Ye Scallywag had humble beginnings 3 years ago when they first set out to create a punk rock and beer festival for the masses. In their 3rd go around they decided to take the show on the show. Expanding the the festival to 5 dates across the country, with varied line ups at each stop. Yours truly was able to attend the “hometown” show at San Diego’s Water Front Park where it all started. While this years line up was more ska heavy than the previous incarnations, a creative choice I loved, there were still plenty of punks abound ready to eat, drink, skank, and mosh their troubles away.
While I was at the first Ye Scallywag festival, I sadly had to miss last years event due a busy work schedule. However, the minute I saw this years line up I knew I had to be there and drunk off my ass. Thankfully my usual photographer, cohort, and good friend Brittany were able to bamboozle our way into the festival. We really just sent in a press request but let us pretend to be cooler than we actually are.
Once we were there we set out on our own plan of attack. I was on a gauntlet of sorts to drink as many full tasters as I could before the unlimited beer tasting ended. I ended at 36 tasters which totals up to about 9 beers in 3 hours, an average of a beer every 20 minutes. Definitely not a bad number if you asked me. Brittany of course had to do actual work unlike my drunk self. Although before the bands played she did get to mosey around the ground and pick up some free swag. I unfortunately didn’t get to catch the Beach Goons as I was in the midst of my gauntlet and couldn’t be stopped. I did manage to catch The Interrupters set from the comfort of the lovely fountain. A nice way to cool off after I had been cooking in the son for a few hours. They seem to get better every time I see them and with the huge momentum they have going I could see them headlining themselves in the not too distant future.
As my buzz maintained I figured it would be a brilliant idea to go in the pit for awhile to catch Less Than Jake which was both a fantastic idea and a horrible one. The band brought an intense level of energy that drove the pit insane and I decided to crowd surf for the first time in years. While I ended up fine, my shirt was a casualty in the chaos, with all its buttons being ripped off. Thankfully, I had a free shirt from jarritos that I acquired earlier in the day to remedy the situation. I spent the tail end of the set from the side of the crowd before acquiring some Jamaican food from one of the vendors. They were the only vegan vendors on site but thankfully their food was amazing. Any place that has plantains and curry is a ok with me.
After inhaling my food Hepcat came on and put the mellowest set of the evening. Granted, after so much ska punk before and with plenty of head we definitely needed the calm before the storm. People were shuffling, swaying, and dancing to Hepcat’s more traditional ska vibe well I more or less kept it low key. I wanted to bide my energy for Rancid later that evening. After wrapping up what I feel was a criminally short set I found some friends and had a quick chat before the Bosstones came on.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones broke up just as I was starting to go to shows and for the longest time they were a band I thought I would never get to see. Thankfully, their break up was short lived and they started playing shows again. Then in the span of the last few years they’ve become a band I see at least once a year or every other year. Despite the frequency in how often I see them they have become a band I try not to ever miss as they never disappoint. They played a few newer songs from their recent record which was a nice touch to diversify their set. Of course they closed the set with ” the one that bought the house.
During the last set change I decided to push forward to as close as I could which was a solid spot in the middle. Once Rancid came on I got tussled about like a rag doll before finding some stable footing closer to the left side of the pit. I’ve seen Rancid close to 40 times at this point so there isn’t much left to say about them. I will say that this set might have been one of the better ones. The evening outdoor setting was very reminiscent of a late night warped tour set which warmed my inner teenage heart.
All in all, I think Ye Scallywag improved greatly from their first year and I can only expect next years incarnation to be the best yet. The only real more suggestion I have is just enhance the food presence. Not that the selection was bad but I do feel there is definitely more room to show off the local food truck scene. Something punks, drunk or sober, can all agree on. Until next time, see you in the pit!