On Wednesday the 30th of July legendary ska punks Reel Big
Fish returned to Colchester Arts Centre as part of their Don’t Stop Skankin’
tour supported by The Magnus Puto and The Jellycats.
First up were local band The Jellycats. I always seem to be seeing The
Jellycats recently, in just over a year I have seen them five times supporting
the likes of The Aquabats, The New Town Kings and now Reel Big Fish. The first
time I saw them I didn’t think that much of them but since then I think that
they have gotten better and better and are now one of my favourite ska bands on
the live underground scene. Buoyed on by a hometown crowd The Jellycats were in
top form tonight. Playing a selection of songs from their debut album and their
brand new EP as well as a cover of the Blues Brothers hit Everybody Needs
Somebody To Love they delivered a highly entertaining fun set. The new song
Home in particular stood out tonight and should become a staple of their live
show for years to come.
Next up was The Magnus Puto from Bristol. I had a
quick listen to them earlier that day and found there brand of electro-ska-hip
hop quite enjoyable. The Magnus Puto were displaying the more grown up side of
the ska genre and I wondered how it would come across as a live act. I am happy
to report that live they did not disappoint. Despite the majority of the crowd
not seemingly knowing who they were they managed to get the majority of the
people down the front moving with their high octane live show. Definitely a
band I plan on checking out more in the future.
It was soon time for the main event of the evening,
Orange County California’s Reel Big Fish. Since forming in 1991 Reel Big Fish
have formed a reputation of being one of the best live bands in the world.
During their time together they have gone through many line up changes (lead
singer and guitarist Aaron Barrett is the sole remaining original member) and
released seven studio albums the last being Candy Coated Fury which was
released in 2012. Reel Big Fish always manage to draw a sizable crowd in Colchester.
I think that Colchester really appreciates their seemingly yearly trip to
England’s oldest recorded town as it’s not often a band of this size visits our
town.
Kicking off the set with Everyone Else Is An Asshole the Californian six
piece stormed through hit after hit. Sometimes I forget just how many amazing
songs Barrett and Reel Big Fish have written throughout the years and what
amazes me is whenever I hear them they still sound fresh and new and not twenty
years old. It’s a big testament to the band that they can still put as much
energy and enjoyment into the songs after playing them for so many years.
Perhaps that is because they change them up a bit from the original recordings.
For instance tonight they played Darth Vader’s theme The Imperial March before
they played Where Have You Been and they broke into a cover of The Offspring’s
Self Esteem during fan favourite Beer.A highlight of the show was when they
brought out The Jellycats lead singer Emma to provide vocals for the songs She
Has A Girlfriend Now and I Know You Too Well To Like You Anymore, this went
down very well with the Arts Centre crowd. Reel Big Fishes set flew by and seem
to finish just as quickly as it had started. Once again they proved why they
are loved so much everywhere.
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