Scene and Heard

Fishbone at Agora Theater, Cleveland

Photos by David Cantor » In general, Angelo Moore doesn't visually fit into his surroundings. But Fishbone playing in front of a white suburbanite crowd in the middle of Cleveland had an especially disjointed effect.

Text by David Cantor
Posted on May 11, 2007

Moore and the newly assemble Fishbone, save for original bassist Norwood Fisher, ripped into a jazz track, run ostensibly by Fisher's walking bass line. During the introductory song, Moore began a somewhat disjointed poem about racism. When the track ended after each player took a solo, the band included an additional two horns on-top of Moore's sax playing, the seven piece band diving directly into "Party at Ground Zero". Almost twenty-two years after the songs initial release, it still lasts a bit too long, but also, without question, is able to make a crowd move. During the initial section of the song, as the dancers warmed up, Moore stalked back and forth looking for audience members to help with the chorus. He found some help, but also scared a rather young looking mall-punk girl in the process.

"Ma and Pa" followed in an almost ironic tone, considering that a number of band members must be referred to in such terms by this late date. It probably aptly applied to a good portion of the crowd as well.

Still Stuck in Your Throat was released during the later part of last year and probably someone has bought it, I just don't personally know them. Still, the sales for said record can't be too shabby if even the Cleveland massive has picked it up. A few folks in attendance were able to sing along with Moore as he slowly disrobed and left his purple sport coat and Bootsy button down on the side of the stage.

The band worked out a number of other classics like "Bonin' in the Bone Yard" and continued playing for nearly two hours. The amount of nutty-ska, punk, metal (courtesy of their new guitarist and former Suicidal Tendency member, Rocky George) and general black-rock was impressive. But for the ticket price between Euclid and Prospect Avenues, there should have been that much work for these oddly dressed pranksters and music-melders.