Mighty Mighty BossToneS
Feb. 2 Scranton, PA
By Andrew Wertz


After I finished the two hour trek, I arrived at Tink's entertainment Complex in Scranton, PA. I was greeted by a very plain crowd, unusual for a Bosstones concert. I'm used to the jock & frat boy crowd, but this was the first time my plaid clothes were being drowned in a sea of jeans and Nike t's. Opening for the Bosstones were the Instigators, a ska band from D.C.; and the hardcore band H2O. After all the waiting around and listening to the house music, the Bulldog banner finally dropped and out came the Bosstones. Dicky was sportin a pair of retro 80's shades and a usual two-piece suit. The Bosstones started off their 21 song set with the new song Noise Brigade. It's a ska song, as most of the new album is, with a catchy chorus. They played five songs off of the new album called "Let's Face It." The show was a good mix from all of their albums. I thought the high point of the night was the finale of A little bit ugly with Dicky roaming the stage looking for partners to sing it with. The bouncers at the show were a pain in the ass. They wouldn't let anybody up on the stage. The Bosstones finally told them to fuck off, but they didn't listen. During Hell of a Hat, Nate Albert backed a bouncer against one of the speakers and cranked his guitar strings back and forth three inches in front of the bouncer's face. It was awesome! They played a lot of great oldies like: Cowboy Coffee, Hope I Never Lose My Wallet, Devils Night Out, Howiwuz Howiam, and Dr. D. They played the swing version of Dr. D, and if you've never heard it then I feel sorry for you cause it rips shit up! Dicky was into his usual antics that night. During the middle of the show he took the microphone cord, wrapped it around his neck, and then stage dived. On a stranger note; while Dicky was crossing the stage, his foot got caught between the end of the stage and an amp and Dicky took a fall right on his back. He hobbled around for a minute, but it didn't stop him one bit. It was cool to see Johnny Vegas put down his sax and sing a request of Chocolate Pudding. On the other sax, Kevin Lenear shaved off his dreads, it's quite a sight! The rest of the night was mixed with some great songs from Don't know how to party, especially Holy Smoke, along with Last Dead Mouse. They only played two songs off of Question the Answers (Pictures to Prove it & Hell of a Hat). Overall the Bosstones put on a very sharp set. They looked confident in their new album and are keeping a heavy tour schedule. My words of advice are on March 11th go out and buy the new album, and if the Bosstones come to town (which they probably will) go and see them, you won't regret it.