Mephiskapheles brings spicy Satanism to 'Sco

Last Friday night in the 'Sco it was time for all the Oberlin rude boys and girls to finally come out of hiding. You know them, kids represented in pork pie hats, black suits, white button-down shirts, white socks and black shoes; a display that would make the little Two Tone logo, Walt Jabsco proud. There were also the kids who went the plaid ska route, and even a few Skins showed up to pay their respects - or maybe not, it was just some swim team kids who shaved their heads.

I had the honor of seeing the up and coming campus ska band, Skatastrofé, for the second week in a row. They are a mutt of a band: their ska sound is infused with a bit of beach rock (not to be confused with the flavors of surf rock), '50s assorted fun, and a watered-down version of the sound of Operation Ivy's hiccupy punk/ska energy. Time is on their side; I believe the week in between the two times I saw them gave them a chance to mesh a bit more. They still have that newly formed band sound, but they are coming along. Also, during that week, frontman Jeremy Cobb wrote a violent anti-Nazi song that is quite commendable. Since the Harkness show, there has been marked improvement, but the vocals at times were a bit sketchy and the band sort of lacked that in-your-face intensity for which they appear to be striving. Patience, boys.

From the first seconds of Mephiskapheles' performance, as front man Nubian Nightmare shouted "D-O-G, G-O-D!!" I felt the energy and incredibly tight power of this band. I remembered, "Oh yeah! Ska shows are some of the most fun shows to attend." All the kids were skanking it up and the kids who didn't skank were still definitely moving. It was like, "Pick it up, pick it up, pick it up." Anyway, they played some songs with a more new school ska-core-ish sound comparable to the likes of the Voodoo Glowskulls or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but they also had good control of the rock-steady route, paying respect to the old school. I love it when I see a band and they sound even better than they do on their album, and Mephiskapheles kicked the ass of their album God Bless Satan at this live show.

I was smiling and sweaty when I left this show, and I felt thoroughly satisfied. But really, I'd like to see more positive fun shows like this at Oberlin even if they encourage Satan or hell jokes in reference to 666 Mephiskapheles.

Make mommy proud: The boys raise hell. (photo by David Reeves)