Toasters
Charleston, S.C., (April 18, 1999)
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Toasters
Charleston, S.C.,
April 18, 1999 |
New York ska pioneers the Toasters probably knew this well before playing to a school-night house in the heart of Carolina, but still managed to maintain its trademark crucial energy in front of a small but eager crowd.
"Just because there ain't a lot of you, doesn't mean you can't make some noise," offered lead vocalist Rob Hingley early on.
For his part, Hingley and the band kept up their end of the bargain. From the uptempo "Decision at Midnight" to the pounding thrust of "2-Tone Army" to the breakneck skankfest "Shebeen" (from 1992's excellent "New York Fever"), the Toasters showed why they're responsible for some of the best live ska on the road, bringing buoyant beats and a tight, propellant horn section and playing for the crowd of 100-some-odd youngsters like they were at the Roxy. And the audience, for being dressed up in their best pissed-off punk-guy-and-girl uniforms, responded with more than its share of energetic ass-shaking.
On stage, most of the energy was provided by the distinctively voiced Hingley, who can sound like a British lounge singer morphed with a New York street punk, new addition Jack Ruby Jr., who supplied the freestyle reggae raps, and a kick-ass horn section highlighted by "Rudi, a Message to You," on loan from the Specials.
Happily, the ska scene has managed to keep rolling without being let too far out of the underground. With the exception of here-today gone-later-today side bets like No Doubt and Sublime, who can be best described as ska-influenced and not much more, the two-tone revolution hasn't yet crashed and alienated the mainstream like all those other recent music-saving genres (Please see "Swing," "90s Punk" and "Electronica").
Sadly, the low turnout did little to support the Toasters' crucial mastery of their genre. Still, they managed to prove that the charts can be safely left to the heroin addicts and the guys who just want to fly, the real shit is still flourishing, if you know where to look.
JEFF VRABEL | Jeff Vrabel may look like your average, strapping Midwestern-type, but lurking inside him is a passion for all things Springsteen, "Weird" Al, and regrettably, the Chicago Cubs. He's touched Britney Spears. He knows Slash's phone number. Obey him at all costs.