Chris Murray/King Terror/The Aggrolites-5/27 at the Knitting Factory, Hollywood CA
So out in Cali they have this thing called the Bluebeat lounge. It's at a lovely venue called the Knitting Factory in the heart of Hollywood, by Mann's Chinese and lots and lots of sex and smoke shops. Unlike most surrounding establishments, this place was quite classy, and had a terrific soundsystem to boot. (Compared to down here anyway) The Bluebeat Lounge thing, a ska/reggae showcase, goes on every Tuesday. Not only is it hosted weekly by Chris Murray and Brian Dixon, but it is a mere five bucks. To top it all off, a dj spun classic skinhead reggae, rocksteady, and ska between sets. Nice! A tired and jetlagged Chris Murray started things off. Murray's set consisted of him standing on stage all by his lonesome, bobbing up and down as he played guitar and sung the crowd's requests. He played a few of his recorded songs, including "Ex-Darling" and his version of "Thrill Me Up." I was very pleasantly surprised when he covered my favorite Clash tune, "White Man in Hammersmith Palais," immediately followed by a cover of one of my favorite old reggae numbers, "Save a Bread." He finished with "Monkey Man" and "Gangsters" by the Specials, and closed the set with "We Do the Ska" from the album "Raw." Overall, I'd say he was a damn talented musician with a terrific voice, and a great live performer-the whole set had a very personable and friendly vibe going on. Next up was King Terror. This was one of the more bizzare sets I've witnessed. Brian Dixon came onstage in a black robe, facemask, and crown and kicked it with some dub. Throughout the set, two more masked, robed figures came out behind him and acted as guards or something of that sort, as well as dancers. They later fought with another two black robed figures, the latter two clearly identified as the bad guys with their skulls and clubs as such. The set ended with King Terror jumping up and down and waving his arms in triumph. The dub probably wasn't enough to keep me happy for a full set, but with the craziness, I was entertained. The Aggrolites closed the show. I'd heard a few clips of their material, and listened to the Rhythm Doctors album many a time (key players from that group are in the Aggrolites) but I didn't know what to expect live. The drummer started things off with an crescendoing drumbeat that got faster and faster, then there was a split second pause. Next thing I knew, the fattest goddamn skinhead reggae I'd ever witnessed live was blasting throughout the room while the guitarists and bassist ran around the small stage, the necks of their instruments in the air rock-style while they played. This set the trend for the rest of their incredibley energetic show. Lead guitarist Jesse Wagner proved to be a great vocalist as well, as demonstrated by such songs as "Banana," "Pop the Trunk," "Dirty Reggae," and something about a Chicken. ("Cook it. Roast it. Charbroil it.") All great songs to dance and sing along to. As appropriate, they did a double encore. I left the show happy, impressed, and full of ideas on how to make the Texas scene better. Cali is blessed.

Secret Agent 8/Sound Patrol/the Stingers-4/25/03 at the Flamingo Cantina
I arrived just in time to learn Secret Agent 8's set had started early and been cut off quickly. This was very disappointing, and I was fuckin' glad when they started up again with "High Rise Flats." Their set was great as always. I was completely blown away by their cover of "Iron Lion Zion." Their rendition was one of the best covers I've ever heard, with great vocals and beautiful horn parts. One of my favorite aspects of Secret Agent 8 is how they take advantage of their many members to create a huge sound at the right time, and "Iron Lion Zion" highlighted that for me. Their next to last song was another incredible cover, this time of "Badfish." I have high standards for Sublime covers, and in my opinion a lot of bands shouldn't even try. Yet once again, Secret Agent 8 delivered with class. They closed with my favorite song of theirs, "So Cold" with its strange sound and theremin part. That one puts uninnovative bands to shame. Sound Patrol came on next. These guys might be my favorite group at the moment. The stage presence of Ragah, the killer lyrics, the heavy reggae groove, and most of all, four great vocal parts make for an unstoppable live show. I was especially down with the last song, "Sugar," since while I think Ragah is great, Mark Speer's vocals are incredible and I wish they were given the spotlight more. The Stingers closed out the show with their usual rock and ska. As always, their musicianship and showmanship were top quality. In addition to lots of material from their new album, they played a couple unreleased tracks and "China Dread" and "16 Guns" from the first album. It was great to hear the old songs played by the Stingers now, with a new lineup and couple more years to their name. Another nice feature was Trombonist Wayne Meyers kicking it on the melodica and Trombone at different points of the same song to keep things interesting. The Texas scene is blessed with three great bands right now.

 

Skatalites/Stingers-4/23/03 at the Flamingo Cantina
The Stingers started off a night of true ska with a scorching instrumental. Jason, who played with Los Skarnales long ago, contributed a killer sax solo. The Stingers proceeded through their usual repertoire of rocksteady and ska in their usual style, which is to say they were right on. A worthy opener for the Skatalites! The Skatalites started things off with Freedom Sound. The rest of their performance followed the same pattern as Freedom Sound: the theme, then lots and lots of soloing. The only exception was when Don Knibbs unexpectedly (to me anyway) joined them onstage. In two separate appearances, he sang a couple tunes including Simmerdown and Turn Your Lamp Down Low, the latter of which I particularly enjoyed. Overall, the Skatalites were spectacular. The only downside was the small amount of songs they played, on account of the length of each one. The crowd was treated to most of the songs you'd expect: Rock Fort Rock, Guns of Navaronne, Latin Goes Ska, in addition to perhaps less well known pieces like Trip to Mars. The bottom line on this show is I was sad in the shower the next morning because I knew it'd be a very long time before I saw a ska show of this caliber again.

