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| Less Than Jake / Catch 22live in Farmingdale2006 live show  Review by: Brian See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on October 3rd 2006
With a stop in Long Island, NY, a promise of a plethora of older material and pretty solid openers in the Loved Ones and New Mexican Disaster Squad, I figured it would be worth finally seeing Less Than Jake in the club setting for the first time on their current Outcasts and Idiots Tour. This was following watching their stints on the gigantic stages of Warped Tour both this past summer and in 2003, so the intimacy would be refreshing if nothing else.
As previously mentioned, the band has brought a spinning "Wheel of Fortune" type device on tour with them, containing 16 sections marked with possible songs for the band to play. After launching into a solid 4-song opening, the band began the wheel spinning and managed to play a wide breadth of classics, which included "Sugar in Your Gas Tank," "Soundcheck," "Faction," "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts," "9th at Pine," and "Dopeman" among many, many others. We were close to getting "Liquor Store" and "My Very Own Flag," but to no avail -- a minor disappointment. The band played admirably tight, but I have to say, one of the horn player's backup vocals on 2 songs were absolutely awful. Both would've been way, way better without him. The horn players only looked awkward for several of the songs in which they had no real duties -- those songs being the ones off In with the Out Crowd, obviously. Really, it's all about the entertainment too. They essentially forced one member of the audience, a short, nerdy high school junior with a freakishly large afro to sit on the stage with the band for the majority of the set, teasing him much of the way. The kid, Josh, often responded with a shy, embarrassed smile as expected. While I abhor costume changes, the band did it subtly through the wearing of various wacky hats and such -- a Pope hat and a "rape--I mean hunter mask" among others. Silly, sure, but it was an aesthetic that fit them well. It also seems the band has gotten to that type of "NOFX" status -- the long-time punks mentioned Losing Streak as their best album, and in all likelihood, they probably aren't joking about that belief. With plenty of energy and excitedment, cannons erupting confetti atop the audience at various points (and toilet paper guns at the climaxing end), and a 4-song encore following a set that fulfilled basically many old-school fan's needs, Less Than Jake well surpassed my expectations. Even with the few iffy cuts from their new album the band essentially "had" to play, I enjoyed myself much more than expected and couldn't have asked for much more. Most any Less Than Jake fan should enjoy themselves on this tour. Set list (ordered/accurate):
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(score is for the setlist, didnt actually see this gig) Also, they took the wheel thing from Rocket From The Crypt. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, just throwing that detail out there. The "Hey, we were pretty good ten years ago." tour. SYG over NMDS? Sorry dude, but SYG have NOTHING on NMDS. SYG is decent, but I really see them as hardcore for kids that don't like real hardcore. And I've heard from a few credible sources that they are absolutely terrible live. New Mexican Disaster Squad killed. They played Born and Razed off of Abrasive, and it was awesome. I was in the circle pit, which was only started because of one fan in an Unseen shirt and backpack running through the dead crowd. I also knew the Minor Threat song. i pretty happy to see that the majority of less than jake's set list is from their older stuff. hello rockview is their best album. its a fuckin fact. Bit of a stretch to call In With the Out Crowd "torturous". "Don't Fall Asleep on the Subway" is a great live song as his "Let Her Go". Sure, it has some clunkers, but I think time is going to be much kinder to that record than many of the "fans" have been. Scott, I didn't say your opinion was bullshit. Just countering your opinion with mine. Christ, you should know me by now. Set Your Goals is always more than solid live. I like NMDS, but I definitely prefer SYG -- NMDS isn't necessarily the best band currently playing `80s hardcore, while SYG is definitely the best band playing melodic hardcore-infused pop-punk right now. I just saw them last night myself. Very similar set list, but they did play One Last Cigarette which pleased me extensively. I would have liked to seen Just Like Frank. Like the guy below me, it was depressing being one of the oldest people at the show. SYG over NMDS? Sorry dude, but SYG have NOTHING on NMDS. SYG is decent, but I really see them as hardcore for kids that don't like real hardcore. And I've heard from a few credible sources that they are absolutely terrible live. Getting way stoked for the Cleveland show next Monday -- plus we get Set Your Goals instead of NMDS, too, so that makes it even better. i back less than jake on thinking losing streak is better than hello rockview. better songwriting and not as overproduced. they played al's war? my fav song from their catalog by far and i've never seen them play it live....no fair! Losing Streak just had that special something. A ton of arguments could be made that Hello Rockview is a more cohesive and varied album than Losing Streak, but the songs on Losing Streak were just better. That you "can't believe" people think Losing Streak is better is surprising, considering that it's almost universally considered the superior album. Getting way stoked for the Cleveland show next Monday -- plus we get Set Your Goals instead of NMDS, too, so that makes it even better. I'm guessing that "In With The Out Crowd" will be their last try at mainstream super-stardom, and now they'll get down to playing fun punk again. Good review. We got Liquor Store at the NYC show which was awesome. For the most part, the set we got was the same and they spun the wheel as well. |
