Jun 10 2001 @ Pearl Street Northampton, MA

First things first: Fishbone remains one of the best live rock and roll bands in the world, in a category unto themselves and with very little competition in terms of overall musicianship and stage presence. Angelo, in particular, is just a freak of nature -- it seems almost incomprehsible how much of himself he can give on stage, night after night, big crowd or small. If the rest of humanity could ever find a way to live up to our fullest potential in whatever we do everyday, the world would be a different and better place.

I saw them last night at Pearl Street in Northampton, MA, a venue that I first saw them at probably 14 or 15 years ago. To get this out of the way, the set list was (I grabbed a copy from the stage after the show):

* I Need a Swig (Dirty Walt/Columbus Sanitation tune) * Nuttmeg World (ditto) * Skankin' to the Beat (Angelo's first stage dive) * Ma and Pa * Karma Tsumani (handwritten in, replacing Just Allow -- Steward had trouble getting it started) * Pressure (Angelo walks through the crowd to the back and gets up on a table, getting the crowd to sing along and then surfs back to the front -- Steward again seemed to have a hard time with this one) * Bonin' in the Boneyard * Shakey Ground (slowed down, reminded me of when Sly and the Family Stone slowed down "Thank You Fallentime Be Mice Elf Agin" and changed to "Thank You For Talkin' to me Africa") * One Planet People (written out as "One Plan Nut") * Lyin' Ass Bitch * If I * Riot * Behavior Control Technician * AIDS and Armageddon (handwritten in, replacing When Problems Arise) * The Suffering * Alcoholic * Frey'd Fuck'N Nerve Endingz (a new song! I'll address later ...) * Freddie's Dead

Encore * Cholly (with "Fat Chicks" intro) * Where'd You Get Those Pants (with six women from the crowd up on stage) * Party at Ground Zero

There was a second encore listed, but not played (possibly because it was 1:00 PM and the club needed to close?), of Sunless Saturday and Servitude.

Again, it WAS a great show, better than at least 90% of the shows I have or could ever hope to see. But whereas in the past --- most, if not every single time -- I've left a Fishbone show energized and overjoyed, this time I left with sort of a bittersweet feeling. There are a few reasons for this, I think:

Another defection:

As has already been mentioned, John McKnight is not with them. I asked Spacey T where McKnight was, and got sort of a defensive response -- he said to Norwood "Hmmm, where's McKnight?" and then said to me "I don't know -- how'd it sound?". He did then elaborate and say that McKnight has another project that he decided to work on, a band called Upstream. He also said that they love him (McKnight) dearly, but thought they'd be better off -- specifically said he hoped they could keep it "heavier". It's not completely clear whether McKnight is gone for now, or gone for good, but I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to plan on seeing him at a Fishbone show in the near future .....

Continued signs of chaos/inertia on the business side:

Clearly, the music is what is most important to all of us. In a perfect world the best music would lead to the greatest success, but we don't live in that world. Therefore, a band's ability to either manage the business well -- or hire someone to do so -- IS important. Why? Because SUCCESS IS BETTER THAN FAILURE. And as much as we all love them, and believe that they are a GREAT band, none of us can claim that at this point they are a SUCCESSFUL one.

The venue they played last night, Pearl Street, has a big ballroom upstairs, and a smaller "Club Room" downstairs. Until last night, I didn't even know about the Club Room, because every band I've ever seen at Pearl Street -- probably 10 or 15 shows, including 3-4 Fishbone shows -- has played upstairs. No more. Fishbone, the baddest band in the world, was confined to the smaller room because they didn't sell enough tickets to fill the big one.

I'm increasingly starting to think that the biggest loss Fishbone ever sustained was not Kendall (my usual vote), not Chris, not Fish -- but David Kahne. Seriously. He was their mentor (maybe they'd call him slavedriver, I don't know) at Columbuia, from their first album through Reality. And while he was involved, their career was on a continuous upward trajectory, peaking with Reality but with certain signs that they were on a path to continued and greater success. Since his split with the band -- because Fish punched him out? -- each album has sold less than the one before, despite the fact that they're all worthy (especially GAMAB and Psychotic Friends) of good sales ... I'm curious, but actually glad I DON'T know sales figures for Chim Chim and Psychotic Friends, because I think it'd be too depressing.

None of this is in any way a criticism of the MUSICIANS in the band. They continue to make challenging and inspiring music, and absolutely deserve success a million times greater than they experienced at their peak ... but it simply ain't gonna happen unless they get their shit together on the business side!

No record deal:

Apparently Fishbone's relationship with Hollywood is officially severed ... According to Spacey T, at least (last week at the Madd Vibe show Angelo said they were "trying" to get out of the deal).

Spacey said that they were recording new material (although again, I have to say that it doesn't seem surprising that the stuff they recorded for the Powerball split was "lost"), and that they'd probably try to put it out on an independent label, or on their own.

I fear that by the time they get around to getting anything recorded for distribution, the press will write about it (if they pay any attention at all) as yet another "comeback", and that whatever small amount of momentum they had after Psychotic Friends will be completely lost ... and that they'll essentially be starting over all over again (with the SAME beginning but I pray a different end).

I simply cannot accept that Fishbone would struggle as much as they do, if they were managed well. I just cannot believe that there aren't a handful of medium- or big-labels that wouldn't sign Fishbone if they were presented well, because there's so much POTENTIAL in the band to still, after all these years, write a few big hit singles and sell a ton of records.

What is the Fishbone business plan? What is their target date for recording a new album? How do they plan to get a new deal? Have they recorded any demo songs (I know they shouldn't HAVE to, but they DO have to!) How are they using their contacts, and immense respect, among their fellow musicians to further their own career? Who is going to stay on top of all of this and make sure that the trains run on time -- and keep moving toward their desired destination??? I can't say that strong management will ensure Fishbone's success. But I DO know that they WON'T succeed unless the Fishbone business starts being run more effectively. You can't SELL any records until you MAKE them.

I hereby nominate FISHBONE AS THE RAY BOURQUE OF THE MUSIC WORLD ... 20+ years of passion and performance at the highest levels, without a championship to show for it. The parallels will (hopefully) continue: remember that Bourque only won a championship when the took the BUSINESS side into his own hands, and asked to be traded to a winning team.

Fishbone needs to do the same thing as Bourque did, and get aligned with an agent/manager and a record label that can -- and will -- distribute their music widely and promote it effectively. I know there are exceptions to the rule, but going the independent / band label route is NOT the most effective way to sell a lot of records.

I'm sorry to bring up a lot of negative thoughts just as they're starting this new tour, but I want to make this clear: my complaints are ONLY about the business side. The show itself was outstanding (not just "good", but truly outstanding), and there can't possibly a better way of spending $10-20 on music than to go see a show and live the experience.

Fishbone IS the baddest band in the world, and it's the world's loss (as well as their own -- that they're so (relatively) unknown and underappreciated. GO TO THE SHOWS and spread the word -- FISHBONE IS RED HOT!

Steve

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