First off, i've got to give mad props to the opening band (and booking agent), Wolfunkind -> http://www.wolfunkind.com/. I was to tired to enjoy them fully in Paris, but these guys play a great tight set of french fpunk, not very far from the F?d?ration Fran?aise du Fonck (FFF) less the horns. A great show, too bad the audience was taken by surprise. Next was ppz30. I've last seen this belgian funk metal act back in 93 or so and thought they had split up (sounds familiar ?) and was glad to see them again. But their music (and the singer voice's) gets annoying pretty fast (sorry Bruce, i had to say it...). Fishbone took the stage around 10:30 for at least 2h15 of musical extravaganza (and no encores !) : Fishbone Soldier, Unyielding conditioning, Everyday Sunshine, Faceplant and then my memory gets hazy from living up to my nickname. Highlight : the fun on stage and the positive attitude. these guys are pouring fun all over the place. You can feel a great dynamic going on, Wood was on fire, Pastor Dre teasing everyone. Highlight : the jams ! the songs were off the hook, the potential i was talking about in my last review has been released. Highlight : I LIKE TO HIDE BEHIND MY GLASSES Yes ! Highlight : Wet Daddy singing ("don't waste beer, give it here !") ! (and angelo subbing on the drums, after Pastor Dre had stolen the kit earlier on). Highlight : Trulio while wood's bass was being fixed. Highlight : Dre toasting for the suffering intro. Highlight : Jackass Brigade and Face plant 110% Fishbone. Highlight : Horns !!!!! As they were reaching the end of the setlist, more and more gazeous and liquid drugs were being consumed, and i feared it would mean the end of it (the intro to alcoholic was pretty scary...), but Fuck (with a capital F), it only got better. Party at ground zero like i haven't heard it in a loooooong time, Glasses, Alcoholic (which Norwood would/could not start). So it's now official -and no dissent allowed (sorry Trey)- Fishbone is the baddest band in the world ! Intoxicated or not ;^) One last word : Both Dre's, thank you guys, you know why. Denis

WOW, what a great show! Like Denis, I thought the opening band "Wolfunkind" was really great. Everybody should support them and buy their double cd "Cycofonk" at one of Fishbone's concerts or via their website: www.wolfunkind.com. The other support act, PPz30, indeed became a little bit annoying after a while. I just wanted to see the 'bone man! I was really curious about the new line-up, and my expectations were quite high (Rocky George in Fishbone!!!). And what they did last night definitely did not disappoint me. The beginning of the show was a little bit chaotic, and Rocky's guitar was definitely a little bit lost in the mix. But after solving some problems, they gave me the best show I've seen in a long time. What a fun on stage, what an excited crowd (sometimes also on stage) and what a musicians! John Steward seemed to be totally drunk (like many other band members), but they were tight as hell. I really loved the 3 new songs they played (Jackass Brigade, a song about snowboarding and a song with one of the Dre's singing like he was the great Bob Marley himself). I unfortunately had to leave after they played Alcoholic, but these songs I remember they played (in no particular order):
- Unyielding Conditioning
- Ma and Pa
- Ugly
- Freddie's Dead
- Everyday Sunshine
- Sunless Saturday
- Are U Wit It
- Skank 'n Go Nuttz
- Alcoholic
- The Suffering
- Hide Behind My Glasses
- Subliminal Fascism
- Jackass Brigade
- 2 other new songs
I have renewed faith in Fishbone after seeing this concert. I think this line-up has great potential, and I'm really looking forward to some new studio material.

I was also there and i really spent a good time. I wasn't expecting them to play that long and was glad to see that they're still giving a lot of themselves on stage. I liked Angelo "crazyness" (in french we say "folie") and energy. It is a night I won't forget as didn't forget the first time I saw the band at AB twelve years ago. It was a revelation. And this time as I'm older I can say I really appreciated what I have heard and seen on stage. The whole band is wonderful. I won't write about the musical part 'cos I just like everything. No, finally Let me write about the trumpet, trombone and the sax, I am crazy of "cuivre" I think it is horns in english.

I give a big hug to all the persons who spent that wonderful moment at Botanique.
I would like to kiss all Fishbone members on the cheek.

