The Toasters, The Pietasters & other upcoming ska shows

My recent contributions to BV have afforded me the opportunity to wax nostalgic about my checkered past (SKA reference), so why should this article be any different? When I was living in Greenpoint back in 2002, I had two important neighbors in my building; Jeff Mangum and Dave Karcich. And while Mangum had zero impact on my life, Karcich had more of an impact than he would ever know. You see, in high school and college, one of my favorite bands to see was Bim Skala Bim and my favorite venue to see them in was the Paradise. Trombone player Vinny Nobile‘s phenomenal stage presence made him an icon to my friends and me. Vinny ended up leaving Bim, heading to NYC to form a band called The Pilfers with ex-Toasters vocalist Coolie Ranx. A little ways into their existence, the Pilfers ended up losing their bass player and their drummer. Dave Karcich, former drummer for Connecticut based Ska band Spring Heeled Jack, filled the drumming void. And like zillions of other bands, The Pilfers too saw their eventual dissolution (only to reform just a few years ago).

After the Pilfers, Vinny Nobile and Dave Karcich went on to form a band called Cenzo who, at the time when I met Dave, was kind of on their back burner. As a result of my living down the hall from Dave, and Dave’s relationship with Vinny, I eventually got tight with them both, which blew the minds of the folks I stiil kept in touch with from high school/college. Sadly, my relationship with Dave was short lived. After recording my band’s demo EP, Dave suffered a massive cerebral aneurysm and passed away on April 5th, 2002. Eventually, Vinny hired me to take Dave’s place on drums in Cenzo and for a short while I enjoyed playing sold out shows with Cenzo in support of acts including The Toasters, The Pietasters, Murphy’s Law, and The Slackers.

A lot of people give a knee-jerk scoff at SKA because it’s apparently unfashionable; admittedly, the thought of skinny ties, checker-accented gear, black and white wing tips, pork pie hats, and massive sideburns makes me feel uneasy. But some of the bands from back in the day, back in my day, continue to bring serious talent and awesome sounds to those of us who are still willing to listen. So I was pretty skankingly excited to see that SKA powerhouses The Toasters and The Pietasters will be sharing a bill with Hub City Stompers and more for an all ages show at BB Kings on 10/29/10. People with even a casual interest cannot pass up the opportunity to see these third wave legends in the same house.

More tour dates below, including Bim Skala Bim, The Slackers, The Pietasters (who also play a boat tonight), and The Toasters.

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THE SLACKERS – 2010 TOUR DATES
August 06 – Madrid, SPAIN – Gruta 77
August 07 – GETXO, Bizkaia, SPAIN
August 08 – Blackpool, UK – REBELLION FESTIVAL
August 10 – London, UK – The Jazz Cafe
August 11 – Leicester, UK – The Donkey
August 12 – Arlon, Luxembourg, BELGIUM – Entrepot- Arlon
August 13 – Aachen, GERMANY – musikbunker
August 14 – Dusseldorf, GERMANY – zaak
August 16 – Krakow, POLAND – Plaza Krakow
August 17 – Graz – AT, AUSTRIA – Music House
August 18 – Lignano Sabbiadoro, ITALY – Arena Alpe Adria / Festival
August 19 – Lindau/Germany, GERMANY – Club Vaudeville
August 20 – Frankfurt a. M., Hessen, GERMANY – Das Bett
August 21 – Lierop, NETHERLANDS Nirwana Tuinfeesten, Lierop, Netherlands
August 22 – Devon, UK – Beautiful Days Festival
August 23 – Bristol, SPAIN – Metropolis
August 24 – Brighton, UK – The Hydrant
August 25 – Oslo, NORWAY – Betong
September 10 – Boston, Ma – The New Boston (boat)
September 11 – NYC – The Temptress (boat cruise)
October 01 – Cleveland Heights, Ohio – The Grog Shop
October 02 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
October 03 – St Louis, MO – Firebird
October 06 – Ann Arbor, Michigan – Blind Pig
October 07 – Toledo, OH – Frankie’s
October 08 – Pittsburgh, PA – Rex Theater
October 09 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of the Living Arts
October 19 – Buffalo, N.Y. – Mohawk Palace
October 20 – Guelph, ON, CANADA – E-Bar
October 21 – London, ON, CANADA – Call the Office
October 22 – Toronto, ON, CANADA – Lee’s Palace
October 23 – Montreal, Quebec, CANADA – Le Studio

