In terms of manic, muscular punk-funk, there really is no one like Fishbone. At its peak in the late-’80s, the horn-wielding slap-bass-heavy California outfit could blow like-minded bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers off the stage. And that was not exactly easy to do.
Fishbone was always more than a shirtless testosterone freakout. They could do a persuasive Curtis Mayfield cover. They wrote their own tender and pretty slow numbers, sometimes blending dub reggae and metal in surprising ways. But the real action was always in dyed-mohawk and cane-twirling frontman Angelo Moore, a dynamic and intense performer who could howl and shriek, wail on sax, bouncing into the crowd and swinging from the light rigging.
As a group of young African-American men playing crazed eclectic punk in clubs of mostly white teens, Fishbone stood out, and the members were able to address racism and injustice in ways that were more compelling and worldly than many of their peer bands.
There have been many lineup changes, lean years, periods of stylistic groping and iffy patches over the band’s 37-year career, but a 2010 documentary about the band showed the influence they had on artists like No Doubt, Primus and many others. Listening to Fishbone, one can hear the connection to other similarly unclassifiable but generally attitudinal acts like Frank Zappa, Parliament, the Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains and Green Day. This tour marks the first time the original lineup has played together in 25 years.
Fishbone takes the stage at Fairfield Theater Company’s Warehouse, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield, Thursday, March 23, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $32. 203-259-1036 or fairfieldtheatre.org.
