Concert Review: Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Pearl at the Palms, Friday, February 29
By Allison Duck
Photos by Matt Toplikar
When I think NASCAR weekend, I think ska music. No, no I don’t. Not even a little. But evidently the organizers of the Miller Lite Rock and Racing Concert Series thought the Mighty Mighty Bosstones would be a good fit for NASCAR fans and booked them into the Pearl theatre at the Palms.
Kurt Busch, fresh from an autograph signing in the Palms sportsbook, came out to introduce the band. He was met with boos from the fans eager to see the Bosstones, not a local NASCAR hero. The scantily clad Miller Lite girls flanking Busch got a much warmer reception.
The Bosstones took the stage in their snappy zoot suits after warming up the crowd with “War” by Edwin Starr. Lead singer Dicky Barrett’s messy hair and sunglasses seemed to channel Jack Nicholson as he got the crowd signing along with the hit “1-2-8” and encouraged everyone to ditch their seats and hit the dance floor. The guy behind me didn’t have to be asked twice as he proceeded to skank dance and swing his hoodie like a towel whipper in the showers at gym class.
Bosstones shows are always high energy and feature their own dedicated skank dancer Ben Carr. Carr dances non-stop, swinging his arms wildly with the beat. By the end of the second song he’s lacquered in sweat.
For the slower melodic number “Simmer Down,” Barrett traded lines with trombone player Chris Rhodes, whose smooth, bluesy singing complemented Barrett’s gravelly vocal rasp. During “Rascal King,” Barrett ratcheted up the energy quotient by hijacking the videopgrapher’s camera and filming the rowdy mosh pit so everyone in the stands could see what they were missing.
Dicky Barrett couldn’t resist the opportunity to express his disapproval for the war in Iraq as he introduced the politically tinged song “Royal Oil.” This brought cheers from the crowd and really riled up the mosh pit, which rivaled the craziness of any pit I’ve seen at a metal show. When Barrett referenced the band’s recent extended hiatus, one fan shouted, “We missed you!” and was invited to join the singer on stage. Much to Barrett’s surprise, the fan eagerly dropped his pants to show his level of devotion to the band. Barrett decided an onstage hug, fully clothed, would serve the purpose just fine.
Toward the end of the show, Barrett stoked the crowd’s enthusiasm when he announced that special guest, Licorice Jimmy, would be joining the band onstage for a song. A collective look of confusion passed over the faces of the crowd. Everyone cheered wildly when, much to their surprise, Jimmy Kimmel stepped out with his enormous bass clarinet to offer back-up on the Bosstones’ best-known song, “The Impression That I Get.” Following band introductions during the song, Barrett bid the crowd farewell. The house music came on at the Pearl and fans began to trickle out. As a treat for the loyal listeners who stuck around, the band came back out for three more songs.
As I left the Pearl I shared an elevator with Sarah Silverman, presumably there to see Jimmy Kimmel in action. She summed up the show well when she gushed to me, “That show was AWESOME!”