Less Than Jake @ Vintage Vinyl, Fords NJ
Live Reviews | May 27th, 2006
Date: May 24th 2006
Venue: Vintage Vinyl, Fords NJ
Having a chance to see Less Than Jake play in front of 250 kids is like being 16 years old again. We arrived early, in an effort to talk to the guys and more importantly meet up with Risa & Brian there. So Dave and I drove down the GSP to good ol’ Vintage Vinyl.
We got the chance to meet and talk with some members of the band before they performed. First we talked with Buddy, the trombonist about life and being in LTJ. We chatted about some of the CDs he was buying. Buddy was really friendly and down to earth. A genuine cool, nice guy. We talked about the Gainesville scene and the other music scenes around town.
After meeting Buddy, we chatted a bit with Chris, guitarist and lead singer who is one of those not-funny funny guys and just an all around goofy dude. He said “you guys girlfriend and boyfriend, sister and brother? Cause you look the same.” He was referring to Risa and I who first off do not look the same at all and we are neither boyfriend/girlfriend nor brother/sister, just to clarify.
Finally we were able to chat a bit with Vinnie, the drummer and all around punkrocker. Vinnie’s from Woodbridge and talked about growing up around NJ and graffiti and toys too. He’s a busy guy with Fueled By Ramen and all he other various projects. Unfortunately we didn’t get to talk to Roger or JR, but shit happens. Now, on to the show.
Yes, we were the second oldest people there. The band has a few years on us, but that’s OK. They played 4 tracks off the new album “In With The Out Crowd” including Soundtrack of My Life and Don’t Fall Asleep on the Subway. I wanted to hear some old stuff and I was not disappointed. They played Gainesville Rock City and Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts!!!
LTJ is known for their stage antics and overall just nonsense much like NOFX. They had prizes to give away. So some kid who looked like a poodle according to Chris got a prize from the Dollar Store, so did some other dude who has the band member’s signatures tattooed on his leg. The last prize was just thrown into the crowd and I got it and quickly handed it to Risa! Hell Yeah! We got Uno cards.
Chris and Roger just make fun of each other back & forth to no avail and it’s insanely stupid and amazingly funny at the same time. Then they start joking with members of the crowd like the old guy buying vinyl who Chris said was there for the Phil Donahue look-alike contest. We did not stay long enough to get autographs because that’s corny, but the little kids love that stuff. So, yeah, it was great to meet one of my all time favorite bands and just bullshit for a while and see them perform in a small record shop.
