California ska-punk favorites Mad Caddies made their way up the coast to Seattle and brought “Dirty Reggae” specialists, The Aggrolites along for the ride on January 28, 2015.

The Aggrolites kicked it off with groovy SoCal Mexican flavor and got the boozy crowd bouncing. Before long, the pit was in full pogo frenzy. The Seattle venue, Nectar Lounge, is predominantly known for hip hop shows but the sold out crowd made the room their own with the ska/punk/reggae energy.

The hands down highlight of the night was Lynval Golding of The Specials joining The Aggrolites for three (!) songs, including “A Message To You Rudy”. Lynval is a living legend and his historical importance was certainly not lost on the fans, most of whom (including me) had cell phones in the air, taking video. After the set, Lynval walked through the crowd shaking hands, smiling for pictures, and signing autographs.

I hadn’t seen Mad Caddies since 90s era Warped Tour. They killed it. These guys are sneaky good and could probably play any genre of music they prefer. Thankfully for now, they prefer punk rock and ska.

Mad Caddies, who have the reputation as the long-running Fat Wreck Chords party band, started mellow (and a little boring) but gradually built up a slowest to fastest set list. By the end the crowd was going crazy. They finished with “Road Rash”, a classic Fat Wreck comp favorite, and everybody left with a smile on their face.