The last time I saw Less Than Jake was about ten years ago during Warped Tour at (then) Coors Amphitheater.  I was young, could never slow down, and was packed with a whole lot of attitude.  It was the same with Less Than Jake at that show.  Today, I’m ten years older, ten years slower, and my attitude is ten times worse.  And for Less Than Jake, they’re just as wild as they’ve always have been.

 Just before LTJ took the stage, I looked around the room and got an eerie flashback.  Tons of Black Flag, Operation Ivy, and NOFX tees as far as my eyes could see.  The only difference from then was now right below the band logos were formations of beer guts and the occasional “stepping outside to check in with the babysitter.”  But don’t get me wrong.  As soon as the theme song to Star Wars came on, we were all stoked like kids again.  Seem fitting for an intro song as well.  A legendary theme song for a legendary band.  The line-up was a little different from back in the day.  Chris Demakes (vocals/ guitar), Vinnie Fiorello (drums), Roger Manganelli (bass/ guitar), Buddy Schaub (trombone) and JR Wasilewski (sax).  But the music was still freakin’ crazy.  From start to finish, not one ounce of energy was lost.  You could barely hear the vocals because everyone was singing along soooo loud.  Even the newer tracks like “Does the Lion City Still Roar?” off of their last release 2008 GNV FLA (a nod to their hometown of Gainsville, FL) fit in right at home with the rest of their classics.  But one song did get the crowd in a frenzy was Less Than Jake’s take on the FreeCreditReport.com jingle (the pirate version).  Love the commercial break guys!

A lot of the bands from that old Warped Tour have since disbanded or are off doing other things.  Less Than Jake is still as strong as ever, music and performance-wise.  In a strange way, I can see myself at another LTJ show 20 years from now.  Only this time, the horn section will have oxygen tanks next to them, there’ll be a handicap ramp for stage-diving, and we’ll all be adjusting our hearing aids yelling at the band to turn it down.