Fishbone is Still Red Hot

You know that a concert is good when it takes you two days to recover both physically and mentally enough to be able to sit down, process one’s thoughts and write a review on it. On Friday, August 14th at Joey Harrison’s Surf Club in Ortley Beach, New Jersey, I once again had the pleasure to see this great funk, punk, soul, rock, metal, ska band from Los Angeles, California. I have seen Fishbone so many times over the years that while hanging out before they went on, Angelo Moore, the lead singer, looked at me as he made his rounds of the crowd and told me, “I know you from somewhere.” Yes Angelo, you do. Your shows.

The reason that I became a Fishbone fan so many years ago was a result of their live shows. I have been to many concerts and seen many bands but nobody rocks a small or mid-size venue better than “The Bone” does. It gets rowdy, it gets hot, it gets out of control. Remember, this band has been doing this for over 25 years and they haven’t lost a beat, a few original members yes, but not a single beat. I have a selfish viewpoint on the band. As a fan and witness to the greatness that they are capable of, I do wish them great success and hope that they would fill stadiums, but as that very same fan, I am more than happy to always experience them in small venues. If you like to have a great time at shows, this is the band to see, hands down.

Fishbone setlist August 14th, 2009

In 1987, a cheesy movie called Back to the Beach exposed Fishbone to me for the very first time with the scene posted below.

It wouldn’t be for another ten years until I would get the pleasure of seeing them live and become hooked. Now, your resident Fishbone “Souljah” even sports a Fishbone tattoo on his wrist. Another ten years or so, and once again I found myself viewing Fishbone live. Over those past years, I have seen several band members come and go. Their current lineup is Angelo Moore on Vocals/Sax/Theramin, John Norwood Fisher on Bass/Vocals, John “Wet Daddy” Steward on drums, Rocky George on guitar, John McKnight on Trombone/Vocals/Guitar and Dre Gipson on Keyboards/Vocals.

This lineup is fun and adds to the energy of the band. Where once all the nuttiness of stage-diving and crowd surfing was only Angelo Moore’s domain, Dre Gipson has been more than happy to contribute to the nuttsacktified madness that is Fishbone, not to mention his great reggae-esque singing and keyboard playing. Norwood Fisher continues to be the greatest rock bassist that no one knows about. Rocky George, once a member of Suicidal Tendencies and Cro-mags know rips the lead guitar and does it very well. John Steward is a beast behind the drum set; and John McKnight, who has played for Ben Harper and been an off and off member of Fishbone seals the freshness of the band and preserves the aroma of the nut.The only person that was really missing was Dirty Walt, but the world isn’t perfect.

Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the show and even came out with the bloody shirt to prove it. Fishbone is Red Hot and always will be.

No, it’s not my blood. No, I have no idea whose it is.

http://www.myspace.com/fishboneisredhot

http://www.fishbone.net/

http://www.fishbonelive.org/

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