A Simple Plan/Bigwig/Guttermouth/Mighty Mighty Bosstones-11/16/02 at Emos

This musically diverse show started off with Canada's A Simple Plan. Their radio friendly pop-punk isn't my style, but I won't deny that they played well together. Their stage banter emphasized how being in a band didn't make them any different than the crowd, which matched the lyrical theme of one of their songs. When they had equipment problems, one guy from the band asked why they always had problems, to which another guy said because they were people. Then the singer asked the crowd if they had problems and lots of people yelled and such. They were really friendy, telling the crowd to come talk to them afterwards and all that. Like I said, I'm not down with that genre, but I respected their set anyways. In a change of pace, Bigwig came out of backstage already playing fast, distorted punk as they walked. In the only use of stage effects of the night, the drumkit blazed with fire as they opened up with a song whose chorus went "Fuckyourrules, Fuckyourschools, Fuckyourcountry." Nice. They proceeded to play lots of fast, screaming, mostly political/socially oriented punk. Highlights were "Pro Life-Taker" and the closer "Sellout." Guttermouth came on next. I was liking them at first, but after the singer ran around spastically and mocked the crowd and anyone who crowdsurfed onstage for half an hour, I got pretty sick of them. That said, they played with lots of energy and were tight-it was obvious they'd been playing together for a while. Finally the Bosstones came on and opened with "Old School off the Bright" from their new album. They proceeded to play every single song I wanted to hear with the sole exception of "Someday I Suppose," which surprised me quite a bit. They played four songs from Jackknife to a Swan, three from Lets Face It, and a few songs scattered from throughout their long career. The crowd was treated to the Trombone player's singing on "Simmerdown"and "Everybody's Better," both of which were excellent. As usual, the Bosstones played with a ton of energy and were very tight. Good stuff.

Krum Bums/DC Swindlers/2 Man Advantage/Toxic Narcotic-10/29/02 at Emos

I missed most of the Krum Bums set, but it was probably good stuff. Next up were the DC Swindlers. They played with a decent amount of energy and enthusiasm, but I wasn't feeling their set. Most of the vocals weren't understandable, which I like well enough in, say, Toxic Narcotic, but it didn't seem to match their music, which was at times hardcore, at other times more melodic. I think there might have also been a little ska-ish stuff at times in a guitar part, but the distortion of the rest of the music drowned it out. 2 Man Advantage came out garbed in hockey gear. When they started playing, a second singer (hence the name I guess, plus the hockey theme) who was really fat came onstage. That dude had an incredibly hairy back with a big "69" shaved into it. Despite their song "Don't Label Me," I would say they played pretty fast straightforward hardcore. I was feeling their energy and their music. I could see how listening to their album might get repetitive, but I'd be down for seeing them again live. Toxic Narcotic took the stage to a smaller crowd than I was expecting-too bad, they were fukin' awesome. The singer had a good presence onstage, he jumped into the crowd and surfed, cussed a lot, didn't say too much between songs, and seemed genuinely happy to be there. They played new stuff and old stuff. Pretty much their whole set kicked ass, and the small crowd was into it. Definitely a band I want to see again.

Krum Bums/Clit45/A Global Threat/Defiance-8/28/02 at the Flamingo Cantina

Finally, a well-attended punk show at one of my favorite venues! I got in right before the Krum Bums started. As usual, they put on an energetic set. I still don't like their style of screamed, unintelligible vocals, but that's just personal preference and I thought they kicked ass regardless. It was nice to see the crowd show some energy. People moshed, sang along, got onstage and threw beers into the crowd...good stuff. Clit45 was pretty disappointing to me...I like some of their songs, but live it seemed like out of tune screamed vocals and slushy chords. The singer had a lot of enthusiasm, though. He went for the insult-the-crowd style of stage banter. I didn't really care. A Global Threat came on next and blazed through an incredibly short set, I think it must have been about 25 minutes at the absolute max. That sucked, because they kicked ass. The great vocals and impressive guitar playing blew away most sets I've seen lately at punk shows. They played an even mix of old and new material and didn't say much between songs. (if anything, now that I think about it) Defiance closed the show with another strong set. The singer/guitarist played with a lot of enthusiasm and had a damn good stage presence. The bass player, on the other hand, seemd decidely unhappy to be there. He knocked over the mike and put down his bass before the last song before playing again after the singer said something to him. I was surprised by the quality of the old punks' set. Too bad A Global Threat didn't play longer, but it was a good show overall, so fuckit!.

