Jun 03 2005 @ House of Blues Chicago, IL

So i hope on the 6:26 train from Elmhurst to Chicago. It was a non stop actually. Got there in about 20 minutes. I walked from Madison 2 blocks, over the civic opera brigde, and took a left onto Wacker. Okay enough about how I walked to the HOB.

All in all, the HOB is a very great atmospheric venue. Great things can happen there with the right set up, which exactly happene...

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So this is the second time I drove from my home in St. Louis to Chicago to see Fishbone in the last two years. I was all set for a great night. I had my hotel reservation at the House of Blues, i had my ticket in hand, I was ready.

Unfortunately, it seemed Fishbone hadn't been advertised at all, and it was a building full of high school stoners. or at least near the stage it was. So I wait for the first band to finish, then I get as close to Norwood as possible (my normal position). But this time, there were kids waiting for Slightly Stoopid blocking my way. So I'm about three people back. I accept it and wait patiently.

From behind the curtains I hear Angelo testing his mic. Then some kid yells, "STOOPID!!!!!!!". I shrug it off and wait.

So the curtain opens and Angelo is alone on the stage, and goes into "Lifestyle's of the Famous, But Not Rich". Then the rest of the band makes their way to the stage. They go into Party At Ground Zero, which has to be one of the best show openers in history. Next up, Ma and Pa. As the song starts, Angelo makes his way to the front of the stage and takes a leap. He stayed up for a minute, then they dropped him. This happened every time he dove. Very frustrating to watch this happen to one of the greatest frontmen in the history of music.

Throughout the show, tyhe band is tight, witty, and as good as ever. Unfortunately, the only time the crowd really got into it, was during Date Rape, but at least they got off their asses.

They seemed a bit rushed towards the end, and decided to end the show with The Suffering. As they wound it down, some asshole spat on Angelo. Naturally, he didn't appreciate it, and was ready to jump into the crowd and tear this kid apart. The crowd was encouraging him, and just seemed to want a fight. Angelo seemed so angry it looked like he just didn't know what to do. Then the curtains were closed and that was it.

I was seriously sick to my stomach. A guy who has never been given the respect he and his band deserved, was literally spit on, while on stage, trying to make these people happy. I took a day off work, unpaid, spent the money to stay in a hotel, and drove ten hours in two days, and this prick ruined it in half a second. I felt so bad for Angelo, I was looking around for him on the street after the show just to apologize. So in closing, Fishbone was as good and tight as ever, but the crowd really came out looking bad (naturally, not all of us).

I noticed in Carlo's review he said something about it being a perfect way to end a show. What the fuck is wrong with you?

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