Images: We Are The Union, The Sheds, Save the Swim Team, Tuesday After School, Merakai December 8, 2012 at East Side Joe’s

I found my way back to Eastside Joe’s just one day after the Turnover/Major League show for a fun night of ska and pop punk headlined by We Are The Union, The Sheds and Save the Swim Team and featuring a bevy of Vegas’ own local talent.

I got there just in time to catch the ending of Meraki and had the pleasure of seeing locals Narrowed and Tuesday After School again, the latter turning in a ska-version of Title Fight’s “Secret Society” into their usual staple.

Save the Swim Team was the first touring band up, and I’d heard a lot of really great things about them. It turns out they play a much heavier style of ska than, say, TAS and as such, had the biggest pit going of the night. I didn’t know their songs but was impressed with their stage presence (as well as their affinity for Adventure Time gear) and I’ll definitely be checking them out again next time they come through.

The Sheds were the penultimate band of the night and it was a bittersweet showing, in that it was drummer and friend Mark Blaker’s last performance with the band before heading back to college. He gave it his all (like he always does) and I’m going to miss seeing him tear up the kit. Beyond that the band sounds just as tight as they did at their last show with Strung Out at Vinyl back in September. The addition of John Alaimo guitar and additional harmonies really elevated the band’s songs and new tracks like “Ignorance is Bliss” leave me excited to hear more from them. But a particular treat for Vegas fans was seeing TAS’ brass section team up with The Sheds for a few tracks. The bands are almost always paired together out here so it was nice to see the collaboration. If you missed The Sheds at this show, then you’re in luck. The band is playing a house show tonight, January 23 at 5 p.m. Details can be found on The Sheds’ Facebook page.

We Are The Union closed out the night and unfortunately, their set was riddled with equipment troubles. The Detroit ska punks, whose sound can be found somewhere between classic Less than Jake and modern pop punk, drew a sizable audience to the small desert home. Mic problems kept us from hearing vocalist Reed Wolcott’s voice, but fans made up for it by singing along to every word while the rest of the band went crazy, or as crazy as one can while tucked between a tether ball and a fridge.

-Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/