Gig Review: The Toasters at The Borderline 7/8/14

On stage in 1995 The Mighty Mighty Bosstones paid tribute to The Toasters by stating that if it wasn’t for The Toasters they would not be there. The Toasters were at the forefront of the third wave ska scene which spawned such acts as Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake and No Doubt amongst others. Still going strong after thirty years of touring they were tonight playing The Borderline in London.

The Toasters only had one support act tonight; this was London ska band The Kubricks. I knew absolutely nothing about this band before I walked down The Borderline’s steps but my gosh I was in for a treat. I absolutely loved The Kubricks. They played a style of ska clearly influenced by legendary bands like The Specials and Madness but there was a fresh modern twist on it. As you would expect from a ska band the music was fun and bouncy and the band really seemed to enjoy playing their songs, which made the crowd react positively. They threw in two crowd pleasing covers of Outkasts Hey Yah and Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance as well as some brilliant original songs of their own, my favourite being Skallywags. The Kubricks are definitely a band on the rise; see them as soon as you can.

After The Kubricks finished their highly entertaining set it was time for New York’s via seemingly everywhere else The Toasters. There aren’t many gigs I go to these days where I feel like a youngster but this was one of them, it dawned on me that The Toasters are actually older than I am having formed in 1981. It’s crazy to me that they have been going for so long because the music doesn't sound dated in the slightest.

Opening with the song Dog Eat Dog from the 2002 album Enemy of the System The Toasters had The Borderline skanking almost immediately. Although the songs are not really known amongst most pop music fans, to people who love ska music they are true classics. Whether it’s the up-tempo Eat Side Beat or Don’t Let The Bastards Grind You Down or the slower numbers like Run Rudy Run or Decision At Midnight every song is loved and sung along to with a huge amount of joy and massive smiles. Front man Robert “Bucket” Hingley looked as if he was having the best time playing his songs and I have decided he may well be the coolest man on the planet. Something I think makes a band fantastic live is when they can turn a song you thought was okay to being brilliant when you hear it live. This happened to me a lot at this gig, and I love The Toasters songs anyway but hearing them played live was something else.

Here’s to hoping The Toasters can play for many more years to come. 

Now Listening to Express Yourself Clearly by Joey Terrifying

Gig Review: Jaya The Cat at Camden Underworld 5/8/14

Tonight at the Underworld in Camden American/Dutch reggae punks Jaya The Cat were in town on for the start of a one week tour in preparation for their shows at Boomtown and Rebellion festivals.

The first band up was The Jellycats from Essex. It had only been six days since I’d seen since I’d seen The Jellycats supporting Reel Big Fish at Colchester Arts Centre (read about it here) and I was looking forward to seeing them again. When they took to the stage I immediately noticed that something was missing. Tonight The Jellycats would not be playing with any brass players; apparently he couldn’t make it to this show. Gamefully they played on regardless and were still able to put on as good a performance as ever. They deserve massive credit as musicians and performers for that.

Next up were London’s ClayPigeon. (Fun coincidence how all of tonight’s bands have an animal in their name?) ClayPigeon play a mix of punk, ska and drum & bass music and are now veterans of the UK underground scene.  Live they always but on a energetic and fun show and tonight was no exception. Playing a mixture of old favourites and some songs of the newest EP Four Years Behind (which sound great live) and the Underworld crowd lapped it up, even getting involved with backing vocals which the ClayPigeon boys seemed genuinely touched about. ClayPigeon are a fantastic little band and deserve way more exposure than they get, they have great varied songs and are a brilliant live band.

