Less Than Jake/Goldfinger

7 p.m. Monday, July 7. The Pageant, 6161 Delmar Boulevard.

Jul 2, 2008 at 4:00 am

A decade ago, a co-headlining tour by Goldfinger and Less Than Jake seemed unlikely, especially because the two bands seemed to represent the extreme ends of third-wave ska. Goldfinger was a reggae-influenced punk band with a major label contract and a video in MTV rotation ("Here In Your Bedroom"). Meanwhile, Less Than Jake was an underground ska band with a horn section who operated their own label (Fueled By Ramen, currently hijacked by Fall Out Boy); the group's only flirtation with Goldfinger's mainstream was "We're All Dudes" from the Goodburger soundtrack. Ten years later, the union of two of the genre's heaviest hitters is completely logical, especially since fans of the bands' upbeat tones are arguably more dedicated than ever now that ska's onetime popularity is a thing of the checkered past.