Hey Buster, donβt watch that, watch this. The original Rude Boys of ska, Madnessβborn out of Camden Town, North London in 1976βnearly single-handedly made ska a household name across Britain, America and the globe. Maybe with the exception of The Specials and General Public, no other band, especially of the Two-Tone Second Wave era, have done so much to popularize the Jamaican-born skanking-driven movement. Original members Graham βSuggsβ McPherson (frontman), Chris Foreman (guitarist), Mike Barson (keyboards), Lee Thompson (sax), Dan Woodgate (drums) and Mark Bedford (bass), along with their merry band of touring musicians, turned it up for two-night sold show at the Beaux-Arts Fox Theater in Uptown Oakland to promote their new (13th!) album, Theater Of The Absurd Presents Cβest La Vie. They even had an album signing party the next day at the original Amoeba Records in Berkeley. Thanks so much to these cheeky lads for bringing a night of the rockinβest rocksteady beat to the Bay!
Leading the charge of Third Wave Ska in the mid-nineties, the SoCal ska-punk sensations Save Ferris (named after a scene at Wrigley Field in the 1986 movie Ferris Buellerβs Day Off) are an absolute riot. Frontwoman Monique Powell has always been a pulchritudinous powerhouse of fun-loving energy and invitational exuberance. Clad in a sparkly cocktail dress, her and her army of rockers (Jake Courlang, A. J. Bartholomew, Brian Sumwalt), they opened their hearts and had the joint jumping with hits like, βThe World Is Newβ, βSuper Spyβ, βGoodbyeβ and their double tempo version of Dexyβs Midnight Runnersβ βCome On Eileenβ. Telling the crowd that, βThe great thing about ska is forgetting about your problems, like politicsβ¦and my cat puking on my bedβ¦β Powell set the tone of the night as pure rollicking good times. Mind you that this was a woman who fought for the right to keep the βSave Ferrisβ name and reunite the band after a 12 year hiatus (which resulted in lawsuits from her former band members), as a promise to her recently-passed father, and moreover who underwent a risky neck surgery in 2015 to correct spinal issues (and who could have lost her voice completely)β¦so itβs not all fun and games. But still, fun was to be had, in spades. Be on the lookout for the first new album in 20 years from the band, coming soon.
