Guin's Concert Reviews

(All opinions are those of the reviewer & do not necessarily reflect the opinions of NYSP or its editor. )

Less Than Jake - February 10, 1998 - Coney Island High

Less Than Jake….need I say more. Perhaps I must because most of you are probably not as crazily obsessed with the band as I am. So here I go…for those of you who were at the show you know what happened for those of you who didn’t get to go…well that sux for you. But I’ll tell you about it. This was my first time at Coney Island High. Coney Island High is on St. Marks Place in the Village. All in all Coney is a cool venue.

When my friend Guin, the master designer of this page, and I arrived on the scene, the bands were still bringing all of their equipment into the place. We caught quick glimpses of Shaun as he carried in boxes and smoked cigarettes. The wait was long for doors to open but once inside we could feel the excitement that only LTJ shows could bring on.

The show started around eight or so….the first opening band was pretty good….sorry I forgot what they were called but I know they were from Virginia. They were strictly punk…no ska influence. The first few songs were good but as they played on the music started to sound the same.

The next band, Nine Lives, in my opinion down right sucked. Sorry to all of you who might love this band….no offense intended. The band was a four piece with male lead vocals….or was he male…he sounded sometimes like a cheesy female vocalist and at other times like a young boy who has yet to go through puberty. The music was very trendy sounding….more pop than punk. It was during this set that I became so bored that I started to notice the crowd. In observing the audience I came to see how truly cheesy the great majority of them were. They all began moshing to the almost mellow music Nine Lives was playing. I poked Guin and asked her if these people were for real…it seemed as though most of them did not have a clue. However, some were long time devoted ska-punk fans. Nine Lives played for what seemed like hours. In reality it was about 45 minutes. That in my opinion is too long of a time for an opener to play since usually a headliner usually plays an hour or an hour and a half. As the lights came up, I was snapped out of my state of boredom. (James from Williamsburg, if you read this, what's up. Operation Ivy lives on in the Yonkers punk-ska scene)

Limp came up next. For all you punkers out there, you might recognize the name Limp from The Honest Don's Welcome Wagon, a compilation put out by Honest Don's records, a subsidiary of Fat Wreck Chords. Well, that’s where I recognized the band from…anyway…they were pretty good. They played poppy punk typical of any Berkeley punk band these days. Good vocals, good guitars, good beat. All in all they had the Fat Wreck type of sound. If you're into that, then you would probably enjoy Limp. Limp's set was rather short (at least compared to Nine Lives' set).

As LTJ was setting up, I became dismayed (as a true, long-time fan) to discover that many of the kiddies at the show had been turned onto the scene by recent commercialism. Some may say that I am being a selfish, foolish bitch for being annoyed that others are getting into the scene….but…I say do it because you truly like the music and what the scene has to offer, not because its trendy and your friends want you to go to the show.

LTJ took a little longer than expected to set up…it seems that they were having some technical difficulties. When the band was finally set and ready to go, Chris came on stage as usual in a wacky wig. The band started their set off with the very jumpy song, "Happy Man", I tried to make my way to the center of the room as everyone pushed forward because I wanted to get into the circle in order to skank. But when I got into the circle, I found that no one was skanking and all the 14- 16-year-old boys were trying to show their manhood by moshing hard into those around them. I was very annoyed at this, as were many other loyal fans. I'm ok with moshers, as long as they're fine with the skankers. However, the moshers at this show were quite selfish and knocked down anyone who attempted to dance. Anyway…the set was kept interesting by toilet paper, silly string and free LTJ stuff being thrown out into the audience by LTJ's beloved roadie, van driver, ex-bassist, Shaun. LTJ played tons of awesome songs such as, Liquor Store, Automatic, Shindo, Jen, Growing up on a Couch, Mike Sinkovich, Just Like Frank, Ask the Magic 8 Ball, My Very Own Flag, Doug Hastings, Rock and Roll Pizzeria, You're the One that I Want (Off their newest release Greased- the Grease soundtrack redone in a way only Less Than Jake could do). The band gave us a special treat by playing some new stuff. They played two or three tracks that will be on their new album. I cannot remember the names of the songs but they were very upbeat, very punk, very LTJ. Part way through the set I found myself separated from all those that I knew …but…I was two people back from being dead in front of Chris. This was heaven for me because…Chris, I love you. The band seemed to be having a lot of fun playing but they were all sweating just as hard as we, the audience, were. It was hotter than hell in there at this point. But I was loving it all. Life just doesn't get any happier for me. I told you I am obsessed. Anyway…I found Guin just as the band was beginning to finish up their set. They ended with Lockdown….and I went home bruised, hot, but very very happy. There were a few downers in this awesome evening of fun. The sound system for Coney was pretty damn bad. I'm not sure what was wrong but the horns were kinda washed out and at times Roger's voice sounded about three octaves higher than it usually is. Go figure. Also…Jessica…we miss you. Some how the band isn't the same without her. O.K. that’s about it for now. This was my Fifth LTJ show I think….and I can't wait for the Ska vs. Racism Tour in April when I can get to see them again along with tons of other awesome bands such as, Hepcat, B. Lee Band, MU330, Edna's Goldfish, the Toasters, Mustard Plug, Blue Meanies, Five Iron Frenzy, Kemuri and tons of other I can't remember right now. Later for now fellow LTJ fans.

-Misdarknes

Go Back to The Review Page

This page was last updated on 06/21/98