Finally it was time for American/Dutch reggae punks Jaya The Cat. Jaya The Cat formed in 1998 in Boston USA before eventually relocating to Amsterdam. Front man Geoff Lagadec has gained a reputation over the years for performing very much under the influence of alcohol and some other interesting substances. This never stops them being one of the very best live bands around though and they have a loving fan base. Starting out with the opening track Rebel Sound from the album New International Sound of Hedonism Jaya The Cat showed they were here to party hard and so were  the crowd. I find Jaya The Cat to be the sort of band where you don’t realise just how many amazing songs they have until you hear them played live. Lagadec’s vocals sound perfect tonight and despite his inebriated state doesn’t miss a beat. Guitarist Dino and bass player Jay are full of energy and cover the entire stage throughout the set. They through in a nice surprise by playing the song Nightbus from the album More Late Night Transmissions but the highlights for me were Fake Carreras (one of the most uplifting songs I’ve ever heard and one of my “happy” songs) where the crowd just went crazy after kneeling down on the floor to then jump up for the final chorus and Here Come The Drums which finished the set with a massive sing song of nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah. Jaya The Cat are the perfect band for a summers night in Camden.

Check out The Jellycats here: https://thejellycats.bandcamp.com/

Check out ClayPigeon here: https://claypigeon.bandcamp.com/music

Check out Jaya The Cat here: https://jayathecat.bandcamp.com

Now listening to She by Green Day

Colin Fest

Summer time means one thing in music world – festival season. In the UK there are dozens to choose from including the huge events that are Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, V Festival and Download as well as the slightly smaller Slam Dunk, Rebellion and Boomtown festivals. The anticipation on the line ups of these festivals is always huge and various websites are full of different rumours and hopes of who will be playing where. This got me thinking “what if I was in charge of a festival line up, who would I have play my stage?”

The opening slot on a stage is always one of the hardest to play. Typically starting at lunch time the crowd will more than likely still be half asleep and not ready to go crazy just yet. For that reason the first band of “Colin Fest” will be Brightons Gnarwolves. Gnarwolves are probably the UK’s biggest punk band currently and have a cult like following. Playing aggressive high energy pop punk this three piece will get the crowd going nuts early and will be a tough act for the rest of the line up to follow.

Up next I would put my current favourite UK band, ONSIND. I can’t speak highly enough of this duo from Durham. The set itself won’t have the crowd going as wild as it would for Gnarwolves but the sing alongs will be as big as any band playing the day. The thought of a whole field singing along to Heterosexuality Is A Construct puts a smile on my face.

The third band on will be the best thing Australia has given us since Mile Jedinak and Kylie Minogues bottom – The Smith Street Band. This four piece from Melbourne really put everything into their sets and their energy and enthusiasm is infectious. The Smith Street Band are a group that live to play live and will have everyone smiling and dancing. Expect front man Wil Wagner to join the crowd for the usual closing song, Young Drunk.

Band number four will be Philadelphia’s The Menzingers. I’ve not been to many gigs where a band can get the crowd going quite like The Menzingers do. The Menzingers are one of the most prolific bands going, constantly releasing album of the year contenders so will have an amazing amount of great songs to choose from to make the Colin Fest crowd happy. Expect stage dives and crowd surfs galore.

After The Menzingers I would allow a short interlude in the proceedings for people to go eat, drink and do whatever else they might do whilst there aren’t any bands playing. After the slight break there is only one band I can think of to get the party going again – London’s Imperial Leisure. This London alternative ska band throws a party like no other. Expect an energetic, frantic and fun show filled with skanking galore.

The next band up to help keep the party going will be some veterans of the UK ska punk scene [Spunge]. Having spent the past twenty years touring up and down the country, this four piece band from Tewkesbury know all about playing festivals. During the career they have graced the stages of Reading and Leeds, Download and Slam Dunk festivals to name but a few. Expect a set full of nostalgia with some classic [Spunge] songs and a few bonus cover songs.

Following [Spunge] would be the first of two headline bands. The first of these arguably the biggest punk band on the planet right now, Against Me.  Having started out playing in launderettes to gaining a huge underground following to this year getting air play on main stream radio they are currently on top of the world. An Against Me live show is full of no nonsense, fists in the air, passionate punk rock anthems.

