The Aquabats at Gramercy Theatre or Defying Expectations at a Ska Show

If you've ever been to a ska show, you know there are really two times you need to know, the time on the ticket and the time you should actually consider showing up.  The time on the ticket is usually illustrative of when the doors will open, but really is not the time you want to arrive.  The North Arlington high school band might be a find marching band, but eight of them getting together to form a ska band wasn't my idea of a good time 20 years ago, and is less so today.  Even worse, the Vernon high school band will have the same idea and follow them.  You can tell their friends, because they are the only people at the show who've heard any of these songs before, aside from what is usually a poor choice for a cover, picking a Specials or Operation Ivy song, which they manage to mangle. 

So, having experienced this enough times, you learn to take a measured eye to when you want to show up.  So, the Aquabats were playing an early show this evening at the Gramercy Theatre, with doors at 6 PM.  So, there was one announced opening band, which often means two or more bands, just no one important enough to mention.  And most shows in New York fail to start on time or even an approximation of on time.  So, I decided to get there for 8 PM, figuring music starts at 7, gives enough time for one or two bands, but likely gets me there to watch the Aquabats.

I arrive promptly at 7:58 PM, executing my timetable perfectly, where I was given a cursory bag check by one of the four men guarding the door who don't care, followed by a look, but not a scan of my ticket.  This boded ill in my book, because I've never failed to at least get a scan and an opportunity for a wristband, should I want to purchase a high-priced adult beverage. Walking in the door, I'm greeted by the Aquabats on stage...stating it is nearly time to go home.  In a first for a NYC ska show, the Aquabats went on around 7:15 PM, with no notice from either the Gramercy Theatre or Aquabats social media.  Generally, bands have wizened up and post the time they are going, so people don't miss the show they might have paid $30 to see.  I actually paid $30 to see approximately 1/3 of the Aquabats show.

As an aside, this is the third time I've seen the Aquabats live.  In the 1990s, I saw the Aquabats as part of the Warped Tour, good, not great.  In the 2000s, I saw the Aquabats, with the Aggrolites opening for them at BB King's in New York.  To this day, the show remains the only time I purchased a ticket outside the venue, since I desperately wanted to see the Aggrolites at this sold out show.  The Aggorlites were phenomenal and the Aquabats were very good.  Tonight fulfilled my need to see the Aquabats in the 2010s. 

Not only did I miss 2/3 of the show, I was greeted by six plus minutes of uninspired stage banter.  Six minutes is a long time to talk on stage between songs, which also included specific instructions for men, women, and appropriate hugging during the song.  Fortunately, I avoided all hugging.

The best part of the show was the background videos.  The Aquabats put a lot of care into the video clips they splice together and loop for each song.  During Captain Hampton and the Midget Pirates, they played clips from Treasure Island, that were well chosen and actually quite funny separated from the rest of the film. 

Unfortunately, musically, the show did not hold up.  I barely caught Super Rad, which is one of their better songs and it came across a bit weak, without full singing and some incomplete horn work, even given there was only a saxophone player.  The other songs were perfectly acceptable, but not worth the time I spent to get to New York to see the Aquabats.  They closed with Pool Party, which required bringing every small child on stage, except for the two children who walked in with their father at 8:30 PM as the hard out was about to be enforced.

Sadly, this is only the second worst show experience of 2015, as there is a Toasters show at the Brighton Bar, one of the finest concert venues in New Jersey, that lives in infamy.  


 

This Is Your Brain on Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding is really an ingenious concept.  It combines a focus group with fund raising.  Essentially, if you have an idea and think you can draw enough people to rally together the necessary funds to support your project, you have something.  It almost makes us all patrons of the arts, should we care enough to give to such highbrow causes. 

Well, pretending to be a high-minded individual, I decided to become a patron of the arts.  While I've yet to find a project on Kickstarter which appeals to me, although I was awfully close on the Jim Crockett Promotions Documentary, since I have an awful weakness for Southern wrestling from the 1980s.  You'd actually be hard pressed to find someone who grew up in New Jersey caring more about the Von Erichs, the Freebirds and Ric Flair than I did.  But I also thought, the DVD would get funded and if I wanted it, I would just buy it from Highspots when I wanted it, which as of this date, I've yet to do. 

However, aside from my weakness for wrestling, I have an even bigger weakness for third wave ska.  And third wave ska, being what it is, has found a new life in crowdfunding.  I actually only found out crowdfunding was a real phenomenon through Big Tunes, which I discovered in July.  The Slackers, who are my favorite band, as evidenced by the twelve times I've seen them live and the title of this blog, were putting out a new album and DVD and lyrics book.  But the catch was, that none of this would be made if there wasn't funding.

Well, I went to the Big Tunes site and debated how much I love vinyl and colored vinyl, which in my defense is not at all, as I own three records.  But I do love CDs and DVDs and I cannot tell you how badly I wanted a lyrics book that I can page through at my leisure.  So, I made my payment and began waiting.  Hopefully, by April, I should have my order, but in the interim, I already have the digital downloads of the new album and the bonus tracks and the bonus live set from Maxwell's, which includes a fantastic live version of And I Wonder?. 

Having enjoyed the experience so much, I made the plunge a second time.  Crazy Baldhead, which is a project from Agent Jay of the Slackers, was preparing to release a new album.  Surprisingly, amongst the 150 ska CDs I own, there were no Crazy Baldhead CDs.  So, with an option to get all three for a relatively cheap price, I made the plunge and ordered.  I've had the digital download of Boots Embraces for a few weeks now and really enjoyed it.  But the other day, I received an automated message that my order shipped.

Like most people, I love mail and packages, since it means something to fulfill my consumerist desires.  So, I tracked the package until it made it to my doorstep.  Literally, I checked today from inside my apartment and saw the package was out for delivery.  So, I opened my door and a thin sleeve fell into my apartment.  Opening it quickly, like we do with all packages, I was excited to see CDs inside.  The three Crazy Baldhead CDs were well represented in the package, with one in a plastic case and two in sleeves.  But when I opened it, I thought, did I get the wrong order, because on top was a copy of the Brooklyn Rocksteady Soundtrack, which I purchased from Sammy Kaye on the Slackers boat show this year.  What I quickly realized was that the CD was thrown in, as a way of saying thank you for supporting the efforts, which I thought was both great customer service and way to get me to pre-order again through Big Tunes, which I surely will.  The other good news is that I managed to misplace my Brooklyn Rocksteady Soundtrack and now don't have to contemplate replacing it.  Good times and great music ahead.