The Endz/Pistol Grip/Beltones/Oxymoron-8/10/02 at Emos

I arrived early to catch the Endz, who I hadn't seen before. It usually takes me a few shows to decide if I like a punk band or not, and this group isn't an exception. Their set varied in style a bit, but they seem to play music influenced by various older styles of punk-77, oi, etc. I wasn't blown away, but I'd like to see them again. Pistol Grip came on next. Their singer struck me as having a powerful stage presence. The guitarist took over vocal duties for a cover (of the Exploited I think) that got the crowd going. They also covered a Lower Class Brats song which they dedicated to Bones. The Beltones were the third group. I love their music, but last time I saw them the singer annoyed the hell out of me by saying how much he loved everybody and how we were "for real" between every single song. So I was pleased that this time they pretty much rocked without saying much. They played their rock and roll influenced punk for what seemed like too short a time. Oxymoron came out a while later and started with "Life's a Bitch." After that they played a bunch of old songs and a very few from their newest album "Feed the Breed." The singer was energetic, but the rest of the band just stood there at the corners of the stage the whole time. They played a quick encore. This surprised me, because the crowd mostly stood around quietly the whole time, probably because it was insanely hot inside Emos. On a related note, while I was walking to get my bike to go home after the show I saw Oxymoron's singer sitting down outside. He really looked like he was in a really bad way. I speculate that they aren't used to that kind of heat in Germany, which made me respect their set a hell of a lot more. All in all, I thought it was a good show, but the crowd and the bands just didn't seem to have much energy.

No Excuse/Secret Agent 8/Go Jimmy Go-June 29th at Fitzgeralds

No Excuse opened up. These guys described themselves to me as something along the lines of "A metal band with horns. They actually sounded reminiscent of a pop-punk band with horns sometimes though, except with wailin' (and badass) metal style guitar solos and such. They were also dressed in a metalish fashion, which could be viewed as cool and/or amusing. Secret Agent 8 played next as Go Jimmy Go were going to the their motel. Damn, every time I see these guys lately I'm really impressed with not only the music, but with how much they've improved from the previous time I saw them. (And I thought they were really good back then each time too!) This show I noticed how well the theremin part has been integrated into the songs, as well as the horn arrangement on "Things to Come." The latter really blew me anyway. All in all, a great set that left me wanting to see them again soon. Their new CD should be pretty killer soon. I booked Go Jimmy Go myself, so I thought it might me a little lame for me to review 'em...and so I present this review of their set by Fat Zack of Secret Agent 8:

Go jimmy go started their set with "soul arrival", the opening track to their lastest release by the same name. from that point foward, it was all great rocksteady, reggae, soul and ska grooves from the six peice outfit from the hawaiin islands. they put on a great show as well as putting out great sounds. i couldn't help but dance to each and every song. the horns were awesome, guitar smooth, drums groovin', singer wailing, and for having only been doing it for two days, the bassist layed down fat lines. definetly an act to see anytime you might get the chance. also, you should think about picking up the album . . . niceness.

Slackers/Flogging Molly-3/28 at La Zona Rosa

My friends and I arrived just in time to see the Slackers start their set with "And I Wonder." They proceeded to play an amazing, but painfully short, set. The crowd was treated to a pretty even mix of fast ska tunes such as "Nurse" and "Please Decide" and slower reggae like "Wasted Days" and "Watch This." The Slackers also played the dub-like "Pets of the World," which I really enjoyed. The vocals came through much more powerfully live and Dave Hillyard played an amazing sax solo. As usual, the horn section left the stage and played in the middle of the crowd during their last song. The highlight of the set for me was when they played "Make Me Smile" for the first time out of the five times I've seen them. I was very disappointed that the set was so short, but on the plus side they were amazing. After a good 45 minutes, Flogging Molly came on. At this point, I was pretty pissed off that they took so damn long when the Slackers could have been playing. Fortunately, Flogging Molly was one of the best bands I've ever seen live. They played with tons of energy, the singer's banter leading into songs was amusing, and the musicianship was good too. The guitar player performed a great, and long, solo during "Black Friday Rule." They played tons of faster songs like "Selfish Man" and "Never see the Likes of You Again." They also played some slower stuff, my favorite was "Delilah," which they got the crowd singing along too. They finished with an encore of "Every Dog has its Day" and "Sentimental Johnny." Two killer sets, one of the best shows I've been to.

Secret Agent 8/DRUM/Sound Patrol and Ragah-3/16 at Fitzgeralds

Secret Agent 8 started the show off quite nicely with lots of fast ska, a little slow grooving reggae, and a soul song for good measure. There were some cool horn solos, the sax really stood out to me. Also some nice theremin playing. Next up was drum. I'd never seen them before, and their reggae sounds didn't dissapoint. Pretty much strictly well-played roots reggae. The show closed with the International Ragah El backed by Sound Patrol. Ragah's vocals were very impressive throughout his set of roots reggae and dancehall. Very, very impressive. When Sound Patrol came in with their background vocals, the harmonies were amazing. I imagine that seeing Hepcat must have been a similar experience. Overall, great show. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of Ragah.

Casualties/TSOL/Agnostic Front-3/3 at Fitzgeralds

This show started off with a great set by the Casualties. They came onstage, announced who they were, and started playing. One song came after another with almost no banter at all, the music and energy spoke for these guys. They played a pretty even mix of old and new material, plus a Blitz cover. I don't like their music or lyrics much, but I can't deny they put on a hell of a live show. TSOL came on next. I was a little apprehensive about this group because I'm always a little distrustful of these old bands playing their old hits, it always smacks of a gimmicky reunion tour to me. My fears grew as the band came onstage wearing expensive looking suits. As the singer walked onstage wearing white and black ghoul face makeup, my fears peaked. Without saying a word or waiting for the crowd to gather, they immediately started playing. For a good 20 or 25 minutes, they played song after song nonstop without saying a word to the crowd. Like the Casualties, their music and energy spoke for them, and it spoke quite well, it might have been my favorite set by a punk band. Agnostic Front, in contrast, kinda acted a little like rock stars. They took forever to come onstage, and Vinny Stigma's banter was a little too much for me. ("God Bless Texas?") That said, they totally rocked out with tons of energy. Their set consisted of old stuff, new stuff, and a Madball cover. They ended by dedicating "Crucified" to the skins in the crowd. All the bands kicked ass. Good show.

