by: Scott Murry
Embarking on the first leg of their Summer Circus Tour, Less Than Jake stopped by Boston on June 19. Their support of tightrope walkers and lion tamers included The Suicide Machines, Fishbone, and Bite Me Bambi. It is a venerable lineup to thrill and entertain the ska punk masses as they take the big show nationwide.
With tent stripes, and prominent illustrations of traditional circus fare decorating their full stage, it truly felt like a spectacle of grandiose proportions. Familiar faces of characters rounded out the performance: a skulled character skanking on stage, toilet paper streamers blasted across the audience, and even a jovial monkey bounding through the background and offering bassist Roger Lima a banana (which he dutifully took and strummed with momentarily).
The distorted guitars and buzzy vocals of Chris DeMakes were sharp and clean as always. Buddy Schaub continues to bounce around with trombone in hand, and perform toilet paper dance serenades when not honking. Less Than Jake reign as one of the tightest touring bands. The sound is incredible.
While I've seen them many times, one of the first was on October 30, 1998 at Bogart's in Cincinnati. There were again tp streamers, and dancing skull characters. There were even some bold locals that danced naked on stage in lieu of Halloween costumes. I think DeMakes and other band members fully embraced an 80s metal aesthetic for their costume.
On the next evening at the same venue, The Suicide Machines performed. Lead singer Jay Navarro (haphazardly painted as the Hulk) tipped his hat to Less Than Jake and asked how many folks were there the night before. Many hands flew up in the air. So nearly 27 years later, it was fantastic to see the two of them on tour together.
Check out the photos below!