December Almost Killed Me

It seems excessively late for a December 2012 recap from where we currently stand, forward facing the bitter cold of January’s last frame. In my defense, I went a bit overboard late last year, insisting on drinking and smoking through a cold that became a full-fledged plague by the last night of the Hometown Throw down. With a weekend of fun ska/punk shows coming up, it’s a good time to recap the madness.

12.14.12

Home For The Skalidays at The Audio Jungle

It started innocently enough in the middle of the month. A Guy Named Guy was headlining the Audio Jungle with a toys for tots benefit. I took a long lunch that day and secured my tot toy at Newberry comics. Come 6 ‘o clock, toy and camera gear in hand, I was headed to Allston. This was a fantastic show. Mr. Furious started the night off, and impressed the hell out of me. I finally got to see Short Handed Goal, a ska punk band based out of RI. Nice guys and a solid set. Fort! The band was up next and always destroys a basement with their ever-evolving gypsy ska-punk-slouch madness. I can’t get enough of Fort!, it’s never the same show twice, and the energy they bring to the table as a collective is impressive. Connecticut’s Llama Tsunami continue to be my nutmeg state ska crush, powering through a strong set of original material sprinkled with energetic covers. I took a setlist, from a basement show, that’s how much I respect this band. A Guy Named Guy, fresh off the release of their Terminals split with Puerto Rico’s D-Cent Jerks, brought the night to a close. If you only know this band from the incredibly popular, and polished, youtube video for “Ska’s Not Dead,” a song they quite possibly retired that night, you have no idea how hard these guys will thrash through a set.

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Weekend Round Up: Reviews, Shows, and Contests

Brunt of It Boston CD Release Show

Brunt of It Boston CD Release ShowWhen it rains it pours.

Hometown Throwdown Openers Announced; RadioBDC Giving Away Tickets

Late last week, RadioBDC told us that Dicky Barrett was going to be on the radio with a huge announcement. The announcement itself was (yawn) that RadioBDC was going to be presenting Hometown Throwdown 15. The best part about it was that Dicky wasn’t even so sure of the announcement himself. Sounds like he got the memo but didn’t read it so closely. Listen to the awkward conversation:

What was significant was that they posted a few more openers for the Hometown Throwdown on their website (and possibly on the radio show but I tuned out shortly after they went back to music). So far we know: Dogmatics open Dec 29, Bouncing Souls on Dec 30, Big D and Amazing Royal Crowns on Dec 31. I’ve got tickets to the 29th so I naturally had to go listen to the Dogmatics. They’ve got a garage-y Ramones thing going on.

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November/December Ska Shows and News

Welcome to first post on Boston Ska (dot) net. Let’s call this a soft launch. I’d been blogging at jacobwakeup.com and decided to start this sucker.

I missed the first couple weeks of November but there’s still a decent amount going on. I wasn’t able to make it to The Toasters on November 3rd at Johnny D’s. Did anyone catch any video from the show? I wasn’t able to find any on YouTube. It’s okay, The Toasters will be at TT’s in March.

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Boston Ska News Roundup October 2012

Originally posted at jacobwakeup.com

So the Obi Fernandez CD release show was awesome. Soul Rebel Project was tight but didn’t quite move me, Riki Rocksteady was a blast, and of course Obi Fernandez KILLED it. They played mostly new stuff, as far as I could tell, some Westbound Train tunes, and some great covers. Specifically, they opened with a sick rocksteady version of “The KKK Took My Baby Away.” Obi was giving out download cards for his new record. Stream it on Spotify or buy it directly from Paper + Plastick (it’s worth it to buy it, and purchases are without a doubt, better for the artist). And of course now I’m all the more stoked for The Aggrolites on Tuesday.

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