Led by Angelo Moore who has definitely withstood the test of time with an uplifting energetic persona which has carried him for decades, as well as the other founding members of the band John Norwood Fisher on Bass and Walter A. Kibby II on trumpet.
I believe the last time I saw them play was about 20 years ago at the Lollapalooza festival back in 1993 and from the looks of it they haven’t missed a beat either. Now within the last 10 years their core band includes Rocky George who’s most notably known for his guitar playing with the Suicidal Tendencies, John Steward on Drums, Jay Armant on Trombone, and usually it’s Dre Gibson on keys who now, newly added this year is Freddie Flint on keys.
The crowd was so into the show I couldn’t believe it, I actually witnessed a mosh pit which I haven’t seen in ages, it was small yet effective and there were enough people in the crowd to catch the stage diving which has been a staple in the band’s repertoire since the beginning.
The set comprised of a gambit of songs ranging from their first album to their last with nice little Sublime and PFunk covers thrown in the mix. From their early years they pulled out “Cholly”, “Ma and Pa”, “Bonin’ in the Boatyard” and “Everyday Sunshine”. Their Ska-ness came out in full force with “Skankin’ to the Beat”, this is where I thought the floor was gonna cave in with everyone jumping around like a bunch of hyped up crazed hipsters on the loose.
Other notable songs during this unbelievable set were “Party at Ground Zero” another fantastic classic and “Sunless Saturday” which was the encore and a sweet nasty way to end the night. If you haven’t seen Fishbone or it’s been 20 years like it had been for me you need to go check them out before it’s too late.
Not too sure what the future holds for them and how much longer they will tour but I know you can check out some of them playing on the newest addition of The Big Ol’ Nasty Get Down Vol. 2.
Article by: Brad Winecoff
Photos by: Dave Openheimer