The final headline act can only be one band. Forming in Florida in 1992 it’s the kings of ska punk, Gainesville’s Less Than Jake. For me Less Than Jake are the best live band I have ever had the pleasure of seeing and are the perfect way to finish my festival. Another band with over twenty years worth of songs to play it will be another nostalgia filled set. Despite it being late in the day expect Less Than Jake to keep the energy going right through their set, encouraging massive mosh pits and the occasional circle pit. Crowd participation is a must at a Less Than Jake show so don’t be surprised if they invite various members of the audience on stage to dance, play games or just make out with each other for prizes. Less Than Jake won’t wind the festival down slowly, they will finish it off with a bang sending everybody home with massive grins on their face. 

Size Matters

I went to see Reel Big Fish at Colchester Arts Centre this week. The band was fantastic but I came away from the gig feeling quite annoyed. That was because of a few members of the crowd. Considering I was at a ska gig, a genre of music generally associated with unity and friendliness this was one of the most aggressive crowds I’ve ever been in. The pit was so bad I actually came away with someone else’s blood on my t-shirt. Obviously I wasn’t happy with this and it had me seriously doubting whether or not I want to keep going to bigger gigs in the future.

Obviously the bigger the gig the better it is for the bands as they are exposing more people to their music and ultimately making more money, plus when a band starts they aim to play to as many people as possible not just a few of they’re mates. I’ve found the problem lies within the crowd at bigger gigs.

Trying my absolute best not to sound like a snob or elitist but I find that at a bigger gig you get a more casual gig goer, someone who will go to one of the bigger festivals and maybe three or four gigs a year and don’t really know gig etiquette. First and foremost I find these people to be really quite rude. There has been many a time I have just been pushed and barged out of the way by someone trying to get past me in the crowd rather than just giving me a tap on the shoulder to let me know that they are coming through. It’s really quite rude and completely unnecessary. That brings me on to another massive bug bare of mine. The gig goer who only turns up to see the headline act and just spends all night at the bar ignoring the support act. That’s fair enough; spend the evening how you choose but if you want to get down to the front to see your favourite band you should get down to the stage early and not just push past the people who have waited at the front for the entire night, I guarantee they wouldn’t do the same to you.

Something else I’ve noticed at bigger gigs is that the pits seem to be far more aggressive and violent than at a smaller gig. Fair play you expect a bit of pushing and shoving in a pit but it’s all should be done in good faith and you should look after the people around you no matter how crazy it’s getting. Too many times these days I’m seeing people getting hurt in mosh pits because people aren’t look after each other. At the Reel Big Fish gig I was seeing people go down and people not helping them up straight away.

You never find any of this behaviour at a smaller gig, the atmosphere so far friendlier. Sure there is a lot of rough and tumble but it’s done in a much better natured way. Everybody there is your friend and will look after you. Many times I’ve hugged and high fived complete strangers during or at the end of the gig and have met so many wonderful people. This rarely happens at a bigger gig.

This is what I love about the punk rock scene. It is quite small but it is fantastic. It’s like my own secret little world and it’s full of the best people I could ever wish to meet. The selfish side of me doesn’t want my favourite bands to get bigger as more and more of the bad kind of gig goer will start attending shows and part of what I love about seeing those bands will disappear. This makes me sad.

Now listening to Fear Of The Routine by The Rocco Lampones

Gig Review: Reel Big Fish at Colchester Arts Centre 30/7/14

On Wednesday the 30^th of July legendary ska punks Reel Big Fish returned to Colchester Arts Centre as part of their Don’t Stop Skankin’ tour supported by The Magnus Puto and The Jellycats.

First up were local band The Jellycats. I always seem to be seeing The Jellycats recently, in just over a year I have seen them five times supporting the likes of The Aquabats, The New Town Kings and now Reel Big Fish. The first time I saw them I didn’t think that much of them but since then I think that they have gotten better and better and are now one of my favourite ska bands on the live underground scene. Buoyed on by a hometown crowd The Jellycats were in top form tonight. Playing a selection of songs from their debut album and their brand new EP as well as a cover of the Blues Brothers hit Everybody Needs Somebody To Love they delivered a highly entertaining fun set. The new song Home in particular stood out tonight and should become a staple of their live show for years to come.

