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Arizona Daily Wildcat February 13, 1997
You are entering Warsaw
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Tanith L. Balaban
Warsaw at the Theta Tau house
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As I've now been labeled a "traditional ska snob," the only thing to do is hold my head high and say that the February 8th Mobtown/Giant Steps/Dave's Big Deluxe/Warsaw show exceeded even my expectations. Slimstyle Records ended the ska drought in Tucson with this "Ska Extravaganza" co-sponsored by KAMP Student Radio. The venue ranked as one of the more unlikely places to hear ska - the Theta Tau house on Martin. The small gathering of Vespa scoots looked nice on the sidewalk, though, and the line of people at the door was a pleasant surprise.
Local favorites Warsaw started the show with a long set. I can say that their sound has definitely tightened since their 1995 CD, Warska. By the time Albuquerque's Giant Steps took the backyard stage, everyone's shoes were brown with dust. The rather rapid variety of ska caused the cloud to rise higher; it was visible across the street according to one wheezing concert-goer.
Dave's Big Deluxe was up next, with their increasingly swing-flavored Arizona ska. The audience was now coughing on the flying dirt as they stomped the grass into oblivion. Those crazy kids just kept hopping away to DBD standards like "Artebella" and "Vile Gossip," punctuated by Dave's ever-cynical commentary.
The dust settled as Mobtown proceeded with their lengthy sound check - necessary when the band includes two percussionists and about twice the horn count of most modern ska bands. But we were about to receive deliverance from the brown cloud - and from quite an unlikely source.
The red and blue lights arrived to quiet the dulcet tones two songs into the headlining act's set. Hmmm. They came all they way from L.A. for this? I admit, it was quite loud, but what about the atrocious disco playing across the street, which continued unabated?
This impasse did, however, have a happy ending. The problems of dust and the substandard PA were solved as Mobtown moved into the house. The fringe benefit of the impatient skanksters leaving was not lost on the 30 remaining traditional ska fans, who now got to hear another hour of music. And with the tight confines of the Theta Tau pool room, no sound check was necessary.
Mobtown was now playing '60s style ska aided only by guitar amps. In 1997, this is as close as you can get to the Skatalites playing in your front room. In a word, amazing. The set finished in the wee small hours with the classic "Simmer Down" from the days when Bob Marley, not No Doubt, epitomized "pop" ska.
I would rank this as the best Tucson show within recent history. A small category, that, but the huge turnout, great lineup, and unusual venue made this a class act.
