Apr 09 2007 @ Metro Theatre Sydney, AU

Fishbone rocked the Metro and some!!! Any rock band working today should go and see Fishbone live ,so to see how high the bar is set at.This gig would be hard to top.

missed 'em in Aus when they were here 10(?) years ago - and don't I regret that now! Now that James Brown has gone, these guys must surely have taken the mantle of the hardest working in the biz. What a show!

It's been nearly 11 years since Fishbone has graced Australian shores and from my perspective, this line up of Fishbone (2007) kicked the ass of the 1996 line up. Not only tighter, they have a horn section now to die for, which was much weaker from the Chim Chim 5 piece of 1996. Not only that, the band are a much happier band on stage and far more active than when they were here last.

The set was 3 hours long and exactly what the starved Sydney fans had waited so long for. A fantastic up beat funk, soul and ska opening hour was a perfect way to introduce the band to an audience of older diehards. The most notable difference and out of sight improvement of the current line up is the immaculately tight and full horn section consisting of Angelo, McKnight and Curtis. The other massive boost to the band is the full vocal harmonies sung by all the band members (bar Steward) which makes the songs so much richer and the choruses much more catchy. In a nuttshell, Fishbone are more professional and entertaining than when they were last here in Oz.

Angelo Moore is the greatest front man, entertainer and showman I have ever witnessed. His energy is endless: cartwheels, commando rolls and crowd surfing all the while singing in perfect key and dancin' like a mad man. It was so hard to focus on any other member of Fishbone with him there burning up the stage demanding attention. He is dramatic, hilarious, comical and deadly serious all at the same time. I considered throughout the whole gig how fortunate I was to be witnessing him only a few feet away and to have 3 hours of it. However Fishbone isn?t just Angelo Moore........

John McKnight is another freak, purely because he is so proficient on so many other instruments than just trombone. His guitar playing is fantastic and backing vocals are spot on. He and Curtis seemed to just play around on stage having a ball and that is a delight to witness.

Norwood was another sticking figure on stage who just doesn't seem to age. He looks younger than he did ten years ago! Tighter on bass than back in 1996, he definitely is the band leader as far as authoritory. Angelo is the lead entertainer but Norwood is the boss, no doubt about it. Switching between his two 5 string Warwicks, the 'Corvette Jazzman' cutting a much more clean and precise tone at The Metro than the beautiful looking 'Infinity' bass, Norwood is so laid back on the instrument yet his playing intensity is quite striking and swift. He sported his famous machine like 'claw' slapping technique many times to my delight but it was his flowing grooves in the funkier, soul driven songs such as 'Unyielding Conditioning', 'Everyday Sunshine' and 'The Suffering' that I personally enjoyed the most. Playing through a house supplied Ampeg rig, he had volume in the mix but lacked a little tight definition that he pulled the night before at The Great Escape Festival with is usual rig, the Warwick set up. His dread horn was like a metronome on the harder grooves, like as he has often said, keeping him on the ONE.

Without doubt the coolest cat on stage was Rocky George. Even being shunted out to the extremities of the right hand side of the stage on Norwood's side, he's background like personality is humble and so likable. Rocky's full potential with Fishbone seems to be not yet exploited and much has to do with him being lower in the mix than he deserves. At The Metro, especially earlier on in the set, he was given a great position in the mix but as the set became heavier in harder rock based songs, his distorted crunch was missed at times. Rocky seemed to have a following of fans that night that let their appreciation for his skill be known as after each solo he played, a loud and rawkus applause followed. Rocky switches between clean, jazz like styling to finger tapping metal God like solos with ease. This guy has the skill and the style that earns him a worthy place in Fishbone. My message to Fishbone is: GIVE THIS GUY SOME TIME TO SHINE! He needs to be away from Norwood and given some space. TURN HIM UP MR SOUNDMAN!

John Steward may lack some of the technical flair of Fish but his joyful, happy presence and extremely solid performance makes him the perfect backbone to the band. Don't get me wrong, this man is shit hot on drums and knows how to turn tricks with style. He is a pleasure to watch behind the kit and always seemed to be involved in some stage prank with McKnight and Curtis. You thought Dirty Walt had a gruff voice, this guy takes the low gravel to a whole new level which makes him hard to understand when he addresses the audience but makes it more comical at the same time.

