I was at the slackers show tonight... well, I left the slackers show tonight.

The rockandroll hotel is small, I understand, but the only two people that slightly knew how to dance were 2 skins who probably just learned how to dance from watching old specials videos. Other than that, it was a bunch of drunk kids swaying around, dumb young girls thinking that you should mosh to "every day is sunday" (and apparently moshing is just picking someone to push over and over... and over... and over again) and people just standing there. Oh, and who said it was a good idea to try and dance (sway back and forth and pretend you're listening to Bob Marley) while holding a full can of pabst blue ribbon over your drunk head and spilling it on everyone else.

All in all, disappointed. I go to shows in NYC, NJ, and Philly regularly and this is probably my worst experience.

Anyways, I hope I am wrong, maybe all off the ska kids in dc were gone for the night at some better ska show nearby that I am unaware of. If there are some ska kids in the woodwork that can dance, please go to ska shows and DANCE!

/rant off

Post edited by: skaskaska, at: 2010/01/28 23:37

Post edited by: skaskaska, at: 2010/01/28 23:38

Totally with you on this.

Poor Slackers. No wonder they never play here.

Alright, let's get into it.

First of all, the fact The Slackers played DC is, in itself, a fucking miracle. The Slackers are arguably the best Ska band in America (sans, maybe Hepcat who Dave Hillyard helped form). I've lived here for just over 2 years and I can only remember them playing The State Theater in Virginia and Baltimore. This time around, they came to the heart of DC and people payed good money on a Thursday night to see them play.

While I'm on the subject of bands, I'd like to point out Eastern Standard Time killed it last night. Last I checked they are one of only two traditional acts in DC. In a town most people have written off for dead, they stand out as true Ska and Reggae veterans. And they were phenomenal. By the way, while Kill Lincoln may not be my cup of tea, they are also a very tight act and they bring out a healthy under 21 crowd.

For a Thursday night, I was very pleased to see the place filled to near capacity. There was a good amount of people in front of the stage for the opening acts and it was packed for The Slackers set. Both old and young came out in the middle of the week and seemingly had a good time. There were no fights and generally, people wore a friendly face. Also, after the show, people were handing out fliers for upcoming shows.

So let's recap. For a Thursday night, a large amount of people came out for the best American Ska band still around. People, old and young, were in a good state of mind. The Slackers killed it, as did the opening acts. And there are more shows coming around the corner in DC, for DC.

So what exactly is your problem? People were having a good time and they didn't meet your standards? Y'know, if that's your attitude, which it clearly is, then go to NYC or Jersey or wherever the fuck you protest life is better and have a great time. I'm not from this area and probably could complain all day long how DC is not SoCal, where I'm from. But instead of bemoaning DC is not San Diego circa 1996, I've gotten off my ass and done something about it. I also tend to try to look at what is positive in a town where there is no scene and there are few bands. Obviously, something you are not capable of.

As it stands, your rant and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee.

Have a good day.

Duncan from The Moderators/BlueBeatDC

I think it's ridiculous that anyone would be disappointed that a crowd went to a music concert to listen.

-Mr. Dave from the Players Band

last night's show was awesome. it was pretty near sold out, if it hadn't actually sold out at the end of the night - my friend got there late and said they only had a few tickets left. i thought that was a really awesome thing.

so the place was packed and with that should come the understanding that you're not going to have a whole ton of room to dance and that you might not be able to easily move away from people you're not fond of. but that's what happens at sold out shows.

i'd rather see a ton of people having a great time and the bands feeding off of that, than see a show with 10 people in a cold room with the band trying to coax a few to dance.

i've been to one too many shows around here and up and down the east coast where the bands play to a handful of people and that's nowhere near as fun with a packed room of people tearin' up the place. actually it can kinda be depressing.

i love dc and this "scene" and in the past few years, it hasn't been what it used to be. if shows keep up like this, then i think things will be better again. from a business standpoint, a venue loves sold out shows and if the slackers, kill lincoln, and est is what club owners equate to good attendance and lots of bar sales, then i'm all for it. it'll just be more reason for any club that hasn't been booking ska-related acts to actually book them... and that's what we really need right now.

if you were at the show and had a great time and want more good times, come out to bluebeat dc - the 3rd thursday of the month at solly's u street tavern. it's dc's newest live band ska/reggae night. (i know, this was completely shameless promotion, but really, come out and support the scene.)

copying from the other thread, as this seems to be where the discussion is at:

at risk of taking these posts seriously and in attempt to start a debate, I think the bands should take responsibility for these actions and call people out. teach them the right way to dance. they may not know any better. take a cue from bands like HCS who poke fun at dancing in circles. didn't Reel Big Fish used to preach against moshing/crowd surfing and stop playing if they saw it happen? I remember Coolie Ranx used to come down into the crowd and pair up guys and girls to dance together.
maybe DJ's should play some old dancehall video footage between bands to "educate"...

just a thought. i don't necessarily agree with telling people how to dance, but it's worth discussion, plus it's friday and i'm bored

Bands like The Slackers aren't going to get off stage to make their fans dance, ever. Or care about anyone offstage except the sound guy and possibly the bartender. Is s/he's lucky.

They all expect people to just enjoy being there, and if they don't, the people who aren't dancing still paid to get in.

Bands like HCS are led by angry people who write angry songs about things that make them angry.