Next up was The Magnus Puto from Bristol. I had a quick listen to them earlier that day and found there brand of electro-ska-hip hop quite enjoyable. The Magnus Puto were displaying the more grown up side of the ska genre and I wondered how it would come across as a live act. I am happy to report that live they did not disappoint. Despite the majority of the crowd not seemingly knowing who they were they managed to get the majority of the people down the front moving with their high octane live show. Definitely a band I plan on checking out more in the future.

It was soon time for the main event of the evening, Orange County California’s Reel Big Fish. Since forming in 1991 Reel Big Fish have formed a reputation of being one of the best live bands in the world. During their time together they have gone through many line up changes (lead singer and guitarist Aaron Barrett is the sole remaining original member) and released seven studio albums the last being Candy Coated Fury which was released in 2012. Reel Big Fish always manage to draw a sizable crowd in Colchester. I think that Colchester really appreciates their seemingly yearly trip to England’s oldest recorded town as it’s not often a band of this size visits our town.

Kicking off the set with Everyone Else Is An Asshole the Californian six piece stormed through hit after hit. Sometimes I forget just how many amazing songs Barrett and Reel Big Fish have written throughout the years and what amazes me is whenever I hear them they still sound fresh and new and not twenty years old. It’s a big testament to the band that they can still put as much energy and enjoyment into the songs after playing them for so many years. Perhaps that is because they change them up a bit from the original recordings. For instance tonight they played Darth Vader’s theme The Imperial March before they played Where Have You Been and they broke into a cover of The Offspring’s Self Esteem during fan favourite Beer.A highlight of the show was when they brought out The Jellycats lead singer Emma to provide vocals for the songs She Has A Girlfriend Now and I Know You Too Well To Like You Anymore, this went down very well with the Arts Centre crowd. Reel Big Fishes set flew by and seem to finish just as quickly as it had started. Once again they proved why they are loved so much everywhere.

Album Review: Sausage Hospital by Mike TV

Back in the early 2000’s, back in the days when MySpace was cool I accidently stumbled upon a band named Pickled Dick. Naturally the immature childish side of my personality (which over 10 years later I am yet to grow out of) wanted to see who they were. What I discovered was probably the best pop punk band from the UK I had ever heard. I instantly ordered their debut album Panda-Moanium from their Big Cartel page and was instantly hooked. It was an album full of fun pop punk songs clearly influenced a golden era for the genre – 90’s Lookout pop punk. In the 1990’s Lookout Records, run by Larry Livermore in San Francisco put out records by now legendary bands such as Screeching Weasel, The Queers, The Mr T Experience and of course Green Day. Panda-Moanium is still one of my favourite pop punk albums to this day. In 2008 after adding an extra guitarist and changing their name to Mike TV they released a new self titled album. Whilst I enjoyed this album something was missing that made me love Panda-Moanium so much. Luckily on their recently released new album Sausage Hospital what I originally loved about Pickled Dick was back.

Mike TV are a band that know exactly who they are and what they are about. They are not here to end world hunger or end wars; they’re all about having fun. Sausage Hospital is an album full of high energy, up tempo catchy songs you’ll be singing for days. The songs are superbly written, with some very witty and clever lyrics. It’s all played magnificently and some of front man Domb’s bass lines are fantastic. As with everything Mike TV have released, dating back to their Pickled Dick days the harmonies are first class. Though none are quite as good as the harmony section on the song Salamander from Panda-Moanium (one of the best harmonies I’ve ever heard) the harmonies in the songs Even Keel and 90’s Teenager are fantastic. Don’t think though just because the album is fun that some serious issues aren’t tackled. Alcoholism, depression, break ups and growing pains are all tackled on Sausage Hospital.

Sausage Hospital is one of the best pop albums I’ve heard in a very long time. I strongly advise you to check it out. Its essential summer listening. Stand out tracks for me were 90’s Teenager, Alcoholocaustic and Pasquinade. 

