On their co-headlining tour with Pepper, Less Than Jake didn’t fail to impress. The fun, energetic ska-punk band from Gainesville, FL, showed that even after 25 years, they haven’t lost their energy.
Kash’d Out
Kash’d Out was unfortunately terribly unimpressive. Their mix was pretty bad, with the kick drum being so boomy that it was completely impossible to make it out during any of their songs. Their music was low energy and didn’t really do much to rile the crowd up for the bands to come later, and to be honest wasn’t original sounding at all.
Red City Radio
This band did a much better job of getting the audience ready for the show – perhaps because they were a punk band rather than a reggae band, but at the same time I’ve seen a reggae/ska band get a crowd going really well before (shoutout to Ballyhoo!). Red City Radio played a solid set of fast punk songs, circle pits and all, and it was clear that they’ve been perfecting their craft for quite some time.
Less Than Jake
My highlight of the night, Less Than Jake had a circle pit going from song one through the end of the set, except for the quiet part of “The Rest of My Life”. The band brought their classic stage shenanigans, including toilet paper launching leaf blowers, giant balloons, and confetti cannons, while Evolution Kid (the band’s mascot) throws merch into the crowd. The band played most of their hits such as “The Science of Selling Yourself Short”, “Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts”, and of course “Look What Happened”. However, they made sure to include some cuts off of their upcoming EP, Sound the Alarm, in the form of “Bomb Drop” and “Things Change”. Overall, the band did an amazing job at keeping the crowd going, and even those Pepper fans who seemed uninterested in the band at the start of the set were enjoying Less Than Jake thoroughly by the end of the set.
Less Than Jake’s EP Sound the Alarm will be released on February 3rd via Pure Noise Records. You can preorder a copy from the band’s store now. You can also check out our gallery of Groezrock 2016, which has some great shots of Less Than Jake. We’ll have a review of Sound the Alarm soon, as well.
Photo by Jurriaan Hodzelmans for RMP Magazine.