This show, consisting of BTMI, Chotto Ghetto, Royal City Riot, Matt Kurz One and Fatter than Albert, was apparently the "Ska Prom," so a fair share of the atendees were dressed in formal apparel. I was not informed yet this did not take away from the experience.
First up was New Orleans' Fatter Than Albert. I was surprised to see this rather popular (at least in the ska community) underground band to be first on. Apparently, they were the last to sign up for the show, resulting in them going on first. So, their ska fused with pangs of jazz probably made them the best opening band ever. They definitely stirred the crowd into a frenzy, setting the tone for the rest of the show. They could've just played their song "Fatter Than You!" to acheive this but they played a bunch more stellar songs to put on a great set.
Next up was Royal City Riot, hailing from Long Island; their self-proclaimed Motown-influenced music was very entertaining. As far as I know, they haven't officially released anything, or at least nothing that you can buy. This came as a dissapointment to me for they were a great band and put on a very good show.
The next "band" was the Matt Kurz One. Matt Kurz must be the most coordinated man on the planet. Although he wasn't ska per se, he doesn't have enough body parts to play horns; luckily I was content with him playing bass with his left foot, drums with his right foot, using his arms for the guitar, and taping a drum stick to his guitar to play the cymbals. To do this is challenging but, to do this AND write and play good songs is something unbelievable. I would check out Matt's free records at Quote Unquote if you haven't already.
Chotto Ghetto was late so three men who were in some of the band played a set of rather strange songs. It was at least entertaining and I comend them for not just letting the crowd sit there.
After this, Chotto Ghetto still hadn't shown up yet, so Bomb the Music Industry! played a couple of songs: "Old and Unprofessional" and all four parts of "King of Minneapolis," the latter two parts being my favorite song by them.
Chotto Ghetto finally showed up and played a great, inspired show. They played their EP Rampage in its entirety as well as another song that I didn't know the name of but was rather good. The performance was amazing and was actually worth the wait. I would also recommend downloading Rampage from Quote Unquote as soon as possible; their jazz-influenced hardcore is refreshing.
Bomb the Music Industry! took the stage a second time and gave an unforgettable performance with maximum crowd participation. People were crowdsurfing despite the ceiling being only seven feet off the ground and the lights being even closer. At one point, the impeccable Jeff Rosenstock threw his mic into the audince and everyone in the crowd with a pair of lungs flocked to that one small area to scream into said mic. Every member of the band put on a great show and seemingly used up all of their energy. That only cemented the fact that this band is in my top 3 of all time. It was a great night filled with amazing performances and musicianship.
Set list (may not be in accurate chronological order; some of the songs in general may be off):
- Old and Unprofessional
- King of Minneapolis (Pts. I & II)
- King of Minneapolis (Pts. III & IV)
- Even Winning Feels Bad
- I Don't Love You Anymore
- Bike Test 1 2 3
- My Response to an Article in Alternative Press
- It's Official We're Boring
- Panic Bomb
- Ready...Set...No!
- Dude, Get with the Program
- Congratulations, John, on Joining Every Time I Die
- Syke! Life Is Awesome!