L.A. Skacore Invasion 2013

By Angel AguilarJuly 26, 2013AB's Top Music News, Music
By Angel Aguilar | July 26, 2013
Ska band La Infinita plays in Silver Lake.

Ska band La Infinita plays in Silver Lake.

The MadAve Grounds in Silver Lake was the site for the 7th consecutive L.A. Skacore Invasion this past Saturday, July 20th.

Some of L.A.’s young and veteran ska and punk bands, along with acts from the Bay area, Mexico and Riverside’s punk pioneers, Voodoo Glow Skulls entertained the ska/punk faithful for up to eight hours of uninterrupted music and skanking.

At first look, a warehouse in the middle of Silver Lake, would not appear to be the ideal place for a concert, let alone a 20 band festival with two different stages, but besides the fact that it could get extremely hot, especially in the main stage area, the eclectic art work on the walls made it seem a little like a throwback to the old days of the beginning of punk in those underground venues like CBGB’s in NYC.

I have to give props to the people at Evoekore Media and their partners for the excellent organization and security and besides minor mishaps with lighting and sound, the event ran smoothly and the way they collated the sets between the Main stage and second stage, it gave everyone a chance to experience all the bands, or they could also go out to the patio area for some fresh air, which a lot of people smartly did.

The main stage was host to some of the most recognizable bands, but that is not to say that the second stage acts were not as good and in fact, some of the bands from the main stage wished they had played the smaller stage simply because of the set up in which the bands were actually fenced in from the crowd.

The second stage hosted bands like East Side Agents, Happy Drunk Cartel, Masturbo and Ekolekua amongst others.
For the main stage, the energy level kept rising with each new band hitting the stage. La Infinita got things started, followed by Profesor Galactico, and Mafia Rusa, which got the crowd skanking and singing along, but things went up a notch when La Resistencia took the stage, followed by Red Store Bums and San Francisco’s La Plebe, followed by Mexico’s La Royal Club, but with a doubt, one of the most anticipated moments was the performance of punk pioneers, Voodoo Glow Skulls.

Voodoo Glow Skulls (VGS), with their 25 years on the world stages, took no prisoners and gave a master class in performance as they ran through some of their most recognized hits including The Coaster’s cover, “Charlie Brown”. It is obvious the influence a band like VGS has over younger bands, as the back stage area was full with members of all the other bands that had played earlier.

 

The festival was closed by Mexico’s Sektacore and L.A.’s Viernes 13 and Raskahuele.