Date: March 4th, 2017
Opening Bands: Rude Boy George, Baby Baby

It’s been about 15 years since Save Ferris been on tour and in NYC but they have a new EP out called Checkered Past, so makes it a perfect time to tour the country! Joining them for the show was Baby Baby and my buddies Rude Boy George.

The show was close to selling out which is always nice to see for a ska show. The opening band was Baby Baby, from Atlanta. They weren’t ska at all but they were certainly a lot of fun! Kind of like a fun rock kind of band, with lots of energy. If they haven’t been on Warped Tour, I feel like they would be a perfect band for that tour. The singer/guitarist was lively, the drummer kept standing up and even had a cowbell! That got a big cheer from the crowd, because every band needs more cowbell. The band also consists of percussionist and a headbanger bassist who was going so crazy on stage, I thought he was going to fall off the stage. He was about a foot from the edge and was making me nervous the entire set. I have no idea what they played but I definitely liked what I heard. They were a really fun band to see live.

Rude Boy George were up next and I’ve forgotten how many times I’ve seen them. I’ll be seeing RBG next month when they play 2 sets for our ReadJunk.com 20th Anniversary party at Otto’s Shrunken Head. That should be a blast! They started things off nicely with “The Metro,” originally done by Berlin. Their most recent cover of Howard Jones’ “Things Can Only Get Better” is definitely a stand out and quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Gotta love the upbeat ska versions of the new wave songs.

Every time I see them, they introduce a new song. This time it was “Atomic,” the classic Blondie song and later popularized by Sleeper for Trainspotting. The band has been appearing on the Specialized compilations lately, and did a cover of “Iron Lion Zion” by Bob Marley but they didn’t do that song for that set. Their next one will be The Jam so I’m really curious to hear how that will turn out! Perhaps they will debut it at the ReadJunk party or maybe they will surprise me and finally do The Comsat Angels “Will You Stay Tonight” that I have been asking them to do for 2 years now haha. Anyway, they finished the set with their awesome cover of “Kids in America.” It’s always such a good closer for their set. They got the crowd into it and ready for Save Ferris.

After their set, I was hanging down at the merch tables and lost track of time. I actually missed the first song of Save Ferris, which is rare for me to do. I was kicking myself for doing that. I thought they went on 9:45, but it was 9:35 and was busy talking with friends. I believe they started with “The World Is Knew,” which is probably my favorite by them. I actually can’t recall if I ever saw Save Ferris live. I think I saw them play at the Warped Tour in 98, but I didn’t get any photos of them. So I can’t confirm but I feel like I have seen Save Ferris before.

Monique Powell and the band were great despite her not having any voice for the entire set. She powered through it like a champ though. I didn’t glance at the setlist but I feel they cut it a little short since they still have half the dates on their tour to get through. Their new EP is really good and glad that those songs were represented well that night. Obviously they played the hits and songs from their other albums as well. Monique was quite the presence on stage, doing her sexy struts and moves. She went through a few dresses, doing a burlesque style strip of the first dress. That was fun to see and all I was thinking of; she must have been really hot dancing and singing with all those layers on. Some of the highlights for me included “Nobody But Me,” “Anything,” “Do I Even Like You,” and “I Know.”

They came back on for an encore and played “New Sound” and of course their popular cover of “Come On Eileen.” You didn’t think they wouldn’t play that do you? It was great to see Save Ferris again, and hope they return for another tour soon. Perhaps a date in the beginning of the tour where Monique’s voice is 100%. Solid show from top to bottom!

All my photos will be on SkaPunkPhotos.com tomorrow or the next day. For now, check out some of the highlights:

Baby Baby

Rude Boy George

Save Ferris