Miami Ska/Punk Festival:
Angry Banana
Plan Z, Space Station 5, Taj Motel Trio, Angry Banana, The Skandals, 22nd Base
June 14, 2009
The Dugout, Miami, FL
Review and Photos by Ashleigh Ahern
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When you hear Miami Ska/Punk Fest, the first thing that comes to mind for many is horns, fast beats, interesting and different voices and skanking in a circle pit. What most don’t think of are flying beach balls and the building, rebuilding and worshipping of Gumby.
Pulling up to the Dugout, you’d swear you were at a mechanic’s repair shop rather than an actual venue. As if to enhance the feel, Mother Nature provided heavy rains and booming thunder before the show even began. With a no-show from the Coyotes, the show began about an hour later than expected, though the other bands remained on schedule.
Plan Z
Plan Z took stage, becoming the first ska band of the night. Being Florida natives, half the crowd seemed to be friends of the band, singing and dancing along as well as screaming out, "We love you, Vicky/Paolo!" throughout the set. Unfortunately, they were a typical opening band in my eyes: They weren’t anything too memorable and got me anxious for the rest of the show.
Next up was Space Station 5, showcasing the punk side of the show. Despite the change in genre, the skanking ensued. Somewhere during their set, Gumby (yes, the loveable, flexible green hero from our nineties childhood) became the ‘God’ of the circle pit. Multiple times throughout the night, Gumby not only had to be rearranged, but also had a tower and pile of shoes, cans, cell phones, and more built around and under him. Even with the display of Gumby, Space Station 5 was about even with Plan Z. The audience simply put on more of a show, making it a little more entertaining to watch.
Multiple times throughout the night, Gumby not only had to be rearranged, but also had a tower and pile of shoes, cans, cell phones, and more built around and under him.
Angry Banana Rob landry
The Taj Motel Trio kicked the show into gear. They were just what the show needed: a good wake-up call. With songs like "Another Drink" and "oaoao," everyone was singing along to the easily learned choruses. With every solo, fans rushed to the stage and air-played along with Ben’s guitar or Zach’s trumpet playing. This is the band that got the night going.
New Orleans ska band Angry Banana were next to play. Jumping straight into "4 and 1," one of their faster, more upbeat songs, the crowd was dancing from beginning to end. The band gave the show a slightly different feel from the other bands with the use of an acoustic guitar by vocalist, Tom. Even though the majority of the audience seemed unfamiliar with the band, they weren’t going to forget Angry Banana’s performance. Drummer Rob’s strong, sick beats only seemed to fuel the already-pumped audience. No one seemed to want the night to end at this point.
With an audience that looked to have doubled since the start of the show, The Skandals were next to play. Adding beach balls to bounce over the crowd’s heads, it was more like a party than a show, minus the bump-and-grind dancing. This seemed to be the band that everyone was waiting for. Being an eight-piece band, they were the most interesting to watch of the night. Of course, fans rushed to the stage every chance they got, and the circle pit now included more than half of the crowd, making it more interesting to watch the attempts to keep Gumby standing.
Jon and James of 22nd Base
Finishing off the night was pop-punk band 22nd Base. Opening with NOFX’s "Linoleum," you would think this was solely a cover band, considering most bands open with an original song. 22nd Base played some of their own music, but continued to drift back to covering other band’s songs. Drummer Nick made his frustration apparent as he said multiple times that they were not going to finish their set on Alkaline Trio’s "Radio." Though the band ended up giving in, the Alkaline Trio cover might as well have been their last song.
The little that was left of the crowd at this point all came together at the front of the stage, singing along to every word. Even though they weren’t the band that should’ve been closing out the show, they were easily one of stronger bands of the night, giving off the most energy.
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Angry Banana's Matt Thomas
Space Station 5's Richard Buznego
The Skandal's Kevin Rodriguez