The Stingers/Los Skarnales-3/1/02 at the Flamingo Cantina

Another specatacular show by these two bands. The Stingers started off the night with some rock and roll before launching into their set of reggae, ska, and a little more rock. As always, their music was well written and played, with lots of great trombone and guitar solos. One of the numerous highlights of their set was when a fellow named Ragga came onstage during "Higher." The Stingers added an extended dub jam session to the end of the song while he did some nice toasting. They also played a new song with the first keyboard solo I've heard from them. The Stingers finished up by playing "Prince Royal" as an encore. As usual, the trombone player came into the crowd to play his solo in another highlight of the set. Los Skarnales ended the show with their mix of punk, ska, rockabilly, and reggae. The last few times I'd seen them, the shows seemed perfect except they weren't playing any new material. This time, they did away with my only complaint with their new song "Toda la Noche." The track started off with a ska part before some great rock guitar came in. I definitely was impressed with the track. Another great moment was when the bass player put his upright bass down sideways on the stage while the guitarist climbed on top of it to play a solo. Making this even better, the bassist knelt down and kept playing throughout the solo! There was some nice toasting by the singer during some of the songs too. Ragga also came onstage to join him and do some more toasting. All in all, another incredible night of ska.

The Stingers/Los Skarnales-1/26/02 at the Flamingo Cantina

This show was without doubt one of the best I've ever been to. My friends and I showed up right before the Stingers started. This Stingers set was about 90 minutes of incredible music. Almost all their songs were newer stuff, the only songs they played from their first ablum were "Prince Royal" and "China Dread." They played at least two songs I'd never heard before, one was upbeat ska and one was a slow dub-like instrumental. Most of their material was ska and reggae, with a little bit of rock & roll. Like pretty much every Stingers show I've been to, the energy and musicianship was brilliant. I should add that they were playing with a new bassist, who was damn good for his first outing with a band. The solos were impressive, of course, on all the songs. My favorite was their version of "Watching the Detectives" by Elvis Costello. The verses were much faster and upbeat than the original, and the Stingers added a sweet instrumental section featuring some nice guitar playing and a mind-blowing muffled trombone solo. That was a tough set to follow, but Los Skarnales pulled it off nicely. In part this was because their set contrasted with the Stingers; they didn't play the same type of music at all. Most of the Los Skarnales set was fast, noisy, and distorted. There were nice guitar and standup bass solos, and the singer was jumping all over the place with typical Los Skarnales energy. They played several songs as an encore, including a cover of "Man in the Street" with their old saxophone player and the Stingers' trombone player. The horn solos were perfect, I was really impressed. They finished by playing "Demasiado Tarde" for a second time. Oh yeah, and there was a ton of people there, way more people than usually come out to see local bands. A big energetic crowd, and two kick-ass, and very long sets, made this show really stand out.

Dave Wakeling/The Stingers-1/17/02 at Antones

Very disappointing show. I'd been looking forward to hear some killer renditions of English Beat classics like "Tears of a Clown," "Mirror in the Bathroom," and "Rankin Full Stop." Instead I got what I'd consider generic 80's pop crap. But I get ahead of myself. I showed up to catch about half of the Stingers. They were awesome as always. I don't know what to say about them that I haven't said before. They played reggae, ska, and rock n' roll, all with great energy and musicianship. They also played a new song that was pretty cool. After the Stingers played, a turntablist who apparently is part of Wakeling's current backing band played a few tunes. Not as entertaining as the Stingers, but he was spinning good stuff. While he was spinning records, I noticed a guy with a bad haircut and tight black leather pants setting up on stage. "I hope that's not Wakeling," I thought. Well, he was, and his set was like he looked: cliched 80s material. Not that I would mind his appearance if the music had been good, but that wasn't the case. First off, he didn't have a full backing band-just a guitar, bass, and turntableist. Also, a lot of his material wasn't remotely related to ska or reggae-it was pure pop. Maybe that's what some people wanted to hear, but not me, and that's not how the show was advertised. Finally, his on-stage banter was corny stories or sayings that led to a song title. I don't have much else to say, he seemed like a nice guy, but I didn't enjoy his show and left early.

SFL/Los Skarnales/Secret Agent 8-12/19 at Fitzeralds

SFL opened up with their blend of ska, punk, and rock, a style I hadn't heard for a while. Even though I don't listen to that genre anymore, I enjoyed their set. Their songs usually had some quick and distorted ska sections with other influences thrown in, or else they were rock with horns, a la Edna's Goldfish or some Reel Big Fish songs. In terms of comparison, I thought they were just as good as Edna's Goldfish musically, and just as good live as most of the skapunk bands I've seen, like Reel Big Fish or Catch 22-SFL played well together with lots of energy. The large horn section in particular really hit me, I'd forgotten how much sound a band like that can create. I wish they had some more mature and diverse lyrics, but with any luck that will come with time. Los Skarnales was next. They played pretty much the songs they always play. It seems like I've seen them play the same great show again and again. There were good guitar and upright bass solos, and the singer had a ton of energy as always. The set varied from skapunk to reggae, with a little punk and rockabilly too. It was tight and danceable, really good, hopefully they'll write some more new songs to vary their setlist some more. Secret Agent 8 closed out the night with one of the best sets, if not the best set, I've seen them perform. The new songs have gotten really tight, they played with incredible energy, and the added theremin and keyboard parts have improved a lot of the songs. They played a pretty even mix of old and new songs, plus covers of "Gangsters" and "Badfish." My favorite songs were "Looking Ahead," "Please Stay," and "Home" with the new keyboard part. They also played an fast instrumental with a lead guitar part that I really liked. Overall, good show by all the bands, especially Secret Agent 8.

