Tonight
was the last gig on the road to Warped. Leading
up to the legendary tour's historic first venture
across the pond. This gig took place in Cardiff
universities Great Hall 2 and was set to be a
flurry of upbeat Pop-Punk and Ska.
The New Jersey Pop-Punk quintet Man Overboard
were the second band of the night, although due
to the early start they were the opening act for
most people. They opened up in their poppy bouncy
style and a few people soon joined in with the
dancing. With vocalists Zac Eisenstein and Nik
Bruzzese throwing in some great harmonies. Nik
played some enjoyable bass riffs throughout the
set mixing songs from "Real Talk" and
"Man Overboard", however the bass wasn't
completely smooth but slightly twangy and sharp.
There was some good energy on stage and from the
off and the show reminded me of "Set Your
Goals". "Montrose" was a particular
highlight with its great bridge. "Rare",
"World Favourite", "Atlas"
and "Love Your Friends, Die Laughing"
also went down well with a few people crowd surfing.
They set the show up well for the co-headliners.
New
Found Glory ran onto the stage playing "Understatement"
and immediately the entire room started singing
along with their hands in the air. New found Glory
played though "Sticks & Stones"
released 10 years prior from start to finish.
The sound was great, slightly heavier than usual
and the set was full of energy on and off the
stage, with crowd surfers from the second song
till they left the stage. I caught New Found Glory
on the Relentless tour earlier in the year, and
the sound was great, but It felt almost like a
group who'd past it trying to show off to a younger
crowd. However tonight wasn't anything like that,
it could be the older crowd, or the tracks they
were playing but it felt like seeing them back
when I fell in love with them. The nostalgia seemed
to flood the room, just as much as the urge to
jump, sing and put your hands in the air. Ian
Grushka was on top form putting on a faultless
performance. After Sticks & Stones they finished
off the set with four of their biggest tracks
"All Downhill From Here", "Dress
To Kill", "Kiss Me" and "Hit
Or Miss", in an explosion of energy. I think
most people could have left then happy. It was
the best I've seen them, the sound was flawless
and the only way to describe how into it the crowd
were is with the sad fact someone collapsed from
exhaustion. They were great.
The
legendary Ska giants Less Than Jake where the
last band of the night and one of the best live
bands around. No matter how many times you see
them you always walk away covered in sweat and
grinning like a chasseur cat because the sounds
great and they're just fun. The crowd exploded
as they took the stage with the opening riff of
"Gainesville Rock City" with the crowd
singing along to Chris Demakes guitar. "Johnny
Quest Thinks We're Sellouts" followed and
with the fast pasted ska everyone was finding
it hard to stay still. It wasn't long before their
childish humour engulfed the room with Roger Manganelli
turned to Chris between songs and said "are
you just happy to be here tonight Chris or is
that a banana in your pocket?". "Look
What Happened" followed before the "The
New Auld Lang Syne" off of their new album
"Greetings And Salutations From Less Than
Jake". The mix match of songs from every
album continued with "Automatic", "The
Science Of Selling Yourself Short", "Al's
War" for which trombone player Buddy Schaub
just danced around the stage as he wasn't needed,
and "Motown Never Sounded So Good".
Less Than Jake took their antics to the next level
when they got three "Fat Smelly Guys"
from the crowd to come onto the stage as well
as one girl who was blindfolded. After sniffing
the armpits of all three guys she had to pick
the one which smelled the worst and he won a
bottle of Whisky. A somewhat unusual sight at
a gig for most bands, but LTJ have got a history
of dragging fans on stage for some reason or another.
The explosive "Hows My Driving Dough Hastings"
set the show back on track before the bass heavy
"Shindo". Chris and Rodger were on top
form with their alternating roles as vocalist,
and In spite of staying out of the way slightly
in order to scribble down the occasional note
It was impossible to completely avoid the rain
of beer as most of the room was bounding around,
crowd surfing or throwing their beer in the air
indulging the euphoria any way they can think
of. After a few more songs LTJ left the stage
before Rodger returned to play a few notes before
his "bass solo" was interrupted by the
return of the rest of the group to play "Nervous
In The Ally" and "History Of A Boring
Town". As it sadly came time for the last
song, LTJ flexed their control over the crowd
getting them to perform a circle pit around the
sound desk, while those two tired to get involved
skanked and sung along to the ever popular "Plastic
Cup Politics". Anyone who's seen them before
will know how good they are live time after time,
they've never grown up and nor should they. I
think there were some lights, but to be honest
it's hard to focus when you're compelled to sing
along and bounce around with the bass riffs. The
sounds great, the songs are impossible to stay
still from and above all else their just fun,
immature, hyperactive, drunk fun from one of the
least professional bands. It's more like a party
with your mates than a gig. There one of the best
live bands of all time.
Man Overboard 3/5
New Found Glory 4/5
Less than Jake 5/5
Review By Marc Rich
Photos By Kirsty Rich
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