Issue date: 12/4/03 Section: Film & Music

Last Friday I ventured down to the Opera House to see one of the most exhausting but nevertheless fabulous shows of my concert-going career. Despite the fact that the Rancid show was on the same night, Catch 22 managed to draw a great crowd, albeit many of them were high school kids, thus proving that the ska-punk genre still has a following.

Mugshot, an emo band, opened first and proved my sneaking suspicion true that it’s a requirement for the first band of a punk-filled night to suck. They didn’t have a whole lot of stage presence and didn’t seem to try very hard. The guitarist made an effort to jump around, but overall the band was fairly lifeless.

Crown King played next and was a welcome change. Their horn players were great and the band had a lot of energy. The crowd, however, probably disappointed that Slick Shoes decided to cancel, was anticipating the performances to come and kept their dancing to a minimum.

When Boys Night Out came on the stage, though, the energy on the floor changed from ambient blue to electric red and instead of standing around comfortably, it was a rare occasion when it was even possible to put both feet on the ground. During most of this performance I was leaning against the speaker on the front of the stage, under the weight of nearly every struggling body behind me, while the sweat from the lead singer nearly dripped on my face. Dozens of die-hard fans sang into the microphone as it was offered to them, allowing for an intense and intimate show. For many fans this band was the main attraction and Boys Night Out certainly proved themselves worthy of this attention.
And finally, the band that all the more ska-based fans were waiting for, came Catch 22. And what a show it was. Again, I managed to squeeze my way close to the front for this one, but Catch’s music is so upbeat that exhaustion quickly set in. I retreated to the outskirts for the end of this show, allowing me the advantage of a broader perspective. Here I realized that the entire crowd, as opposed to a mere core near the front, was either moshing or skanking. The music itself was tops as the sound quality and the vocals were great as far as live performances go. And the bass player, Pat “Mingus” Kays, is one of the best live bassists I’ve ever seen. Catch played a lot of tunes from their new album, “Dinosaur Sounds,” but many of the old favourites as well. By the time the encore came around, the ever popular “1234 1234,” fans were jumping on the stage, throwing their arms around the band members, and singing along into the microphone. Such an up-close-and-personal performance made for a fantastic night thoroughly enjoyed by all.

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