For one reason or another, there just hasn’t been so much live video of Boston ska band The Pomps on YouTube. Now there is!
Cold got you down? Feeling overall frozen? Come by Midway Cafe in JP for a hot toddy (note: I have no idea if they make hot toddies).
Stray Bullets will be headlining a Moonstomping Snowstomping Matinee Saturday, January 18 starting at 4pm. The show is all ages and $10 also gets you well-rounded punk and ska bill with Jason Bennett and the Resistance, The Pomps, and The Warning Shots.
An intimate yet fierce crowd turned out Friday night for Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Toasters, Left Alone, and The Pomps. Singer Alex Stern of The Pomps opened began their set by thanking the crowd for not going to see Streetlight Manifesto at House of Blues. They played a very tight set of their new wave-inflected pop/ska. They were joined by Jr. Thomas from Minneapolis for two songs and noted they’d be backing him for a set at the Midway Cafe Saturday night (I was unable to make it to that show). Left Alone followed with a really tight set of their Rancid-inspired punk, ska, and rockabilly. The bassist alternated between an electric and upright bass which really made them stand out for the night.
It wasn’t too long ago that Poor Jeremy seemed like the newest ska-punk band in town. Forming in the early part of 2012, they started playing gigs at the end of last year. In the six or so months since, they’ve really hit the stage hard. Watching their stage presence evolve over that time, I am more than excited for the debut EP, being released at the Midway Café on July 14th. Joining Poor Jeremy on stage is Maine’s favorite band that Just Won’t F%$#ing Die, Sonic Libido. Watertown’s youthful punk-ska powerhouse, The Rolling Coasters will be putting their energy on display. Rounding out the bill, Boston’s The New Limits will be setting the mood with their sweet brand of ska, rocksteady, and soul.
UPDATE 7/14/13: The Poor Jeremy EP is now available on Bandcamp.
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.
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.