Ska-punk's not dead! Not that it was ever really threatened.
Online information told me Against All Authority would start at 7:00, but by the time we actually entered the venue, indulged in the fine services of the Roseland Ballroom restroom and made our way back upstairs (6:40), the band was already tearing through the set. For a three-piece, they were devastatingly loud above all. Considering that factor, they also looked and sounded decent, but enjoyment really only goes as far as it does for their studio albums, which isn't exactly a marathon. Not a terrible time, though, and it seemed they certainly got the crowd moving early on.
Set list (?-6:55; incomplete):
- Dinkas When I Close My Eyes -----
- Hard as Fuck
- Sunshine Fist Magnet -----
- ?
- ? -----
- cover (?) -----
- Walking Revolution
Set list (7:20-7:54):
- We Are the Few
- Failing, Flailing -----
- new song -----
- That'll Be the Day
- Point/Counterpoint ["Keasbey Nights" within] -----
- Here's to Life
Set list (8:20-9:24):
- Sell Out
- Another F.U. Song
- I Want Your Girlfriend to Be My Girlfriend Too -----
- Your Guts (I Hate 'Em) -----
- Ban the Tube Top -----
- You Don't Know -----
- She Has a Girlfriend Now -----
- The New Version of You -----
- Enter Sandman [Metallica cover up to its first chorus]
- The Set Up (You Need This)
- Where Have You Been
- Everything Sucks -----
- Hate You
- S.R. [1. normal/reggae, 2. punk rock, 3. blues, 4. disco, 5. country western, 6. death metal, 7. "emo"]
- Beer
- Take on Me [A Ha cover]
The band ran through a couple songs including their terrible Bowling for Soup outtake ("Overrated (Everything Is)"), and then called up three "contestants" to play their little game show. After one fellow -- who probably thought he was awesome when he wrote his name as "Chuck Nasty" on the submission form -- was closest in answering Demakes (or Boner's) trivia question, he was allowed to step up to LTJ's Plinko board and drop a chip in. "Wherever the Plinko chip lands, we'll play that album!" declared Demakes. From where I was situated I couldn't explicitly see where the album covers were placed along the bottom of the Plinko board, but when I saw the chip nestle beside some pegs on the far right, I knew it...and immediately cringed.
"We're gonna play our best fucking record," Demakes enthused, "In with the Out Crowd!"
And with that, the crowd almost completely died. A whoooole lotta mere standing in place ensued, compared to the lively skanking and dancing the audience had been previously partaking in. Luckily, Demakes was exaggerating when he said the band would play that album -- really, it was only selections off it. Another bit of luck was that they picked the album's better songs, as you can see below. Along the way the frontman cracked comments about the backlash: "You know why I love this album so much? Because you guys hate it so much." After their first two selections off it, he added "[see], we're halfway through already!"
Fortunately, the next winning contestant spun a wheel with all the album covers that landed on Pezcore, and we were treated to five straight selections from the fan favorite. The band played one more planned song, left the stage and came right back with four more that ended it well.
Is Less Than Jake relying on live gimmicks to retain their potentially dwindling fanbase? One could argue it, but one could also argue that they're merely doing something a lot of bands don't have the financial luxury of doing: putting on an actual show, which they certainly did here. 15-some-odd years into the game, you can't blame them for trying to mix it up a little bit. It added a little humor to the set and nearly ensured the crowd would still get to hear some of their best material.
All in all, another fine show from the ska-punk vets, and giving a glimmer of hope that their next album won't, simply put, blow.
Set list (9:51-11:02):
- All My Best Friends Are Metalheads
- Overrated (Everything Is)
- Johnny Quest (Thinks We're Sellouts) -----
- History of a Boring Town
- Sugar in Your Gastank -----
- Soundtrack of My Life
- Let Her Go -----
- A Still Life Franchise -----
- P.S. Shock the World -----
- Liquor Store
- Big
- Growing Up on a Couch -----
- Out of the Crowd -----
- Three Quarts Drunk -----
- Look What Happened Encore:
- Rest of My Life
- My Very Own Flag -----
- Last One Out of Liberty City
- Gainesville Rock City
In with the Out Crowd:
Pezcore: