Less Than Jake: A Concert Experience Like None Other
Written By: Sarah Herman
January 24, 2006 * The Furnace in Syracuse, NY
February 4, 2006 * Phoenix Theatre in Toronto
February 6, 2006 * Club Infinity in Buffalo, NY
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Five energetic and extremely talented musicians take the stage to play to crowds of screaming teenagers and parents with
headaches. People fighting to get up next to the barricades to catch the slightest glimpse that is the musical masterpiece
known as Less Than Jake. Less Than Jake has hit the road again to headline a forty city tour in efforts to promote their new
album In With the Out Crowd due in stores Spring 2006 (no official date has been set). I had the tremendous pleasure of
getting to experience the madness that is a Less Than Jake concert in three of the cities that they were scheduled to play during
this tour.
Tuesday January 24, 2006, Less Than Jake played to almost a sold-out crowd in Syracuse, NY at The Furnace. The show was
moved from Club Tundra, due to its closing earlier that month. Queue the introduction to "Short Fuse Burning" and the
atmosphere in the club shoots from boredom to extreme madness. Mosh pits start stirring and kids are losing their minds.
Among other crowd favorites played that night was "History of a Boring Town," "The Ghosts of Me and You," and "She's
Gonna Break Soon" just to name a few. Of course, it would not be a Less Than Jake show without their infamous circle pits,
and even in this small club, the crowd managed to pull off a hyped-up circle pit. It was definitely a sight to be seen.
"Gainesville Rock City" was played as an encore, and watching kids crowd surf and get covered in a foam mix that looked like
snow was definitely like no sight I have ever seen at a ska show before. Overall, the guys played 24 songs, all of which got a
great reception, it was definitely a good kick-off to my three show adventure with this band.
Saturday, February 4, 2006, it is the night of the Less Than Jake show at the Phoenix Theatre in Toronto, Canada. Being that
the drinking age is nineteen in Canada, I had a feeling this would be a show filled with drunken idiots trying to get on stage
and massive amounts of crowd surfers. My prediction couldn't have been any more correct. Opening the show again with
"Short Fuse Burning" the madness began with a bang. Being thrown against the stage by security while trying to shoot
pictures for this show, because of the amount of crowd surfers, was anything but a pleasant experience. The antics were
flowing tonight as Chris made jokes about Roger and the rest of the band. The highlight was him begging for jagermeister
shots to be delivered to the stage. This did nothing but amp the crowd up more, and definitely lightened the drunken mood a
little. "The Science of Selling Yourself Short," "Jen Doesn't Like Me Anymore," "How's My Driving, Doug Hastings?" and
"Sleep It Off" were some of the songs that graced the presence of the crowds' ears. Confetti blowing around in the air landing
on the crowd, it is none other than Less Than Jake's encore with none other than the all-time crowd favorite "Gainesville Rock
City." It was a great way to end this sold-out show in Toronto, after the encore they had kids begging for some more tunes. Of
course, due to the venue turning into a club after the show, their demands were left unattended to, but the show was still one
of those one in a million experiences that you never forget.
Monday, February 6, 2006, Less Than Jake hits the stage at Club Infinity in Williamsville, NY. This show was packed with
the usual crowd of teenagers ready to see their favorite band take the stage at 10 p.m. After jumping around to the opening
acts, the crowd was hyped when the men of Less Than Jake walked onto the stage. They opened this show yet again with
“Short Fuse Burning,” which was a delight as always. Some of the other tunes they played at this show were “All My Friends
Are Metal Heads,” “Escape from An A-Bomb House,” Last One out of Liberty City,” and “Magnetic North.” Of course, all
the songs were well received with a large amount of kids’ crowd surfing and making mosh pits in the middle of the venue
floor. Upset from not receiving his jagermeister shots in Toronto, Chris once again asked for five shots to be sent to the stage.
To the bands luck, two rounds of jagermeister shots were sent to the stage, and it was never revealed as to who sent the band
the shots. During the set, they played a medley which consisted of songs like “Bad Scene & A Basement Show” and “She’s
Gonna Break Soon.” As for their encore for this show, Less Than Jake blasted “Plastic Cup Politics” and “Look What
Happened” while confetti blanketed the crowd. It was a brilliant way to end the show, and to end my three show adventure
with them.
I can't end this review without stating that at each show, the guys played a new song off their upcoming album In With the
Out Crowd. At each show I attended, they played "Overrated," which I am hoping will be the first single off this record due to
the crowds' response to the song. It needs to be said that if "Overrated" is any indication of the brilliance of this new record,
then I am going to go ahead and say that this is going to be a must-have album of the year 2006. The guys of Less Than Jake
have truly outdone themselves yet again. I know the year of 2006 will be a prosperous one for this influential band.