Less Than Jake preview

Less Than Jake
House Of Blues, Chicago
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

On the heels of re-releasing three albums of early material (Pezcore, Goodbye Blue & White, and Losers, Kings And Things We Don’t Understand), Less Than Jake hope to pop some integrity back into the term “ska punk.”

Often lumped in with the hordes of bands who arrived at the sound in the mid ’90s, LTJ originally suffered unfairly — unless you can justify hating Nirvana because of Bush. When not relying on sophomoric party humor, the band could be pretty fierce. Losers especially bares teeth, zipping through 21 tracks without much care who gets elbowed.

But if we’re to dole out blame evenly, the Jakes deserve guff for past indiscretions including taking opening slots on Bon Jovi tours (in ’89 you’d be Skid Row; in ’99 you’re Smash Mouth), becoming Warped Tour’s creepy older brothers, and getting so glossy and one-note even tweens developed a preference for Steve Albini. This show was downsized from the Congress Theatre (whose tickets will be accepted), which means the alienation hasn’t worn off yet. But with the state of the modern reunion, a full-on revival might prove worth some’s whiles.

Goldfinger, Big D & The Kids Table, and Suburban Legends open.

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly