Mighty Mighty Bosstones Leave “Impression” on Packed San Diego Crowd

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
December 21, 2014
House of Blues- San Diego, CA

There ain’t no party like a Mighty Mighty Bosstones party, and the eight-member ska band delivered Sunday night at the House of Blues in San Diego. Clad in matching red-and-white suits with token red plaid ties, the Boston men performed an energetic set for an audience full of crowd-surfers, dancers and pitters.
Opening up the show, Oceanside Sound System (OSS) brought a punkier vibe to the show, with a single saxophone maintaining the two-tone sounds of the night. The second openers, The Interrupters, are no strangers to Mighty Mighty Bosstones fans. They previously opened for the Bosstones at the group’s Los Angeles date on the last tour, and will play the Bosstones’ Hometown Throwdown concert series in Boston this week. The LA-based group, fronted by the lovely Aimee Interrupter, was warmly welcomed by the crowd, almost as if they were a headlining act. And Aimee represents female punkers well, showing a fortitude comparable to that of Brody Dalle from the Distillers and Joan Jett with raspy vocals and a smile that shows she is both tough and sweet. The fans haven’t been the only ones taking note of the Interrupters’ raw talent; Tim Armstrong of Operation Ivy and Rancid fame produced the group’s debut record, which came out earlier this year. The Interrupters paid homage to Armstrong by performing Operation Ivy’s Sound System, which drew a large pit in the crowd.
As the clock struck 9:15PM, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones appeared on stage (and 15 minutes ahead of the regularly scheduled set time. Kudos, dudes.) and proved that the repeated adjectives were necessary in their name. Song after song, from Old School Off the Bright to A Pretty Sad Excuse, the Bosstones were — for lack of a better word — mighty.
This band’s energy didn’t die in the ’90s when danceable tunes like The Impression That I Get and Someday I Suppose filled the radio airwaves. Singer Dicky Barrett and the other seven members did not stop moving throughout the night, mimicking the crowd who continuously crowd-surfed and danced in a circle pit. But no one had quite as much energy as Ben Carr, a man’s whose sole purpose in the Bosstones is to dance. Carr doesn’t play an instrument, but he’s just as essential as any other member of the Bosstones. His vivaciousness on stage is a reminder that one can have fun, even while dancing alone, and his name is one that is frequently chanted throughout sets.
While the show was in Southern California, the band’s Boston roots were not forgotten. During Hell of a Hat, caps were tossed toward the stage, but none received more cheers than a Red Sox hat that Barrett proudly sported on his head. And that Patriots cap? Tossed back into the crowd with a look of disgust. Barrett made sure certain important themes were highlighted during the set, including the importance of supporting live music and valuing friendship, unity and love, especially during this time of year.
Staying true to his word, during the encore, Barrett proudly displayed an OSS shirt while ending the night with A Pretty Sad Excuse.