 

Slackers-11/2 & 11/3 at the Flamingo Cantina

For two nights, the ska scene was alive again in Austin. A nationaly touring band, packed crowd...it seemed like the 1990s again! The first night Los Skarnales opened up, putting on their usual high energy show. The second night, the Stingers set the stage for the Slackers. They were great as always. Both nights the Slackers had the crowd moving during their whole set. The drummer, bassist, and guitarist came on first. As they laid down a reggae rhythm, the horn players came on, followed by Vic and Q-Maxx 420. Then the Slackers went into "Face in my Crowd." They played material from all their albums, a cover of "Chase the Devil," and a cover of "Pass the Kutchie." The first night they also played a new instrumental, "Shank Bone," which was basically horn solos. Both nights were almost religous experiences, but the highlight for me was when they played "Rude and Reckless" during the encore the second night. It was a duet between Q-Maxx and Vic, with Vic explaining to his dad how he "visited my Chinese herbalist today, and he said I need to get in touch with my feminine side." Another great moment was when the horn players subtley exited the stage and came running in the front entrance to play in the middle of the crowd. Spectacular shows.

Stingers/Warsaw-9/17 at Black Cat

This show wasn't really advertised, so I wasn't surprised that the attendence was really small. That's a shame, since it was another great show. The Stingers didn't play any of the songs from their first CD, instead playing their newer material plus a first wave cover. They played reggae, rock, and ska without any pure soul this time. All the songs were really well-written, the beats are varied, the songs are pretty complex, and there's some places where the guitarist and trombone player show off with great solos. They played about an hour, closing the set with a new song about ska. This was the second time they'd performed it and the second time I'd seen them perform it, but it's already a favorite of mine. The lyrics are light-hearted and hilarious, like Punk at 15, and the song is incredibly danceable.Warsaw from Arizona played next. Like the Stingers, they played diverse music not limited to ska. They played punk, ska, reggae, and even folk dancing music. Some of their stuff was really good, but some of it bored me, especially the folk stuff. While they were very similar in some ways to the Stingers, there was a lot of contrast between the sets. The Stingers were roots-based while Warsaw incorporated more modern rock and lots of cheesey guitar effects. Their reggae was their best material, especially the dub-like "Lets Get Budded." Even when Warsaw played first wave material and the Specials, it seemed like they couldn't escape from corny rock-star type choreography onstage and the guitar effects. This isn't a bad thing, though, it was definitely nice to see something different.

Against All Authority-8/13/01 at Fitzgeralds

My friends and I arrived around 10 expecting to see two openers and AAA. Unfortunately, despite doors opening at 8 and having 3 opening bands scheduled, we just got to see the last Ballistics song before AAA started. Fitzgeralds is always unreliable like that, though. I was very impressed with what I saw. The pit was great, big and friendly, and the music seemed both rocking and very political. Definitely worth seeing them if I get another chance. Against All Authority played next, and the show was basically the same as the first time I saw them. Their set was composed pretty evenly of older and newer stuff. The same problem I thought they had live last time, which is the inaudibility of the vocals and horn, was still there. It wasn't as bad though, maybe because they were playing downstairs so they were a lot closer to the crowd. As before, the singer annouced songs by just saying the name or what it's about in three or four words before the band ripped into the songs. The high point of the show was clearly when the singer said it was their lost song and he wanted everyone to come onstage. Then the band played Walking Revolution and a bunch of people, myself included, got on the stage, grabbed the mikes, and sang/screamed along. It was great seeing so many people gathered around the mikes and skanking on the small stage.This lifted an average show to a good one in my mind. The low point was the encore being only one song. This show ended way to early a little after 11.

The Stingers/Los Skarnales-8//11/01 at the Flamingo Cantina,

The flyer for this one billed the show as Texas ska kings, and after seeing it, I'd have to agree. No disrespect to any of the other Texas ska bands I love, but right now when I go to see either of these bands, I know it'll be a great show for sure. These bands playing together was too good a lineup to miss, so I went up to Austin with three friends to catch the ska. The Stingers opened. I'd been spoiled by their long sets, they only played about an hour this time. They played less of their older material, playing just four songs from their first album. The songs from their next album have gotten better and better as they've had more experience playing them live, and I was blown away by the solo work, especially the trombone, on the song "shes watching." The rest of their songs were great too. My only complaint was the set consisted of rock, ska, and reggae, but none of their straight soul songs. Overall great set, though. Los Skarnales played punk, ska, and reggae, plus a two song encore.Their former saxophone player joined them, so they played some songs they normally can't-"Mala Suerte," their covers of "Phoenix City" and "Man in the street," and a song called "Ska Train." I'm not sure if that one was an actually song or just a jam session, since the Stingers' trombonist and the saxophone player basically played solos over a ska beat the whole time. As usual, both band played with an unbelievable amount of energy. Making the show even better was the large crowd for two local bands. I was especially pleased to see the diversity of the crowd. There were punks, normal looking people, skater punk types, and Fred Perry wearing rude boys and girls.To me,The numbers and makeup of the crowd showed the scene is still going strong, at least in Austin. Good stuff.