Dre Gipson is the young blood that has injected a new lease of life into Fishbone. He has a higher register of vocals than anyone in Fishbone which cuts well in the vocal harmonies and he displays an excitable stage presence. Dre compliments Angelo?s stage show with crowd surfing and vocal lead breaks which has introduced ragga muffin into Fishbone. I tell you, the young kids responded to his lead rapping vocal breaks the night before at the festival gig. His playing was very background in the mix but it worked really well for the most part and when he was loud and clear, it was a awesome to hear his abilities on the keyboards. The great thing about Dre is his ability to move in and out of the limelight and share the lead spot with Angelo perfectly. Two Angelo's would be too much and he understands that.

The only negative I took from the night was the performance of 'Servitude' which closed the set and was a bit of a let down after such a powerful performance. Angelo played the guitar melody on the thermon and it just doesn't cut it. It was totally out of key, doesn't suit the part and it sounded hacked. It was written for guitar and should be played as such. This song was recorded to be guitar heavy but Rocky was virtually out of the mix which I found extremely disappointing. McKnight's guitar was louder and considering Rocky comes from a hard rock/metal background, I found it insane that he was buried in the mix. If any song should have the guitar bursting louder than any other instrument, it is 'Servitude'. Angelo also approached the lead vocals half heartedly. Yeah, it was at the three hour mark but I feel this song should be given the treatment it deserves and some balls would be appreciated so maybe moving it to the front of the set when the energy is high could solve it's lack luster.. I have never heard a decent version of this song live and the performance on this night was no different. There was a great moment in this song as each member soloed then left the stage after their feature moment. It was a nice send off and I personally felt McKnight's guitar solo was more in tune with Kendall's approach, melodic, dark and full of feel.

As far as song highlights, the supercool version of 'Hide Behind My Glasses' got the crowd romping and stomping with big grins as Angelo borrowed someone's sunglasses as a prop and took us on a trip. Angelo busted out the enormous bass sax for this one which only added to the visual bombasity but it was the wild card of 'Beergut' that followed which was the real treat as it hasn't been in the set for years. With the low end covered with the bass sax, the full three part horns took this song above and beyond my expectations and I have to say that every band member played this song perfectly. Not a song you can dance to easily, unless you are having an epileptic fit, 'Beergut' is a song that had Fishbone skanking it out with a killer nuttmeg bass and guitar riff flavoured by a ingeniously complex and pumping horn arrangement. This was all backed with a drum part that would put any unfit skinman into cardiac arrest and Wet Daddy didn't miss a beat. 'Behind Closed Doors' is undoubtedly the best song off the new album and live it is even better. It has everything a true Fishbone classic should have; a great horn line, a monster bass groove, great keyboard ambience, a syncopated back beat on drums, diverse guitaring between clean and distortion and a vocal melody filled with soul and lyrical meaning. There were loads of other great moments from The Metro but I think the important stuff has been said.

The one noticable surprise that I didn't consciously take heed of until a day or so latter was that I didn't miss Walter. Many Fishbone fans have commented on how his absence live has been hard to take because they miss his presence however I did not feel this at all. Maybe because it is more than 3 years since the great man moved on and I have had time to deal with it. To me, this signifies a new and positive change that has shifted in Fishbone with this amazing line up. They are more complete than when I last had the privilege of seeing them and I enjoyed them more this time round. If the band keep it this tight live on every show they play, no one who has ever liked Fishbone could really complain and if they do, it is nit picking. Fishbone are still one of the greatest live acts of our generation and I was thrilled with their performance at The Metro.

<<<

This was 3hrs of pure Fishbone heaven! I mean, I love the Chili Peppers, but seeing their 1 1/2 hr show a week after Fishbone has shown how shit the Peppers have become. Fishbone are the best hardcore crunch'in funk band on the face of the earth. Let the radio listening, shopping mall record buying public think it's the Peppers. That suits me just fine :)