Last week Thursday (New Year's Eve EVE) D$ and I visited the House of Blues in Anaheim to get one last skank in before the new year at the Ska Luau with our long time buddies Chase Long Beach, and OC favorites Suburban Legends & Starpool. I know, I know, I'm super late but I've been in another dimension these past few weeks and I was just recently hit with a cold... but without further a due, I present to you my Ska Luau experience:
CLB front line (Photo: Mary Bell)We arrived just in time to catch Chase Long Beach getting the party started. Upon entry I immediately noticed a number of younger people in attendance. It was good to see the power of Ska still reaching kids of all ages, uniting us under one roof for a night of energetic fun and wild dancing. To my surprise, this new generation of rude boys and girls knew all of the lyrics to CLB's tunes which made me dance even harder once I absorbed the energy and positive vibrations of the crowd. Another thing I noticed was an intense amount of FUNK provided by the latest addition to the line-up, Patrick Clancey aka P-Funk. His groovy bass lines kept my feet moving and kept the pit busy getting down during the breakdowns of songs. Great sound, good stage presence, and awesome crowd energy, overall CLB experience: two thumbs up. (Note: CLB is still looking for a lead singer so hit them up if you or someone you know is interested!)
P-Funk holdin' it DOWN & Joe Coop tearin' it UP! (Photo: Mary Bell)
Next up was Suburban Legends. These guys NEVER disappoint. They always bring their unique style of upbeat poppy yet funky dance music to the table. No show is complete without their choreographed dance moves, which in turn results in my own ridiculous dance moves. Once upon a time many moons ago, D$ & I danced so hard at a CLB+SL show at the Key Club that D$ socked the contact out of my eye. There was blood everywhere. Needless to say, we love to dance and so does Suburban Legends. Highlights of their set include: Bright Spring Morning, Getting Down to Business, I Just Can't Wait to be King (Lion King Cover!), and High Fives. I love high five-ing everyone in the pit whenever they close their set with that song!
Suburban Legends keeping the crowd involved (Photo: Mary Bell)Last but not least was STARPOOL!
I'll be honest with you all, I do not know a single Starpool song. With that being said, I actually have seen them a number of times, I just never had access to their material therefore I can never get familiar with their tunes. This problem of mine was solved at the Ska Luau because D$ and I came ready and dressed in our Luau attire to obtain our free sampler of tracks of all the bands playing that night at the Ska Luau!! Despite not knowing any of their songs, I still got into the pit and skanked throughout their set. I may have even lost a few pounds from non-stop dancing. The highlight of their set for me was their cover of SHOUT! which they played as their encore. This song was like the cherry on top of the whole night because it gave all of us one last chance to get out on the dance floor and get down. Members from every band on the bill that night came out for one last dance with the crowd. And of course, no new years eve eve party would be complete without a countdown! + plus a stage dive!
The Ska Luau was jam packed with energy. Despite the chilly weather there was still a huge turnout. Everyone came to dance and have a good time. It felt great to see a sea smiles and to feel the warmth of the crowd on a cold December night. I'm glad these bands are keeping the Ska alive and allowing all of us to escape reality for a night of skanking. I can't wait for the next round of the Ska Luau!Be sure to check out the latest releases from all of the bands!
Starpool - Living In Transition
Suburban Legends - Let's Be Friends...
Chase Long Beach - Gravity is What you Make of it
peace + love
[e]ccentric
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