On another chilly, drizzly night in Seattle I headed back to El Corazon this time to see Fishbone. Hailing from Southern California, Fishbone combines elements of funk, ska, some punk and a smattering of everything else in their unique sound. Started in 1979, they’re still going strong. These guys have more energy than bands half their age.
Front man Angelo Moore strutted, twisted and gyrated about the stage almost non-stop. They opened with my favorite song, Party At Ground Zero and I immediately felt myself jostled against the stage. At one point during the night it felt like my legs would get chopped off at the hips, the dancing was so wild. At the beginning of their set Angelo played a bass sax that if stretched would probably meet or exceed his height. When he stopped dancing about it was only to thrust his mic into the crowd who eagerly shouted out the words to the songs.
Chris Dowd proved to be multi-talented, playing a mean keyboard and also filling in on trombone and a couple times took over on lead vocals. He did a great job hamming it up and engaging the audience. Walter Kibby rounded out the horn section on trumpet and also provided vocals and over all audience tantalizing. John Steward on drums and Norwood Fisher on bass completed Fishbone’s sound.
The band played for two hours and their energy never waned once. My only complaint was that the sound mix was not good. Angelo’s vocals were difficult to hear over the music and the music itself sounded like it was coming from damaged speakers. Still, t was great to see Fishbone again.
Prior to Fishbone was a Seattle band called Re-Ignition. This band was total wow! Why they’ve not been on my radar I don’t know. They will be now. Re-Ignition is a Bad Brains tribute band, singing Bad Brains songs, but singer H.R. is replaced by a she – that she being Om Jahari who belted out songs in a voice as rich as chocolate mousse. She had pipes! But she was also a very dynamic performer. She pranced about the stage, made constant facial distortions and got the crowd good and riled up. The minute the band started there wasn’t a still body in the house. Their guitarist (Jason Cameron) twisted about, collapsed to his knees and leaped about, never missing a lick. Their bass player (Bob Lovelace) was also a ball of energy, constantly performing leaps and twists while drummer Davee Cee slammed his drums so fiercely I was surprised no sparks flew off his cymbals. Re-Ignition is a band to watch out for. Besides being great musicians, they’re great performers.
Another Seattle band, Beverly Crusher, played before Re-Ignition. This trio packed a powerful punch with their straight up rock sound with some elements of punk tossed in.
Opening the night was Thee Deception. These guys were a throw back to 70s hard rock bands, complete with long hair that whipped about, lots of shouting and strutting about the stage. They did a great job getting the growing crowd warmed up.
This was a fun night. I arrived just before eight and I got home at 1:30 Monday morning.
