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Less Than Jake / Sugarcult / Teen Idols

live in St. Louis
2002
live show

Review by: Eddie
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LessThanJake.com (link)

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Published on August 13th 2002

Wow, did this sure live up to the hype! For a long time now, I've heard nothing but fantastic things about Less Than Jake's live shows, and now I can finally say that I've been to one, and that it lived up to each and every one of my expectations.

The show took place at a venue called The Pageant, which was a cool place. Good pit area, Good standing/sitting area, and a balcony. Though the security regulations for the pit were very annoying and made me mad.

First up was Whippersnapper, who previously were not scheduled to appear. This was pretty much my first exposure to the band, and they played pretty well, though not for very long. It was nothing terribly amazing, but nothing disspointing, either.

Next was the Teen Idols, who played some solid punk rock. I thought I had pinpointed the sound of the Teen Idols, because I knew a couple of their songs, but man, their set was way different than I imagined. It was a really cool set, and the band played very well. Roger from Less Than Jake even ran out onto the stage during a song suddenly and did some back-up vocals, gave the drummer a sip of his beer, and then ran off again. The crowd loved it.

Next was a bigger band, Sugarcult, who I was really looking forward to seeing. Their debut album is awesome, and I think the band is criticized way too much for the work that they do. Just because their pop-punk, everyone seems to hate them, but I definitely think they deserve more credit, than say, blink-182, who do deserve the insults they get. At least Sugarcult tries to bring some originality to the genre. Anyway, they played a great set, and performed all their best stuff, which certainly pleased the mosh pit'ers. They even ended with a fairly good cover of "I Wanna be Sedated" by the Ramones. My only complaint was that they tried to sound more aggressive than they actually are. I have no problem with aggressive punk, except when it's not supposed to sound like it.

Then, the big moment came, and Less Than Jake came on stage. They entered with a "Star Wars" theme, had their big banners up, confetti was everywhere, and the whole beginning presentation was great. They hadn't even finished one song, and I was already loving it.

They played a great mix of old and new songs, and played them all exceptionally well. Unfortunately, I didn't know a lot of them really well, since the only album of theirs that I own is "Borders and Boundries," which from what I can tell, is nothing like their older stuff. But, even still, the music was astounding, and they had a great set. But they didn't just play music.

They played this game, "The Dirty Rat," which apparently, is a new thing of theirs, where they bring three girls from the pit on stage to have a guy smell their armpits to find out who smells the worst. Pretty nasty, but still funny. Later, Chris even called bandmate Buddy, who was having surgery on the East Coast (he was being filled in by a guy from Anthrax) on his cell phone. Even more funny stuff.

They also chatted about their new album, and asked the crowd about the Warped Tour. Expected results came up: NOFX and Bad Religion rocked; Good Charlotte and Something Corporate sucked. Then they ended their set with a two song encore, including "Gainesville Rock City" as "St. Louis Rock City." The whole set had the crowd going nuts, and everyone loved it. Less Than Jake really wanted everyone to have a great time, and everyone certainly did.

Overall, this was, by far, the best show I have ever been to. I know I haven't been to as many shows as the rest of you, but for me, this was definitely the best (if you exclude big festivals like past Warped Tours), whether the bands be national acts or local acts. And I can't imagine any other band topping Less Than Jake's amazing show. If you've never seen them live before, and get the chance to, don't miss out. You will love it.

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Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, June 21, 2003 at 8:03 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Thank god, someone FINALLY mentioned "Face First"(rip) in something. God that was a fucking amazing band. Never got to see them live though. Damnit.

Posted by SaxxyRebel on 2003-05-25 20:14:13
My Score:

And to the guy who said "filling in" on guitar, it was a trombone, you fuck face.

Posted by SaxxyRebel on 2003-05-25 20:11:25
My Score:

I was at this show too, it was great, i was one of the two "punks" with mohawks the guys from whippersnapper gave a shout out to, during the middle of their set, the bottom line is, the Pageant sucks dick for shows, its so militant.

Posted by ltjskank324 on 2002-08-24 18:15:33
My Score:

so i went to the show in az... and i herd about this cereal box with lps in it how come there werent any? they did hve the megadeath split tho so thatwas cool yc rocked and sugarcult was horrible and whippersnapper was pretty good. did anyone here the ghost of u and me its a great song from the new one...peace

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, August 19, 2002 at 4:47 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Eddie , i also was at the show. It was indeed a good show overall!I take it your from St. Louis. Im in a punk band called The Dead Celebrities. We won best punk band in St. Louis By the Riverfront Times Music awards, also we have been invited to play this years Midwest Music Conference in Lexington Kentucky (aug 21-24). Check us out sometime.www.thedeadcelebrities.com thanx ,Elvis

Posted by riotmute on 2002-08-19 13:52:55
My Score:

You guys are completely off. The Pageant is the worst place to see a show? Are you retarded? Whats better? UMB BANK? The Galaxy? Compared to those venues it has a great sound system and good seating. Now Im not saying its as good as the blue note in columbia, but its far and away the best venue in st louis. what up.