The Hates/Lower Class Brats/The Unseen-8/4/01 at Fitzgeralds

This show featured several bands, but I only saw these three street punk/oi bands. Houston's The Hates opened up, playing a solid set. The crowd was pretty lackluster, prompting the bassist to stage dive into the crowd hanging out to the side of the stage in an effort to fire the crowd up and get them to move in front of the stage. There wasn't really anywhere for the crowd to throw him, and he's a big guy, so he inevitably hit the floor hard. You have to respect that, (I do, anyway) and some more people gathered around the stage. I skipped the next band to chill on the balcony since they were a little too heavy for my taste. Next up were the Lower Class Brats from Austin. They were pretty good live. I guess if you already liked them, it was a great set, but if not, they didn't do anything that would set them apart from other bands live. A lot of big skinheads were being assholes in the pit. Finally the Unseen played. They started with "Children of the Revolution," and the crowd grabbed two of the mikes and sang the whole song. For the rest of the show, the crowd had one mike, and the singer let the crowd use his about half the time. I was at the very front and got to scream along into the mike a lot. Unfortunately, it was very hard to hear, the mikes weren't loud enough. But so many damn people were singing every song, you could hear the crowd anyway. The Unseen played only three songs from their new album and five from So This is Freedom?, most of their set was from Lower Class Crucifixtion. They played another song from LCC as an encore, I don't remember which one. Everything they said between the songs was short and to the point.Without a doubt, the most enjoyable punk show I've been to..

Sound Patrol/Secret Agent 8/Los Skarnales-8/3/01 at the Sidecar Pub

First up was Sound Patrol. This was the first time I had the pleasure of seeing them, and I was very impressed. The band consists of the keyboard player from Los Skarnales on guitar and singing, the drummer from Los Skarnales, and a bassist. The first song they played was a really long dub-like song with great vocal harmonies. This is how most of their material turned out to be, with some faster reggae and ska thrown in. Many of their songs had several tempo and style changes within them. They covered 54-46 and Hepcat's Dance With Me, which Will from Secret Agent 8 sang with the band. Overall, an extremely enjoyable set. I'd compare them to Sublime or Bargain Music. Secret Agent 8 was up next. I hadn't seen them for a long time, so I was looking forward to hearing some new material. The new stuff I heard that I remember was a cover of Badfish, So Cold, and Things To Come. I thought these songs were allright. The songwriting was clearly more mature than their first album, especially So Cold, but nothing really jumped out to me. What I really liked was the redone version of Home. It's always been one of my favorite SA8 songs, and the redone hornline was much poppier and skapunk like, which I think fits the overall feel of that song. I'm glad they played the old horn line in one verse to keep things interesting, though. They were fun to watch, as always, with the highlight of the set being Will flipping over the stage and flailing around in front of it. Los Skarnales ended the show, and I have yet to see them not play a great (and insanely energetic) set. They played a new reggae song in addition to the stuff they usually play, like Cruisin and their cover of Bankshot. As usual, the crowd made them play two more songs after they finished. The only downside the this show was the almost total lack of skanking, but that's expected at 18+ shows at small venues, I guess.

The Stingers/Superego-6/28/01 at Antones
Hands down the best show I have been to in a very long time. I'd seen this Austin soul/ska band in Houston when they opened for the Slackers. I thought they were pretty good then, but I guess they weren't trying very hard that night. (Possibly because about five people were in the crowd) In any case, they kicked ass this time around. Superego opened, they were a straightforward rock band. I didn't enjoy them, but it's just not my genre. The Stingers finally came on at about 11:15. They proceeded to fucking rock out until 1:45 in the morning. Truly spectacular. The trombone player, guitarist, lead singer, and keyboard player all play with great energy and class onstage. The trombonist and lead guitarist were both extremely polished during their solos, the vocal harmonies were great, and the lead singer was energetic as hell. He talked with the crowd a little between songs. At one point, he got into the crowd and annonced he needed crowd participation, then asked "who remembers when they were 15," and then the band played Punk at 15. I think they played every song from their first CD, and probably all the material from their upcoming CD. Being the Stingers, the set varied from rock to reggae to soul to ska, all of which kicked ass. As a final note, their live set was very reminiscent of the Slackers in some aspects. The trombonist walked into the crowd and played there during one of his solos, and there was a ska sermon, much like the one on Wasted Days. If you get a chance to see The Stingers, especially if there's going to be a remotely descent crowd, make sure you check them out.

