Review By: Craig McDonnell
Pictures By: Zara O’Leary
As if to symbolise the start of the summer, last Thursday saw the sun belting down and the evergreen ska-punkers Less Than Jake playing The Button Factory. As a sign of just how long this band has been playing for, this tour is to mark the re-release of Losing Streak (released in 1996) and Hello Rockview (1998).
Before the headline act we were treated to two superb local talents. First up were Give it a Year. This was my first time seeing them and they certainly impressed. Most of their choruses had repeated lyrics in them so halfway through the songs I found myself singing along despite the fact it was the first time hearing the songs. If you like your ska-punk leaning more towards punk as well as some great two and three part harmonies you won’t go wrong giving these a listen. Their debut EP can be found streaming on bandcamp.
The second of these local bands were well-known ska punkers from Tallaght, Chewing on Tinfoil. If you haven’t heard of this band you must have been living under a rock (or just don’t go to many local music gigs over the last 5ish years). Chewing on Tinfoil have been playing gigs in Dublin and further afield for as long as I can remember so it was amazing to see them playing in front of a large crowd. They didn’t disappoint either, playing a mix of old songs from their album ‘Get Rich or Try Dyin” as well as their latest EP ‘Shaving’, which can be listened to and bought here. They got a great reception from the crowd and seemed to add to their ever increasing fan base.
Then it was time for the masters of ska-punk. As you’d expect from a band who have been together for the guts of 20 years, Less than Jake played every song pretty much perfectly. What I hadn’t expected to see was just how much fun the five-piece from Florida had on stage. After the opening salvo, frontman Chris Demakes tells the crowd he can’t stop looking at a particular member of the healthy crowd, before inviting a middle-aged man with a Tom Selleck style moustache on stage to down a beer alongside a younger member of the crowd. This set the mood for the rest of the night, with numerous people being brough on stage, as well as the band pointing out people in the crowd who didn’t seem to be having fun or, in one particular case, had a terrible haircut. Adding to the fun-filled night, halfway through their set, the band started playing the theme tunes to Animaniacs, Spongebob and Scooby Doo.
All the favourites were played, including ‘All My Friends Are Metalheads’ and ‘The Science of Selling Yourself Short’ and pretty much every album was covered. With a promise to be back in 2017, Less Than Jake left the stage leaving nobody in the room in doubt that, even after all this time, Less Than Jake are still as good as ever.
