It’s a healthy crowd for a weekday and we’re in for a fun night of ska, reggae and punk. Local band The Last Act Of Defiance comes on and rocks like only a home town band can. The saucy raw punk of ‘Vinegar’ is defiantly delicious. The young lads make us think of pubs, beer and partying. Rousing and spirited, ‘Penniless Thoughts’ is a raspy delight with a hard marching rhythm and rocking guitar work.
The next band Starpool shines and takes us by surprise. They have a world class sound and a sterling polished delivery. Their ska reggae and rock just flies and Alan has a pure appealing quality to his vocals that sets him apart. As ‘Despise’ descends on us the audience roars. It’s a well written and addicting song. A great horn section heralds the arrival of ‘It’s Alright’ and energizes the mob. Starpool leaves the stage with the crowd begging for more.
The punk pop band Army Of Freshmen are just that - refreshing. Lead singer Chris has a winning smile and they put out a top notch performance. The in your face ‘Get Um Up’ has attitude, exceptional harmonies and is steeped in bad boy charm. They’re set to tour the UK and are already selling out venues. Suburban Legends charges into the fast moving ‘Come Back Home’ and works the audience hard. The crowd responds in turn and cheers them on. Their music sometimes has a New Orleans Jazz twist and excellent vocals via Vince Walker. They end their set by blindfolding drummer Derek Rock then an outrageous solo ensues where he pounds the skins relentlessly without missing a stroke.
The headliners hit the stage. Smart, funny and damn right cool Reel Big Fish throws us a hook with worms and pulls us in. ‘I Want Your Girlfriend To Be My Girlfriend Too’ gets us laughing. The audience is hollering and singing every word of ‘Don’t Start A Band’ then ‘Where Have You Been’ hits the goal posts. A lad tries to crowd surf but gets dropped because no one is paying attention; everyone in the packed house is literally dancing. The Band starts to pour on the power, the trombone blares, the trumpet wails and the dancing horde goes crazy.
Lead singer Aaron Barrett announces: “When you’re staring into the bright lights and taking acid it’s a really trippy thing” we all giggle as they launch into ‘She Has A Girlfriend Now.’ The crowd raises their hands and claps real fast when the first cords of ‘Suckers’ are struck then the mob shouts “This one’s for all the suckers who still believe in love” along with the band. We’re having a brilliantly awesome time. People scream, massive jumping breaks out and ‘S.R.’ takes us on acid trip without drugs. They play it seven different times in various genres including, country, indie, punk and death metal, our brains feel like they’re on rewind. We chant “Oh, oh, oh” during ‘Beer’ and the crowd loses sanity whilst Aaron plays his guitar over his head. When it’s all over and done people stream out of the theater laughing with huge grins plastered on their faces, we've all had just too much fun.