Coolie rules, so no one's going to be that awesome ever again.

I don't really understand what your point is.


Ps I wasn't there, so I have nothing further.

it's true, i think some people may not know better. because ska isn't super popular any more, there's nothing on mtv, etc. to show you how it's done.

i'm not sure who should be responsible for teaching others how to dance. i'd like to see bob dj and then like toast instructions over the music - it could be just as cool as square dancing!!

i always did like when coolie paired up people to dance during pilfers' songs. it was cute.

maybe i'll have coolie come down and teach dancing and etiquette lessons for a bluebeat dc show.

me, i'm a fan of the shopping cart shuffle, but there was no room to break it out last night, sigh.

I'm glad i got some replies... i was looking at a few other posts and the board looked kind of barren (maybe it was just the sections i was looking in).

Well... in a fit of anger i ranted... and yeah, that's still generally how I still feel.

I've only been living in DC for six months so it was generally unknown to me how uncommon it is to have a descent ska band play down here. With that, like everyone said, it's great it sold out because that mean's more shows could be on their way. I'll just have to realize that venues like RockandRoll are too small to accommodate pits where people can skank if the place is more than half full. But I still reserve the right to be annoyed about drunky spilling his beer on me because he's too pissed to realize where he is x.x I'll have to go up to NYC/NJ to get my dance on, it's been a long time since I've gone to a show where there hasn't been a pit.

Oh, and yeah, EST is pretty good. But why did they play before that kill Lincoln band? Just sayin...

EDIT: Oh, i re read a post and saw the HCS comment... maybe it's because HCS represented a descent chunk of the ska scene where i'm from. We went to HCS, i7, dissenters, catch22, etc... NJ NYC area) They make for angry kids who want to dance, and are generally snobs about it.

Post edited by: skaskaska, at: 2010/01/29 21:25

Post edited by: skaskaska, at: 2010/01/29 21:28

show was packed. bar made money. people had fun. sucks you didnt. it was a fun and productive night.

go to bluebeat on the 18th and we can argue more in person about this.

let's keep arguing on the internet. it keeps me occupied at work.

this is a tough debate. a person has the right to free expression, and if the music makes someone want to run around in a circle, who am i to judge? however, i believe people also have a right to stand and listen and not be bumped into, pushed, or have beer spilled on them...

i think it would be a great idea for some of the DJs and sound systems who have regular nights at bars, to try a dance night. this seems to be almost a requirement with Swing music, for better or worse. i'm not sure if it works, but I know they always promote free dance lessons at events.

I consider getting beer spilled on me part of the show, for better or worse. I saw AAA a few years ago and got kicked in the head by some dumbass stage diving, but I didn't get online and start complaining about Baltimore punk shows. Yeah, people sometimes look funny when they dance and they might spill beer on you from time to time, I would say that happens at shows everywhere.

--Andrew

AndrewisFTTW wrote:
I'm a douchebag who still posts on DCSka even though I'm all Andy Warhol now in NYC.

--Andrew

Couldn't agree more.

is it a right or a privilege not to have beer spilled on you?

when going to a show you can expect certain scenarios like "lots of people, more bumping into people" or "less people, less coming in contact with anyone".

the closer in you go to the stage, the more at risk you are for certain factors like getting beer spilled on you. so it's a compromise really - if you wanna get closer, you gotta expect more crap. if you don't want to take that crap, you can stand farther back. it's really how much you're willing to put up with.

i dunno if you're paying, maybe you have the right to see the band?

also, lots of people that don't like ska (any more) LOVE the slackers. so no one can really expect their crowd to dance "the right way".

good point on that last comment... Slackers always tend to bring tons of people out of the woodwork.

I'm gonna take Mikey Tag's word on it as a Jersey/NYC ska kid and hope to check out a show between the 13th and 18th of Feb..

I only saw 21+ shows on your calendar. How much is it from DC to Baltimore? I'm considering the Can't Hang show

Are there any other shows or "doings" (for lack of a better word) that week (that aren't listed on your calendar)?

Trying to make the most of my trip

Most of the venues are at the very least 18+, if not 21+ around here, which does suck if you're underage. There's the 9:30 Club, Black Cat, and Rock N Roll Hotel that are all ages venues, but they don't have anything ska-related going on... maybe they have something else you'd like to check out.

I'm not sure what kind of ska you like, but check out Can't Hang's MySpace or something. They're not exactly my cup of tea. DC's about 45min from Baltimore by car. If you're carless, you can take an amtrak train there. Not sure if it's worth it or not though.

Do you have your days free? If you're looking for stuff to do, check out the museums. The smithsonian ones are free.

I wouldn't really call Can't Hang ska, they're more rock/reggae. But I'll put in a word for them: they're a great band, they know how to entertain a crowd, and on a personal note my band's been on bills with them numerous times and they're a great bunch of guys.

Yeah I know what you mean haha.. Not my cup of tea but I'm desperate for a show while I'm out there

I'm not into frat reggae which is what I'm getting from their recordings

I'm down for any punk shows if you know of any

As far as ska/reggae I love The Forthrights, Green Room Rockers, The Pinstripes, Eastern Standard Time, etc.

That's kind of how I thought of the DC "scene" to be.. A lot of soul influences in their reggae. Not so much ska/punk like Mustard Plug (which I still like)

Here we have mostly all ages shows