This was a very last-minute endeavor, the result of having started a new job with lots of promises when in the back of my mind all I want to do is leave the place I've been in for so long.
That's for a different blog.
I had hit up people about this free ska show when I woke up for the second time on this holiday weekend. I didn't really have any interest in watching the NFL Playoffs because the Chargers had offended me to the point of numbness and even the underdogs this year didnt interest me. We all know its gonna be some stupid Steelers/Patriots shit or something, like HHH needs ANOTHER Heavyweight Belt.
My weed dude Dizzy D was down to go, which actually surprised me. I didnt think anybody would want to drive all the way to Anaheim for ska bands that we didnt even know who they were, at a pizza place no less. But ain't shit going on in Temecula lately and his car was full on gas so we left around 7:30 and talked about whats been going on with all our go-nowhere friends and our own go-nowhere day-to-days.
We arrived a bit before 8pm, as the first band was playing their last song. I think they were called Rundown Kreeps.
I could tell immediately that I was in the top 10 percentile "oldest person here" bracket, and thats taking into account band members and pizza chefs. This was like an almost purely high school crowd, with a nearly-invisible scattering of almost-30s-looking people seen peripherally from time to time. I felt old as fuck, like I was doing something bad by holding a beer outside while surrounded by high school kids. But ska, right?
Los 2x4s were the first band I saw all the way through, and they were pretty good. All the music was pretty good throughout the night. They definitely were catering to their young crowd, as they appeared to be like a year or two removed, like they're the college freshmen to the crowd's high school senior. The saxophone player was definitely making eye moves at some blonde up-front that would have been great for a parody music video.
I had ordered some beer or another, I can't remember what, and still had like half in-between that set and the next, so I went with my remainder and scoured the Chuck E. Cheese Jr.-type layout of this pizza place until I found D, who had the foresight to have already chicken wings and cheesy bread. It wouldn't be ready until after the next band, however.
Matamoska is a Voodoo Glow Skulls type ska-punk band that doesn't skimp on classic ska bounce or street-punk circle-pit aesthetics while also bringing in hardcore and semi-metallic elements as well. This was the band I had come to see primarily and they didn't let down. Great energy from the young crowd for each band, really; it's nice to see kids are still about ska these days. It was kinda odd seeing bands in such a dad-rock atmosphere, because the restaurant trappings were inescapable, but in another way I guess that speaks to the acceptance that formerly-"niche" things have received as of late.
That cheesy bread was goddamn delicious. The people who had been sitting next to D all night gave him 3 things of unused ranch dressing so when the wings came we didnt need to ask for more. Shit was so good.
Dizzy D bought me another beer for the last band, La Banda Skalavera. They were cool, if unchallenging. Really, all 3 bands tonight were very similar in their mix of 90s ska with 90s pop-punk with modern pop at times. But they were all good and its refreshing to see so many kids so stoked on music as they were at this show. It didnt change the world but it made for a nice little time out of my normal space and an affirmation that the kids are alright.
My roommate commented when I recounted my night to her the next morning:
"So ska is back?"
My response:
"It never really went away..."
No comments:
Post a Comment