Reel Big Fish, Goldfinger, Zebrahead @ The Palace, Melbourne (02/12/12)
After working all day and having plied myself heavily with coffee all day, the thought of attending a loud, sweat and cramped concert involving three of the biggest ska-bands was not something that appealed to me. I had seen portions of Zebrahead and Goldfinger at past Soundwave festivals and Reel Big Fish always held a special place in my heart, but there’s not much you forward to when you spent the afternoon falling asleep in Starbucks. Fast forward four hours and I couldn’t wipe the smile on my face as I made my way home from one of the best nights of my life.
Upon taking up my favourite vantage point in The Palace (I would tell you, but then I’d have to kill you), I noticed a strange addition to the stage. Yes, drums and microphone stands were all neatly arranged, but on the left of the drum kit was what appeared to be a Martini Bar, complete with martini glasses and several bottles of alcohol.
This was going to be an entertaining night.
When Zebrahead took to the stage they were hilarious and entertaining, creating a good atmosphere for the rest of the night. Despite having never heard any of their music before, I was drawn in by co-lead singer Ali Tabatabaee, who would simply not stand still and seemed to make it his personal mission to actively engage with every single person in the crowd.
And as for the Martini Bar? When the band entered the stage, so did two butlers, complete with tuxedos and bowties. Throughout the set, they poured drinks, delivered new guitar picks on silver platters and sang back up vocals. It was a hilarious addition to the stage and definitely unique.
Following Zebrahead, and a complete break down and re-set of the stage, Goldfinger quite literally rushed on. Oddly enough, it seemed to be an almost Frankenstein version of Goldfinger: John Feldman remained on vocals and guitar, but MxPx bassist Mike Herrera, Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Burnett on guitar and someone who was definitely not Darrin Pfeiffer on drums. Since I only know a few Goldfinger songs, I wasn’t too upset by the changes; everyone sounded amazing and the show was fantastic. The brass section of Reel Big Fish even made an appearance during a few Goldfinger songs, which was nice to see such amazing comradery between the bands, but also to get basically two sets out of the one band within one show.
During Goldfingers set Feldman was electric. With his on-stage antics, crowd-surfing, numerous references to One Direction and even getting the crowd in on a ‘Slytherin’ chant, it was hard to tear my eyes off the stage when Goldfinger were on.
The finale of Goldfinger set the tone for Reel Big Fish to take the stage in the only manner acceptable: an encore performance of 99 Luft Balloons (with one verse sung in the native tongue and with the added final line of ‘I’m fucking singing in German!’), the snare drums on fire and the band marching off stage whilst playing the introduction to Tenacious D’s ‘Beezelboss’.
Finally, the Reel Big Fish boys returned to the stage, with Aaron Burnett seeming to have undergone a brief costume change, re-emerging in a much more traditional Reel-Big-Fish-esque outfit: Hawaiian shirt, shorts and white sunnies.
In my interview with Reel Big Fish trumpeter Johnny Christianson a few months ago, he promised Australian fans that this tour would be “hours and hours of hilarity and rock music” with lots of sweating and dancing. And boy did they deliver. Every single act was amazing at engaging with the crowd and getting everybody up to dance. There was lots of banter between the songs and while sometimes these moments can seem rehearsed, or worse something repeated at every show, but everything felt genuine and in-the-moment.
Reel Big Fish played all of their best songs and with some crowd participation, choreographed dance routines and ad-libs, the show was incredible. I was a bit apprehensive when they played songs from their new album, as I personally thought the songs were a bit flat compared to typical RBF songs, but seeing those songs live proved that all Reel Big Fish songs are best enjoyed when dancing. ‘Don’t Stop Skanking’ was definitely a highlight, with the entire crowd, band and other bands all getting in on some skanking action.
One thing I noticed about tonight was it seemed to be a show that not only comprised three of the greatest ska bands, but also three of the most entertaining. Every band was slightly unique, but they all engaged with the audience in similar ways and at no point did it feel stale or rehearsed. Not only did every band make me dance, but they made me laugh, chant or give them the bird (as they requested).
