Less Than Jake: new EP
Posted by jamie on Jun 21, 2011
So excited for this. Less Than Jake hare released a new EP Greetings from Less Than Jake. For the time being, at least, this is only planned to be a digital release. You can get it here now.
Track listing:
1 Can’t Yell Any Louder
2 Goodbye, Mr. Personality
3 Harvey Wallbanger
4 Oldest Trick In The Book
5 Life Led Out Loud
Less Than Jake: new EP
Posted by jamie on May 10, 2011
Less Than Jake are recording a new EP, to be ready for the Warped Tour in the US this summer. The full story is on Punk News here.
Less Than Jake join Warped 2011.
Posted by jamie on Mar 16, 2011
Less Than Jake and the Planet Smashers have confirmed for the Warped Tour 2011, with the Planet Smashers playing only their hometown show in Montreal. The good news is that it fits nicely in between Slam Dunk and Reading/Leeds.
Punknews has the full story here.
There’s also a cool Big D sudio video on the official Warped Tour site.
Less Than Jake interview
Posted by jamie on Mar 2, 2011
A cool little interview with Less Than Jake and pictures of them as zombies. What’s not to love? See it here.
Slam Dunk 2011: line-up released
Posted by jamie on Feb 16, 2011
News just in from Slam Dunk HQ. They’ve announced the line-up for their 2011 festival. Tickets go on sale on Friday. We’ll have them for you here.
Here’s what Slam Dunk told us..
Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish playing together in the UK for the first time ever!
The massive 3oh!3 will also be bringing the party by stopping by as part of their UK tour and following on Slam Dunk’s tradition of reunions after Farse in 2009 and Capdown in 2010, 2011 will see the UK exclusive reunion shows from fan favourites, US pop punk legends The Starting Line!
Hello Rockview & Losing Streak re-release
Posted by jamie on Jan 31, 2011
Less Than Jake will rerelease Losing Streak and Hello Rockview on 1st March on their own Sleep It Off imprint.
The actual CDs will include the original album (obviously) and a DVD of recorded when the band recently performed these albums in their entirety in their native Florida. Downloads will include the live audio, but not the video, along with the original album.
Preorder will be available here
Less Than Jake: Manchester Academy
Posted by jamie on Nov 22, 2010
Less Than Jake / Zebrahead / We Are The Union
Academy, Manchester
16th November 2010
Jamie
It’s been very cold in London this week. Freezing, in fact. Imagine my dread, then, at facing what Manchester had to offer in November. The station at Stalybridge has perhaps the iciest of icy breezes and this could almost have ended up being one of those expeditions they take photos of for National Geographic, or something. At Oxford Road, though, the Rocky Horror show is right next door, so the whole arctic thing is neatly and abruptly put to bed by the fact that half of the North West seemed to be out to watch Ainsley Harriot doing the Time Warp (yes, really) while dressed as a transsexual. That’s them, not him: I don’t know what Ainsley was wearing because we didn’t go inside.
Walking down Oxford Road, it seems like nothing’s changed: the trannies are gone and it’s freezing again. Now Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, on Donner and Blitzen!
Any “Northern vs Southern” abuse is quickly put in its place when we get in to the venue itself, and, stepping easily all the way through to the front, find that enough Mancs still have their coats on. It is chilly, mind.
We Are The Union are on first, and quickly set about a sparse early crowd with an energetic romp through their epic, melodic take on ska/pop-punk crossover. They’re exciting to watch and clearly delighted to be on this bill, playing with an infectious enthusiasm and stopping a few times to thank everyone they’re playing with, to big up Less Than Jake and to tell their growing cluster of thawing punters how kind we are for starting to move around. They did ask for a circle pit which did appear but seemed a little half-hearted. Their giant inflatable banana, on the other hand, was very popular and they were generally very well received.
We Are The Union have some headline dates around the UK in December and are well worth seeing. Props to them also for giving their first album away for free at the merch stand. It’s sold out twice so you really can’t get it on CD any more. It’s also on iTunes mind, or come to one of the shows.
As Straight Lines couldn’t make it, Zebrahead play second. It’s totally different to watch them: these guys are old hands, and calmly assume control of proceedings with ease and confidence born out of so many shows’ worth of practice. Having seen this tour in London as well, it’s apparent immediately that the set and a lot of their links are the same and have been well rehearsed. They walk on and off stage to the theme from Team America (the “fuck yeah” bit). There’s some good fun in their games of meeting the person on your left and hugging them and pogoing from a sitting start: they actually have the whole of the Manchester Academy sitting right down on the floor before playing Jagoff. Everyone, that is, except three tall people who stay standing right in front of the Bananatown crew. Can’t win ‘em all, I guess.
Zebrahead are good, honest fun: it’s simple stuff, party-friendly rap/pop-punk like you used to get in 2000, or 2001: super-catchy and full of potty-mouth lyrics. Despite the fact that they’re dedicating circle-pits to their mothers, definitely do not take yours to watch them. As if to prove this, there’s a short interlude for a masturbating tiger. It’s not an actual tiger but a man in a tiger kigumi who pretends to finger himself. Zebrahead are really good and enjoyable: in a lot of ways they’re an ideal support band. It’s very easy to enjoy what they’re doing without being some sort of expert and their show is very entertaining. Dan from Death by Stereo was filling in for Greg on guitar.
