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I got to the club at about an hour before the doors were scheduled to be
opened, but it felt like more because only my friend was waiting there for
me. Finally, by the time the doors opened, 50 more people had shown up. I figured
no one knew of the show, or everyone had work to do because this was not the
normal attendance for a Slackers show.
The first band on was Now Serving # 38. NSN38 are a ska/reggae band.
NSN38 played a pretty good set, most of the songs were done in slow
reggae-ish fashion, while only a few were upbeat. This made me like them
even more. They somehow just didn't sound complete and the reason was
that their sax player was not in attendance. The highlight of their set was
when they played a cover of a Specials' classic "Monkey Man."
Next up was Simon and the Bar Sinisters. The Bar Sinisters are a
surf/punk/rock band. They played a rocking set filled with guitar solos,
wicked bass lines, and some of the best drumming. The Sinisters' set was
pretty good, but it seemed boring at times. They probably seemed boring to me
because I was just eager to see the Slackers.
The Wetlands had filled up by the end of their set. I hadn't noticed, but the place filled
up pretty fast, as the crowd was stoked to see the Slackers perform at one of
the greatest clubs in NYC, for one last time.
The Slackers finally took the stage. Q Maxx announced that after 10
years of playing at The Wetlands, it was their last time to perform there. So right
off the bat, everyone knew that this show would be something to remember.
Sitting in with the Slackers were 2 special guests: Agent Jay, and Simon
(from the Bar Sinisters). The 2 extra guitars gave the sound some more flavor.
The Slackers kicked things off with "Manuel" and went through such
numbers as: "Pedophillia," "The Nurse," "Runaway," "Redlight," and many
more. The set lasted for 3 hours as they rocked the house and got everyone
from the entrance all the way to the back of the club to shake their
ass. During one of the songs Victor was showing off some of his dance moves.
He reached into his bag, and pulled out a George W. Bush mask, which he put on
and continued dancing. The rest of the audience and I found it very amusing.
The Slackers as usual did 2 encores. The second encore, Vic came out
alone and did "Over the Rainbow," from the Wizard Of Oz. He played it with
his acoustic guitar; Vic was later joined by the rest of the band as they
played a few more songs as they said goodbye to The Wetlands.
Alex Rud is a Staff Columnist. Contact him at arud@rockzone.com.
