The Toasters were the last band for the Ska is Dead Tour 4 at the Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ. The only original member left is Bucket, while the other members are from various ska bands. Don’t let that bog you down because the Toasters still sound great!
(more…)

The Mighty Mighty Mustard Plug were the second to last band of the Ska is Dead tour 4 in Sayreville NJ. They were clearly one of the favorites at the show, and the crowd didn’t stop crowd surfing until they stopped. I was looking forward to taking pictures of Mustard Plug because I never shot them in a club setting before. It’s always been at outdoor festivals (New England Ska Fest 98, Warped Tour).
(more…)

I lost count on how many times I’ve seen the Pilfers. Every time they reunite and play some shows in the NY area, I have to go to them. They were always the go to band for exciting live shows and I never left one of their shows disappointed. The same can be said about the Ska is Dead Tour 4 show last week. Pilfers were of course a highlight for me, both performance-wise and photography-wise.
(more…)

Deal’s Gone Bad from Chicago play soulful ska & reggae. They will make you shake your ass, and get your groove on! I never saw them before but liked what I heard! I definitely want to check out their albums now. They were also fun to shoot as well.
(more…)

The Ska is Dead tour made it’s way to Sayreville, New Jersey Sunday afternoon. The show was held at Starland Ballroom, which I shot there once before in their parking lot for the Mighty Mighty Bosstones & Dropkick Murphys show. Hub City Stompers were the 3rd band on the bill.
(more…)

I was suppose to shoot the Dropkick Murphys last August in Scranton, PA but there was a problem with the list. Which was pretty much the case this time around again. But thankfully things got worked out in time for me to shoot the Bosstones and Dropkicks. The Dropkick Murphys have gotten super popular since the last time I shot their set. Their music has appeared in the movie The Departed and pretty much everyone knows who they are now. I remember seeing DKM back when there was 4 members in the band. Now the group has 7 or 8 members. It’s interesting to see how a band evolves over the years. But the band certainly draws in an audience and they still have a great live show to boot!

(more…)

The last time I saw The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, it was about 8 years ago? Has it been that long?! I honestly don’t remember the last time I saw them but it definitely felt like they never left. The band came out in their signature ugly plaid suits, and I was even sporting an ugly plaid shirt as well. I was pumped to see the band again after all these years. This was the first time shooting the band, and thankfully got my photo pass 10 minutes before the band went on.

(more…)