Jul 18 1996 @ Warped 96 Chicago, IL

Well, folks, I got to see Warped and I got to meet Fishbone, so overall, a good weekend. First, the show. I got there late, since it was raining and about fifty degrees, so we were in no hurry. When we did get there, we ended up spending most of our time backstage, because at least it was warmer there. Each band seemed to stick to its half-hour time. The only bands I watched before Fishbone were NOFX and Guttermouth. Guttermouth was nothing special, but NOFX was alright, and the crowd was especially into them, so that helped. Unfortunately, the sound system was pretty lame, very noisy. Then Fishbone came on. I got to stand right behind them as they played, just to the right of Fish, and it was excellent to be that close and in a different vantage point than usual. They played Riot, Drunk Schizo, Alcoholic, Beergut, Behavior Control Technician, and Nutmeg. I echo everyone's sentiment that it's tough to deal with hearing only 6 tunes from them. Now, an important observation. From my spot in the back, I was able to see the entire crowd. And folks, virtually no one was boogying. The people in front moshed a bit during Alcoholic, but everyone was mostly still through the rest of it (except me -- I was worried I was gonna get banished from the backstage, or knock something over, like maybe Fish). Angelo did surf onto the crowd (I think it was during Beergut), and so people got into that, but someone stole his hat, which I thought was uncool. Anyway, if you look at the tunes they played, it was mostly the harder stuff, rather than the fan-friendly ska fun of Alcoholic. And with the sound system blaring a lot of noise, it was hard to enjoy the subtleties of a tune like Behavior Control Technician. So I think it was a harder show than the crowd would have liked. It was fine by me, except I had a problem with the fact that they played Nutmeg. My reservations on that song have already been voiced, although I did enjoy it more live. But when you only have a 30-minute set, why play a ten-minute song that's overall pretty repetitive? Oh well. They still rocked. Interestingly, Fishbone didn't play last. My pal's band, The Blue Meanies, got the honor. And the crowd really rolled for them, so that only highlighted what was their deadness during Fishbone. As a plug, I highly recommend the Meanies new album, Kiss Your Ass Goodbye. Anyway, that's a capsule review. Since it was raining, the skating and biking stuff was basically hidden, tucked into a backstage area, so no one really saw that anyway. So I'd recommend the show if you have reasonable cash flow and don't get any other opportunities to see Fishbone. But, if you have something else you would really like to spend $20 on (or $35 for those in the Great White North), that might work better for you. I have a few other notes, but I'll save those for after I eat dinner.

chris

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