Summer of Ska tour at the House of Blues Sunset Strip

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Written by Brittany Woolsey

Friday, 27 July 2012 17:31

The House of Blues Sunset Strip was filled with positive vibes and feel-good tunes on Wednesday evening as the Summer of Ska tour made its way to the venue.

Featuring Reel Big Fish; Big D and the Kids Table; Suburban Legends; and The Maxies, the nationwide tour has been a ska paradise for enthusiatic fans.

Kicking off Wednesday's show, The Maxies proved that even though they weren't ska, their humor made them fit right in with the other bands. The punk band from Greenland dressed in red and white outfits, as well as phantom-like masks.

Throughout its set, The Maxies made fun of the other bands on the bill.

"This is something Reel Big Fish hasn't had in a long time," Maximum Maxie (vocals) said. "A hit song!"

With that, the band played "Sandy" before proceeding to make fun of yet another group.

They dedicated "Nobody to Love You" to the "dancing girls" in Suburban Legends, poking fun at the Orange County band's on-stage choreography.

However, The Maxies weren't completely full of hate. To recognize Goldfinger, who only performed on the East Coast half on the tour, The Maxies performed a medley of Goldfinger songs.

The crowd danced and cheered as The Maxies played Goldfinger's songs "Here In Your Bedroom," "Superman" and "99 Red Balloons."

Suburban Legends were next, and began their set with the ever-positive "Bright Spring Morning." They then went into "Just Be Happy," and more fan favorites including "Hey DJ," "Whoa" and their cover of "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" from Disney's "Lion King.

While many hometown Suburban Legends shows have skank pits, the pit at Wednesday night's show was a bit more aggressive. However, the fans still seemed to enjoy themselves as they danced to the non-aggressive music

Big D and the Kids Table was truly a treat to see. As soon as the Boston band began its set with "Steady Riot," the crowd exploded into a frenzy of pushing, shoving and skanking

"We were not expecting this many people to give a shit about us," David McWayne (vocals) announced

Songs like "Little Bitch," "Hell," "Shining On" and "Hell" proved to be crowd favorites.

McWayne also spread positivity in the room. After recently battling and beating cancer, McWayne kept things real by telling the audience that some of them may get cancer, but it's not that scary and they can beat it.

They then played "One Day," which went from an acoustic, soft sing-along to punk sounds. This song easily showed Big D's versatility in their sound, and their fans showed their appreciation for it as they moved nonstop during the set.

Reel Big Fish closed the show. Known for humor, the Huntington Beach band shared banter on stage throughout its set. They continuously made fun of each other, as well as were sure to throw in as much profanity as they could.

The humor was not surprising, but it was surprising that Reel Big Fish did not play many songs from their upcoming album "Candy Coated Fury," slated for release next Tuesday. Instead, the band only played "Punisher" and "Don't Stop Skanking" from "Candy Coated Fury."

They also played several covers including Metallica's "Enter Sandman," Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and "With or Without You" by U2. However, during these covers, they also slipped in the lyrics to their original song, "Ban the Tube Top," which added humor to the songs.

Reel Big Fish ended its set with crowd favorites "Sell Out," "She Has a Girlfriend Now" and "Take On Me."

The Summer of Ska tour will conclude on Saturday with a performance at the City National Grove of Anaheim.