Our coverage, previews and reviews, of ska shows and gigs in Boston and the Boston area.
Nothing warms my heart more than watching bands help each other out. Also, chili. Chili warms my heart. This show will have both!
Further cementing the belief that ska is beach music, Reel Big Fish will be headlining the Boston University Senior BBQ on Saturday, May 11. The event runs 7pm to 11pm and we’re not quite sure what “headlining” means. While only open to BU seniors, we couldn’t help but notice that the show takes place outdoors at the BU Beach (see map below).
Imagine my surprise when I found out my old pal Sammy Kay was passing through Boston. I met Sammy Kay in New York City when he was playing with The Forthrights and I was playing with The Hard Times and we were playing gigs together every two minutes. Well around the time I was getting ready to move to Boston, he had put a new band together, called Sammy Kay and the Fast Four. They played a few gigs before Sammy took off for the west coast where he plays with the East Los 3.
Legendary British ska revivalists The Specials announced that they’ll be stopping by the House of Blues Boston on July 11
Are you totally sick of the snow yet? Me, too. Let’s go on a ska boat cruise.
They bill themselves these days as “The Longest Running U.S. Ska Band,” but I always think of them as “The Hardest Working Band in Ska.” The Toasters have been doing what they’ve been doing for 33 year years, touring nationally and internationally, and few others in this world can say that.
This Friday, they play at TT The Bear’s in Cambridge. I was able to have a few words with Rob “Bucket” Hingley, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the band, and founder of Moon Ska Records (1983-200) and Megalith Records (est. 2002).
Boston’s own A Guy Named Guy will be heading out on tour this May! They’ve got some dates filled in but looks like they could use a hand. Do you know a band or venue in one of the towns below? If so, get on the horn and get back at AGNG.
Don’t know anyone in those towns and want to be supportive? Follow them tumblr, twitter, bandcamp, youtube, or facebook, and like/retweet/reblog/etc when they post.
It seems excessively late for a December 2012 recap from where we currently stand, forward facing the bitter cold of January’s last frame. In my defense, I went a bit overboard late last year, insisting on drinking and smoking through a cold that became a full-fledged plague by the last night of the Hometown Throw down. With a weekend of fun ska/punk shows coming up, it’s a good time to recap the madness.
12.14.12
Home For The Skalidays at The Audio Jungle
It started innocently enough in the middle of the month. A Guy Named Guy was headlining the Audio Jungle with a toys for tots benefit. I took a long lunch that day and secured my tot toy at Newberry comics. Come 6 ‘o clock, toy and camera gear in hand, I was headed to Allston. This was a fantastic show. Mr. Furious started the night off, and impressed the hell out of me. I finally got to see Short Handed Goal, a ska punk band based out of RI. Nice guys and a solid set. Fort! The band was up next and always destroys a basement with their ever-evolving gypsy ska-punk-slouch madness. I can’t get enough of Fort!, it’s never the same show twice, and the energy they bring to the table as a collective is impressive. Connecticut’s Llama Tsunami continue to be my nutmeg state ska crush, powering through a strong set of original material sprinkled with energetic covers. I took a setlist, from a basement show, that’s how much I respect this band. A Guy Named Guy, fresh off the release of their Terminals split with Puerto Rico’s D-Cent Jerks, brought the night to a close. If you only know this band from the incredibly popular, and polished, youtube video for “Ska’s Not Dead,” a song they quite possibly retired that night, you have no idea how hard these guys will thrash through a set.
Do you remember how cold it was Sunday night? It was freezing. But I was going to a show. Which meant I had to strategically layer up. Coat check at the House of Blues doesn’t come cheap and they don’t let you stack items on one hanger. It was also a Sunday night show with 6pm doors. I was pretty nervous it would be one of those shows that starts before everyone arrives and ends nice and early to get the club crowd in. So there I was standing in the freezing cold, not wearing quite enough winter gear, waiting in line to get into the venue at 5:45. By the time I got into the show, I was less than thrilled to be there.
Dan Potthast (Mu330, Dan P and the Bricks, The Stitch Up) was the perfect opener. It was just him on his guitar playing 1 to 2-minute ska/punk tunes. They were catchy, they were clever, and he had the audience. Which is to say he heckled the audience way better than they heckled him. I wish I caught video of that. Particularly he had a great tune I’m not super fluent in his material, but I clearly recognized KKK Highway.
He told the audience that he wrote a tune for each night of the tour. I was able to catch his Boston tune on my phone:
Seminal ska/punk act Fishbone visits Boston this March, performing at new-ish venue The Sinclair. The Sinclair opened a few months ago in Harvard square, fits 500 for shows and 100 for dinner, and is the latest in Bowery Presents owned venues. But it looks like Fishbone will be the first reason I have to visit this spot. It’s been a couple years but I’m stoked to see them again!
Saturday, March 3, 2013, 8pm
The Sinclair, 52 Church St, Cambridge, MA (Red Line to Harvard Square, I imagine)
$16, 18+, Tickets