Los Skarnales/Alchoholic Helltones/Coxcomb
3/31/01 at The Oven
The first band up was the San Antonio "ska" band Coxcomb. Their sound was Casualties style punk with horns. I personally don't like that, but if you dig that you might like this band. They did sing some punk songs without horns that I really enjoyed, but overall I couldn't get into this band. Next up were the Alchoholic Helltones from Austin. I missed their set because I was chilling with friends of mine outside. Closing the show was Los Skarnales. I'd seen them live before, so I knew it was going to be good, but I was totally blown away. Even though they played without their horn players, Los Skarnales was spectacular. The singer was amazingly energetic as always. Also of special note were the great bass solos. Most of their songs were highly danceable ska songs, including a cover of the Don Drummond classic, "Man in the street." They also played some punk songs like "Crusin." The small crowd was really into it, and Los Skarnales kicked ass. Bottom line, $5 well spent and a great night.

Voodoo Glow Skulls/Link 80/Union 13/Backside
3/13/01 at Fitzgeralds
This all CA band show started off very strongly with Backside. This punk band played an energetic set, and their stage presence kicked ass to boot. Free merch and no stupid banter is always a plus. Next up was Union 13. Again, a good stage presence. Their music was good, unfortunately the vocals were mostly drowned up, which is a shame since their lyrics are really good. They closed with their Spanish version of Rancid's Roots Radicals. The third band was Link 80. They played a wide range of songs, ranging from hardcore punk songs to happy skankin numbers. Good stuff. Voodoo Glows Skulls finally came out, and the crowd went crazy. I'd retired to the upstairs balcony after getting hit pretty bad in the Link 80 pit, so I had a good view of a packed Fitz crowd jumping, moshing and skanking. VGS were pretty good, they had some flaming torches as a gimmick a kind of liked. As a side note, the crowd was throwing crowd surfers headfirst onto the stage. I thought this one dude was going to get a broken neck, but he did a flip in middair, landed on his feet, and stage dived. What a badass.

Less Than Jake/A Newfound Glory/Antiflag/Teen Idols
3/14/01 at Aerial Theater
I arrived in the middle of the Teen Idols set. I hadn't heard them before, and was pretty impressed. They played really catchy pop-punk. It reminded me a little of the Queers and the Ramones. Antiflag was next. They were the band I was there to see, and I wasn't let down. They played most of the songs I thought they would, like New Kind of Army and Die for the Government. There were also some surprises, such as That's Youth. They also played a new song that'll be on their upcoming album. Some of the political banter got too cheesey for me, although I totally agree with the message. This didn't stop them from being amazing live, though. The energy was spectacular, the band members were all running and jumping everywhere throughout the set. Next up was A Newfound Glory. I really hated them-their songs sounded like mainstream music from the radio, not even pop-punk. Everything they said was canned bullshit an immature middle schooler would say. Less Than Jake kicked ass, of course. The crowd was moshing like mad, and most of the time when people tried to skank, some asshole would run in and push everyone around. That sucked, but what can you expect at these skapunk shows, I guess. The thing that made LTJ stand out a little from most skapunk shows was the stage effects, like shooting confetti, fire, etc. Overall, a great show.

MXPX/Hippos
Ah, nothin like the punk rawk show to bring out the mallpunks and other clueless morons. I skipped the opener, Ghoti Hook, on the advice of a Christpunk in my English class, and arrived at Numbers just after the Hippos had started. Some regulars were skankin in the very back of the club. I took this to be a bad sign, and my suspicions were soon confirmed when I advanced into the crowd.Sure enough, a bunch of prepubescent jockos were moshing, oblivious to the offbeat. Fortunately, some people apparently actually knew ska show etiquette and started skankin in the middle of the moshing. The Hippos were pretty good, they mostly played material from their weaker second album. The bands' stage presence was ok, they were entertaining the first time I saw them, but their banter gets old quick. They finished strong with My Way. As a side note, the whole time they were playing, some shirtless jock kept yelling for them to get off the stage. Why show up early if you're only gonna disrespect bands other people enjoy? What a moron. MXPX was next, and they rocked out. The pit was friendly, so even though I'm really short I wasn't too scared to be anywhere near it. They played some new material (crap) and some old classics. (yay) They finished their encore with Punk Rawk Show. It was a good night.

Stingers/Slackers/Suspects
Well, accompanied by fellow Slackers fan Tavey, I got to this one about an hour early.Unfortunately, not many more people had showed up by the time the Stingers took the stage. That was a shame, since the Austin ska band simply kicks ass. They closed with my favorite song of theirs, Punk at 15. Next was the NY ska band, the Slackers. Suddenly, a lot more people appeared. The crowd was mostly older, not only was I the shortest person there as usual, but I was also one of the younger people. The Slackers set was the best live performance I've seen. They played some diverse material from the lounge-schtick "Married Girl" to the technically impressive "Cooking with Tommy." During the last song, the horn players left the stage. A minute later, the horn section walked out of the stage door into the crowd, still playing. It was awesome. Houston's own Suspects played last. The crows thinned out, leaving mostly younger fans. The Suspects live show was better than usual, I really enjoyed it. They played some of their older stuff, which was nice for a change. As a side note, I believe the was the last time the Suspects played Fitz, because they believe it is an overgrowm men's room or something.

Secret Agent 8/Step Lively/Toasters/Skatalites
A kickass local band, a driving force behind American ska, and a driving force behind, well all of ska. I knew it was going to be a great show. Secret Agent 8 opened with their usual first song, Hoodlum. As soon as the first notes began, a bunch of local regulars headed towards the stage and started skankin. They finished with one of their new songs, High Rise Flats, and everyone who'd gotten tired and gone to the back of the club came back and danced. One of the best sets I've ever seen SA8 play, and that's saying a lot, because they're always great live. Next up was the now broken-up New York band Step Lively. I don't have much to say about them other than their style was mostly pop-punk with a little ska, which didn't really appeal to me. The Toasters were next, and the club floor was completely packed, everyone was pretty much shoulder to shoulder. To my surprise, this didn't stop anybody from skankin, the dancing began as soon as the music started. The Toasters played pretty much all the expected songs, like 2Tone Army and East Side Beat. The Toasters' stage presence was awesome, Jack Ruby Jr. was skanking around with a bunch of people who got on the stage. The energy level was incredible. The set ended strong with Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down. The final band was the 1 and only Skatalites. I ended up at the very corner of the stage on the side where the rhythm section was, it was sweet. What can I say about the band? They were amazing, of course. Even an clueless skapunker with no respect for the roots (i.e. me 2 years ago) would've dug the performance. Sadly, I had to leave before the very end,as my ride didn't want to get grounded. Still the best show I've been to.

Welt/Against All Authority/7 Seconds
I went to this one soley to see Against All Authority, but I caught the other two bands. The first band up was Welt. They played pretty generic Fat Wreck style punk. Not my favorite genre, but as far as that style goes, they seemed ok. Next up was AAA. Unfortunately, for about the first five songs, the sound was absolutely horrible. I couldn't even figure out what songs the band was playing, despite being very familiar with them. Fortunately, the sound really improved. AAA played material from all their albums, and Just an Obstruction and That Way,two of my favorites available only on samplers. The last band was 7 Seconds. I'd never seen a hardcore band live before, and I was pretty damn surprised by how awesome it was.The songs were awesome. The lyrics made a point, and the crowd was seriously into it. I'd recommend seeing 7 Seconds without hesitation.

Citizen Fish
Well, the show was great, but it would've been nice if more than 25 people had been there. There were about 3 people skankin, and nobody was moshing. Of course, 2 punks felt it would be cool to shove the guy who was skankin to the ground. What bastards. Predictably, after pushing the dude from behind, they didn't do a thing when he danced in little circles around them during the next song. Pathetic. I don't have much to say about the show. Citizen Fish played a bunch of political skapunk. It was good. More people=better.

Bowling For Soup/Catch 22/Reel Big Fish
A mainstream band show. There's a couple problems with this. First, inevitably, there will be moshing and very little skanking. Second, since the show was a Fitzdown for some ungodly reason, the place was insanely crowded and hot. But I like RBF and Catch 22, so I went anyway. Bowling for Soup was first. They were a pop-punk band. Their music and level of maturity reminded me of Blink 182. That doesn't especially appeal to me, but if you dig that, I can't deny that they were good at what they did. Next up was Catch 22. I was a little disappointed by their set. While their CDs have some skank, they were basically a punk band with horns live. They played some material from their new CD, but a whole lot of their songs were from Keasbey Nights. They finished with their crappy cover of American Pie. Finally, Reel Big Fish came on stage. Acually, finally, we got to wait while the lights went off and all the prepubescent kids went nuts and chanted "RBF! RBF!." Man, they really acted like big rock stars. Their onstage banter also annoyed the hell out of me. It consisted of joking about what the next song would be for a minute or so. Not amusing. The set was pretty good. They played a lot of songs from Turn the Radio Off and Why Do They Rock So Hard. They also played Kiss me Deadly, which I believe is a cover song they might be putting on their next album. I really liked that one, it had a prominent skank guitar. My favorite part of the show was when they went into Hepcat's Dance With Me in the middle of She has a Girlfriend Now. My least favorite part was when people moshed during Thank You for not Moshing. Morons. RBF played Beer last, and then Sell Out and Take on Me in the encore. It defeats the whole point of the damn encore if a band saves the best songs for it-everybody knows they'll be in the encore, and the show itself isn't as good. I think bands should play old songs that they don't normally play in sets or new material as encores. Well, overall an enjoyable show. Damn, that was a long review.

Cooter/Mu330/Mustard Plug
Damn! I'd really been lookin forward to seein Mu330 at last. I'd wanted to see them ever since I heard "Stuff" on Ska the 3rd Wave Volume 1, which was the second ska CD I ever got. But something came up, which is cool (I have no regrets), and I still got to see all of Mustard Plug. This was the second time I'd seen them, and I was a little disappointed that the crowd was much smaller this time around. However, the crowd kicked ass, which always makes a show infinitely better. There was no moshing, except during the hard and pure punk songs without skank, while during the ska songs, there was much skanking. The Plug played a lot of songs from Pray for Mojo and Evildoers Beware. The only song they played from Big Daddy Multitude was Mr. Smiley. They also did their cover of the Freshman and played a new song. I would've enjoyed some older material, but this was still one of my all-time favorite shows.

Skarred For Life
To be honest, I only went to this due to a total lack of other ska shows anytime soon. Seeing a bunch of kids playing skapunk didn't appeal. So I was extremely surprised that I really, really enjoyed this show. Nobody was even skankin or moshing, making the fact I enjoyed this even more impressive. Damn, SFL has a lot of horn players. The music really was pretty good, though. And the band looked like they were really enjoying playing, and that automatically improves any bands stage presence. And I like the whole free CDs thrown into the crowd thing. And the show was only 6 bucks or something. Wow. Well worth it, and I'm lookin forward to seeing them again.

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