The Acyd Test
Greensboro’s resident punk band World Class Defects made the Eastern Shore proud on Saturday, July 5th, when front man Danny Automatic and crew rocked Independence Fest in Milford DE.
Held at the Moose Lodge and put on by Mike Calloway of Dover hardcore band Dr Professional, the first annual Independence Fest was a mash of stifling humidity, cheap beer, great bands, some not-so-great bands, and the most social misfits I’ve seen gathered in one place since…well, probably Think Forward on June 29th.
Nevertheless, bands and fans sweated out the day until it began to grow dark. Pressure was on the bands to move quickly and bring the show to a close, and WCD played next to last to a crowd that had been rocking out for about eight hours straight, coming on after several extremely good bands in a row. As the guys came on, I thought to myself 'They’ll really have to put on a show to keep the crowd.'
And, of course, they delivered, opening with “Past Due Since 1732” and thrashing through several other favorites, all of which are on their new CD “Past Due”. With scarcely a pause between songs, the energy of the show reached a new high as fans moshed and drummer Jesse managed to hurt his hand, but didn’t relent. The set ended abruptly with the crowd wanting more, and no doubt many left that night as brand new WCD converts.
While you won’t find the new CD alongside less tasteful albums in Wal-Mart and FYE, it’s only five bucks and is readily available at one of the band’s frequent shows. Whether in Easton, Cambridge, or across the bridge, the World Class Defects are rocking whether you like it or not.
~ Chris Acyd
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Show of the Month…Less Than Jake / Goldfinger/ Westbound Train
By: C. Beaz
Less Than Jake / Goldfinger/ Westbound Train
6/23/08 @ Ram’s Head Live, Baltimore, MD
It’s kinda hard to believe it’s been a decade since the whole “third-wave/ska-punk/ska-core” thing was happening! Time just flies I guess. The point is that those bands that were part of that “third-wave” of ska all seem to have picked this year (or last year) to either put out a new record, go on tour, or both (see: Fishbone, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, etc.) Two of those bands happened to be touring together this summer, and I happened to go see them at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore.
First off, this show was a MUST, simply because of the two headliners. Ten years ago this would have been two separate shows and cost you twice as much. Nowadays ska bands are priced to sell and guys like me are reaping the benefits. If this had been two shows, I might’ve gone to see one…if that.
When we arrived the first band had already started. They called themselves the Suburban Legends and they were from Orange County, California. I know this because they said so after EVERY SONG. Their sound was generic and their songs were predictable. Imagine a band like Save Ferris but actually harder to take seriously.
These guys DID bring something new to the table. Sadly, it wasn’t something good. Instead, it was detailed choreography. These guys had entire dance routines for each song! I don’t mean dance routines like The Temptations…I mean dance routines like NSYNC. That’s o.k. if you are NSYNC but it just didn’t seem right at this show. The nail in the coffin was a ridiculous cover song. EVERY ska band in history has at least one and theirs was “Under The Sea” from the Disney movie “The Little Mermaid”. UGH!
Next up was Westbound Train. Truth be told, this band was the reason I wanted to go to this show. Their latest CD “Transitions” has seen a lot of play time at my house and I was anxious to see them live! I wouldn’t want to say I was disappointed, but they didn’t live up to my expectations. It just wasn’t their crowd. They were a 60’s style soul/ska band playing at a pop/ska/punk show. It wasn’t happening for them. Aside from that they were excellent. I’d like to see them again, playing for their fans not Less Than Jake’s. On to GOLDFINGER…
Goldfinger’s first two records were spectacular examples of poppy California ska/punk. After the second record, everything that did seemed….not good enough. Lucky for me they might have realized that because their set seemed to avoid anything from the later four records. They did a couple off their new record, but mostly older “standards” like “Here In Your Bedroom” (of course) and “Mable”. Their set was definitely the most fun of the night. For “mable” they filled the stage with fans to sing along while they literally disappeared behind them. You could tell that Goldfinger was thrilled that someone still gave a shit!
