Apr 08 2000 @ Fenix Underground Seattle, WA

First off, the most important part of any fishbone show, the fashions...

In the vein of "where'd ya get those pants", Norwood was particularily resplendent in a lovely tie dyed-like toga, saucily avoiding any use of underwear or pants for that matter, but, always looking like the menacing tower of bass power that he is...the girlfriend's comment was "nice ass" but, alas, the ever mighty Warwick bass protected the audience and Norwood's privates from any unplanned exposure. For the gear heads out there, he's using the hughes vettner amps and also sported a natty Ovation acoustic bass on a few songs, most noticeably "Aids & Armageddon". Ah yes, Norwood also started the show off with perhaps one of the nicest viking horn hats ever see. He sure looks charmin' in little blonde braids, tastefully accenting his massive dread horn. In the intervening 10 years since I saw them last , his plank spanking style remains intact, the man is the undisputed freak of the bass world, always solid!

Angelo started in a great suit and the usual porkpie-like hat, and, as usual, strips down to just pants within a few songs, though gaffer's tape became an excellent belt when the pants started to come down...His theremin playing is just amazing to watch, easily the best use of a theremin by a band that I have ever seen, he's got it DOWN.

Ah, and onto the dirty dog himself, Walter. Sporting a simple outfit for spring 2000, merely some great 3/4 shorts, a black High Times t-shirt and, accented by some very stylish shades. I've heard people carp that Walt isn't that necessary, I say utter crap, the man is essential to fishbone and he was just dynamite last night.

ah, the new guys...

No noticeable fashion news here, (past spacey's great eddie hazel shirt) but, hey ya know, the new boys do great work. Spacy-T truly outdoes himself all night long, nimbly working thru all of Kendall's previous work and often breathing new life or, at least a different perspective on some songs, I have zero complaints about him. Some other family member commented that he had a very "rock god" type quality in his stage precense, but, I didn't get that vibe at all, he works well with everyone in the band, and, to be frank, Special K was more "rockish" than T was, at least last night. Very solid player, a great addition to the band! He exploits a neat feature of the Parker Fly guitars he is using, that being the ability to sound like a very convincing acoustic guitar, used to great effect in Sunless Saturday and Weed Plant.

Onto John Steward.....He's not Fish, but, ya know, it doesn't prove to be a problem really, he's a great great drummer regardless. I'm not sure quite what it is thats "different", the only thing that comes to mind is he doesn't seem quite as explosive as Fish for lack of a better idea, but, the boy can sure play them drums. Jah Dave says it well, he's calm but plays with great power. You can rest assured that Norwood has chosen well, their combined as a rhythm section is as hot as ever. John chose a simple, but tasteful ensemble consisting of a NY Yankees shirt and shorts, though, with mismatching numbers....coincidence? I think not...

And last but certainly not the least, John McKnight, taking the award for MVP, successfully juggling guitar, Keyboards and trombone, effortlessly. The Fishbone horn section is sounding mighty hot these days, this guy can belt it out on the trombone and does fine work, either duplicating the Dowd work, or, doin' it different...

So, the show itself... We got there at a great time, jst before nine o clock, so we managed to snag a great vantage point in the Fenix, basically right above the band, directly over top McKnight, with the whole stage laid out below us, like, 10 feet below. It was truly a neat "angle" to see the band from. ANd, as I have insinuated over this whole note, they are truly in fine form, I'd venture to say that they are -better- than the last time I saw them on the Reality tour. I'm not entirely sure why, but, they sure seem like a happy, tight band at the moment. I didn't keep track of songs, but, it was basically the same as has been seen in other cities. It was a 2 hour + show, and worth every penny. I took three people who had very little exposure to Fishbone and they were floored by what they witnessed, as was the rest of the club. 3 more new fans! yay! Great crowd surfing was had by all, and, I wandered down to the very front to witness Aids and Freddie's Dead in the front row, directly in front of Spacey T, which was when I decided, yeah, he's just a FINE new addition. Thanks to the list members I met there, Michael and Brian as well, it was a great night, despite 5 hours of driving to pull it off.

8)

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Just saw Fishbone last night in Seattle, and they wallopped ass. They were five stars, hands down, played every minute they could, Angelo crowd surfed like a maniac, Dirty Walter grinned the whole time wearing a High Times shirt, Norwood thumped a lot and looked a little pissed off at not getting more props for this obviously smoking band, not that the crowd wasn't going crazy and having a bl...

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I missed this show but have the live recording... The set is heavy on PFN material. The recording of the show is REALLY good quality. The downside of this show is McKnight. Good keyboardist/trombonist, awful guitarist. Why did he play synth on "beergut" instead of guitar? And on "Shakey Ground" why did he play guitar instead of organ??? I don't know what he was thinking, and his shoddy guit...

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