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 Reel
Big Fish
By: Holly Castillo
Ska band Reel Big Fish played with The Matches, Gob and Zebrahead
in front of a fairly large crowd of people of all ages who were skanking
and moshing, and just generally having a good time.
They opened their
set at the Sound Advice Amphitheater on July 18th with one of their
most well known songs, "Sell Out," whose video aired on
MTV back in 1997. (You may remember the video with the man dressed
as a giant box of French fries, and his attempt at getting a record
deal.) The crowd went crazy singing along, as you strained to hear
vocalist, Aaron Barrett, belt out the lyrics. The sound was incredible,
and the on-stage antics were great.
Dan Regan, RBF's
trombonist, was dressed in a bumblebee suit for the show. Scott Klopfenstein,
backup singer and trombone player, made small talk with the crowd
explaining that he needed a wealthy girlfriend who had at least $1.2
million in the bank, and gave out personal information about his parents
and two brothers.
Reel Big Fish has
been Screwing Up Since 1991 and Sellin' Out in 1997,
and has been producing record after record in the past few years.
The 1998 release of Why Do They Rock So Hard? and 2002's Cheer
Up, barely made a wave in the industry, yet they still have their
hard-core fans who would do absolutely anything to see them.
Songs on their recent
CD such as "Ban the Tube Top," "Dateless Losers,"
"Rock 'n' Roll is Bitchin'" and their rendition of "New
York, New York," in honor of September 11th, makes the wait for
their upcoming CDs worthwhile. Yet their current lineup change had
many fans worried about their sound. Carlos De La Garza and Tyler
Jones are replacing members Grant Barry and Andrew Gonzales. Their
sound isn't as upbeat and happy as it was before because now they
have more of a darker rock sound, but it's still REEL BIG FISH!
Back in 1997, if
you recall, the Florida Marlin's were the "it" team, and
Reel Big Fish was becoming popular off their minor success
of Sell Out. They played a small show at the then-Joe Robbie
Stadium, and had their song "Trendy" named the unofficial
theme song of the Marlins. The lyrics for "Trendy" are as
follows:
"Everybody's doin' the fish, yeah, yeah, yeah
Everybody's doin' the fish, yeah, yeah, yeah…"
After playing for
an hour and a half, RBF came back for two encores, which included
the cult classic, "She has a Girlfriend Now," the duet with
Save Ferris' lead singer, Mo Powell. She wasn't there, but Scott did
a great high-pitched version of her. Once they played their final
notes, they thanked the crowd and left the stage. As everyone piled
out of the amphitheater, The Matches were playing an acoustic set
outside the gate, handing out stickers and having people sign their
mailing list.
All in all, Reel
Big Fish hasn't lost any of their steam, and it looks as though they
will be around for a long time to come. As they poke fun at life,
they will hopefully still be making songs like, "All I want is
More" and "Everything Sucks."
Check them out: www.reelbigfish.com
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