The five-piece show no signs that they're gonna break soon
Midway through Less Than Jake's set, Nottingham Rock City's PA had blared out the message; "Last one out of Liberty City, burn it to the ground!" Only days later, the Internet was rife with rumours that Rock City had burnt down. These rumours were soon quashed, revealing that it had been local venue Templars bar that had been the unfortunate victim of such fate. An interesting coincidence though...
The quintet may have undertaken many years of touring, but they continue to pack their sets with highlights from their entire discography. Whilst opener 'Plastic Cup Politics' may have hinted that the band would be focusing on 21st Century releases, this was proven not to be the case by the following track 'Liquor Store' from their debut album 'Pezcore'. Despite being one of their more relaxed singles, 'The Science of Selling Yourself Short' was still met with undivided enthusiasm, the entirety of the venue joining in with the anthemic chorus.
Whilst there was plenty of appealing content for the old-school fans, the group made sure that they were suitably catering for any newcomers by selecting a trio of songs from their latest 'TV/EP' release. Although these covers were over in a flash, the Nottingham audience were thoroughly entertained by 'Channel 3', 'Channel 7' and 'Channel 8', or as they may be more commonly known; the themes to The Animaniacs, the Pac-Man cereal and Scooby Doo (respectively).
Like comedic bands such as Bowling for Soup, there is more to a Less Than Jake show than just the music, even if the outcome was somewhat awkward. At one point during the show, two random teenagers were invited on to the stage, with the band then requesting that the pair kiss whilst they continued to play. Unsurprising, the result was quite unromantic and in all honesty rather unnecessary, but everyone seemed to have a good laugh and that will be all that Less Than Jake care about. As the group's set matured, more and more crowd-pleasing pieces were offered, with beloved songs such as 'History of a Boring Town' and 'Nervous in the Alley' receiving roars of appreciation from those in attendance.
Eighteen years after the formation of Less Than Jake and the band are still the same fun-loving outfit as always. The encore of 'All My Best Friends Are Metalheads' and 'Look What Happened' illustrates this perfectly, with the crowd erupting in elation as the sample of Victor Lundberg's 'An Open Letter to My Teenage Son' begins, paving the way for perhaps the group's best known song. Less Than Jake is still one of the finest bands in the ska punk genre and offer a great evening's entertainment. One more thing... don't forget to put on your dancing shoes!