Reel Big Fish vs Aquabats @HQ, Adelaide (05/12/10)

Wed 8th Dec, 2010 in Gig Reviews

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For an act assumed to be left to fundamental Ska and punks fans, Reel Big Fish at HQ on Sunday the 5th of December proved that no matter your age, the age of the band or what colour your shirt is, Adelaide knows how to jump.

Supported by Australian act The Resignators and the Aquabats, both sounding peculiar yet different with both managing to get a great deal of young fans dancing, rocking and circle pitting. However a large portion of the fans were oldies (Im talking around 30’s to 40’s, not wrinklies) making it clear just how long Reel Big Fish have been around.

Melbourne band, The Resignators took the stage first, with their upbeat and trumpet heavy resonance. After a few head nods and some shaking knees from the crowd the lead singer announced ‘I understand we’re just the warm up, but you can still dance’ going straight into a heavier track laden with organ toots and mellowing reggae breaks. It was with Sins of the Father, which had the majority of those in the pit observing/creating their first circle pit for the night. For those disputing, the circle pit occurs when a group of people within the crowd makes enough room for one another to run into each other from a distance. Yet with a salute to the Aquabats and Reel Big Fish The Resignators were departing the stage as quickly as the lead singers emu peering left and right impersonation.

Anyone who has not heard of the Aquabats before and has the ability to see them live DO NOT DO A GOOGLE SEARCH ON THEM and try not to let your friends who have heard of them spoil the experience that is the Aquabats for you. These guys are a whole bucket of fun or bucket of shiny, depending on your knowledge of them. Their synthed yet heavy drum exhibition ignited the crowd to jump, crowd surf and generally loose control and their Lovers of Loving Love chantey had the young moshers in the nosebleed section and even the vintage fans along the back wall making circles above their head whilst hoofing along. The Aquabats have a great sound but lack nothing when it comes to aura and stage presence, think the 1960’s TV series of Batman, but that however is where I will conclude on the Aquabats. What’s that you sigh? You want to know more? You know what to do…. definitely NOT a google search!

When John Christianson walked on stage adorned in red, white, blue and stars followed by the rest of Reel Big Fish, the entire HQ main room jumped, cheered and fist pumped, however as they walked off stage after their first. And second. And third song, people were laughing and reminiscing on the humor of the band they had seen years earlier.

Finding highlights at this gig is like finding the best part of a caramel pecan slice; even the poppy seed base is amazing. Their rendition of Van Morrison’s Brown-Eyed Girl is however notable due to my lack of hearing a good cover previously, as well as the star jumps during guitar and drum solo’s of good thing could be compared to a skateboarder fail, funny but holds the cringe factor. Their beach boy’sy sounding cover of Enter Sandman revved moshers into yet another circle pit, which was then topped off by the icy cold, liquid gold on a warm summers day yep, Beer.

For those having a good time, the set felt like seconds- for those that didn’t (well I couldn’t find anyone so lets leave it there), this gigs margins became evident when each of the band members walked offstage, however non-stop chanting and cooing brought all six members of Reel Big Fish back on stage to perform Trendy, I Want Your Girlfriend, four different renditions of Suburban Rhythm and Take On Me.

For a band that only has songs that some might say ‘filled with spite and vengeance’, Reel Big Fish know exactly how to serenade their loving crowd with the wonders of their brass and electric guitar breaks, topped by the vocal melodies of Aaron Barrett. It’s a remedy for those who know it; I’d rather go blind than deaf because nothing beats the wonders of live music.