Gig review: Less Than Jake + Skinny Lister at O2 Academy Leeds

One band to mention was Skinny Lister. That’s not to cast Molly Manders and the Shut Up, or The Toasters in a negative light or anything; they were both amazing and refreshing, but Skinny Lister stuck in my mind. Traditionally, they are self-described as indie-folk or indie-rock and they proved that to the letter.

A plethora of instruments (including a double bass and an accordion) awaited the eager gig-goers to wow them, and Skinny Lister didn’t fall short; after all, it wasn’t their first time playing in Leeds so they knew how to work the crowd and warm them up for the forever youthful Less Than Jake.

Those guys haven’t been across the pond in two years, as they were very keen to remind everyone, and they even protested emphatically that they had spent the majority of the pandemic practising for this tour. To be honest, I caught a fair few online videos from bassist Roger Lima over the past couple of years, longing for them all to grace our pleasant shores again with much fun and frivolity, and to help me shift a couple of lockdown pounds through dancing, skanking and sweating the night away.

Less Than Jake are are known for their music, energy and great performances but forgot how much fun they were to go and watch. From improvised signs, outfits and toilet roll canons to a group of follicly challenged individuals from the crowd getting up on stage to be makeshift backing dancers, and then to a very young audience member on stage going nuts dancing while they performed a couple of tracks – what a memory for that kid to grow up with.

Aside from their usual backlist of hit after hit after hit, they played a couple of tracks from their latest album, Silver Linings which were just as good as songs from Hello Rockview, Anthem and GNVFLA; they still have it! If you get the chance to catch them on this tour, I would highly wholeheartedly recommend it.