A Night of Ska Punk at SOhO

Last Thursday, June 18, Santa Barbarans decided to ease into the weekend with some of the best punk-rock reggae around when SOhO hosted Facuya, Ease Up, King Zero, and True Press. All of the bands put on a dynamic show and spectacular sounds engulfed the club with the high vibrations of reggae and the grit of punk rock.

The performances started off with King Zero. Frontman Ben Collinson gripped the mic in his right hand with comfortable intensity; he crouched low in his hip-hop stance and delivered verse after verse followed by echoing reggae hoots. The crowd was grooving to all of the jams and then started to really move when the band jumped up to double-time speed with some fast ska playing. The sound was crystal clear and the vocals came through the amplifiers with vigor and weren’t muddled with the band’s riffing and soloing.

Next was Ease Up, which has more of a Soja style sound with harmonies and swelling rhythms that kept the crowd bouncing. True Press followed, their classic message of talking life head on resonated with the “One Love” atmosphere that reggae music instills in its listeners. The band was tight and their sound was warm and incredibly enjoyable to listen to.

Fayuca headline the show with a hard and fast style of ska-punk that sang about overcoming the systems that society has placed around itself. The band was full of fiery energy and most of their songs were sung in Spanish, which helped connect the differences of cultures and truly embody the message of one love.