Girl at the Rock Shows

I think I say this every time I go to a ska show, but truly, the world would be a much happier place if we all just listened to a bit more of this style of music. The world is kind of dark right now. We all know it. We can all feel it, but on Saturday night at The Hook & Ladder in South Minneapolis, it was nothing but sunshine, rainbows, and the distinct sound of blaring horn sections and upbeat rhythms that had the entire room dancing.

This show was supposed to be outside, but thankfully, it had been moved inside at the last minute. It’s not that I didn’t want the fresh air of an outside show or anything like that, but I was definitely relieved as it was a bit chilly and breezy outside on Saturday night. I shed a few of the extra layers I had brought with me and braced myself for impact as opening act BlueDriver got set up on the spacious indoor stage.

A new-to-me band, I was instantly head over heels in love with BlueDriver. It was a little dance, a little punk, a little ska, and a whole lot of personality. For me, it was vocals that had me sold. A friend I was with said they would have been a perfect fit for an 80’s punk band. Although I felt that, I was getting more of an Aquabats kind of vibe from them, with a little bit of Weird Al joy hidden between the lines. Regardless of how you took the vocals, they definitely drew you into BlueDriver’s world in a way that not many bands can do. The lyrics were tongue-in-cheek and often raw but funny, and I loved the way that you could hear them clearly over everything else happening as this band played, and there was a lot. BlueDriver’s stop was non-stop energy and non-stop fun. There were a lot of bands that performed on Saturday, so I’m not going to keep gushing over this band, but I will say that this is not the last time I write about BlueDriver.

Somehow, worlds collided with this show, and not only was the audience treated to some amazing local music, but we were also treated to some fabulous East Coast acts, including The Doomstompers from Queens, New York. I never would have guessed it, but this is a fairly new band, having come to fruition just last year. The reason I say that I never would have guessed that is because their set was absolutely flawless. It didn’t matter if they were playing one of their classic ska anthems or leaning into a more reggae kind of feel; this band was crisp, clean, and absolutely on point throughout their time on stage. Outside of their perfection, I really liked how this band was able to fit so many different genres and feelings into their short set. It went deeper than just ska and reggae for those who know those worlds. There was Jamaican ska, rocksteady, and even a little bit of hip-hop thrown in there. This ever-evolving sound mixed with the high energy that they brought to the stage made them a stand-out in an already dazzling line-up.

Joker’s Republic was the other East Coast-based band that somehow linked up with this show. I’m not going to question why or how, more just marvel in the fact that I was able to catch this New Jersey-based band. Although their sound wasn’t as ska-based as the other acts of the night, their pop-punk-leaning power pop vibe definitely had some ska tendencies, and, clearly, the audience caught onto that. The trio blasted through a set that had just as much energy as the previous bands and brought a bit more of a serious tone to the lyrics at times. Although I think some of the more serious aspects of their set were lost on the audience (at one point, they played a song in support of trans rights that received a weird cat-call of sorts from the audience), there’s no denying that Joker’s Republic was loved by everyone at this show. Joker’s Republic’s new album, ‘The Hand You’ve Been Dealt,’ was released just last year. It was produced by Roger Lima of Less Than Jake. Why am I telling you this? Because, truthfully, it just goes to prove that this band is just getting started and is one that you should be paying attention to.

Saturday night wasn’t just a show; it was a celebration for local ska-punk band Runaway Ricochet. Runaway Ricochet was celebrating the release of their new EP ‘Made From Recycled Materials, Vol. II.’ Truthfully, I don’t know much about this band, so I can’t tell you if their setlist revolved around this new EP or was all over the place when it comes to what they have out there. What I can tell you is that they killed it. There was something almost unpredictable about Runaway Ricochet’s set that I really liked. Sure, it was ska, but you never knew if a song was going to lean more into a punk kind of vibe or something a bit more classic rock. Either way it went and whatever way this band leaned, they knew how to keep the party going throughout the audience and had everyone dancing through every single song.

Honestly, by the time Malos Pasos took the stage, I was feeling beyond exhausted. This was a later-than-usual kind of show for me, with Malos Pasos taking the stage at 10:15, and I feared that I wasn’t going to make it, but that’s when they started playing. Another ska band, but with a different kind of lean, Malos Pasos brought a Cumbia kind of energy to the night that switched things up so perfectly while keeping the energy high. With the help of Lucas Barnes (Rocksteady Breakfast, Los Outsiders, and surely more bands that I can’t think of right now), Malos Pasos showed us a whole other side of the broad genre that is ska and made sure that nobody was standing still. Whether you were dancing along with your full body or just standing in the back and nodding your head along to their infectious beats, you were not standing still, and that’s the magic of this band. It didn’t matter how late it was getting; everybody had an insane amount of energy until the final note of their set was left hanging in the air.

I had reached the point past “beyond exhaustion” as the stage was getting set up for the final act of the night, but I knew that this final band was going to give me that twenty-second wind that I so needed. How did I know that? Because I’ve seen Space Monkey Mafia more times than I can count at this point. Because of that, I promise not to talk your ear off about this local ska band, but just have to say, if you live in the Twin Cities and have yet to see Space Monkey Mafia live, you need to change that immediately. Not only does this band bring an undeniable sense of fun to a stage, but they also bring a call to action with them. They aren’t afraid to talk and sing about the political issues that face our town and the greater planet, which I love. It almost feels like a bit of a juxtaposition of sorts, what with how fun the music is, but how serious the message gets with this band, and it all comes together so perfectly through the passion and fire that they consistently perform with. From old familiar favorites to brand new bangers, Space Monkey Mafia will be a band that I continue to go back and see time and time again, so just do yourself a favor and meet me at their next local show.

I’ve been talking about it a lot lately, but truly, I get that everything feels a bit overwhelming right now. I feel like it’s been a consistent full moon for the past few weeks, and it’s creating this sense of stress and insanity that is just adding to everything else happening on this planet. It’s all a bit too much to bear, but if you know where to look, you can find a place where all of that disappears, and you are left with that foreign feeling of happiness and fun. That’s what I felt on Saturday night, and it was just what I needed.

Line Up:

BlueDriver

The Doomstompers

Joker’s Republic

Runaway Ricochet

Malos Pasos

Space Monkey Mafia

Venue: The Hook & Ladder

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 32

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Dance-ability- 12 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $.76 (my own doing)

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

BlueDriver – 0

The Doomstompers – 0

Joker’s Republic – 0

Runaway Ricochet – 0

Malos Pasos – 2

Space Monkey Mafia – 11

Show on Deck – Tim Casey & The Martyrs / Velahsa / The Favorite Things

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