This show marked my return to Nation after several years, partially due to the fact that finding out any information about this place, on the internet or otherwise, is damn near impossible. If anyone from the Nation staff is reading this, please, PLEASE design a website besides the one for your weekly raves. Thank you. This would also be my first experience seeing Less Than jake in a non-festival setting, and from all the stories I’ve heard of LTJ club shows, my expectations were quite high.

As I made my way into The Nation, several surprises were in store for me, none of them good. First, I noticed that Ann Berretta had been added to the bill, which pleased me a great deal. I had seen them before and knew they were outstanding performers. Just as quickly though, I realized not only had Ann Berretta already played, but it wasn’t a cd coming over the speakers, it was Bigwig! I dashed toward the stage and was awestruck by how gigantic The Nation is. I certainly didn’t remember it being as large the last time I was here, but nothing, not even a cavernous venue, was going to stop me from enjoying one of today’s finest melodic hardcore acts, or what was left

of them to see anyway. Bigwig certainly didn’t let me down, even though a majority of the crowd gave them a lukewarm response. The setlist ran the course of their discography, and even included a cover of “”Waiting Room”" by some band called Fugazi, apparently they’re from the area or something. With every solo played close to or at perfection, and vocals that matched the quality found on their albums, I was eating up every note. My only complaint was that they seemed a tad lost on the huge stage at Nation, but this stands to reason as they obviously were more accustomed to small stages at venues like the Sidebar and the Ottobar, both of which were given repeated props by the band. There were also a few occasions when the bass became muddled by faulty wiring, but this didn’t deter the band from delivering a solid performance with set highlights of “”Falling Down”" (oh man, if only every song they wrote incited as much mosh), “”Still,”" and “”Girl in the Green Jacket.”" Bigwig tours 375 days out of the year, so there’s no excuse for you to not see them sometime in the future.

Next up were DC’s own, The Pietasters, and I’ll say this up front – I am not, nor do I anticipate ever being a fan of The Pietasters. With that said, these guys did their thing well. Their laid back stage presence meshed well with the tropical vibe of their traditional ska tunes, and every song came through clearly and cleanly. At the same time however, every song seemed to sound just like the previous number, and my interest began to wane, and if it weren’t for their dreadlocked dancer/singer and his unique dancing style, I may well have nodded off. One thing I picked up on though, was the prominence of a theme of alcohol and its consumption. This seemed a bit ironic, give

the largely underage crowd, and while I’m certainly not one for censorship, a song about drinking and driving (tongue in cheek or not) to hundreds of high schoolers just didn’t sit well with me. Aside from the lyrics, I can’t really complain about their music, no instruments drowned out the others, which seems to happen often with a ska band. I wasn’t blown away by The Pietasters, but I didn’t expect to be. if this kind of stuff is your thing, then you won’t be let down, but if you need a little more punch with your ska, look no further than…

LESS THAN JAKE! Oh boy, I don’t care if ska isn’t hip anymore, this band is so much fun. I’ve had the pleasure to see them twice at the Warped Tour, but those sets didn’t prepare me at all for their performance tonight. The lights were dimmed, and over the speakers, the intro music for Star Wars began to play, I could already tell I was in for a treat. As their pez-communist banner unfurled, silly string was blasted into the crowd and the band ripped into what is probably their most well known song – “”All My Best Friends Are Metalheads.”" The crowd seemed to erupt, and LTJ totally fed off of their energy. The setlist seemed to be designed as a greatest hits album with “”My Flag,”" “”Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts”" and even their cover of “”I Think I Love You”" all played to an ecstatic mass of fans. Sure, the song selection was amazing, but how did they sound? In a word – good, in a few more words, LTJ has definitely learned how to combine their horn section with thick basslines and sharp guitar tones to create a live sound that is all their own. The outstanding sound system at Nation made more recent tunes such as “”Look What Happened”" and “”Gainesville Rock City”" sound like they were playing arenas with Bon Jovi all over again.

While the songs themselves were spectacular, LTJ would have done themselves good to stick with the “”less talk, more rock”" motto, as Chris didn’t seem too sensible when he discussed the idea of prohibition (“”either make it legal all the time or illegal everyday!”") among other strange comments. This was only a minor complaint though, as it was a joy to watch Chris and Roger dash about the stage having the time of their lives. They really seem to love what they do, and who wouldn’t when you play such fun, energetic music? As their set came to an end, I was disappointed that my favorite LTJ tune “”Al’s War”" had been passed over, but as a final pleasant surprise in a night full of otherwise disheartening surprises, LTJ returned to the stage for an encore, ending with the aforementioned favorite.

While I had a bad feeling about this show as I arrived, it turned out to be most excellent, thanks in large part to the melodic magic of Bigwig, as well as the overall energy and party atmosphere produced by Less Than Jake. Both of these bands live their lives on the road, so get off your computer and check out some great rock when they hit your town.

photo courtesy of the LESS THAN JAKE website, lessthanjake.com