Big D and the Kids Table’s 16th Annual Halloween Show Review

James Johnston ’15 / Emertainment Monthly Editor

Ska/punk fans unite! Big D and the Kids Table’s 16^th Annual Halloween show this past weekend, had plenty of rude boys and girls daring Hurricane Sandy to cause a steady riot in Boston’s Royale nightclub. Overall, the show was a blast and proved that ska is still rocking, but the headliner act struggled to give fans a performance worthy of the group that brought us L.A.X. and Noise Complaint.
In fact, the opening acts stole the show from Big D entirely! First up was Stray Bullets, your typical loud and proud punk band. Next to the stage was Spring Heeled Jack, an acoustic set that brought some hardcore fans up to the stage. Hot on their heels was Pilfer, an interesting band with plenty of quirks: A reggae lead vocalist, a single trombonist, and a girl on bass. What? After Pilfer came The Pietasters, a fun-loving ska band with all the right horns: trumpet, trombone, and saxophone.
Finally, Big D took the stage. They warmed up the crowd with a few favorite oldies including L.A.X. and 175, and then followed up with a few newer titles featuring “The Doped Up Dollies” (their backup singers, who have since lost their singing talents). Something was wrong, however. The set list on stage showed several more songs queued up, but Big D was leaving? They returned to play an encore of two covers, and then claimed that hurricane curfew was causing them to leave early.
Big D played for one hour, and we felt a little cheated. It seems every time we see the band they play less and less music. What hurt the most about this show is that it is a bit of a bad omen: With lead singer Dave McWane recovering from throat cancer, it is not hard to see the end of this popular ska/punk band.