The New England Ska Festival

1997 - Tim

On the morning of August 23rd I woke up at 5:45 to get ready to go to the New England Ska Festival. Now you are probably asking yourself, why the hell would you wake up at 5:45 to go to a show? Simple, the show was 4 hours away and started at 11:00 AM so I figured If I left by 7:00 I would get there on time. My co-writers didn’t like this idea so they didn’t leave until 9:00 but my brother, Nathaniel, and myself all left at 7:00. On the ride up we stopped to get some food and took some super pictures.

The car ride up was interesting to say the least. Between our getting lost trying to catch a highway and us swirving to avoid hitting other avid ska fans we got to where we wanted to go, Westford, MA. It was in the boonies. The area was nice and the band lineup was even better. There were two stages and we were at the bottom of a ski slope. It was dusty so I woke up wit black boogers the next day. Aside from that the portapotties were gross (surprise surprise). At one point I was contemplating knocking one over while unfortunate fellow was taking a dump. But that would have been mean, so we bugged Dave Hahn instead. I don’t think that he appreciated our comments while he was setting up his equipment.

Anyhow, I am not sure who went on first on the main stage, I then became aware that somebody was making some sort of noise on the second stage.  I shelled out the buck it cost for a program and realized that the Independents were next. Cool, death ska in daylight. I must say, they are a much different show in sunlight. They played wonderfully. I don’t know who played next on the second stage, but Spring Heeled Jack came on 3rd on the Main stage. The crowd was really into them and there was a really good vibe going around. People were dancing and helping each other out if some idiot decided to mosh. Spring Heeled Jack played really good, as usual, and played everything they could, however they were constrained to a 1/2 hour time limit, but it was O.K. because it was still fun. Johnny Too Bad & the Strikeouts came out 3rd on the 2nd stage, aw, too bad.

Then on the Main Stage was Skavoovie & the Epitones. Wow! It seemed like they played more than the lame half hour slot they were given. In fact, that comment goes for the rest of the bands. I mean, sure it was hot and the sun was right down on the stage but I think that the Skatalites deserved more than a lame ass half hour. None the less, Skavoovie kicked ass. After Skavoovie on the second stage was Thumper. They were fun, they came out dressed as ninjas. I missed their show as I was interviewing Skavoovie. The Amazing Royal Crowns came out next on the main stage. Amazing, truly amazing how a rockabilly band can have such a big ska following. They were great.

Skinnerbox was up next on the second stage. On the second stage, what the fuck?!?! Who put them on second stage, and then again, why the hell weren’t they headlining the second stage? Skinnerbox played about 6 songs. All of them good, one of them was a Stubborn Allstars song (Foolish You) and Django, Dave, Rolff, Mike, and Paul were all just playing incredibly. The fact that they only played for about 20 minutes really sucked. You can catch them for much less $$$ and get a much better show. The Toasters played next on the main stage, and they played the usual, Two Tone Army, and, well, I can’t really remember what they played, I am writing this two weeks later ya Know. The Pilfers went on headlining the second stage, I missed them for I was interviewing Skinnerbox.

Then came the Jah-like Skatalites! They played James Bond, Eastern Standard Time, You’re Wondering Now, Phoenix City, Occupation dedicated to the memory of the great Don Drummond, and a few others. We left and went to McDonalds talking about how good the Skatalites played and how much we will be sad when they are gone. I drove home while Nathaniel and my brother slept.

THE END.