The highlight of their set though, had to be when they turned the mic over to their drummer Darrin Pfeiffer. He’s always had his little schtick in the middle of everything and it’s always interesting. First he parted the crowd down the middle. Then he had them rush together like a battle scene from “Braveheart”. Then he got a kid to eat a Twinkie out of his ass. Nope, never seen THAT before. Finally, came Less Than Jake. Although I have to say…too little too late.
After watching three bands, the audience was losing steam. LTJ couldn’t seem to keep the energy going. They were good, but I think the crowd had done all the dancing they were going to do. Unfortunately, LTJ let it affect them and it started to seem like everyone, including the band, was waiting for the show to end. Plus, their front man was a douche.
Overall, I give it a “3 out of 5”…or a C- ….whatever the system is.
Less Than Jake / Goldfinger/ Westbound Train
6/23/08 @ Ram’s Head Live, Baltimore, MD
It’s kinda hard to believe it’s been a decade since the whole “third-wave/ska-punk/ska-core” thing was happening! Time just flies I guess. The point is that those bands that were part of that “third-wave” of ska all seem to have picked this year (or last year) to either put out a new record, go on tour, or both (see: Fishbone, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, etc.) Two of those bands happened to be touring together this summer, and I happened to go see them at Ram’s Head Live in Baltimore.
First off, this show was a MUST, simply because of the two headliners. Ten years ago this would have been two separate shows and cost you twice as much. Nowadays ska bands are priced to sell and guys like me are reaping the benefits. If this had been two shows, I might’ve gone to see one…if that.
When we arrived the first band had already started. They called themselves the Suburban Legends and they were from Orange County, California. I know this because they said so after EVERY SONG. Their sound was generic and their songs were predictable. Imagine a band like Save Ferris but actually harder to take seriously.
These guys DID bring something new to the table. Sadly, it wasn’t something good. Instead, it was detailed choreography. These guys had entire dance routines for each song! I don’t mean dance routines like The Temptations…I mean dance routines like NSYNC. That’s o.k. if you are NSYNC but it just didn’t seem right at this show. The nail in the coffin was a ridiculous cover song. EVERY ska band in history has at least one and theirs was “Under The Sea” from the Disney movie “The Little Mermaid”. UGH!
Next up was Westbound Train. Truth be told, this band was the reason I wanted to go to this show. Their latest CD “Transitions” has seen a lot of play time at my house and I was anxious to see them live! I wouldn’t want to say I was disappointed, but they didn’t live up to my expectations. It just wasn’t their crowd. They were a 60’s style soul/ska band playing at a pop/ska/punk show. It wasn’t happening for them. Aside from that they were excellent. I’d like to see them again, playing for their fans not Less Than Jake’s. On to GOLDFINGER…
Goldfinger’s first two records were spectacular examples of poppy California ska/punk. After the second record, everything that did seemed….not good enough. Lucky for me they might have realized that because their set seemed to avoid anything from the later four records. They did a couple off their new record, but mostly older “standards” like “Here In Your Bedroom” (of course) and “Mable”. Their set was definitely the most fun of the night. For “mable” they filled the stage with fans to sing along while they literally disappeared behind them. You could tell that Goldfinger was thrilled that someone still gave a shit!
The highlight of their set though, had to be when they turned the mic over to their drummer Darrin Pfeiffer. He’s always had his little schtick in the middle of everything and it’s always interesting. First he parted the crowd down the middle. Then he had them rush together like a battle scene from “Braveheart”. Then he got a kid to eat a Twinkie out of his ass. Nope, never seen THAT before. Finally, came Less Than Jake. Although I have to say…too little too late.
After watching three bands, the audience was losing steam. LTJ couldn’t seem to keep the energy going. They were good, but I think the crowd had done all the dancing they were going to do. Unfortunately, LTJ let it affect them and it started to seem like everyone, including the band, was waiting for the show to end. Plus, their front man was a douche.
Overall, I give it a “3 out of 5”…or a C- ….whatever the system is.
Ummm…show review?
(from one of my all-time favorite ranters…)
Radiohead - May 11 2008
5 hours in the car on an inward spiraling detour into the surprisingly cold pits of suburban Virginian suck. Park car. Swim up to the stage. 8 minutes of pure spectacular insight into the art of rip-off. Return to car, 3 hours of blinding rage, red bull, 1 hour lost in DC, idiot, 40 seconds of joy in escaping DC, route 50 closed, fuck. 2 hours home.
