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Reel Big Fish @ Southampton |
Victorias photos click here to download
Cedrics Photos download here
There’s an easy way to sum up the Reel Big Fish gig at Southampton Guildhall: it was awesome! The whole night was memorable and even the support band were great.
Suburban Legends greeted the crowd by shouting “let’s consummate this relationship”, and we did just that. Their song started with drums similar to ACDC, grease style intros and clap along’s led by the trombone player- Brian Robertson. The American band were perfect for warming up the audience and had mastered crowd participation by demanding the audience split into two and shout their lyrics back at them. A highlight of their set was an amazing trombone solo, amplified by a microphone held by the trumpet player- Luis Beza. For me the best bit was the band’s custom dance moves performed by the lead singer and brass section. The trumpet player also had amazing actions to go along with the lyrics.
Towards the end of their set, someone threw a bottle at the stage but missed and hit a guy in the front row. Lead singer- Vincent Walker was clearly a little upset and said: “Hey that wasn’t funny, who threw that bottle at that dude? Are you ok dude?” that particular attendee was clearly there for Reel Big Fish only. There were more people that seemed to only have eyes and ears for the Fish and were shouting: “Man, you fucking suck” at regular intervals. I have to disagree, they were grand. The rest of the audience seemed to be having a great time, most of them were around 16 years old apart from a couple of massive, heavily tattooed blokes. Their penultimate song was an astounding rendition of Disney’s The Little Mermaid’s ‘Under the Sea’ which seemed to change the whole atmosphere. Everyone was having so much fun, especially the massive tattooed blokes! One gig goer screamed: “That was fucking amazing!”
“We couldn’t have done this without you” we are told, the crowd get even more excited when Reel Big Fish’s lead singer- Aaron Barrett walks on, picks up a guitar and plays a song with them. After a quick break to see if there was a girl without her shirt on, they carried on but it was clear the crowd were eagerly awaiting Reel Big Fish.
Now for the main act, Reel Big Fish. They walked on and without a word, played their opening song: ‘Trendy’. The Californian ska punk band are currently on a major world tour promoting their new album of cover songs: ‘Fame and Fornication’. The second song, ‘Another F.U Song’, unsurprisingly full of Fuck You’s, was accompanied with lots of air punches from band and crowd. At the end of every song they played a fanfare of da diddly der der on guitars then shouted “THANKYOU!” which was an amazing touch.
The band didn’t really talk to the audience much but I don’t think they minded. They were all there to listen and dance the ska dance. Between songs, Barrett said one liners like: “Fuck me, ok great”. The crowd were completely enthralled, so much so that no one even noticed the seating area at the back which was almost full of people sitting politely. 98% of the crowd were doing some crazy ska/reggae dancing that made the floor shake but there were a couple of people just standing. Not moving at all. This I just cannot understand because the band were amazing. Even after we danced into them and had a contest to see who could jump the highest, (note to self: don’t do this with a full pint) they were adamant that they weren’t going to move. Maybe they were enjoying the music in a different way.
The lyrics of ‘Don’t Start A Band: “no one’s gonna sing along with you, don’t start a band!”couldn’t have been more wrong, the whole crowd and possibly the guildhall staff were echoing the sentiment back at the band. When they started playing their next song, a shorter version of Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’, I was a bit dubious. Turns out I was wrong; it was new and definitely improved rendition of the original.
The funky rhythm and dramatic brass intro of ‘The New Version Of You’ was a sure fire way to get the crowd moving more than someone on a pogo stick on a trampoline. The fast but steady beat and catchy lyrics in the chorus ensured the whole venue was singing along. Through the entire Reel Big Fish set, there was a maximum of 10 people at the bar. The number diminished to two - the bar staff- once they started their signature ska punk guitar intro of ‘Suckers’.
“To the right, to the left” shouted the band over the slow picked guitar intro of ‘Join The Club’, a mass of hands shot up in the air and dutifully swayed shouting along to the “yeah yeah yeah”s. Cue the brass section. The trumpet player was the star for this number, commanding his instrument to do magical things. The next couple of numbers: ‘She Has A Girlfriend Now’-played at a much faster tempo than the recorded version although complete with the excellent trombone solo, Poison’s ‘Nothing But A Good Time’ and their own ‘Good Thing’ were the best received songs of the night. Especially ‘Good Thing’ in which the crowd were helpless against the urges to chant along with “you know we’ve got a good thing going and I don’t wanna see it end.” Luckily the crowd didn’t take the lyrics of ‘Your Guts (I Hate ‘Em)’ to heart. “I hate your guts, I think you suck” was chanted back and forth and was greeted with a middle finger from the trumpet player who was wearing an old Biggles helmet.
Next up was a punkier rendition of ‘Where Have You Been’, although not as many people were dancing, it was a welcome change of pace and gave everyone the chance for a quick rest! ‘Beer’ was again met with rapturous applause and offered the brass section a break. I think even the hardcore Reel Big Fish fans present were surprised but ecstatic that Barrett played the guitar solo behind his head. These same fans predicted they’d play ‘Take On Me’, going with previous gig tradition. They were wrong, that was it the band thanked the audience and exited stage right.
Only joking, they of course had an encore! The crowd were screaming “REEL BIG FISH” over and over again and eventually they came back to roaring applause and more excitement. Their first encore performance was a little disappointing, the crowd were looking a little deflated, very hot and sweaty and were exhausted! ‘You Dont Know’ was followed with immense performances of ‘Monkey Man’ and ‘Sellout’. The atmosphere and energy in the room instantly picked up. Barrett tried inviting everyone to the after show party “what’s that place called?” he received frowns from the rest of the band and swiftly moved on “we’re gonna play Monkey Man!” During ‘Sellout’ an unsuccessful crowd surfer had ignored the venue’s warnings and fell into the crowd, landing on his head. Their older songs were appreciated much more than any of the tracks from their new album ‘Fame and Fornication’ perhaps with the exception of their incredible performance of Toots and the Maytals’ ‘Monkey Man’. They finished with an outstanding performance of ‘Take On Me’ which pleased everyone, especially the dedicated fans who were jumping around like lunatics. The band taught the audience the ultimate ska dance which we all did throughout the song.
From being a casual Reel Big Fish listener, I have been converted; I might be their new biggest fan. If they’re ever in a hundred mile radius of your house, it is your duty to go and see them.
Review by Katherine Buckland. Email - k.buckland@underground-music.co.uk
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