May 17 2003 @ The Abbey Pub Chicago, IL

Yes tha ABBEY wuz hhaahhht Saturday as wuz Fishbone! My luv dropped me off 'bout 9:30 aftah a smooth 5 hour roadtrip. No sooner had I stepped into tha club I ran right up into two wuvwee Fishbone Soldierettes,Tina and Keisha! That in and of itself wuz wurth tha trip! Tha opener wuz forgetable but thier two guitar attack did tha job. Spoke to'em after tha show and they said that half of them met for tha first time just a month prior. Tina and I went up stairs for seats and checked out KING's X through tha crowd while Keisha wuz hardcore on tha floor. Tha contrast between Fishbone and KING's X fans is distinct and amusin'. Both are dedicated and enthusiastic. KING's X fans had feet rooted to tha floor, slight nod to tha beat, rarely a fullfledged headbang and occasionally a pumpin' fist. I'm tryin' to remember, did a KX fan ever clap thier hands outside of applause? Totally appropriate display though. I found myself doin' tha same. It fits tha music. I own only two KX discs and am familiar with a handfull of other tunes heard on radio. Much of what KX played I recognized. They were very tight and some sweet improv wuz goin' on. Doug Pinnick is a great lead man. He connects and is a very soulfull vocalist and all are exceptional musicians. I will look to see KX again with or without Fishbone. I also will be fillin' out my KX collection. Of course as we know all too well Fishbone fans be clownin' fools! Fishbone got on late and further still technical difficulties required an additional 10-15 min soundcheck after change over! A Fishbone 'jam' sound check can almost be seen as a bonus but what we got wuz Tito tha road manager doin mic checks forevah! Tito is very serious 'bout his job! Dude's all buisness and I'm glad cuz sumbody gotta be! As an example of how live this Chicago crowd wuz- Tito wuz doin' this repeatative " Heh Heh,Hoe Hoe! " and then " More,give me more! " Tha crowd started mimickin' Tito and then twisted it into 'loud sex' sound effects. We were havin' alot of fun with it! Tito I don't think even noticed. With tha heat and all thangs got real fonkay! Tha level of variation in Fishbone musical arrangement is at a alltime high for this line up! Speakin' to Wood in Cinci he said very recently he's felt tha band overcome a creative plateau. Wood said tha new stuff bein' writin' and recorded now will be an expansion of what they accomplished with TEMPLE BAR and will reflect tha recent melding of tha band's collective musical skills and personalities. They purchased a little 4track to record new stuff while on tha road. Wood wuz very tight lipped 'bout new material sitein' tha HENHOUSE incident. On stage Walt mentioned people stealin' thier shit on tha internet and suggested strongly that tha Mutha Fukahs buy it fer real! To add some missin' pieces to Simon's list;

Problems Bonin' Prema-Daw-Nutt Sunless Unyielding Freddy

I might be mixin' up tha Cinci show with Chicago and at both shows I've noticed no setlists anywhere. They could be playin' without a hard copy. There were flyin' fish durin' a number of tunes but durin' SWIM this fine African goddess did a 1on1 swim on stage with Angelo and proceeded to stage dive afterwards. As good as tha show wuz in Cinci Fishbone fed off of tha excitement and enthusiasum of tha Chicago crowd, makin' it twice as good! Chicago has such fantastic souljahs. Everytime I make tha trip I see many of tha same faces. So much love and unbridled celebration! I've had tha pleasure to meet alot of cool Souljahs at every show. L.A. wuz az phat az hell! I expect D.C. and N.Y.C. be representin' as well! So much of Chicago's enthusiasm seems to come from a possitive stress relief and a desperation of sorts. I think in tha midwest there's alot less options for folks with an alternative non-mainstream outlook. I look forward to testin' this theory further in other parts of this nuttmeg werld. Where were you hidin' Simon?? Me - red hair,light blue 70's ruffled tuxedo shirt and black slacks,white dude 6'1" bout 175.

Thank you Chicago!

JahFree.

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I was waiting for Jeff to be our spokesperson but as I seem to be at home right now with some unusually free time, I will write a brief review....

Apparently the show was sold out so that explains why it was packed. I am not sure what explains the lack of fans or air conditioning or open doors so that we wouldnt all be quite so hot. Aside from that slight grumble, and yea...

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Wow!! I don't know if the Chicago soldiers just got lucky, but the Bone rocked my ass on Saturday night. I don't remember the openers name, but they were forgettable at best. King's X put on a solid show and seemed to be in excellent spirits as it was a semi-homecoming for them.. The lead singer was born just outside of Chicago and they put in a bit of time on the Chicago scene before relocating...

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Full video of the show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4CjHlQLRoA p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120% }a:link { so-language: zxx }