Vivement le prochain concert.... J'ai une envie folle de vous suivre partout... enfin... je vais m'arr?ter l?, j'ai l'air d'une fan d?bile.

Kisses.

Hey all,

I finally have found the time to write the required review of a superb show....

I only got to the Botanique by 21h30 due to late work and traffic jam, so I missed the opening band Wolfundkind, and I only caught few songs of the other opening act PPZ30...

I had made some flyers (ca 100) to promote fishbone.net, fishbonelive.org and the nuttwork neighbourhood, and started flyering after meeting up with Denis. Angelo was spinning some cd's while the audience grew steadily to fill up the house for a good 85% (completely filled with still some space left for dancing...).

Fishbone took the stage at around 22h15 with Angelo reciting Fishbone Soldier with the rest of the band providing the soundtrack... Next into Unyielding: from the first few notes it was obvious to me: this was going to be a great show! The guys were having a good time, and the sound was very good (although Rocky was a little bit too low at the start of the show...). The sound is again incredibly full and multilayered, and reminded me very much of my only GAMAB-period show! Rocky's playing was very clean and crisp, and I can only dream of the sound adding another gifted guitar player like Tori. The horns section is top: Mc Nutt on trombone and crazy Pastor Dre on trumpet! D'Andre Gipson on keyboard also addded very much to the full sound! Angelo was wearing a black wig and looked like withney houston's sister, but his singing was may'be even better than ever... very clean and soulful. The other vocal parts were perfectly filled in by both Dre's and Wood, and even Wet Daddy took the microphone when Angelo and Pastor Dre stole his seat at the drums.

Next song was everydady sunshine, and it was incredible to see al the happy faces! The crowd got really into it, and danced their asses off on Ugly... Next up was faceplant, and Angelo pulled me from the crowd (tearing my 1992 Racism Sucks tee, RIP, now I can finally hang it to the wall) to dance on stage... One second later I found myself in a stack of fishbone band members (at least Angelo and Pastor Dre) in a kind of on-stage horizontal pogo heap... The next moment I was flying like a fish back in the audience...
The band really got into it with the uptempo Sub.Fasc. and a really funky Freddy! Next was Dre Gipson doing lead vocal on a reggae intro into a mighty version of Suffering... (I can't remember exactly what came first, but it was also intertwined with reciting Junkie's prayer...???)

A little later they new song Jackass Brigade was accomanied by a new dance by Angelo and Pastor Dre! Great song by the way: which gets better and better... like it's building up to a climax... Also Pastor Dre is really crazy (positive), as next to Angelo's crowd surfing, this guy jumped in the crowd for some bad ass pogoing! Somewhere along i was hit in the head by a flying fish (when I came home I found out I had a blue eye, a small bruise under my left eye, a good reminder of a fantastic show ;-), I wonder what my boss will say...).

Another highlight was 'I like to hide behind my glasses' with angelo sporting sunglasses...! And the intro to alcoholic was a superb mix of slapstick (D'andre Gipson) and reality (eg. Wood and others getting pretty drunk)... Also Wood got a flat tire with his bass, and during repair the guys started jamming with Wet Daddy singing "Don't waste beer, give it here..."

The final song Party was like a 'grand finale'... with a lot of dancing crowd on stage! It was pretty clear that the band and the crowd were completely exhausted after this final song! After a 2h+ show, neither Fishbone nor the crowd could take more! No encore and still this show was the easily the best show I've seen so far! It was really really superb! This line-up has a lot of possibilities, I hope that this new drive can get the band to new heights with new material and superb shows. This line-up reminds me very much of the line-up of my first show ever (1993 - Rockwood in Belgium). In my opinion, Fishbone needs at least 7 people on stage in order to create this full and multi-layered sound! With all these gifted musicians, fishbone is the baddest band in the world!

I drove home with burning ears a body filled with energy and a heart filled with hope. Respect for all these guys! (PS: I bought the Wolfundkind cd and listened to it on my way home, it was the perfect closing soundtrack for an incredible night).

If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to contact me!

Best regards,

Arne

It's been a long time i hadn't seen them outside festivals. There's no comparison. You really get the real power of this band on stage at their own gig.
It's amazing that a band that you have seen many times can still amaze you at that point.
It's now clear, this band is synonym of positivism, life, energy and love.
Thank you all on stage and the former members.