Fishbone
“Servitude” (feat Chris Dowd on lead vocals), set fire to the club with some ultra-heavy rock energy from the players–the pyrotechnic guitar riffing of Mark Phillips, the crushing bass riffing of Norwood, the crazy theremin sounds played by Angelo, the powerful/lethal drumming of John Steward, and the insane keyboard riffing of Chris!!!!!!
Fishbone – Review from the Ardmore Music Hall (8/13)
By David Brooks
It has been at least 14 years since I have seen this band, so this was a special show for me. At 8:35pm, Fishbone started on a powerful note with the fiery metal rock energy of “Sunless Saturday”, featuring Angelo Moore on lead vocals, with supporting vocals by Dirty Walt, Norwood Fisher and Christopher Gordon Dowd. My dude Norwood was KILLIN IT on heavy funk bass, John Steward tore it off on energetic drumming riffs, and the guitar solo by Mark Phillips was wicked!!!
The next tune started with a heavy duty drum solo by John (like a 9.0 on the Ritcher scale)! That next tune was “Bonin’ in the Boneyard”, which continued with heavy rock energy with a funky bass solo (funkier than 10 cans of Wet Magic Shave) and the horn duo of Angelo Moore (on sax) and Dirty Walter Kibby (on trumpet).
Chris Dowd took over lead vocals on “I Don’t Care”, which was another slamming rock tune. “MA and PA” got the fans dancing to the ska-rock energy and again Norwood filled out the air with noxious funk bassisms! “A Selection” was followed by “All We Have is Now” (a slower paced rock song). The bouncy rock energy of “Cholly” filled the venue. The tasteful organ riffs of Chris was on display on “Knock It”, lead vocally by Angelo & Dirty Walt. True funk-rock madness was felt at the Ardmore Music Hall with the song “Behavioral Control Technician”, featuring the horn duo of Angelo and Dirty Walt. Things get nastier with the socially conscious “Subliminal Fascism” and the punk-rock energy of “Pressure”!
The 4 skits of “If I Were’d A…” were great… unfortunately, Angelo’s mic went out during his response on the 3rd skit. The fans really enjoyed the lively ska song called “Lyin ss B*ch”, especially Angelo’s super long-winded rap at the end. “I Wish I Had a Date” and “Pray to the Junkiemaker” were next, with standout piano riffing on the latter song. The band performed the haunting blues song “Strange Fruit” (originally by Billie Holiday)–very lively and energetic blues tune with a punk-rock-style ending and the one jarring line from Angelo: “One False Move and a Nigger Gets It”!
Things got wilder with the funky ska-rock of “Alcoholic” and the bouncy ska of “Skankin’ to the Beat”. Then it was on the one of those songs that always get a Fishbone party started…it was “Party at Ground Zero”. The fans were in dance overload as Norwood lets off some of the outta-this-world nasty, funky bass riffs!!
The band did an encore performance of the funk-jazz tune “Hide Behind My Glasses”, featuring Angelo on lead vocals & Chris Dowd on some great jazz piano riffing! “Everyday Sunshine” was a funky force to be reckoned, as the band jammed their butts off. That same energy continued into the next song “Freddie’s Dead”! The last song of the night, “Servitude” (featuring Chris Dowd on lead vocals), set fire to the club with some ultra-heavy rock energy from the players–the pyrotechnic guitar riffing of Mark Phillips, the crushing bass riffing of Norwood, the crazy theremin sounds played by Angelo, the powerful/lethal drumming of John Steward, and the insane keyboard riffing of Chris!!!!!!
The show was over at 10:35pm.
