One Pin Short steals show at House of Blues

January 12, 2009 by Jordan Healy 

Local band making a name on Reel Big Fish tour

The House of Blues was home to a ska-tastic bill on Jan. 6, consisting of Reel Big Fish, Streetlight Manifesto and local favorites One Pin Short. The floor of the venue was packed in every sense of the word, each person eager for a healthy dose of upbeat music.

One Pin Short opened the show with their own brand of reggae-influenced ska. Last June, the group opened for Reel Big Fish to celebrate their first album release.  Supposedly Aaron Barrett (vocalist of Reel Big Fish) was so impressed that he personally asked for the group to accompany Reel Big Fish on their recently completed eight-date mini tour of the West Coast. 

After viewing the group’s set, it’s easy to see why they were given a personal invitation. Not only does the group make fantastic music and have great on-stage chemistry, but they also are able to make a strong connection with the audience.

Right from the moment the group began their set, it became apparent that they were going to be the hometown crowd’s favorite band of the evening. Despite being unsigned, many of the audience in attendance knew all of the words to the songs and danced along with the pulsating beats and utterly spaced-out guitar courtesy of drummer Jordan Rosenthal and guitarist Jesse Magana. 

The band’s set was too short but saccharine in sweetness. Eight or nine songs composed the set list, which was equal parts slow, emotional reggae and Sublime-influenced ska-punk. The biggest surprise of the set, and also the moment that drew the biggest crowd response, was a completely unexpected cover of the ‘90s Fastball classic, “The Way.” The only word to describe the eruption on the floor would be “apeshit” as nearly everyone in attendance sang along and a skank-pit opened in the middle of the floor.

Streetlight Manifesto followed in the billing, and they did not disappoint. This group focused more on the horned instruments, but that didn’t stop the crowd from forming a raging mosh pit that only grew larger and larger as the set went on. The mosh pit became so intense that an onlooker might have thought it was a Static-X concert as opposed to a ska show.

While the set was pretty solid, there was one major problem with their set. Whoever was behind the mixing board almost completely allowed the vocals to be drowned out by the horn section, along with most of the guitar and drums. Granted, the vocals would have probably been drowned out anyway by the overwhelming amount of people singing in the crowd, but it still would have been nice to hear Tomas Kalnoky’s voice once or twice before the set was over.

Reel Big Fish took the stage just after 8:30 p.m. and pummeled the audience with their infamous marathon set, which covered the gamut of most of their albums, along with a few covers, and the crowd eagerly ate it up. Half the fun of seeing a Reel Big Fish show is the onstage banter in between songs, which never fails to be funny. Combined with most of their lyrical content, the group could almost be considered a comedy act.

Despite their typical choice of more humorous lyrics, the highlight of the set was easily the breakup anthem “Where Have You Been?” As the crowd engaged in one of the loudest sing-alongs of the evening, it became clear that more than one of the audience members had probably blasted the song while trying to get over an ex.

The set closed strongly, with the group playing their two biggest hits, 1996’s “Sell-Out” and their cover of A-Ha’s “Take On Me” which was used in the film “Baseketball.” Never in the history of the Las Vegas House of Blues were there more crowd surfers than there were during these two songs. So many people crowd surfed up to the front of the stage that there weren’t enough people to successfully pass the enthusiastic concert goers up to the front of the stage anymore. It was hard to say which was more amusing, the scene onstage, or the sight of 10 or 15 kids being dropped to the floor before reaching anywhere near the downstage area.

All things considered, this was a wonderful show. While Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto delivered their expected solid live show, One Pin Short really upped the ante and stole the entire concert. In the future, anticipate to see them headlining their own shows on a larger scale. They are the next big thing in the Las Vegas music scene. 

ON THE WEB:

One Pin Short on MySpace