Nov 07 1991 @ Riviera Chicago, IL

This was the best concert I have ever been to ! Absolutely! Fishbone at their tightest and most powerful! Earlier in the day Magic Johnson had given a press conference announcing that he was HIV positive - The opening song was Freddie's Dead - "For Magic" - I don't recall the setlist, it was mostly a blur but I do recall Angelo spending 90% of the show in or on the crowd, Chris climbing up to t...

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This show has long been at the top of my list of favorite shows. 1991 was quite a long time ago and many of the details have faded from memory. But make no mistake this show will always represent for my the magic that is Fishbone. I've kept the Chicago Tribune review of this show laminated on the door of my fridge since and thought I'd share it.

Greg Kot was the reviewer.

"Fishbone is less a band than a blur, and it turned the Riviera into a chaotic playpen Thursday night.

This California septet acts as though it's on a caffeine bender: turning cartwheels, bouncing off each other like errant pin-balls and climbing the walls-literally.

Minutes after the opening one-two punch of 'Subliminal Fascism' and 'Freddie's Dead,' Chris Dowd scaled one of the balconies, snagged a trombone that was hurled at him by a stagehand 50 feet away and began to blow with a casual, just-hangin'-from- the- railing expression.

He was was one-upped, however, by the mohawked Angelo Moore, who not only climbed teh opposite balcony but then began hurdling tables, chairs, and paying customers on his way to the upper reaches of the theater, leaving security guards clawing to keep up, before dropping back to welcoming arms on the dance floor."

As my memory serves me, this was during "Everyday Sunshine" and does not come close to capturing what was happening at the time. Kot later in the review says: "Everyday Sunshine" grabbed a horn-driven, Sly Stone groove before turning into a guitar duel between Kendall Rey Jones and John Bigham. Then Moore led an audience singalong that completely fried the songs circuits."

As I recall it, Angelo was on a wired mic that night that somehow had enough cable to reach the balcony, no small feat given the fact that the Riviera is an old theater that is probably in the 2000-2500 seat range. Not only was security trying to keep up with Angelo, the stagehands were trying to keep that cable from killing someone. Tables, chairs, people and their drinks were flying everywhere.

I was in the balcony that night, with a great view of the madness that was the main floor. As Angelo came up the side he somehow spotted two young high school kids who were not participating in the singalong. He made his way over to them, yelled "Sing motherfuckers, sing!", and shoved the mike into their terrified faces. They got a couple of Everyday...Everyday... Everyday Sunshine's out before Angelo left them alone and made his way back to the front of the balcony, stepped over the railing and dove into the waiting crowd 15 to 20 feet below. At no time did the rest of the band miss a beat as Angelo swam on top of the crowd, singing the entire time as he made back to the stage.

I've had the good fortune to be able to see the band on most of their stops in Chicago, the first being by chance at Metro sometime before the Aragon show with the Beastie Boys. I've not been able to figure out exactly when that show took place but I bought 10 tickets and to a bunch of friends with me to the Aragon based on what I saw that night at Metro.

While I can only recall seeing a couple of shows that were not up to par, this show has all the others beat and that saying something.

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