun of it. The bands don’t take themselves too seriously, the music is upbeat, and the horns and Caribbean influence distinguish it from more mainstream punk.
Apparently, I’m not the only one. I honestly had no idea that these bands had such a big following in Boston. The place was packed full. As Less than Jake front man Chris DaMakes bragged, they outsold Marilyn Manson’s concert the night before. The crowd tended toward the younger side, given the age of the bands. They were extremely energetic with tons of moshing and crowd surfing going on all night.
Unfortunately, I missed the opening band, Authority Zero, because of a snafu at the box office and found myself running in to catch Less Than Jake. They played wide variety of old and new songs, ranging from 1995’s Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts to 2013’s Good Enough and Give Me Something to Believe In, Inc.
About half way through the set, they debuted the jingle that they sold to General Mills for Pac Man Cereal. Part of a complete breakfast! Their words, not mine (although they admitted that no one should really actually eat the stuff). Then, in order to make sure we had the jingle firmly implanted in our skulls, they played it again.
Towards the end of the set they invited a bunch of audience members up on the stage to dance. Between songs, DeMakes commented that maybe they should just have the girls up, changing his mind only when he convinced this guy to take of his shirt while dancing. Yeah, that guy. The one who looks like Chris Pratt, if he let himself go really badly. It was hypnotic, like watching a train wreck. I couldn’t look away.
Reel Big Fish was up next, leading out with 1996’s Trendy and running through a setlist spanning their 20 years of music. Including several off 2012’s Candy Coated Fury [1] and even one off their 2014 Christmas themed EP, Skank for Christmas.
During their encore, they played Suburban Rhythm several times using different musical styles with lead man Aaron Barrett encouraging different dance moves on the floor. They jumped, circled, square danced, banged heads, and shook booties. I was amazed how he got absolutely everyone on the floor to do these ridiculous dances. The entire floor at the House of Blues (a pretty big area) was dancing around as if compelled by the best bar mitzvah DJ ever. That’s just one of the things I like about these bands. They’re not angsty or angry. They’re just having a fun time, and their fans are there to have fun too.
[1] Candy Coated Fury has one of the coolest album covers I’ve seen in a long time. Why oh why don’t they make a t-shirt?? UPDATE (8/31/15): They now sell the shirt!!! Mine is on its way. You can get it here.
Less Than Jake / Reel Big Fish at the House of Blues – Boston