Suck my balls Radiohead, suck ‘em long and good.
Patrick Moffett
Radiohead - May 11 2008
5 hours in the car on an inward spiraling detour into the surprisingly cold pits of suburban Virginian suck. Park car. Swim up to the stage. 8 minutes of pure spectacular insight into the art of rip-off. Return to car, 3 hours of blinding rage, red bull, 1 hour lost in DC, idiot, 40 seconds of joy in escaping DC, route 50 closed, fuck. 2 hours home.
Suck my balls Radiohead, suck ‘em long and good.
Patrick Moffett
Goldfinger - “Hello Destiny” & Less Than Jake – “GNV FLA”
By J. Beasley
Since Goldfinger and Less Than Jake are currently touring together and have followed virtually the same paths to this point AND each have brand new records out, I figured why not write a review for both records at the same time? Should be easy…
I love both bands. They are hold-over’s from my youth. BOTH started as indie in the mid 90’s, BOTH moved on to main stream success during the ska-everything boom of ’97 and BOTH subsequently “jumped the shark” in the early 00’s and changed their sound to accommodate the times. Goldfinger aligned themselves with the dreaded Good Charlotte and LTJ all but dropped their horn section in favor of layered guitars and pop sensibilities…bummer.
I remained optimistic (bad record after bad record) that they would turn things around, and I kept buying their stuff (bad record after bad record) despite the deficiencies. Well, I’ve finally gotten what I’ve been waiting for!
“Hello Destiny” could be “Goldfinger” part 2. It’s really good, and they return to their old formula of writing good pop-punk/ska songs. There are a few throw away tracks, but by in large it is the first cover to cover TOLERABLE Goldfinger record since 2000’s “Stomping Ground”. They even got lead guitarist Charlie Paulson back! Check out the song: “Get Up”. Good record.
Now, “GNV FLA” is a GREAT record. If you like early LTJ you will love this! They have returned from the crap that was 2006’s “In With The Out Crowd”, re-inserted the horns (I’m biased.) and stopped writing ridiculously sappy emo-esque pap. The songs are catchy without being over-the-top and the band sounds full and loud. The way nature intended. The whole record runs about 30 minutes, and sports 14 tracks! They have truly come full circle. If you spent as much time listening to “Losing Streak” as I did, you’ll be ecstatic with this release. Check out: “Does The Lion Still Roar?” Great record.
Since Goldfinger and Less Than Jake are currently touring together and have followed virtually the same paths to this point AND each have brand new records out, I figured why not write a review for both records at the same time? Should be easy…
I love both bands. They are hold-over’s from my youth. BOTH started as indie in the mid 90’s, BOTH moved on to main stream success during the ska-everything boom of ’97 and BOTH subsequently “jumped the shark” in the early 00’s and changed their sound to accommodate the times. Goldfinger aligned themselves with the dreaded Good Charlotte and LTJ all but dropped their horn section in favor of layered guitars and pop sensibilities…bummer.
I remained optimistic (bad record after bad record) that they would turn things around, and I kept buying their stuff (bad record after bad record) despite the deficiencies. Well, I’ve finally gotten what I’ve been waiting for!
“Hello Destiny” could be “Goldfinger” part 2. It’s really good, and they return to their old formula of writing good pop-punk/ska songs. There are a few throw away tracks, but by in large it is the first cover to cover TOLERABLE Goldfinger record since 2000’s “Stomping Ground”. They even got lead guitarist Charlie Paulson back! Check out the song: “Get Up”. Good record.
Now, “GNV FLA” is a GREAT record. If you like early LTJ you will love this! They have returned from the crap that was 2006’s “In With The Out Crowd”, re-inserted the horns (I’m biased.) and stopped writing ridiculously sappy emo-esque pap. The songs are catchy without being over-the-top and the band sounds full and loud. The way nature intended. The whole record runs about 30 minutes, and sports 14 tracks! They have truly come full circle. If you spent as much time listening to “Losing Streak” as I did, you’ll be ecstatic with this release. Check out: “Does The Lion Still Roar?” Great record.
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