Streetlight Manifesto & Reel Big Fish Rock Seattle’s King Cat Theater, By Holly Homan

Wednesday December 14th, 2011 was a day I looked forward to for at least two months. For on that day two of my favorite bands, Streetlight Manifesto and Reel Big Fish were playing a double bill at Seattle’s King Cat Theater.

I arrived just before Lionize came on stage. Lionize is a four-piece composed of a guitarist/singer, a bass player, keyboard player and drummer. Their music was very reminiscent of old sixties rhythm and blues with a vocalist with a gutsy and powerful voice that sounds like he gargles gravel while he’s singing. The band is very tight sounding and they’re good musicians. However, there didn’t seem to be a lot of interaction between the band members or the audience. They performed their songs and did so very well, but I quickly grew bored with their set about half way through.

Next up was Streetlight Manifesto, whom I had thought were the headliners, so I was surprised they came on next.. Now, let me explain how much I love Streetlight Manifesto. The last time they played, in July of 2010, I delayed surgery I was having so I wouldn’t miss their show. I had to miss them the time before and wasn’t about to let that occur again. They opened with Watch It Crash, and the audience immediately began moshing and singing along. The seven-member band from New Brunswick, NJ includes two saxophone players, a guitarist/singer, a trombone and a trumpet plus a bass player and drummer. Thomas Kalnoky, lead vocals, guitar, bounced around the stage and looks very youthful. No one in that band stood still and neither did their audience. Security was kept very busy intercepting the crowd surfers who tumbled onto the stage in great succession and some had to be bodily carried off stage.

Besides, Watch It Crash, they played other popular songs like Mephisto Café and 1234 1234.

They didn’t seem to play very long, or perhaps I was having too much fun and it just seemed short, and there was no encore. I could have listened to them play all night.

About a half hour later, Reel Big Fish hit the stage with the force of a level five hurricane. They opened with Everything Sucks, followed by other hits like I Want Your Girlfriend To Be My Girlfriend. Aaron Barrett – lead vocals, guitar has boundless energy and boundless wit. At one point he says to the audience, “check out my boner” and leans toward trombone player Dan Regan who performs a stunning solo. He also mentioned the reason they just started sounding better as a band was because they just started lip syncing their shows. He announced that sax player Matt Appleton was now known as Saxel Rose. Said, sax player barely stood still even while playing. None of the six members of this Hunting Beach ska outfit were anywhere near sedate. Their infinite on-stage energy overflowed into the crowd and it was hard to figure out who egged on whom. Again security was kept busy with the crowd surfers tumbling head over heals onto the stage. At one point, some dude with grey hair, and a middle-aged ponch, crawled onto the stage, gave the audience a thumbs up, and headed off. This is proof positive that Reel Big Fish appeals to a large audience. This was also obvious as the club was packed like proverbial sardines.

Things were at their wildest when they performed She’s Got A Girlfriend Now, which Aaron Barrett introduced as a song about a girlfriend who dumped him and he dedicated it to all the ladies, women and females in the audience.

The highlight was during their performance of Suburban Rhythm, a song they always have fun with, by performing it disco style, rock style and whatever other style they feel like coming up with. When they did it square dance style, the sax player and trumpet player (John Christianson) locked arms and danced a square dance. When the song ended, they bowed to each other.

Besides playing their catchy originals, they performed a few covers as well. These included the old Van Morrison tune, Brown-eyed Girl and a great version of The Special’s Monkey Man, which Barrett introduced by saying, “If you don’t know this song, then fuck you.”

For an encore they came out and performed the old A-Ha tune, Take On Me, and actually turn it into a good song. Who would have thought that a schlocky, drippy song such as Take On Me could have been turned into a ska tune, but RBF pulled it off brilliantly.

Reel Big Fish put on a very entertaining, energetic show. This was my third time seeing them and they have never disappointed me. I’d go as far as saying this was their best show yet. This was an all-around very fun show! The pictures below were gotten amongst bruises, stiff necks and rearranged organs as I had to be smack dab in the middle of the mosh pit for the best vantage point. The top of my head was used as a landing pad so many times I think I’m an inch shorter than I was when I started out.

– Holly Homan