Badfish 0/26/2004

First of all, let me comment by saying that I usually do not think too highly of tribute bands, however, every now and then a band comes to town that is not worth missing out on…or should I say the music they are covering is not worth missing out on. When I was given the chance to review a Sublime tribute band, I was all over the situation like stink on a monkey. The band is Badfish and if you like 90's ska-rock heroes Sublime, I would suggest going and checking these guys out.

As I waltzed into Higher Ground, it became rather clear rather quickly that I was NOT here to see Sublime, but a sort of younger sibling…no wait….younger second cousin of the band. Where Sublime would have drawn the 20-plus year old , “lets get wasted cause we don’t give a fuck” crowd? Badfish drew the 15-18 year old, “I wear a Mohawk and smoke cigarettes cause my mom and dad say it's wrong” crowd. Like I said before, it’s a cover band…remember, you are in it for the music.

As Badfish took the stage, I knew my night was not lost. I wish I could remember the setlist, but chances are if you wanted to hear a Sublime song, they played it, and they played it convincingly well. I remember a few instances where I was actually pulled out of conversation to look at the stage in order to verify that it was actually a tribute band. The lead singer/guitar player’s vocal antics were surprisingly similar to Bradley Nowell’s original throat rolling singing style and the instrumental backing was solid, and a perfect compliment to the lyricism. I am not sure if the band is a trio reflecting the original Sublime setup, or if they are actually an incognito quartet, but there was a fourth person playing keys and the trumpet to about 50 percent of the songs. I know Sublime did some keys/trumpet stuff on their studio tracks and I assume that’s what the boys of Badfish were going for; however it was not evident if the fourth person was a sit in guest or a permanent member of the Badfish team. Either way, he added some quality trumpet and key parts to songs that...well...had trumpet and key parts when Sublime produced them. I really wish I could say more for these guys, but they are a tribute band. and they cover Sublime pretty damn good – enough said.

Towards the end of the show, as the band was busting out “Daterape,” they decided to let the females in the audience on stage so they could strut their stuff. Yeah...imagine a stage full of 15 and 16 year old girls, getting down to “Daterape” played by a tribute band. I looked down to my hand and the almost empty bottle of beer, looked around, looked up on the stage at the high school cheerleading squad it had become and let out a long intense sigh. If Bradley Nowell were here to see this he would do something drastic and...well...umm...I think that’s why he is no longer with us today.

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