View source for 10.09.1993

'''SHOWDOWN AT THE GHOST TOWN''' 

''San Bernardino, CA, Saturday October 9''

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[[Image:showdown.jpg]]
[[Category:Flyers]]

'''VIDEO CONTAINS'''

1. Don't Push

2. Angelo/Girls Dont Go Crazy Impov

3. Right Back

4. New Thrash

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'''REVIEW'''


I arrived at the not-so-fabulous city of Colton ready for the big  day.   
The location of the show was strange-- a ghost town/movie set,   
where The Three Amigos was filmed.  I arrived to the soulful tunes 
of  the local oom-pah-pah band, complete with leiderhosen, it was 
kind of a  neat touch.  It was kind of a weird place; I can't imagine 
someone  seeing the ghost town and thinking, "this would be a good 
place for a  big ska show!"  The sky was overcast, which fortunately 
kept the  temperature down (S.B. can get damn hot).  The biggest 
drawback of the  whole day was the fact that the entire lot was dirt.   
Put 2000 skankin'  folks on a dirt lot and you get huge clouds of dust, 
so thick sometimes  that it would be hard to see.  Another minor 
problem was that the  production company did not spend the money 
to get a good barricade.  Instead they erected a temporary chain-link 
fence that did not hold up  well to crowds of people. 


The set-up of the show was cool.  There were 2 stages, and 
there  were 10 bands.  They alternated stages, so while a band was 
playing on  one stage, the band crews were setting up for the next 
band on the other  stage.  It was nice not to have long breaks 
between bands.  It was hard.to even catch your breath after a band 
was done! 

I arrived too late to see Suburban Rhythm.  They're an L.A. 
band  that have been quite popular in local clubs.  They are big 
enough in  L.A. to have earned a spot on the main stage.  I've seen 
them once  before and they're quite decent. 

Then the Skeletones took the stage.   I've never seen them   
before, but I was quite impressed with their show!  I have their cd,   
I think it's okay, but I must say their live show kicked ass! 

Then the Voodoo Glow Skulls played the second stage.  They   
seemed to be more of a ska-core band, a la the Bosstones.  I kind of   
cruised around so I didn't really see their show. 

Dave Wakeling was next up on the main stage.  He did play 
some  English Beat & General Public stuff.  He opened with "Hot 
You're Cool"  and also played "Tenderness," "Mirror in the Bathroom," 
"Tears of a  Clown," and a few others in addition to some solo stuff.   
But his show  was kind of unexciting.  He looked pretty good, old 
Dave's been working  out and has some pretty big arms!  But I 
personally think he's kind of  losing it musicwise.  A lot of the songs 
he dragged out longer than they  should have been by playing the 
extended remix versions, and the crowd  just wasn't too into it.   
When the emcee came out and suggested an  encore, the 
unimpressed crowd didn't grant him one.  A lot of people  were 
getting tired, as this was the hottest part of the day, but it  still 
wasn't great. 


----

Next up on the 2nd stage was another band from L.A. called   
Sublime.  I've seen them before, they're quite good, but they just   
weren't happening on Saturday.  I think the fact that they were very   
drunk could have had a lot to do with it.  ;)   Their singer/guitarist,   
Bradley, kept stopping the band when they'd mess up.  He'd yell,   
"Rewind!" and they would start the song over!  They do have a 
locally  done cd out, and like I said, I've seen them before and they 
were quite  good.  They play some groovin' reggae/ska and they're 
worth a look. 
----


Then the Untouchables hit the main stage.  (They have gone   
through so many lineup changes that they should really be the   
Untouchables, Inc.!!!)  I've seen them before many times, and they've   
been both good and not so good.  This show was kind of like that in   
itself--some of their songs were hits, others were misses.  I felt that,   
for a lot of the show, they just kind of stood up there and played 
their  instruments, which is quite a bit different from putting on a 
ska show.  But other times, they were into it, so their set had its 
ups and  downs. 

Finally, No Doubt hit the stage.  I am slightly biased, as this  is 
my favorite band, but they put on a great show!  I've seen them 
about  a dozen times and this ranks up there as one of my favorite 2 
or 3 shows  by them.  By this time in the day, everyone was very 
tired, so the crowd  was kind of mellow, but people did eventually 
get into it.  They got so  into it, in fact, that N.D. had to stop in mid- 
song once to tell people  to quit diving from the ghost town roof or 
else they would shut down the  show! 

Gwen, the singer, was dressed for the occasion.  She looked like   
she came straight out of an old-time photo.  They played some old   
standards, and also a lot of new stuff.  They played a speedcore 
version  of "Paulina" which was really funny, and they also played 
"Pizza Coke  and Ice Cream," which they haven't played live in a 
while.  During  "Trapped in a Box," Tom, the guitar player, did his 
usual mid-solo dive  into the crowd  and was promptly dropped, 
causing him to swear he is going to give up  that little routine.  There 
was also a funny time when Eric (keyboards)  was going to jump in 
the crowd and one of the bouncers tried to yank him  off stage, 
thinking he was a troublemaker from the crowd.  Their new  stuff is 
great, too, especially the songs "Going with the Grain" and  "Different 
People," some of their best songs to date.  For their  encores, they 
often throw in very interesting cover songs.  They have  done 
Journey's "Any Way You Want It" before, and this time they did not 
disappoint.  Their surprise song this time (they don't even tell their   
friends what they'll play for their surprise song) was a GREAT ska   
version of the Beatles' "Ob La Di, Ob La Da."  Which, if you think about   
it, is a perfect ska song. 

Admittedly, No Doubt is not strictly ska.  They mix a lot of 
styles in, and the ska is a major part, but if you only like strict ska 
then they are probably not your cup of tea.  But they do put on one 
heck 
of a show!  The whole day had its ups-shows by No Doubt and the 
Skeletones-and its downs, clouds of dust and a few lackluster 
performances, but overall it was a great day and I hope to see more 
great lineups like this in the future. 


Bim Skala Bim at the Paradise BOSTON