Brian Slattery Photos
TJ and the Campers.
Chris Depot, singer and trombonist for TJ and the Campers, eyed the large crowd assembled at Cafe Nine on Saturday night. “Hello, Connecticut!” he said. “Is everyone ready for an evening of ska?” Over a three-band bill full of driving rhythms and sweaty dancing, the answer was a resounding yes, as New Haven showed that its roots in third-wave ska continue to bear fruit.
In the 1990s, when third-wave ska was at its popular peak, New Haven was a center for it, with a reliable club to play at (the Tune Inn), a promoter interested in booking and recording bands (Fernando Pinto), a host of local bands, touring bands, and local bands that became touring bands, and most important, a dedicated audience there to support it all. Third-wave ska dropped from its height of popularity by the end of the 1990s, but persisted. But recently, there were glimmers of a possible resurgence, with two new ska outfits forming around New Haven and putting out recordings.
Saturday night at Cafe Nine showed that perhaps something like a veritable reinskarnation may be upon us. The night began with TJ and the Campers — Chris Depot on vocals and trombone, Matt Lombardi on vocals and guitar, Izzy Tonelli-Sippel on bass and vocals, Mark Depot on tenor sax, and Tim Marran on drums — who drove from Rhode Island to be a part of the show. Depot explained that the band started during the pandemic, crediting his brother Mark for bringing then together (“he’s the one who said, ‘hey, Covid sucks! Let’s go play in a basement.‘”) The group quickly worked up a set of material including several originals and a few choice covers, and hit stages as soon as it could.
Their performance explained why, as the Campers combined tight musicianship with an extremely friendly vibe that amply warmed up the room. Depot proved an engaging front man with a sly sense of humor (“Here’s a song we wrote about two weejs ago. If you know what it means, please tell me at the end of the show.”) But it was the high-energy music that hooked the crowd. When Depot announced that “the dance floor is open,” a handful of people didn’t have to be told twice. By the end of the Campers’ set, half the crowd was moving and ready to move more.
Hometown heroes The Simulators — Kevin MacKenzie on guitar and vocals, Julian Wahlberg on guitar and vocals, Cody Freedom on tenor sax, Brian Koopman on baritone sax, Frederic Anthony on drums, and Zachary Yost on bass — then hit the stage with a set that was light on banter and very heavy on irresistible rhythm. Anchored by superb drumming from Anthony and rock-solid low end from Yost, the band tore through a set of songs that cemented it as the heir apparent to the ska bands of the 1990s. Mackenzie and Wahlberg kept their guitars spiky, and Freedom and Koopman laid into their horns, the overall effect being a dark, dirty sound that required no explanation. The crowd, ranging from older ska stalwarts to 20-somethings who crowded close to the stage, had come to dance, and The Simulators gave them everything they needed to do it.
It was left to the New London-based Hempsteadys — Andrew Carey on guitar and vocals, NME The Illest on vocals and hype, Jon Logan on guitar and backing vocals, Jordan Harrelson on guitar and backing vocals, Ricky Rez on keys, Jim Lockett on trombone, Cody Freedom on tenor sax, Pat Slattery on alto sax, Shaun Burgundy on bass, and Mike Winslow on drums — to bring the party home. The 10-piece band had more than enough people to do it, with three of the band’s members setting up on the floor in front of the stage adding to the sense of happy chaos. When the music kicked into action, band and audience commingled, with NME The Illest easily whipping up the crowd by blasting them with a firehose of energy. The Hempsteadys made it all feel more like a house party to which all were invited, with a palpable sense of catharsis. It was perhaps best encapsulated in a song early in the band’s set when the music coalesced into a shouting chorus of “it’s gonna be all right,” over and over again. For the next hour The Hempsteadys were on stage, it really was.