2002-04-25 - 2:18

Don't you hate pants?

Angelo Moore elbowed me in the eye. Yes, this fact means that my rock and roll status is certified for at least another year.

Tonight was the Fishbone show at Zaphod's, which is the first concert that I've been to since my March blitz. Aaron and Loralei were also along for this one and I think that they also had a lot of fun. Wow. Fishbone still rocks it to the Maxwell House, steamrolling over sourpuss sissies like a psychlogically overcast beer gut on a rock star mission. (Riot, I said!)

As usual, I was front and centre for the whole affair, taking my spot before the band came out. I looked around to see who was slapping me on the shoulder and it was Norwood, on his way to the stage. Propa!

John and Spacey took the stage at the same time and Angelo followed shortly thereafter, launching into a very interesting Dr. Madd Vibe poetry piece about strip clubs. Dirty Walt rounded out the line-up at the end of that performance and kept things going with "Nuttmeg World," from his solo CD.

That format mirrored the structure of last summer's Philly concert; but after that, the set was very different. "Party at Ground Zero" was worked in very early, and it marked Angelo's first foray into the crowd, mic cord trailing overhead. Very, very cool.

As an added bonus, I had the mic pointed at me for the "la da, da da, da da" bits. The girl at the very front was disappointed that she missed her "Say what?" cue; but she was rockin' enough to make up for that slip. She had a Truth and Soul era shirt and ruby red slippers; so on wardrobe alone, she was cool enough to overcome one lapse.

The crowd as a whole was fantastic. I'm sometimes a little worried about Ottawa crowds, since, apart from the punk shows, they can come out a little flat. Tonight's crowd was great, though. That girl was probably the most fun; but there were lots of other cool people around who obviously knew the band very well. Every once in a while, I would look around and see somebody hopping and bopping and outworking me, so I had to kick it up.

There wasn't really a lot of moshing. It picked up here and there ("Swim" was noticably physical); but for the most part, it was a fun, active but non-aggro vibe. No complaints.

Of course, the madman of the evening was Angelo. While "Party at Ground Zero" had him running through the crowd, by "Alcoholic" the audience was packed enough for him to give his first stage dive. It was when he was swimming back to the stage that his elbow caught my eye, which is still a little tender. If Angelo gave me a black eye, that would easily be my greatest rock injury ever, so let's all hold out hope. Heheheh.

I can't talk about Angelo's performance tonight without mentioning his pants, which were constantly falling down. Well, it's good that he usually has a saxomophone in front of him. Heh.

Hmm. With a few more words and some polishing, I could turn this entry into my formal concert review. But, since I have another busy night coming up tomorrow, I'll wrap it up instead without detailing the other highlights. I'll just rattle off more of the set list, which should speak for itself.

"Unyielding Conditioning," "Behavior Control Technician," "Sunless Saturday," "Monkey Dick," "Freddie's Dead," "Ma and Pa" (my voice kinda gave out when I was given the mic for that one), "Lyin' Ass Bitch," "Shakey Ground," "Karma Tsunami." By the time that the encore marched out "The Suffering," "Everyday Sunshine," and a fantastic take of "Fishbone is Red Hot," there was no room to complain about the contents of a long, long set.

When I was thirteen, I used to sit in my room listening to Fishbone on a cheap blaster. Eleven years later, I'm shaking hands with Norwood and Angelo, after jumping and screaming and dancing my way through an incredible show, shared with some cool friends and a fun crowd. Does life kick ass sometimes or what?

But, I ask you: how could you not have a fun time screaming along to, "My shit's on fire, like Richard Pryor"? Exactly.

Fishbone is red hot!