Less Than Jake
with Sir Veza
September 25, 2010
Culture Room, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Review and Photos by Juliette Saputo
As a regular of Culture Room “ska” shows, I showed up on Saturday night with certain expectations; there'd be horns, heart, soul, peace, and love. From the moment I walked onto the patio until the last cars cleared the parking lot there seemed to be a particularly upbeat energy radiating from the crowd.
The night started off with a massive game of ninja in the patio area cut short when the lead trumpet for Sir Veza, Daniel Roddenberry, launched into an epic trumpet solo marking the beginning of the show's first set. After a brief pause, the six other members of Sir Veza burst onto the stage and quickly played the now obligatory Sublime “ska” tribute. Lead singer and alto sax player John Provenzano spent most of the time on the edge of the stage interacting with the crowd and ended the set like a true rock star, flinging himself into the audience below.
Stampede
Stampede paraded onto the stage waving the green, yellow, and red Rastafarian flag. Lead singers Joey Leto and Cory Baker danced and swayed as horns blared, swinging their long dreads back and forth. The pair flailed about the stage so violently that photographing them was nearly impossible. The mix of reggae, rap and ska music fused together to create a genre Baker referred to as “Babylon Punk.”
“This kind of music is our heart beats, if you don’t feel it in your hearts you ain’t gonna feel it no way,” said Baker. Even from the beginning of the set it was apparent that the heart and soul of each musician beat in sync with the music. Joey Leto paused several times during songs, facing upwards with his eyes closed as if absorbing the music.
Even from the beginning of the set it was apparent that the heart and soul of each musician beat in sync with the music. Joey Leto paused several times during songs, facing upwards with his eyes closed as if absorbing the music.
Fallen From The Sky - Justin Berke
Fallen from the Sky, the most punk rock band in the lineup had no trouble fitting in and keeping the heart and soul of the show beating. Lead vocalist Ryan Loughney, sported an enormous smile on his face and bounced around the stage never missing a beat. Fallen from the Sky seemed so comfortable with the crowd that guitarist Robert McKnight let several people in the crowd play his guitar.
Loughney mentioned that Less than Jake had been one of his favorite bands, even in middle school, “When I was in seventh grade I wrote a letter to myself with my three favorite bands; Lenny Kravitz, Eminem and Less than Jake, I got one of them right.”
Judging by the large crowd packed into the small club, headliner and “ska” veterans for almost two decades, Less Than Jake can still draw an audience.
Sir Veza - Nick
“It's good to know we’re still popular in South Florida,” Chris Demakes said to his fellow band members shortly before their first song. The old school ska-punk band had fans singing and dancing like few other bands can. More than just their music, Less than Jake knows how to put on a show, calling several people onto the stage and incorporating items thrown to them into the performance. When it came time for the encore Chris Demakes returned to the stage alone, beer in hand, singing happy birthday to himself.
Demakes, celebrating his 32nd birthday, said, “I look like I’m 22 and I feel like I’m 2 years old!” Demakes then invited the entire audience to join him and the band for his birthday across the street at Sailor’s Pub. “Everyone 14 and older is invited,” he repeated again and again. Once the show closed with “All my Best Friends are Metal Heads,” those 14 and older made their way to the bar to continue the fun.
Check out our past coverage of LTJ
Send Juliette your feedback: writers@outloud.com
Sir Veza - Cody, Ryan, Nick
Stampede