Text by Amber McDonald; photos by Tracy May.

“Higher the mountain, it hard to climb / Rougher the rhythm, it must be Sublime / Check out Bud Gaugh, Yea he’s right on time / We got cricket Eric Wilson with the funky bass line.” ~Excerpt from Sublime's “Don’t Push."

With poetic-punk rock lyricisms, good-vibe reggae rhythms, dubby reverbs and echoes that bounce around a heavy dancehall bassline, the song “Don’t Push” was the quintessential way for Sublime with Rome to rip into last Monday's performance at Jannus Live.

This was my third time seeing the reincarnation of the 1990s, rock and reggae genre-blending band, and I anticipated the experience for months with high expectations about what the legendary music could do, once it took over my favorite cityscape courtyard-venue.

The place was packed to capacity with dudes and chicks of all ages bouncing off each other as they smoked cigarettes, sipped beers and cocktails, swayed their arms, danced and – most importantly – sang at the top of their lungs to the funky fresh lyrics of Sublime.

This harmless debauchery continued the entire night, as singer/guitarist Rome Ramirez, bassist Eric Wilson, drummer Bud Gaugh and saxophonist extraordinaire Tom Forman (who apparently is a Harvard grad and doctor?!) grinded out staples like “Garden Grove,” “Right Back,” “Greatest Hits,” and “40oz to Freedom.”

This article appears in Oct 28 – Nov 3, 2010.