When punk/ska rockers Fishbone finished their show at the Knotty Pine one person in the crowd yelled to his buddy, "I just wiped their guts off the floor, cuz that's where they left em!" It was an apt proclamation for a band that had spent their night in Victor Idaho, jumping, spinning, thumping and body surfing with trademark manic energy. The reference to the six-piece's innards seemed particularly fitting because at the frenetic climax of the metal-infused performance, tipsy members of the packed crowd dropped lead vocalist/saxophone player Angelo "Dr. Madd Vibe" Moore on the floor during one of several body surfing sessions.

Drunken mishaps aside, the near sell out crowd gave rousing support to what continues to be one of the hardest working live acts in the business. The show's hour late start did get the natives restless, but once the gig started the band didn't spare any sweat. Fishbone, currently anchored by founding members Angelo Moore and John Norwood Fisher on bass, filleted the Eastern Idaho crowd with a searing fusion of ska, punk, metal and funk riffs. With the return of John McKnight on trombone and the recent addition of Dre Gibson, who shared lead vocal duties, the night's performance could easily have been called "How South Central Got its Groove Back." Adding to the distortion-addled brass and guitar rhythms were John "Wet Daddy" Steward on drums and Rocky George, formerly of metal favorites Suicidal Tendencies, on guitar.

Fishbone didn't hesitate to pound the audience early with heavy metal funk versions of "Everyday Sunshine," "Ma and Pa" and a cover of Sublime's "Date Rape." In further credit to Angelo Moore and the band, when he was dropped by the crowd they remained unfazed and kept the energy at a fever pitch. The sextet finished with a four-song encore that included the classic ska favorite "Party at Ground Zero."

Fishbone, in the middle of a ski town tour including Idaho, Utah, and Colorado, is launching somewhat of a comeback towards their heyday of the late eighties and early nineties. The band, formed in 1979 in South Central Los Angeles, first reached widespread critical and commercial acclaim in 1988 with the searing Truth and Soul album and followed with even greater success marked by the release in 1991 of the psychedelic metal sound of The Reality of My Surroundings. More recently they have continued touring but have experienced setbacks with a number of personnel changes, rotating recording contracts and personal struggles.

At one point during the encore, Fisher yelled to the crowd, "We're gonna party like its 1995!" And that may well be a sticking point for this talented group. Their retro sound, which some writers have credited for influencing the likes of Lenny Kravitz, may hamper music sales. However, from all appearances, the band and audience seemed happy to shake to the beats, and after a three-year hiatus from Eastern Idaho's best music venue the crowd gave Fishbone a hearty, "Welcome home!"

Review from Jambase  Words & Images by: Andrew Wyatt