Ultimately, it was nice to see some bands whose only intent seemed to be to have fun and take everyone else with them. As Feldman said during his set “We’re here to create moments for you. You have to be in the moment!” Definitely an amazing concert, and cements Reel Big Fish, to me, as a band to see before you die.
Ally Mooney
Check out our photos from the night here!
Upon taking up my favourite vantage point in The Palace (I would tell you, but then I’d have to kill you), I noticed a strange addition to the stage. Yes, drums and microphone stands were all neatly arranged, but on the left of the drum kit was what appeared to be a Martini Bar, complete with martini glasses and several bottles of alcohol.
This was going to be an entertaining night.
When Zebrahead took to the stage they were hilarious and entertaining, creating a good atmosphere for the rest of the night. Despite having never heard any of their music before, I was drawn in by co-lead singer Ali Tabatabaee, who would simply not stand still and seemed to make it his personal mission to actively engage with every single person in the crowd.
And as for the Martini Bar? When the band entered the stage, so did two butlers, complete with tuxedos and bowties. Throughout the set, they poured drinks, delivered new guitar picks on silver platters and sang back up vocals. It was a hilarious addition to the stage and definitely unique.
Following Zebrahead, and a complete break down and re-set of the stage, Goldfinger quite literally rushed on. Oddly enough, it seemed to be an almost Frankenstein version of Goldfinger: John Feldman remained on vocals and guitar, but MxPx bassist Mike Herrera, Reel Big Fish frontman Aaron Burnett on guitar and someone who was definitely not Darrin Pfeiffer on drums. Since I only know a few Goldfinger songs, I wasn’t too upset by the changes; everyone sounded amazing and the show was fantastic. The brass section of Reel Big Fish even made an appearance during a few Goldfinger songs, which was nice to see such amazing comradery between the bands, but also to get basically two sets out of the one band within one show.
During Goldfingers set Feldman was electric. With his on-stage antics, crowd-surfing, numerous references to One Direction and even getting the crowd in on a ‘Slytherin’ chant, it was hard to tear my eyes off the stage when Goldfinger were on.
The finale of Goldfinger set the tone for Reel Big Fish to take the stage in the only manner acceptable: an encore performance of 99 Luft Balloons (with one verse sung in the native tongue and with the added final line of ‘I’m fucking singing in German!’), the snare drums on fire and the band marching off stage whilst playing the introduction to Tenacious D’s ‘Beezelboss’.
Finally, the Reel Big Fish boys returned to the stage, with Aaron Burnett seeming to have undergone a brief costume change, re-emerging in a much more traditional Reel-Big-Fish-esque outfit: Hawaiian shirt, shorts and white sunnies.
In my interview with Reel Big Fish trumpeter Johnny Christianson a few months ago, he promised Australian fans that this tour would be “hours and hours of hilarity and rock music” with lots of sweating and dancing. And boy did they deliver. Every single act was amazing at engaging with the crowd and getting everybody up to dance. There was lots of banter between the songs and while sometimes these moments can seem rehearsed, or worse something repeated at every show, but everything felt genuine and in-the-moment.
Reel Big Fish played all of their best songs and with some crowd participation, choreographed dance routines and ad-libs, the show was incredible. I was a bit apprehensive when they played songs from their new album, as I personally thought the songs were a bit flat compared to typical RBF songs, but seeing those songs live proved that all Reel Big Fish songs are best enjoyed when dancing. ‘Don’t Stop Skanking’ was definitely a highlight, with the entire crowd, band and other bands all getting in on some skanking action.
One thing I noticed about tonight was it seemed to be a show that not only comprised three of the greatest ska bands, but also three of the most entertaining. Every band was slightly unique, but they all engaged with the audience in similar ways and at no point did it feel stale or rehearsed. Not only did every band make me dance, but they made me laugh, chant or give them the bird (as they requested).
Ultimately, it was nice to see some bands whose only intent seemed to be to have fun and take everyone else with them. As Feldman said during his set “We’re here to create moments for you. You have to be in the moment!” Definitely an amazing concert, and cements Reel Big Fish, to me, as a band to see before you die.
Ally Mooney
Check out our photos from the night here!