Ska-punk, poppunk, punkrock, powerpop… I have no idea what box they fit in, but I know that when I put these two bands on I instantly get happier. It was both the first time I went to see a band in the concert hall of Vooruit and the first time I saw either Less Then Jake or Zebrahead. I got to say it wasn’t the best show I’ve ever seen, but hey it’s called punk for a reason, it’s supposed to be sloppy! And well, sloppy it was…

Vooruit is a really old building. Build in 1913 by architect Ferdinand Dierkens for the socialist association Samenwerkende Maatschappij Vooruit. It was supposed to bring culture to the working class. The opening however only took place after World War I in 1918. It bloomed for many years, but after it’s occupation during World War II it never got back on it’s feet again and went out of business a little later. The building got neglected and started falling apart. But in 1982 it got offered a second chance. And because of photography of all things.

In the early 80′s two young photographers shelter from the rain in the ruins of the old building, so the legend goes. They get intrigued by all the long lost beauty and start taking photographs. The photographs make their way to the people through exhibitions and a book and al of a sudden everyone sees the building’s potential and realize it has got to be saved. By 1983 Vooruit gets declared monument and it gets restorated. It took almost 20 years to get everything back up and running, but these days Vooruit is blooming again.

Nice story, huh? Back to the concert though. I guess everyone does this. When the last band went off stage and I make my way to the exit. While shuffling along in the big stream of sweaty people. I process the show. How was the crowd, how was the band, did they play all the songs I wanted to hear?

For both bands my conclusion was pretty much the same. The crowd was sweet, very good atmosphere. The band though, disappointed me a little. Like I said it’s punk, so I wasn’t expecting them to sound like on the album. And they didn’t and in a good way, they were clearly enjoying themselves, just jamming away. No what disappointed me was the songs they choose to play. In my opinion both bands have a lot of great songs and some I like a little less. What happened was that they played quite a few lesser ones and also just completely left out some of my favourites. I really don’t understand what happened there, but that’s what went down.

Never the less I still love these guys, so check them out if you like a smile on your face. For those wondering, Hell Yeah! by Zebrahead and That’s Why They Call It A Union by Less Then Jake were two songs I really missed in there.