LESS THAN JAKE - BIRMINGHAM O2 ACADEMY, 28 FEBRUARY 2026

BY SHARI BLACK VELVET

Roll up, roll up. Less Than Jake are in town with their UK Winter Circus, and it’s a circus with a whole array of entertainment. With The Bouncing Souls, The Aquabats and The Bar Stool Preachers all a part of the line-up, it’s a mini pop-punk/rock fest for all. You get the wacky, fun madness of The Aquabats, complete with inflatable sharks, pizzas and balls, the more refined and flavoursome East Coast soulful punk of The Bouncing Souls, while the UK’s own The Bar Stool Preachers open the show with some socially conscious tunes that pack a punch in the live setting. All three bands warm the crowd up for Florida’s finest ska punkers, Less Than Jake. 

A few lines of circus theme music signal the arrival of Less Than Jake onto the stage with Buddy Schaub’s trombone notes of ‘Nervous In The Alley’ introducing the band and song. With its catchy beat and 'woah’s, you’re instantly cast into party mode. The audience sings along to the opening number and ‘History Of A Boring Town’, and there are lots of cheers at the end of each song. “You can tell we’re not in Derby anymore,” jokes Chris. The audience features all ages, showing that the band are still making new fans as well as retaining their older, long-standing ones. 

Celebrating 30 years of the album ‘Losing Streak’, the five-piece play the first song from the album, ‘Automatic’, which still sounds as fresh today as it did back then. 
“This feels like the first real show of the tour. This is awesome,” remarks Roger. The band throw out some witty one-liners in between songs, making the show more than just music. 

The fast-paced ‘Last One Out Of Liberty City’ was made for circle pits and sees Roger whip his dreadlocks around. The crowd clap along to the ending, while two inflatable PEZ characters at the back of the stage inflate out of nowhere.

Chris predicts that the audience is going to go crazy for ‘All My Best Friends Are Metalheads’. He’s not wrong. It’s one of the band’s most infectious and well-known songs in their catalogue, and a firm favourite with everyone. 
“We’ve got to play a banger after that one”, the lead singer says, at the end.
“I’ve got an idea. I’ve always wanted to play ‘All My Best friends Are Metalheads’ 20 times and then leave.” 
While that sounds like a great idea, they, instead, perform newer songs in the form of ‘Walking Pipebomb’ as well as older hits such as ‘Johnny Quest Thinks We’re Sellouts’.

Chris comments that someone has thrown a false tooth at him. “It’s the state of our crowd. They used to throw bras and panties and now they're throwing their dentures and shit.”
“Anyone seen us the last 14 times we’ve played in this room?” Roger asks. There’s a big cheer. Once a Less Than Jake fan, always a Less Than Jake fan – and, once you’ve seen them live, you can’t help but want to see them again and again. The band never disappoint. 

‘Help Save The Youth Of America From Exploding’ is another classic song that causes the audience to explode with elation, while newer song ‘Sunny Side’ from the band’s 2024-released ‘Uncharted’ EP has positive vibes and an uplifting outlook. 
The show includes toilet paper guns that spray toilet roll out to the crowd, smoke blasting up into the air at the front of the stage, and Mr. Skull makes a couple of appearances during the evening, including during ‘Plastic Cup Politics’, the main set ender. 

Chris sings ‘The Brightest Bulb Has Burned Out / Screws Fall Out’ on his own before his bandmates rejoin him on stage, while we’re told that ‘Look What Happened’ has had a weird resurgence with 26 radio stations picking it up, 26 years after the band recorded it. We love ‘Look What Happened’, so love that it’s having a resurgence. It’s an underrated single, so definitely deserves new ears to hear it. 

The band can’t leave without playing the legendary ‘Gainesville Rock City’, which wraps up the show on a sensational high. It’s so full of vibrancy and exuberance. 
“I just wanna tour here all the time,” says Chris, at one point during the show. We would most definitely love that to happen, and look forward to the next time the band bring their circus back to the UK again.

Click HERE for previous Less Than Jake photos/reviews