Sunday June 8th, at The House of Blues Orlando, was the place to be for all ages to enjoy the Ska-tacular performances from none other than headliner Less Than Jake with special guests performances by Bite Me Bambi, The Suicide Machines, and Fishbone! This spectacular concert was only the second stop on Less Than Jake's Summer Circus Tour '25, which turned out to be a sold-out show that night!
Kick off "act" for the night was Bite Me Bambi, a Southern Californa ska-punk band pumping the crowd up with anthems like Offspring's "Want You Bad," as well as their own original tunes, such as "Girls Like You" from their newest released album, Eat This. This was the first time I've had the pleasure of not only seeing them play but hearing them in general, and it was definitely enjoyable. The lively set was the perfect opening set for the next band, The Suicide Machines!
For the next "act", The Suicide Machines took to the stage! All the way down from Detroit, the legendary 1991 ska-punk crew didn't hesitate to crash right into their performance playing personal favorites like "New Girl" and "Break the Glass." These tunes set me back to a nostalgic place as a teen at the skatepark, thrashing out to both The Suicide Machines (and Less Than Jake), who were just one of many bands I skated to back in those days. My internal excitement was visible in the crowd with friendly moshers and endless crowd surfers of all ages up until the end of their set.
The final opening "Act" we had was Fishbone! Since 1979, this multi-genre group has put together some awe-inspiring influential music in the ska scene! Fusing together ska, punk, funk, metal, reggae, and soul, alongside their social and political commentary putting you on a more personal level to their performance. Personally, their style threw me off a bit, but not in a bad way. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. The fun energy and display of passion in the music they play was definitely what the crowd needed for Less than Jake!
Attention! Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, the moment you've all been waiting for! Hailing from Gainesville, Florida since 1992, Less Than Jake! Bringing the Summer Circus right to Mickey Mouse's backyard! Kicking off their setlist with "Gainesville Rock City", the crowd was moving like a well-oiled machine, horns blowing, bass slapping and riffs, riffing! With all walks of life amongst the crowd from kids to "senior" fans like myself, the band fired through the setlist with personal sing-along favorites like "The Science of Selling Yourself Short" and "All my Friends are Metalheads", but of course the performace wouldn't be a "circus" without a few "acts" from a few clowns dancing around the stage, to a juggling perfomance from a fan in the crowd.
For those of you that may be new here, welcome to the show! Less than Jake has been around since 1992 and from Gainesville, Florida. With a current lineup of members: Chris DeMakes (guitar/vocals), Roger Lima (bass/vocals), Buddy "Goldfinger" Schaub (trombone), Peter "JR" Wasilewski (Saxophone), and Matt Yonker (drums since 2018), the group is still bringing fresh tastes of music to the scene like their most recent EP, Uncharted, from 2024.
The show must go on! The horns, punk/skate rock tunes, and crowd surfing didn't slow down at the slightest. The well-rounded powerful mix of fan favorites alongside of the fun theatrics definitely made it feel like a one of a kind ska-punk circus performance to remember, definitely instilling memorable moments to all ages of the crowd. Unfortunately, like all shows, it must come to an end eventually, but not before throwing in a few more fun "bangers" like a cover to the Warner Bros animated series "Animaniacs", eventually closing out with a show-stopping 3-song encore after a nearly 2-Hour set, "Last One Out of Liberty City", "Help Save the Youth of America from Exploding", and "Look What Happened", which brought a bittersweet closure to an amazing night.
