Of all the punching bags available to snarky music critics, the suburban American reggae band is arguably the most battered. But to summarily slam Sublime and their ilk misses two critical points. First, these are all just passionate musicians inspired by the truly inspiring music of Bob Marley, Toots Hibbert, Desmond Decker and so many others. Second, as is the case with San Jose-based Nessie the Great, it’s just fun. I mean, they’ve got a song dedicated to their 1992 Toyota Previa minivan, a vehicle that frontman and guitarist Carson Lewis praises for shuttling him and his crew to Santa Cruz.
Nessie the Great
Fri, 9pm, Free
Willow Den Public House, San Jose
