Soldiers-

A triumphant gathering of the NYC familyhood went down last night at Wetlands Preserve (we don't call it Sweatglands for nothing - place had to be a million degrees inside, in spite of the seasonal weather outside). Band was totally on it, crowd was seriously psyched to be there, flying fish on every song, great set list, as follows - not in order
(please help with fillins, I always forget SOMETHING):

2 Dirty Walt tunes (one was Nuttmeg World, didn't recall the other)
Skankin to the Beat
Monkey Dick
Riot
Behavior Control
Meter Maid
Question of Life
Deep Inside
Aids and Armageddon
Shakey Ground (dedicated to Eddie Hazel by Spacey)
Karma Tsunami
Suffering
Freddie's Dead
Bonin'
Sunless Saturday
Servitude

There were more but as usual, didn't write them down. There was definitely an encore but left after Servitude (raging sinus infection inhibited breathing in the sauna-like atmosphere of this club - maybe one day, God will smile upon us and allow these guys to play bigger, classier joints where we can still go crazy and have ventilation, too)..

Noticed one unusual thing - no sign of John McNutt!!!! Yes, soldiers, they played as a 5 piece for the first time in a long while. Anyone have any insight on this?

Also, I must have asked every Wetlands employee in the place about Nuttwork Neighborhood T-shirts - they all thought I was certifiable. Didn't see anyone else with one, so it looks like mail order for me...

East Coast Boneheads - get ready 'cause these guys are comin' to play!!!!!!!!

Ira Sperling

Yvette's Qs- They Started at about 11:30 and ended about 1:40.

At the door there's a guy taking tickets and a girl asking for ID. They were both friendly, but I got there early. I don't drink, and that's the first thing I said when she asked for my ID. She made like she didn't need it then, but I showed it anyway. I think you'll be okay because they prolly only look at the year.

The other Dirty Walt tune was "Nothing But a Thing". They made up for the loss of keyboards with a lot of Mu-Tron and Synth on the bass. It worked out fine.
The encores were Alchoholic and One Planet People. You also forgot Ma & Pa.

Check this: Wetlands is a rectangle with the stage on a longer side. Therefore making it feel like you're in a sardine can. In the back, which is only like 15 feet from the stage, there's a bench or two behind a small but heavy wood banister on both sides of the sound board. I was chilling on the right side of the board, which is also where I'll try to be tonight. But anyway, during one of those massive people-pushing tidal waves that happen in a gen addmission show, the bannister was pushed in and one of the poles holding it up was bent permanantly. Look what you people did in your zest for Fishbone. I was in awe.

I have to say I was worried when I saw just 5 people on stage, fearing they would only play Chimm Chimm-type stuff. But they hooked up a lot of slow funk and reggae, not much happy ska, between the heavy stuff. I was especially impressed by The Suffering, the Dirty Walt stuff, and One Planet.

Maybe I'll see some of you tonight. I think I'll be wearing a bright pink polo shirt, might as well get some use out of it.

MNG