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, August 18, 2002 at 3:05 PM (EDT)
My Score:

way to only own one of their records you ass

Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, August 18, 2002 at 1:38 AM (EDT)
My Score:

I got an Skull bobbly head thing.

Posted by Vien on 2002-08-17 22:55:14
My Score:

Did anybody get any cool collectibles at the show? I'd like to know.

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 11:38 PM (EDT)
My Score:

i should ammend some of that-- the pageant is an old wherehouse painted up like a discovery zone with aweful accoustics. i mean, at least it's colorful, eh?

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, August 15, 2002 at 11:36 PM (EDT)
My Score:

okay, first of all, dipshit, the guy filling in on guitar was not REALLY scott ian-- they were making fun of him because hes bald and has a goatee. damn boy.
second of all, you failed to mention that the one and only BEATLE BOB was the male contestant in "the dirty rat".
and finally, the Pageant is definately the WORST place in st. louis, if not the entire midwest, to see a concert. it's an old wherehouse! the accoustics are AWEFUL, the seating arrangement is retarded (if you're in about 1/3 of the building, your veiw is obstructed by giant concrete pillars, and the balcony is huge and ALWAYS empty,) and the entire opperation is completely devoid of braincells. (it takes longer to pick up/buy tickets at the ONE oopen window, get through the 4 security guys, and find the right entrance, then it does to watch the whole show.)
i thought the show was great, but your review SUCKED.

who hires these guys?!

Posted by zim_nation on 2002-08-15 15:10:15
My Score:

sara(no h) is teh best poster here

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 at 11:24 AM (EDT)
My Score:

I'll have to agree with the Pietasters rocking the Philly show at the Electric Factory. LTJ played great there of course but the problem I had was a) Sugarcult fucking blew and b) Bigwig started 30 fucking minutes early. The band with the best performance at NJ warped and I didn't get to see them at Philly. Oh well, better luck next time I guess.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 at 2:01 AM (EDT)
My Score:

yeahah imm going to go see whippersnapper, yellowcard, sugurcult(yuk), and less than jake this sunday aug.18. Its gonna rock

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 11:52 PM (EDT)
My Score:

Dear Scott,
ROCKFORD SHOW
Here is my review. I forgot the names of most of the bands so this review sucks. I drove 2 hours and got there right as it started. This concert took place in a park right by a river. There were two stages set up near each other and on the other side of this park was a ramp set up for BMXers to do tricks. I do not know most bands so hers what I remember:

FACE FIRST plays a good show mixing pop-punk with ska. There trumpet player liked to perform flips and other tricks when he was not playing; because of this they were a fun band to watch.

MAGNUM OPUS was one of the few ska bands there, so of course they were good.

AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN sounded like a better blink 182. They have a C.D. coming out on Hopeless Records. They played late so, I guess they were popular…

MAN PLANET put on a great show. They have a space rock sound going on. It was different, so they were good. The band members all wore different color suits. They also played crazy instruments.

LUCKY BOYS CONFUSION was ok, they put on a good show, I don’t like them, but many people did. They did not play Dumb Pop Song; witch is like the only song of there’s that I knew, because it was on the radio (Q101) a year ago.

SUGARCULT played a set that every on liked. A lot of people liked them. They played a set that consisted of that “I’m bouncing off the walls again” song, and they ended with a Romone’s cover, witch was surprisingly good.

LESS THAN JAKE blew every other band away. They always have the best pits(Even with all the Preppy assholes) I loved being in their circle pit. They played a lot of songs from all of there C.D.S, They even did “I think I love you “, They announced that they have a new cd coming out soon. They played a song from it, and it was good.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 11:19 PM (EDT)
My Score:

I dont know if its just me but i think sugarcult acts like huge rockstars on stage.

Posted by SOYBOMB on 2002-08-13 20:46:00
My Score:

Please tell me they played Snoop Dogg for house music before The Pietasters hit the stage.

That had to be the highlight of the nigth when I saw Less Than Jake and The Pietasters.

Peace,
-SOYBOMB-

Posted by OwStopkiCkinMe on 2002-08-13 20:23:36
My Score:

I saw Bigwig, SugarCult, The pietasters, and Less Than Jake august 1st in Philadelphia. It was probably one of the best shows i have been to. . .

Though, SugarCult...I have seen them twice...are horrible live. I do not care for their music very much, but it's not something I cannot stand. . .When I saw them with Less Than Jake all that i saw for their whole set was a bunch of teeny boppin girls that I had not seen prior find themselves up front singing happily along..which was subject to change once LTJ got on, and it did...

That was the second time I saw LTJ and probably the best show I had seen of them. I would have liked it to last a bit longer than it did, but what could I expect/ I had a great time...My friend got hurt in the bigwig pit..but I cannot say I enjoyed Sugar Cult..

Pietasters on the other hand were amazing. I had never heard them before, but I certainly hope to be seeing them again sometime soon. They were very great, and had an amazing live show.

