Less Than Jake Finally Play What They Want
By Katie Karpowicz in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 18, 2013 10:00PM
Over the years, we've realized that there are certain traits that make every Less Than Jake concert as fun as the last one. First, you'll lose all inhibitions about dancing in public almost immediately. The between-song banter is just as entertaining as the performance. And the crowd will always sing louder to songs from the '90s than to whatever the band's current single is.
Unfortunately, it's no secret that last element has been a point of frustration for the band. The last ten years of LTJ's 21-year career have been plagued with the same sentiment from fans: "Play your old stuff!"
Luckily, it appears the Florida ska-punks are finally putting their foot down. You just can't play a set comprised entirely of songs more than a decade old—especially with a new record less than a week old under your belt. Following sets from Get Dead, Masked Intruder (would won the hearts of some of our favorite people) and Anti-Flag, Less Than Jake headlined the Fat Tour's Chicago stop last Saturday at Concord Music Hall.
While the tell-tale signs of an LTJ concert were there—endless sarcasm, the decision to bring fans on stage to dance for no apparent reason—this set was one that left us a bit surprised. A good deal of it was made up of tracks from In With The Out Crowd, GNV FLA, newer records the band normally wouldn't touch live, and their latest See The Light. Of course, classics like "Great American Sharpshooter," "Look What Happened" and "Gainesville Rock City" still made it to the stage and appeased our nostalgic hearts.
Sometimes we feel bad for bands tethered to their "old stuff," forced to play it every night or face boo's from fans. The truth is that, we'd be okay if we were in Less Than Jake's shoes. Songs like "Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts" are so fun, it would be tough to get tired of them. But, frankly, we get it and we're happy for a band&'s whose recent material has been overlooked for too long.