Less Than Jake

Less Than Jake are not cool. Ska is not cool. Less Than Jake are fun. Ska is fun. I got hot and sweaty to ska, and pretended to be 13 again:

Less Than Jake, Astoria, 12/11/08

There was an air of slight nostalgia about this gig. It wasn’t just the impending closure of the Astoria, sad though I’ll be to see it go, its walls soaked with piss and history. There was something too about the band.

It wasn’t that they didn’t rock out. They did, as only Less Than Jake can do. The crowd bounced and pogoed and moshed their way through all the poppy happy classics, nothing being quite so well received as ‘Gainesville Rock City’. The childish ribbing of each other, the encouraging the crowd to still higher frenzies, it was all there.

And yet – and yet – there was a slight hollowness to it all. Confetti cannons seemed to hide a paucity of invention. Even the fact that they’ve learnt to play their instruments (and they have certainly improved hugely over the years) seems like something of a cop-out. The band, as they approach their mid-thirties, seemed to wonder just how long they can keep this up.

Of all the times our group had seen them – and it must be getting on for 20 times between us – it was generally agreed that this was the worst. That, however, is hardly a damning criticism for a band with quite so much verve and vim. They might be slowing down just a little, but so long as they keep touring, I’ll keep going.

A note on the support acts: Imperial Leisure were excellent in their home town, and certainly one to watch. Beat Union were nothing special. Pepper may be arrogant, but they write a good reggae-rock song.