Though some might try to tell you that ska has been on a downward spiral for the past fifteen years, Streetlight Manifesto’s show last Sunday put up a convincing argument that this off-beat, offshoot of reggae is far from dead. They also happened to attract the ‘palest’ audience I have ever seen; for a second, I thought I mistakenly ended up at some sort of Star Trek convention.

The first band, Dan P and the Bricks, lacked a bit in terms of flashiness, but their pure excitement performing in front of such a large crowd quickly won the audience over. The next act, however, was not so fortunate. Fitting in much better on some rebellious thirteen year-old girl’s iPod, The Wonder Years, with their screamo sound, seemed incredibly out of place and were definitely not the right opening act for the likes of Streetlight Manifesto.

Off to a relatively slow start with the first two acts, it was the third opener that blew the audience away. The Supervillains, hailing from Orlando, Florida, perfectly displayed that raw energy that ska fans love so much. Their sound seemed to capture a much darker side of ska, though still involving the same ol’ faithful sources of inspiration: sex and weed. Their set was highlighted by a brilliant cover of Billy Joel’s “Movin’ Out,” and there was not an embarrassed soul in the crowd as every teenage boy sang along. Simply put, the Supervillains were awesome, and I have to highly recommend seeing them live.

Finally, the band that 95% of the audience came to see was on, Streetlight Manifesto. As if the entire seven-piece band was on the same internal clock, every note of every song was perfectly in sync. It was this amazing precision that set Streetlight apart from the three preceding bands. Eventually, working their way into a crowd-favorite, “Point/Counterpoint,” the band wove this song into another one of their hits, “Keasbey Nights,” fusing together a ‘ska-pocalypse’ of sorts. With his incredibly raspy vocals, lead singer and guitarist Tomas Kalnoky was truly a spectacle, creating possibly the highest-energy show I have ever seen. Bruised from my time in the crowd, I was blown away by how many people knew every lyric in each song. For a relatively small band, it is absolutely impressive when the fan-base is that dedicated.

The night progressed with about seven or eight “last songs of the night,” and the concert finally came to a close with an interesting Dixie-land version of their song “Sick and Sad.” As testified by my sweat-drenched t-shirt at the end of the night, Streetlight Manifesto is one of the most fun bands that I have had the chance of seeing.

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