On a night that saw The Bennies, competition winners Black Water Country, Mariachi El Bronx, The Skints and Less Than Jake, Bournemouth’s O2 Academy certainly entertained one of the best nights this year. The Fireball – Fuelling The Fire Tour came to an end in style on Tuesday which saw hundreds of Ska and Punk fans in their true element of feel good music. I was lucky enough to catch The Skints and Less Than Jake on the night.
London band The Skints have been about for just over 10 years now and they performed their classics including Ratatat that really got the crowd going. The band really has a diverse feeling to their genre with Reggae and Ska being the main influences with different elements of punk thrown in. Songs Rub-A-Dub also went down well and got plenty of people in the mood to dance. Marcia Richards, Joshua Waters Rudge, Jamie Kyriakides and Jonathan Doyle all put in 110% for their gig was a great way to end their tour.
American ska punk band Less Than Jake from band from Gainesville, Florida, formed in 1992. So with all them years experience, fans knew that they were in for a treat! And they certainly didn’t dissapoint getting everyone dancing their socks off to the feel good music that they create. Chris DeMakes, Roger Lima, Vinnie Fiorello, Buddy Schaub and Peter “JR” Wasilewski played classics such as Plastic Cup Politics and Last One Out Of Liberty City that really lifted the roof of the place. DeMakes and Fiorello has been in the band since the start and you could tell how much performing to their fans mean to them. DeMakes vocals were form always with Bass player Lima also giving an authentic ska sound to the band. Schaub who joined in 1993 on trombone was equally amazing and worked well with Wasilewski’s saxophone playing to overall create a unforgettable sound for their loyal fans. It was truly a night to remember for all ska, punk, reggae and just plain old fashion rock fans!