FISHBONE @ Rams Head Live! - Baltimore, MD (5/4/07)

FISHBONE

At Rams Head Live! - Baltimore, MD (5/4/07)

This was one hell of a day....I ended up getting into Baltimore about 55 minutes late because of a massive traffic jam on I-95, just outside of Wilmington, DE. I get to Rams Head Live! around 9:30pm and proceeded past the ticket counter. Security guards checked the contents of my small duffel bag, but I don't mean check it...I MEAN A CAVITY SEARCH OF A BAG....I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANYONE INSPECT EVERY NOOK AND CRANNY...PULLIN' PAPER OUT, UNFOLDING/REFOLDING, CHECKING SUPER-SMALL COMPARTMENTS, CHECKING THE CD CARRYING CASE... I GUESS THE NEXT STEP UP WOULD PROBABLY BE CHECKING THE CRACK OF MY ASS AND/OR THE HAIR OF MY BALLS!!!! And to top it off, I'm told that I CANNOT BRING THE BAG IN (AFTER IT WAS OVER-ANALYZED!!!!!!!!!!) In a rather furious voice, I asked where could I put the bag 'cuz I have nowhere to stow it and I CAME FROM PHILLY! One person was nice enough to place it in the coat room (LATER ON, I found out that the venue DOESN'T HAVE A COAT CHECK DURING THE SPRING/SUMMER (??!!!)) Trust me, THIS IS NOT A VENUE THAT I WOULD FREQUENT....F**K RAMS HEAD LIVE!

Anyway, enough of that.....

At 10:10pm, Dr. MaddVibe came and gave up a little dose of his medicine...a piece called "Nate Pro Crastro" (from PROCASTINATE)...a very funny anecdote complete with siren sounds. After the spoken word piece, it was on to a funky jazz instrumental featuring the band Fishbone. "(Cheyenne Star) Forever Moore" from the new album STILL STUCK IN YOUR THROAT was a very good, reggae-flavored R&B tune featuring Angelo Moore seriously getting off on the theremin (like the album version)...the only drawback to this performance was the low vocals by keyboardist Dre Gipson (someone set the volume his mic too low). "Behind Closed Doors" was a funk blast, thanks to the stank-ass, wet bass riffs by Norwood Fisher and tight drumming by John Steward...this was also a vocal spotlight for Dre (who co-wrote the song with Norwood) as he performed his rap midway through the song! "Alcoholic" was the first song of the set where hell broke loose...after the first verse (slow reggae portion), the band went into the chorus (punk-rock) and Angelo flew into the sea of fans...all bodies skanked about and Angelo crowd-surfed back to the stage! At the end of the craze, it was back to the reggae part of the song, where Dre left his keyboard and took center stage, playing the part of a drunk bastard...he sang the second verse and "collapsed" into the pit between the stage and fans. Angelo was back to crowd-surfing and later Dre stood on the railing and flipped onto the heads & hands of the fans. At the end of the second chorus, the band started playing AC/DC's "Back in Black" for a minute, before going back into "Alcoholic". During the last chorus, Angelo was back over the heads of the fans! "Let Them Ho's Fight" was a hardcore-punk-rock extravaganza, featuring the crunching lead guitar madness of Rocky George and pounding drumbeats of John Steward! "Date Rape" featured the majestic horn blasts of Angelo Moore (sax), Curtis Storey Jr. (trumpet) and John McKnight (trombone)... and more of the crazy punk-rock energy that overheated many bodies on the floor...including yours truly... who knew that PSAs (public service announcements) could be SO FUN!! "Party at Ground Zero" was the last moshpit-ready, skankin'-to-the-beat song that ended the show at 11:05pm.

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