The circus is in town. Less Than Jake are currently on their Summer Circus Tour promoting their latest EP, Uncharted. They've brought along ska and punk legends Fishbone and The Suicide Machines and ska newcomers, Catbite. Together, they've melded a perfect mish-mash of bands suitable for all ages. Riverside was in for a good night!
The young guns of the show, Catbite, opened the night. Opting for synths instead of horns to fill the space, the band gains its distinguishable ska merits from their catchy melodies and strong rhythm section. Vocalist, Brittany Luna, is no slouch on the microphone either. A true performer who knew how to get the crowd excited for the night just by simply jumping in and singing from the pit. The band has a new EP out entitled Doom Garden. Be sure to check it out!
The Suicide Machines followed. The Ska-Core group managed to draw enough of their own fans despite being billed second on the line-up. Many in the crowd sang along or found themselves circle-pitting as the band ran through an array of songs from their debut album, Destruction by Definition, while sprinkling in tracks from the rest of their catalog.
Direct support and ska-punk/funk-metal legends, Fishbone, took to the stage with a strong presence. While third-wave Emoheads have been fawning over My Chemical Romance's Black Parade tour in full costume, punk rockers were skanking along with Angelo Moore donning his own marching band outfit. The last time I saw Fishbone was over a decade ago, and nothing has changed. Their entire set felt like one big party, and everyone was having a good time. Especially once someone broke out the beach balls. Fishbone is out promoting their own new album, Stockholm Syndrome, which came out earlier this summer.
The time had finally come for Less Than Jake. A pseudo ringmaster began to speak over the house speakers to welcome everyone to the circus. The band walked out and jumped right into "Gainesville Rock City." The band was all smiles. Fog blasters were blaring. The audience was cheering. There is a unique level of happiness that can only be found at a Less Than Jake show. Trombonist and hype-man, Buddy Schaub, seemed to never run out of breath between tooting his horn and running end-to-end across the stage to get the crowd going. The stage antics heightened as Less Than Jake versions of those "wacky-inflatable" guys plumed on stage, and toilet paper was shot into the audience.
It's very endearing when a band takes the time to acknowledge and share their appreciation for their fans. Not every band does it, and they certainly don't need to, but the sentiment is not lost on Less Than Jake. The band continues to sell out their VIP tickets that include meet and greets and photo-ops, but it also allows for a possibility of being chosen to stand on stage for the show and be a part of "the circus," which is such a great and unique perk to their VIP packages. Sometimes they even just call on fans to come on stage for no real reason at all. Tonight, they pulled a fan on stage simply for being 20 years old. That's it. That was the only prerequisite for making this fan's experience even better. Roger expressed it best after they played a cover of the Animaniacs theme when he said something along the lines of "the fact that we can play that. Be goofy. You guys are smiling, and that's how I'm gonna pay my rent bill next month is amazing."
Between all the zaniness, the band continued to run through classics and fan favorites like "All My Best Friends are Metalheads," "Automatic," and "The Science of Selling Yourself Short" while promoting Uncharted with tracks "Brand New Day," "Sunny Side" and "Walking Pipebomb." During the encore, the band did an impromptu performance of "Anchor" from Fat's 1999 compilation, Short Music for Short People, when someone threw out the request.
Less Than Jake continues to put on one of the best shows just by being genuine and putting an emphasis on having fun. The goofiness of their sets is what makes their punk rock shows distinct from the rest. I can't imagine anyone walked out at the end of the night unhappy or without a smile on their face. The entire Summer Circus Tour is stacked with a great bill and one of the best shows I've seen this year. Following the Summer Circus will be a Winter Circus in the UK. If the circus is coming to town, grab a ticket and bring the whole family. It's sure to be a blast!
