The Slackers Prove They're Ska Survivors

Lee's Palace

Toronto, ON

on Apr 16 2008

Cameron Gordon (CHARTattack)

04/17/2008 4:30pm

Ska has slipped back underground in recent years. And not a moment too soon, after the abomination of 311, Reel Big Fish and other privileged white boys with a thing for saccharine-sweet skank.

New York City's The Slackers always lived on the flipside of the equation, and bring a more earnest and applicable approach to third-wave ska. Accordingly, the band are still going strong and with well over a decade in the record books, this touchdown at Lee's Palace effectively celebrated everything they've been up to for the last 15 years.

Things were raucous from the start and a bulk of the 19-plus crowd didn't look a day over 20, which led to much grinning, grinding and a few ill-advised attempts at crowd surfing (more on that later). Kicking things off with "So This Is The Night" from 2001's Wasted Days, the affable six-piece with the polished stage show had the sold-out club at their mercy for the bulk of the evening. The showcased new material from their recent Self Medication full-length and dusted off chestnuts from the back catalogue when needed.

While each individual Slacker isn't without merit, vocalist and sometimes trombonist Glen Pine was definitely the focal point of this performance. Between his sensible stage attire (closer to boardroom than barroom), shameless mugging to the crowd and throaty caterwaul of a voice, Pine struck a compelling presence no matter what role he performed. That's not to sell the other members short as they bopped their way through tracks like "Yes, It's True" and "Old Dog" with a whole lotta class.

"Married Girl" got the biggest rise out of the crowd, no doubt "stemming" from the marijuana mention mid-song. The intensity of the skank elevated during the track and some knuckleheads in front attempted to crowd-surf, which isn't only incredibly lame in 2008, but also dangerous for concert-goers when it's out of leftfield. This goes triple for the mental giant who opted to crowd-surf as the audience patiently waited for the encore. It was just a terribly selfish move any way you slice it.

But back to more pressing matters. The sheen definitely started to fade about 10 tracks in and both the band and the audience started to show signs of fatigue (although in fairness, it didn't help that Lee's Palace was a veritable blast furnace, temperature-wise). In spite of the heat, the show was solid overall. With an abundance of funny, bouncy material like the peppy "Peculiar" and "Mary Mary (The Fried Chicken Song)," The Slackers are definitely an act that can be enjoyed by even a casual onlooker.