Goldfinger returned to New Jersey on Saturday to headline the annual Skanksgiving festival at Sayreville’s Starland Ballroom. The band was joined by Save Ferris, Pilfers, Joystick, Backyard Superheroes, and Joker’s Republic.
Though the show wasn’t sold out, it felt like it with the energy of 2,500 ska fans in one building.
Joker’s Republic
Joker’s Republic opened the show promptly at 5:30 pm and performed for a half-hour. The three-piece included hits like “Gin and Tonic” and “Necessarily Evil,” and closed with a cover of Streetlight Manifesto’s “Everything Went Numb.”
Many of the later bands credited and thanked Austen Gray for helping organize and promote the show.
Backyard Superheroes
Another local support group took the stage in Backyard Superheroes. In 25 minutes, the band was able to squeeze in eight songs.
During “Mass Hysteria,” the band brought up Pilfers frontman Coolie Ranx to sing his verse. The band also through a bag of beach balls into the crowd while an inflatable dinosaur took the stage. The things you’d only see at Skanksgiving.
Joystick
Joystick, who made the trip up from New Orleans, Louisiana, took the stage for a hardcore twist on ska punk.
The band’s set included tracks like “Rinse and Repeat” and “Turd in a Punchbowl,” staples of their set.
Joystick toured in Europe this summer before stopping in New Jersey for a one-off gig.
Pilfers
Pilfers came to New Jersey with a ’90s-ska attitude. Frontman Coolie Ranx spent most of his time in the crowd with no monitors, and the band performed one long medley.
Due to a set time of only 30 minutes, Ranx decided to do a Pilfers “wheel” show. When he says “wheel,” the crowd responds with “next tune,” and they continue with that.
Ranx was also seen during the Backyard Superheroes set as mentioned above, as well as selling merch at the front of the venue during Save Ferris and Goldfinger.
Save Ferris
Save Ferris was a level up in energy that I don’t think most of the crowd was expecting. Even if you’ve seen a Save Ferris show before, they bring more energy than most other bands on any bill.
Lead singer Monique Powell made several outfit changes throughout the show, including ones that are better off not being written about.
The band performed 45-minutes with hits like “Goodbye,” performed a rendition of Operation Ivy’s “Artificial Life,” and closed with their biggest hit, “Come on Eileen.”
Goldfinger
Skanksgiving headliner Goldfinger took the stage at around 9:45 pm, one of the later sets you’ll see at Starland Ballroom.
The all-star lineup included John Feldmann on vocals, MxPx’s Mike Herrera on bass, New Found Glory’s Cyrus Bolooki on drums, and the Reel Big Fish horn section.
The group performed a completely different setlist than they have been for the past couple of years, including the first known performance of “20 Cent Goodbye.”
They also performed “My Head” for the first time since 2001 and three Christmas songs: “White Christmas” for the first time since 2011, “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”
The group also did a cover of NOFX’s “Linoleum.”
Full setlist:
Taped: Welcome to the Black Parade (My Chemical Romance song)
- Put the Knife Away
- Spokesman
- Counting the Days
- The City
- My Head (first time since 2001)
- 20 Cent Goodbye (first known performance)
- Here in Your Bedroom
- Tijuana Sunrise
- Just Like Heaven (The Cure song)
- Get Up
- Open Your Eyes
- Linoleum (NOFX song)
- Mable (with fans on stage)
- Superman
- Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Gene Autry song)
- Santa Claus Is Comin’ to own (Harry Reser song)
- White Christmas (Irving Berlin song; first time since 2011)
- Mind’s Eye
- Miles Away
- 99 Red Balloons (Nena song)
NJ Music Festivals 