BIM SKALA BIM – 2010 TOUR DATES (WITH VINNY NOBILE!)
Aug 5 – Providence, RI – Jerkys Bar
Aug 6 – Cambridge, MA – The Middle East
Aug 7 – Wellfleet, MA – The Beachcomber
Aug 8 – Hartford, CT – The Webster Underground

THE PIETASTERS – 2010 TOUR DATES
Jul 30 – Rocks Off Booze Cruise – New York, Ny
Aug 28 – Anne Arundel County Fairgrounds – Crownsville, MD
Sep 10 – Ole Tyme Charley’s – Plains, PA
Sep 17 – The Irish – Kearny, NJ
Oct 21 – Crowbar – Ybor City, FL
Oct 22 – Culture Room – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Oct 23 – The Social – Orlando, FL
Oct 24 – The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Oct 29 – B.B. King Blues Club & Grill – New York, NY
Oct 30 – The 8×10 – Baltimore, MD
Oct 31 – North Star Bar – Philadelphia, PA

THE TOASTERS – 2010 TOUR DATES
Sep 3 the forum tunbridge wells, UNITED KINGDOM
Sep 4 mersea scooter rally mersea, GB
Sep 5 The Borderline London, London, UNITED KINGDOM
Sep 9 moho manchester, 0, UNITED KINGDOM
Sep 10 the well leeds, 0, UNITED KINGDOM
Sep 11 The Old Bell Derby, Derbyshire, UNITED KINGDOM
Sep 16 club totchka Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Sep 24 the haunt ithaca, ny
Sep 25 middle east boston, US
Sep 26 vibe lounge mineola, ny
Sep 27 eleanor rigby jermyn, PA
Sep 28 cafe nine new haven, CT
Oct 1 petit campus montreal, quebec, CANADA
Oct 2 horseshoe tavern toronto, ontario, CANADA
Oct 3 mohawk place buffalo, new york
Oct 4 peabodys cleveland, oh
Oct 5 smalls hamtramck, michigan
Oct 6 southgate house newport, kentucky
Oct 7 the black sheep springfield, IL
Oct 8 the subterranean CHICAGO, IL
Oct 9 the firebird st louis, MO
Oct 10 the conservatory oklahoma, OK
Oct 11 2010 jackpot music hall lawrence, KS
Oct 12 trees dallas, tx
Oct 13 white rabbit san antonio, texas
Oct 14 house of rock corpus christi, TX
Oct 15 flamingo cantina austin, TX
Oct 16 the high ground new orleans, LA
Oct 17 spinnaker panama city beach, FL
Oct 18 the engine room tallahassee, FL
Oct 19 1982 bar gainesville, FL
Oct 20 jack rabbits jacksonville, FL
Oct 21 the crowbar ybor city, FL
Oct 22 the culture room ft lauderdale, FL
Oct 23 the social orlando, FL
Oct 24 Masquerade Atlanta, Georgia, US
Oct 25 drink myrtle beach, SC
Oct 26 new brookland tavern west columbia, SC
Oct 27 pour house raleigh, NC
Oct 28 abbey bar/appalachain brew co harrisburg, PA
Oct 29 BB Kings NY, NY
Oct 30 8 x 10 baltimore, MD
Oct 31 north star bar philadelphia, PA
Nov 25 Mezz Breda, NL, NETHERLANDS
Dec 11 cluses cluses, FRANCE
Mar 25 LVC Leiden, 0, NETHERLANDS