Images: Greg Lee, Jesse Wagner, Chris Murray May 27, 2018 at Beauty Bar (Punk Rock Bowling)

As someone who actually (somehow still?) likes ska, even I have to say that two ska club shows during Punk Rock Bowling 2018 was a bit much. It’s not even like Beauty Bar is a huge venue, but their show on May 27th didn’t sell out. (I know I’m biased, but how did a Greg Lee-headlined show at a smaller venue not sell out??) Considering it was an acoustic ska show (featuring DJ Gonzo spinning The Ethiopians, Desmond Dekker, and the like between sets), it may not have been the most energetic show, but its placement near the end of the fest seemed appropriate, as a more low-key night in between all the pits and binge drinking.

The ska-loving cowboy from Friday’s Fishbone show made another appearance, though he was more visibly intoxicated this time around, dancing gleefully while Canadian singer-songwriter Chris Murray took the stage. I have a soft spot in my heart for those people who dance their asses off during the first set, even if they’re the only one. Of course, most of the crowd was dancing along to Chris Murray’s most popular song, “The Real Ska,” which was dedicated to Jamaican “real ska” musicians the Skatalites. Murray closed out his set with “Home,” prepping the crowd for the next act of the night.

I didn’t expect to watch Jesse Wagner perform twice in the span of three days, but it was definitely cool to see him play acoustically and solo on Sunday after seeing him with The Aggrolites on Friday. Having lived for a few years in Las Vegas, I am, like many others, decidedly sick of “cover bands,” but I have to make an exception of Jesse Wagner’s covers of classic ska and reggae songs. Wagner kicked off his set with Freddie McKay’s “Picture on the Wall.” What first-wave ska set is complete without a sappy-sweet love song? Wagner’s answer to that was a cover of “It Must Be True Love” by The Maytals. The aforementioned Ska Cowboy even got a shout-out from Wagner, who then went into a seemingly-impromptu cover of “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” by Willie Nelson.

Chris Murray and Jesse Wagner joined Hepcat’s dapperly dressed Greg Lee onstage for the final set of the night. The trio began with “I Can’t Wait,” which was my first Hepcat song ever, so in my slightly-tipsy stupor it felt a little something like destiny for me to be at the show (especially considering I didn’t know I would be going until a few days before). A ska-infused cover of Sham 69’s “If the Kids Are United” had the crowd singing along with the chorus, as did The Ethiopians’ “Everything Crash.” Fangirl sidenote: Greg Lee dancing along while singing “Monkey” by Harry Belafonte is ridiculously pure and wholesome. At one point, Lee even brought out a tambourine to accompany the guitars of Murray and Wagner.

And then, finally, what I’d been waiting for all night: when they played another Hepcat song, and my personal favorite, “Dance Wid’ Me.” Predictably, Greg Lee commanded the chorus, which that combined with Jesse Wagner’s singing the verses and Chris Murray on backing vocals made for such an iconic live performance. Lee once said, “I want to make a band that plays music to make people dance, not run around and punch each other and things like that.” I’ve yet to see Hepcat perform altogether, but if PRB’s “acoustic ska night under the stars” was anything to judge by, Lee certainly attained his goal.

-Julien Boulton

Photos by Christopher Mounts | http://www.christophermounts.com