Posted by ltjskank324 on 2002-08-13 20:10:01
My Score:

blink sucks... and yeah i saw reunion show with rx bandits they are awesome... i met there drummer but am i the only one who thinks there kinda gay litteraly? less thn jake is cominto az for the last sho of the tour with sgrcult and whippersnapper and yellowcard so HA i hope i can go and yes they put on an awesome show and its vinny noble from the pilfers u morons not anthrax lol but pretty decent review sugarcult sucks!

Posted by evildeadalive on 2002-08-13 19:34:21
My Score:

How about some Teen Idols news posted Scott? I was never made aware of any of this stuff...

Posted by maverick on 2002-08-13 18:00:54
My Score:

They've had a new lead singer for a while. I can't remember what band he used to be in, but I heard he's not nearly as good.

-Scott

Posted by Vien on 2002-08-13 16:39:34
My Score:

Yup, less than jake never lets you down when it comes to thier performances. I sure can't wait for the show in pomona. Plus I get to buy all those cool delicious vinyl collectibles.

Also, does anybody know if the original lead singer for the teen idols is still in the band? I heard they got a new lead singer or something.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 1:10 PM (EDT)
My Score:

um....i'd like to think that if someone reviews a certain show, it should be a band they at least know more about than this guy. oh well, eddie, hopefully you'll write more reviews when you grow up.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 1:10 PM (EDT)
My Score:

I was at theat show in St. Louis and it was my second time seeing Less Than Jake, and i gotta say they get better by every performance. And the chick in the green who played the game a Dirty Rat, Emily, well i go to school with her and all, and I kinda know her personallly...wink.

Posted by Eddie on 2002-08-13 10:01:45
My Score:

lol, hey, that's what he said, about the Anthrax guy. It sure didn't seem reasonable to me when he said it, but whatever. So, it was a guy from The Pilfers? Heh, wish I knew that ahead of time. Thanks for letting me know.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 9:51 AM (EDT)
My Score:

I really dig the idea the reviewer really thinks buddy was replaced by a dude from antrax...

haha... funny...

LTJ fucking rocks...

Posted by Geetarchick on 2002-08-13 09:13:07
My Score:

No, Teen Idols are not breaking up. When i saw them they said not to believe the rumors on the net and that they're gonna be recording new stuff soon and to look out for that. :)

Posted by evildeadalive on 2002-08-13 04:05:55
My Score:

That was actually a pretty decent review considering who it was coming from.

And would someone please tell me what's up with the Teen Idols... are they breaking up? Great live band.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 2:35 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Being on an indie label then switching to a major, then switching back to an indie label, then deciding to go to a najor label again is not PUNK.

Sara(no h)

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 1:13 AM (EDT)
My Score:

the reviewer is an idiot. Blink deserves insults they get, and sugarcult is original....hmmm...

Posted by Geetarchick on 2002-08-13 01:10:55
My Score:

Mwaha, i should write a review about the Rockford show... but it will be way too long since there were a LOT of bands... and I would feel bad reviewing certain ones without giving them enough of my ear. I could write one though.. my reviews suck so i probably wont. But anyway LTJ rocked the park when i saw them last week. And the person all the way at the bottom is right, the majority of the other bands were pop punk bands... even on the little band stage. Oh and for those who dont know what whippersnapper sounds like (since the reviewer failed to describe their sound) they are like skate punkish. They sound differnet live than on cd in my opinion...

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 12:52 AM (EDT)
My Score:

LTJ = awesome live show, but their albums are pretty boring to me.

And if I hear one more person that actually thinks that was Scott from Anthrax, I'm gonna flip out.

Jesus christ, that was Vinny Noble, the godly trombonist from the greatest live band ever: The Pilfers. May they rest in peace.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 at 12:18 AM (EDT)
My Score:

Sugarcult is far from original sounding. bland bland bland

JAM

Posted by SOYBOMB on 2002-08-12 23:58:52
My Score:

The Reunion Show was great when I saw them in NYC when they opened for LTJ.

The most memorable move of the nigth had to be when the bassist tossed his Customized Fender Precision like 20ft into the air, caught it, and continued playing.

Peace,
-SOYBOMB-

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, August 12, 2002 at 11:38 PM (EDT)
My Score:

sounds good, i'll be attending the one in boise tomorrow, except mines twice as good because we get yellowcard instead of whippersnapper! i hope ltj plays new stuff

Posted by maverick on 2002-08-12 23:35:39
My Score:

Dude, write a review of the Rockford show. I wasn't able to go.

The only 2 bands I really wanted to see were The Reunion Show and The Stereo, anyway.

-Scott

Posted by Anonymous on Monday, August 12, 2002 at 11:32 PM (EDT)
My Score:

I was at the show in Rockford IL, it was ok, there were like 25 bands and most were pop-punk bands, then less than jake came on and kicked some major ass. Me and my friend tryed to become friends with there mech guy, but he hated us.