Parkjam Alternative Night Delivers the Best in Punk and Ska

Parkjam Day 3 was a completely different animal. It was harder, louder, and so much punkier.

The main stage lineup included headliner multi-award winner, The Offspring, one of my all-time favourites MxPx, ska-punk band Reel Big Fish, and Oakville punk band Seaway. In addition, on the Forest City London Music Awards Spotlight Stage were Toronto punks, The Filthy Radicals, London locals, Snacks?, and Toronto’s, The Anti-Queens.

We’ve been following Seaway for a little while, and have written about them a couple of times, so I was excited to get to see them live. The Dine Alone Records band looked right at home up on the main stage, and they set the tone for the rest of the day. They were fun, they were loud, they were fully engaged with the crowd, and the music was great! If you missed them, you’re lucky; they’ll be playing Blackout Fest on October 16th in Brantford.

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The Filthy Radicals were first up on the Spotlight Stage. They brought a burst of energy and an intensity to be rivalled. The five-piece band is made up of Kyle Jewitt on vocals and guitar, Cody Deveaux on bass and vocals,
Jackson Cronmiller on drums, percussion and vocals, Andrew Denure on guitar, trumpet, trombone, harmonica, banjo and vocals, and last but not least, David Boxenbaum on keys.

Great set, hope to see them again soon.

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In the second slot on the main stage was Orange County, California ska band Reel Big Fish. They’ve got a brand new album out called, Life Sucks… Let’s Dance! They played the title track, and Pissed Off, as well as Your Guts (I Hate ’em), a cover of Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl, and more. They finished up the set with an amazing cover of Aha’s Take On Me, 

Throughout their set, people were smiling, dancing and singing along. Reel Big Fish brought the happy party to Parkjam.

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Snacks? OMG! I first chatted with Snacks? when they were getting ready to play Pouzza Fest this year. On Saturday they played Spotlight Stage, and they were loud! In my opinion, they were the loudest band of the weekend. The tented area was full, and the hometown band was on fire. If you haven’t seen Snacks?, go see them, but don’t forget your earplugs.

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I’m going to start by saying there are a disproportionate number of photos of MxPx. I was in the photo pit for the same three songs as usual, but somehow, I have three times as many photos.

This set was super special for me. I’ve been listening to this band since the early ‘90s, and while it was partly nostalgic, they put out a new self-titled album in 2018, and it’s great.

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MxPx is Mike Herrera on bass and vocals, Yuri Ruley on drums, Tom Wisniewski on guitar and vocals, and Chris Adkins, also on guitar and vocals. Mike and Yuri have been making music together since they were 15 and the band came together shortly after that. The band’s name, was Magnified Plaid, because of original member Andy Husted’s fascination with plaid shirts. However, the name didn’t fit on posters. They shortened it to M.P. on show posters, and Yuri Ruley used Xs in place of periods.

It’s been a while since MxPx played in our neck of the woods and they brought their A-game to Parkjam. I’m grateful that I was there to capture it.

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Toronto’s The Anti-Queens had the final slot on the Spotlight Stage, and they delivered a hard-driving, full out punk rock bonanza. There was a lineup change for the Saturday show, we’re not sure what’s up with that, but we’ll keep you posted.

The Anti-Queens have a new self-titled album, dropping on September 13th on Stomp Records, and they’ve got a new single and video, Worse Than Death, out now. If you missed them, they’re also playing Blackout Fest in October.

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You could feel the tension building in the crowd as we crept closer to 9:30. Right on time, The Offspring took the stage, and the audience went wild. The band flew through their set, with confidence and tenacity. I love when you can see that the artists atr enjoying the experience. There were lots of smiles on Saturday night.

Fans were all in, and this was a bucket list shoot for me.

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Trish Cassling

Writer/Photographer/Editor

Toronto Music Blogger