The world famous London Astoria closed its doors on the 15th January 2009 despite many protests to make way for development of the London cross rail project which is still work in progress, the venue was the hub of the London love music scene hosting so many gigs over the years and also turning into the infamous London G-A-Y night club till the early hours of the morning.
If you speak to any band or artist who played the venue you will find they only have positive things to say about the venue as the venue always hosted the best gigs and history was made in the venue so many times over and back in April 2001 pretty much 15 years ago now the ska-punk legends Less Than Jake played a three-day run at the venue which was a dream come true for them after playing the venue many times in the past but being able to build themselves up to a level where they could sell the venue out three times over in three consecutive nights was pretty special.
When Less Than Jake played three consecutive nights at the Astoria they recorded the third and final night of the show and now 15 years on the band have decided to bring that recording to light by releasing a very special CD/DVD pack titled 'Less Than Jake - Live At The Astoria' which features the band blast through 21 tracks whilst having a lot of fun on the way whilst they were also in their prime and at the top of their game.
'Less Than Jake - Live At The Astoria' is a fantastic release it not only gives the fans who were at the show something to look back on it also showcases how epic and energetic shows at the Astoria were and for people who never had the chance to go to the Astoria what the hype is all about and it also shows how amazing Less Than Jake were 15 years ago and how they have not lost their spark on the love circuit 15 years on.
The set list from the show/release features a mixture of songs from 'Pezcore', 'Losing Streak', 'Hello Rockview and 'Borders And Boundaries' and like all Less Than Jake shows all the in-between songs banter and hilarious humor is there as the release is truly live sounding full of nonstop ska-punk anthems, band member banter and crowd shouts and screams.
For me personally it's great to hear classics like 'Sugar In Your Gas Tank', 'Help Save The Youth Of America From Exploding', 'Magnetic North', 'Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts', 'All My Best Friends Are Metalheads', 'Suburban Myth', 'Automatic' and 'Gainesville Rock City' live from the comfort of my own home.
'live At The Astoria' is a must have buy for all fans of Less Than Jake weather they have been fans right from the start or if they have only been fans since the release of their last couple of albums as Less Than Jake really are captured at their best here and for the time of their career the set list is totally spot on.
Less Than Jake deserve respect for holding on to this footage and keeping this epic release secret for so many years and finally having the balls to get it released as it is truly epic.
4/5
Review by Trigger
|