Listen to Sausage Hospital here: http://miketvmusic.bandcamp.com/album/sausage-hospital

Buy it here: http://www.miketv.bigcartel.com/

Now listening to Dear Bill Hicks by Mike TV

Gig Review: ONSIND at Urban Bar, Whitechapel on 17/7/14

A boiling hot evening in Whitechapel would be the setting for Durham acoustic punks ONSIND first London gig of 2014. One Seven Six Records were putting on a night of punk rock featuring ONSIND, Erica Freas from Washington punks RVIVR, Losing Sleep and The Fairweather Band at Urban Bar. It promised to be a fantastic night.

This gig almost had a strange sense of déjà-vu for me. Last year I attended a RVIVR show at The Black Heart in Camden, on the bill that night the members of ONSIND’s other band Martha and The Fairweather Bands lead singer Rory was performing as his solo act Some Sort Of Threat. Not really that important but it is kind of interesting. (At least I think so)

Exeter’s Fairweather Band were the first band up this evening and having never heard any of their songs before I wasn’t completely sure what to expect. I soon discovered that this four piece play some straight forward rock music with a nice punk snarl. I could really give a fair verdict on their set as it was sadly marred with sound issues but they seem like a band with some great potential.

The second band of the evening was Losing Sleep from Kingston. Losing Sleep are a band whose name I had read a lot on different punk websites and zines but had never given them a listen. I really enjoyed what I heard of this young four piece band. They played some of the best pop punk I had heard for a long time. The songs were very well structured and I especially enjoyed the interesting bass lines. The singing sounded heartfelt and carried good emotion and was backed by some fantastic harmonies. During the set the band spoke about an organisation named DIY Space For London. This organisation’s aim is to make a DIY, all ages and all inclusive space for gigs in London. It’s a great organisation and you can get involved here.

Urban Bar now felt like a sauna and sweat was now pouring out of everyone but it didn’t matter as it was now time for Erica Freas. Normally Erica plays guitar and sings with her punk band RVIVR but tonight she was playing solo with just her acoustic guitar. The room was now full of people eagerly awaiting her performance. She remarked during her set that she thought it was crazy that that so many people would come out to see her play acoustic guitar, I thought that it was crazy that she would come so far to play to such a small room full of people. I have never known a room to be so silent; we were all listening so intently to every word she sung and every chord that she strummed. The set was mixed with songs from her solo efforts Tether and Belly as well as some RVIVR songs.

It was now time for ONSIND from Durham. I was really excited to see these two fellow’s again. I’d previously seen them at their last London show at Power Lunches in Hackney where they had blown me away. In truth it’s just two blokes playing acoustic guitar and singing but the atmosphere they create is something else. Where the room was silently listening to Erica Freas it was loud and proud for ONSIND. From the opening song to the last the whole room was singing loudly with Nathan and Daniel. ONSIND’s songs contain lyrics about mental health, sexism, homophobia and politics amongst other things and with everyone singing along with them it felt almost like being at a rally rather than a gig.

There was a nice surprise during the song Dissatisfactions when Erica joined the boys on stage to provide her vocals to the song like she did on the record. The biggest surprise was saved for the final song. After ONSIND had played the excellent Heterosexuality Is A Construct Erica took to the stage again and they performed a cover version of the song Starships originally done by Nicky Minaj. This was a really special moment for me as I had discovered both ONSIND and RVIVR through the video of this cover they put on YouTube. I never ever expected to see it live but I now had!

Despite being the sweatiest gig I have ever been too, some feat considering the two headline acts were acoustic it had been an amazing gig and after hugging a couple of equally sweaty strangers I headed home with a massive smile on my face.

Listen to ONSIND here: http://onsind.bandcamp.com/

Listen to Erica Freas here: http://ericafreas.bandcamp.com/

Listen to Losing Sleep here: http://losingsleep.bandcamp.com/

Listen to The Fairweather Band here: http://thefairweatherband.bandcamp.com/

Now listening to Walking Is Still Honest by Against Me!