Less Than Jake, after a two year wait, drag it out for a few extra minutes before taking the stage. If that was to build extra anticipation, I can assure you, lads, that it wasn’t necessary. I was skipping like a 10 year old girl at a Take That concert, and the air is heavy with anticipation.
Then, after everything, they’re here. A giant roar goes up and Less Than Jake, after two years too long, are back on stage in the UK. There’s not much talking early on, and they race straight through Plastic Cup Politics, Liquor Store and Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts before even saying hello. And I do mean race through: there’s so much urgency and energy in this performance that it’s an absolute joy to see first hand. They’ve clearly missed being over here, and, where Zebrahead’s line about the drummer’s injured arm being adapted to make both London and Manchester his favourite city, there’s a lot more sincerity when Chris stops, for example, to tell the Kentish Town Forum (we saw that show too) that he and Roger grew up loving Iron Maiden and so to play to packed houses here is the stuff of dreams. There’s also a poignant moment for a lot of us at the London show as they pay tribute to the Astoria, which of course is now long since gone. In Manchester those stories are replaced with an anecdote about watching Manchester United. They seem genuinely surprised that mentioning Man U in Manchester might get a mixed response from the crowd, but it certainly does and for a moment they’re confused, but continue unabashed. Great American Sharpshooter, which reappeared in their live set during the six albums, six shows gigs is still a treat, and the theme from Animaniacs inspires a growing, spreading pit to find extra speed and urgency. It’s actually really, really good in concert and gets gobbled up with glee. The existence of a new covers record is explained away almost apologetically, that we probably all wanted a full new Less Than Jake album but that they’ve been a band for a long time and wanted to play these songs to have fun. The covers don’t usually get played at shows, so it is a real treat.
Conviction Notice from GNV FLA sounds excellent in a set that’s based mainly on older material, but there’s more and more shouts for older material. Eventually Chris gets fed up and tells a sixteen year-old boy that it’s pretty daft for him of all people to be shouting for the old stuff. Last One Out of Liberty City is next, but would have been anyway. In both London and Manchester, two grown men are fetched up from the audience to dance on stage. In London it’s a man with a moustache or - dick broom (no, me neither) - but in Manchester this moment proves a point. My Manc mate has told me that any bloke with long hair and a beard gets called Jesus. On this evidence, it’s true, and “Jesus”, in this case an old man metaller, wins the sexy dance-off. Next to us, two security guys spot a puff of smoke from the pit and wade in to find a young boy with a joint. The boy gets kicked out, but pretty soon after something else is thrown on stage for the band.
It’s sweaty, frenetic, punk rock fun, and Less Than Jake are bang on form. Like so many in here, I’m deliriously happy. A quick glance back says that loads of others are stood stock still, rapt in wonderment, faithfully mouthing along, word perfect, in that trance that addicts like me get left in when Less Than Jake play.
They finish with The Ghosts of Me and You and encore with All My Best Friends are MetalHeads and Look What Happened before we’re finally done. Everyone in here recites the spoken word bit on ..Metalheads, saluting it with a devil-horn hand sign. We’ve literally been blown away: so much raw energy and emotion has gone in to that music and the effect was telling. A stunning show. It’s still freezing outside, and off down Oxford Road, now a trannie-free zone, and home. Ainsley Harriot’s not in evidence but we did spot Sexy Neil out of Sonic Boom Six. He’s flyering for their UK tour in December. Dates here. Phew. I’m exhausted by the end of all this.
Less Than Jake setlist:
Plastic Cup Politics
Liquor Store
Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts
Great American Sharpshooter
Automatic
Animaniacs (TV theme)
Never Going Back to New Jersey
Conviction Notice
Last One Out of Liberty City
Nervous in the Alley
History of a Boring Town
How’s My Driving Doug Hastings
Theme Song for H Street
The Ghosts of Me and You
==
City of Gainesville / State of Florida *these two songs only in the London show.
All My Best Friends are MetalHeads
Look What Happened
Free CDs: New Riot
Posted by jamie on Nov 9, 2010
We spotted Tommy T from New Riot giving out promo CDs for their album Riot.Sleep.Repeat after the Less Than Jake show in Kentish Town last night. Keep your eyes peeled for a big mohawk and see if you can grab yourself a copy.
New Riot will join the tour as support for a few dates, and play their own headline tour afterwards. See the dates in full here.
Less Than Jake: Reading 2011 (rumour)
Posted by jamie on Nov 9, 2010
We’ve heard it that the Foo Fighters will headline one day of the expensive corporate rock weekend Reading and Leeds festival in August 2011. Limp Bizkit, who were funny for a bit ten years ago, and Less Than Jake will appear on that day if our sources have got it right.
Less Than Jake: new album
Posted by jamie on Oct 8, 2010
Less Than Jake are streaming their new album TV/EP from the video on the front page of their official site.
