I was introduced to ska music in high school by my friend Ramana who was a mad punk/ska fan. For those of you who are, like myself, uncool enough to not really know what the ska musical genre is or what it sounds like, I will direct you to the alt.music.ska FAQ. According to the FAQ, the Jamaican ska style is 40 years old but recently punk bands have recycled the sound and used it in their songs. Examples being Area 7, Less Than Jake, and Mustard Plug.

Mustard Plug were headlining the show on Wednesday called Midwest Skafest 2005, so I went downtown to Metro to check it out. Unfortunately I was talking and not paying very much attention while they played. Perhaps the Buddweisers had something to do with it also, but all I remember is that their songs were catchy, and at least equal in awesomeness to Already Gone. Mustard Plug were noticably more energetic and exciting than the supporting bands and really made the place come alive. If you're reading this Vinnie I'm sorry I didn't make the most of it but hopefully they will visit Oz soon. And to my other readers, I'm sorry if you were looking forward to a pretentious and irrelevant Pitchforkesque review of Mustard Plug. I really didn't see enough of them to make a fair comment, but I have tried to put some big words into this article to give you the Pitchfork vibe.

Due to work, driving 40 miles, and finding parking downtown, I arrived at the Metro a little late and missed Manic Sewing Circle. The support acts that I saw were Skapone, Lord Mike's Dirty Calypsonians, and Deals Gone Bad. Skapone weren't bad (can't really remember them), Deals Gone Bad likewise, and being from Chicago they were a crowd favourite.

The Calypsonians however were a magnificent spectacle and brilliantly stood apart from the other support acts. The members were outfitted in matching red shirts and straw hats, and there were ELEVEN of them crammed onto the stage, PLUS two dancers (pretty girls not on stage for their dancing abilities). There was a drummer on the kit, percussionist, bass, two rhythm guitars, organist, three saxophonists, trumpet player, and Lord Mike himself singing. Before the first song began they all warmed up with what looked like a rather generous shot of tequilla and most of the blokes were chugging beers and smoking all through the set. I hope the saxophonists and trumpet player cleaned their instruments out well after playing because with all that beer they would get quite smelly and maybe corroded. The audacious on-stage circus didn't overshadow their music though, for it was equally sublime. The style was calypso obviously so it was happy cool groovy music and I think it was quite well played considering that there were 11 tipsy musicians to keep together. I'm not sure whether they played any original songs, but the only one I knew was Jump In The Line. (Harry Belafonte has sung it)

Yet again I fell into the trap of taking a picture at a concert with my phone. Everyone knows it's a waste of time. But anyway here's my photo of the Calypsonians:

Metro was a decent enough venue, except for the beers being $5 and having to wear an orange wristband in order to be served (like the Jewish armbands in WW2). There were so many kids running around, a lot of them being probably 15 years old, which was really strange. I guess because the drinking age is so old here venues need to do more all-ages gigs or else they wouldn't make any money. Anyway, since kids are so light they make excellent crowd surfers.

Another highlight of the evening was meeting Aaron at the bar. We talked a bit and enjoyed the music then he invited me to drink beers with him and his mates at the Underground Lounge. The Underground Lounge has a little bit of history. In the 30's it used to be a speak-easy (establishment engaged in the illegal sale of liquor during prohibition) operated by the mob. I was reading on the web that it was a gay bar at one point. Nowadays it's a cool little lounge (and only half gay-bar) with cheap drinks on Wednesdays, and independent music played often. Here I met Stacy, Charles, Colleen, Anna, Paul, maybe others but I forget. We played some pool then sat at the bar and chatted. We met a bloke who asked to be called T because his first name is too difficult. He's just graduated from arts school and is back in Chicago. Stacy and I swapped blog URLs, which was an exhilaratingly nerdy experience for me. By that time I think we were all pretty pissed. I have about 5 serviettes with a syllabus for my cultural education scribbled all over them... American movies to see, great songs to listen to, and good American beers to drink.

So yeah that was an exciting night. I definitely got more out it than I expected and it's really good to find a new crew.