The mad hatters from Los Angeles, California swept into CMJ this year on the back of their upcoming documentary, “Everyday Sunshine” which was screened for a select few before the bands night onstage. The seven member strong Fishbone wove their way through a night of hits and misses in front of a rambunctious crowd at the intimate Le Poisson Rogue down in the village. Accompanied by screeching reverb Angelo Moore took to his microphone like a manic preacher serenading the crowd before unexpectedly dropping into the laid back groove of “Unyielding Conditioning” off of the group’s 1999 album, Give a Monkey A Brain and He’ll Swear He’s the Center of the Universe.
One of the reoccurring themes throughout the night was the way the band can slide into almost any musical style, seeming as comfortable in Heavy Metal as they are in Reggae. While this range is appreciated, it does make for some uneven moments and a confused crowd in the live setting. “The Suffering” was played early, continuing the group’s mellow introduction before former Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Rocky George dropped some “Institutionalized” riffs over the audience. The pit got moshing and Angelo started stage diving as Fishbone broke out the popping “Ma & Pa” before playing their cover of Sublime’s “Date Rape” and the furious bass blasting of John Norwood Fisher that signals “Bonin’ In The Boneyard”.
The energy was then diminished by the plodding “Behind Closed Doors” before the group realized they were running out of time as the late night party following the set was due to take over the club. Mentioning the lack of time often from the stage the group picked up the tempo and nailed “Skankin’ To The Beat” (complete with Theremin work from Angelo), the intense roots-reggae-metal in a blender of “Let Dem Ho’s Fight” and the set closing all-time ska jam “Party At Ground Zero”.
After a pumping closer and a wide ranging set it is surprising that Fishbone is still one of those groups that make you ask; why isn’t this band bigger!? Hopefully the “Everyday Sunshine” documentary will shed some light on that.
When the horns said good night, the house lights came up and a major portion of the crowd left, yet there was still one surprise left on this night. The band returned to the stage after a few minutes to give New York City an unexpected encore; their cover of the Curtis Mayfield classic, “Freddy’s Dead”. It was a sweet treat for those who stuck around on this night and really for all the fans that stuck by this band for years.
