Ska Brawl 2006 @ The Crowbar, State College, PA

Live Reviews | Feb 11th, 2006

Opening Bands: The Toasters, Go Jimmy Go, The Marauders and the Deuces
Date: January 30th 2006
Venue: The Crowbar, State College, PA

I’ve been slacking off in my old age. I haven’t been to a show since Ska Is Dead came around back in September.

There just haven’t been any bands that I “had” to see recently. That is until I found out that Go Jimmy Go was coming to town. It wasn’t until about six months ago that I discovered them and I got hooked on them big-time. I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. The Marauders are a local throwback rockabilly band that I watched a handful of times. I never heard of the Deuces before. The fact that the Toasters were playing was an added bonus. The Toasters actually played at the last show that I went to. Well that’s the line up. Rain, snow, or shine…I would be at that show even though I would get only get five hours of sleep that night. I felt that was a fair price to pay.

The Deuces opened up with a bang. Their sound was very guitar-driven punk rock that would best be described as Social Distortion meets Screeching Weasel plus the Vandals. They were fast, loud, and talented. There were three guitarists in the band and they all complimented each other well. The Deuces got the place rocking with their first two songs and a small pit formed for a brief time. After about 40 minutes or so, the first band was done. Up next…the Marauders.

I’ve managed to catch the Marauders a handful of times with most of their shows being played within a few blocks from where I live. One of the oddest was at a classic car show where they played on the back of a flatbed truck. Free show + good band=I’m there dude! As I mentioned before, the Marauders harkens back to the days when Buddy Holly, Bill Haley and Bobby Darin ruled the airwaves. This three-piece group looks like they had come back with Marty McFly in the Delorean. The bassist also uses a stand up bass. How cool is that? Each time I catch the Marauders, they sound better and better. Now kiddies remember…the Marauders play rockabilly, not the psychobilly stuff that seems trendy nowadays. Straight up, old-fashioned rock and roll. They do manage to throw in a Misfits cover on occasion. It’s great to see a band with some culture in this area. The classic rock and AC/DC cover bands get old real quick. The Marauders were on stage for about 40 minutes as well. The crowd really seemed to dig their unique sound. Great, great band.

Ahhh…it was that time. Go Jimmy Go was set to take the stage. I was in the perfect mood for some soulful ska stylings. Not since finally catching an Aquabats show, have I looked forward to seeing a band as much. I knew that Go Jimmy Go would not disappoint. And damn was I right. One word…Amazing! Even though they had to deal with the thirty-degree weather and the cold rain of a January night in Central Pennsylvania, the band seemed excited to take the stage. The lead singer was full of energy and was bouncing around the stage like a guitar riff in an ALL song. This made for a good skank pit. Well, not just a pit because the entire floor was picking it up. Everyone in the room seemed to be dancing and hopping around. Go Jimmy Go’s set had a good change of pace throughout. They played some slower ska stuff such as “Undercover Brother” and followed it up with “Bang The Skillet”, a more two-tone sounding song that was very skankable. Just as soon as their set started, it was over. It seemed like they had only been on stage for ten minutes, but they had actually played for almost an hour. I was so into their set, that I completely lost track of time. It was now close to 11 PM. I wondered how long the Toasters would play and even considered skipping out early in their set.

I wasn’t overly impressed the last time I had seen them, but I didn’t drive all the way to State College to skip out on the show. I decided to give them another shot. They set up fairly quick and were on at about twenty after. During their first song, it was evidently clear that the Toasters were a band possessed. Believe it or not, they were the liveliest of all the bands that night, and with the quality of bands that had played before them, that was saying a lot. They plowed through one classic after another, tearing up everything from “Don’t Let The Bastards…” to “Weekend In L.A.” and one of my favorites, “Pirate Radio”. People seemed to come out of the woodwork for the Toasters and the floor was ablaze with rude boys and rude girls. What fun! This crowd was definitely much more into it than the Pittsburgh crowd at the last show. To me, this was a completely different band than the one from months before. One of the highlights of the night occurred after Bucket broke some strings. Most of the time, the band would just stop for a bit and exchange banter with the crowd. Well the bassist just started playing some solo bass riffs that ended up in a cool dancehall/ska/reggae song after other members of the band picked up on it. It was a very cool, spur of the moment thing and everyone seemed to enjoy the improvisation. The Toasters managed to rock out until exactly 1 AM.

With and hour drive ahead of me and work at 8 in the AM, I asked myself “Was this show worth it?” Without a moment of hesitation, I answered. Hell yeah it was worth it. Having been one of the most diverse line-ups of any club show that I had been to, this was one of THE best shows that I had ever attended. Every band, including the two opening bands was uniquely different and amazingly talented. All of this, and the godfathers of modern ska, in one great venue on the same night. Being the zombie the next morning couldn’t have come at a better cost.

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