 "Photo: Brittany Woolsey | Daily 49er")
After the recent release of their EP, "Songs with Friends," the Orange County-based ska band, Half Past Two, performed an intimate show at Chain Reaction in Anaheim on Thursday.
Joining Half Past Two were two other Southern California ska bands, The Skank Agents from San Diego and The B-Sharps from Riverside.
As the venue slowly filled with an array of fans, The Skank Agents' Wade Morris (guitar/ vocals) announced that the Chain Reaction show was the second stop for their current tour, expressing energy and excitement.
It didn't take long after the start of their first song for the floor to get ambushed by a mosh pit of amped teenagers, skanking with pride and enthusiasm. A fan, wearing a pin-covered fedora and a sports jacket tailored with band patches, almost lost one of his checkered shoes in the pit. One of the few female fans in the pit had enough spunk to thrust her way past the other fans, but ultimately tripped in the midst of her skanking footwork. Of course, just like any other rockette, she got right back up and continued her dance.
The band members showed the same passion as their fans by jumping and skanking on stage. Lucas Moore (trumpet) hopped around the stage, when he wasn't playing, and rocked his head alongside Matt Smith (drummer). Morris gave praise to the horns section of the band, and pretended to conduct them, swaying his hands in the air from side to side.
Following The Skank Agents was The B Sharps, a band with upbeat melodies and fast-paced tempos. Unlike The Skank Agents who have a little more hardcore punk flare to them, The B Sharps had a light-hearted funkiness that could be compared to ska veterans Reel Big Fish.
Unfortunately, after the Skank Agents, the crowd disbursed and all that was left was a pit with a handful of people and about 20 other fans posted like wallflowers. Nevertheless, The B Sharps played and showed a lot of energy as if the venue was packed with fans.
Although the band members may have hid behind their different colored shades, it was still evident, through their exuberant guitar riffs and vibrant brass melodies, that they were all enjoying themselves despite the semi-empty floor. In fact, when the band played a cover of "Linoleum" by NOFX, members of The Skank Agents ran inside to the front of the stage and showed their support by cheering them on.
By 11 p.m., it was apparent to everyone, including Half Past Two's Lindsey Smith (vocals), a Cal State Long Beach English Education major, that the venue had cleared out. As soon as her lips touched the microphone, the first thing out of her mouth was a joke about the emptiness of the venue.
"Thanks for sticking around guys — all 10 of you," Smith said.
The band opened with an original upbeat song, "1000 Miles Away," and nothing but happiness and angst was projected from Smith, while Anthony Rondina (bass) strutted his stuff by simultaneously playing and skanking in place.
Because of Smith's free-spirited dance moves and colorful facial expressions, one could tell she would've have put on the same great show had there been one fan, or 100 fans, watching her.
Their musical performance quickly transformed into a comedy sketch after Rondina began to go along with Smith's jokes.
"I love how I don't even have a mic, and [the crowd] can still hear me," Rondina said.
Toward the end of their set, the band picked up the pace with "Aaron, the Castaway," and the wallflowers drifted to the center of the floor and began to skank, as if they were somehow rejuvenated with energy through the powerful forces of ska music bouncing off the walls of an empty venue.
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