{"id":7595,"date":"2026-08-23T23:42:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T23:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7595"},"modified":"2026-08-23T23:42:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T23:42:14","slug":"review-americas-first-great-ska-band-still-stands-as-its-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7595","title":{"rendered":"Review: America’s first great ska band still stands as its best"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Untouchables made an all-too-rare headlining appearance in the Bay Area on Saturday night (Aug. 22).<\/p>

Read more Sunnyvale launches on-demand rideshare service<\/a><\/p>\n

And the legendary Los Angeles-based outfit used the opportunity to show that America\u2019s first great ska band is still its best.<\/p>\n

The eight-piece act, which is led by original member Chuck Askerneese on vocals, sounded fabulous as it delivered a high-energy 15-song set at the lovely Guild Theatre in Menlo Park.<\/p>\n

The groundbreaking group, which came out of L.A.\u2019s Silver Lake area in the early \u201980s and went on to influence countless other acts all around SoCal and well beyond, kicked off its roughly 80-minute set with a manic take on \u201cBe Alright\u201d from 2000\u2019s hybrid comeback-retrospective outing \u201cGhetto Stout.\u201d<\/p>\n

From there, The UTs (as the band is often referred to by fans) jumped right into its all-time-great debut \u2014 1985\u2019s \u201cWild Child\u201d \u2014 for an inspired version on the crowd favorite \u201cI Spy (For the FBI).\u201d<\/p>\n

The act \u2014 which original vocalist Kevin Long once famously described as \u201cmods who played ska music\u201d \u2014 has gone through many lineup changes throughout the decades. Most notably, Clyde \u201cThe City Gent\u201d Grimes \u2014 the group\u2019s guitarist and primary songwriter \u2014 died 10 years ago and co-frontman\/vocalist Jerry \u201cThe EQ\u201d Miller passed in October 2024 at the age of 68.<\/p>\n

Askerneese is fully in charge of steering the good ship Untouchables in concert now and he proved to be a terrific frontman at The Guild, bringing tons of energy to the stage while delivering spot-on vocal work.<\/p>\n

And he\u2019s certainly working in front of a powerhouse ensemble, fueled by a fiery three-piece horn section, dynamite rhythm section and nice keyboard and guitar work that combine to really get the crowd skanking.<\/p>

Read more USC coach Lincoln Riley has everything needed for a CFP berth; now, he needs to deliver<\/a><\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

Not surprisingly, almost all of the big highlights came courtesy of \u201cWild Child\u201d \u2014 which is as great a ska-revival album as you\u2019ll likely ever find. These included the rough-and-rowdy tale of \u201cMandingo\u201d ( \u201ca real mean dude\u201d), the radio-friendly soul-pop ballad \u201cWhat\u2019s Gone Wrong\u201d (which offers up some impeccable toasting, while showcasing The UTs at their most UB40-esque) and the empowering anthem \u201cFree Yourself\u201d (which, yes, I realize first appeared on an earlier EP, but most fans know it from \u201cWild Child\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

All of these great songs combined in concert to make me wonder, yet again, why the mighty UTs never became a big commercial success? And part of that answer appears to be that America just wasn\u2019t ready for them, a point that is seemingly underscored by the fact that the band had its greatest chart success in the far-more-ska-friendly confines of the U.K.<\/p>\n

These attendees at The Guild, however, were certainly listening back in the day \u2014 on their cassette\/vinyl copies of \u201cWild Child\u201d \u2014 and sang along with Askerneese on all the big numbers.<\/p>

\n<\/div>\n

The band brought the main set to a close in thrilling fashion with the \u201cWild Child\u201d title track before returning for an equally fun three-song encore that finally concluded with its fired-up rendition of the \u201960s garage-rock standard \u201c(I\u2019m Not Your) Steppin\u2019 Stone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Inciters were also on the bill, serving as the opening act and setting the table nicely for The UTs with their updated take on vintage \u201960s and \u201970s soul. The Santa Cruz-based band, which also features a cool horn section, is definitely worth catching in concert if you get the chance.<\/p>\n

The Untouchables Setlist:<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) \u201cBe Alright\u201d\n2) \u201cI Spy (For the FBI)\u201d\n3) \u201cLive and Let Dance\u201d\n4) \u201cMandingo\u201d\n5) \u201cTear the Gate Down\u201d\n6) \u201cSecond Chance\u201d\n7) \u201cWhiplash\u201d\n8) \u201cTwist & Shake\u201d\n9) \u201cWhat\u2019s Gone Wrong?\u201d\n10) \u201cLebanon\u201d\n11) \u201cBond\u201d\n12) \u201cWild Child\u201d\nEncore:\n13) \u201cLaser Show\u201d\n14) \u201cLonely Bull\u201d\n15) \u201c(I\u2019m Not Your) Steppin\u2019 Stone\u201d<\/p>

Read more SF Giants\u2019 Adames, Bericoto leave Sunday\u2019s game vs. Red Sox with injuries<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Untouchables, the L.A. outfit that ranks as one of finest American ska acts of all time, played a concert at Guild Theatre in Menlo Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7593,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"\nReview: America’s first great ska band still stands as its best - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7595\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review: America’s first great ska band still stands as its best - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Untouchables, the L.A. outfit that ranks as one of finest American ska acts of all time, played a concert at Guild Theatre in Menlo Park.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7595\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-23T23:42:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4c5f7569e244c1f8dcc8f38548138e3c.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1859\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7595#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7595\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"Review: America’s first great ska band still stands as its best\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-23T23:42:14+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7595\"},\"wordCount\":653,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7595#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/432fd5a36e6d43505e3b3f80f8cff0ca-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Things To Do\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7595#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7595\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7595\",\"name\":\"Review: America’s first great ska band still stands as its best - 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