LGB 10/10/1996

OTHER PAPER
COLUMBUS, OH
THURSDAY, OCT 10, 1996

Ska: a scene looking for a song. Not just any song. A hit song. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, possibly the best damned ska-core band in the land, could use one. No Doubt, which has one, doesn’t need one, because Gwen Guthrie’s tummy is so flat (besides, they’re de-clawing their already scant ska for the next No Doubt album). In the meantime, what you got at the ska show at Chelsie’s Tuesday night was some pretty outstanding music. California’s Reel Big Fish and Let’s Go Bowling, bracketing Oregon’s Cherry Poppin’ Daddies – each blessed with a brace of talented horn players and front men-made the evening plenty worthwhile. Musical abilities? Shoot, any of the three horn sections could’ve kicked Ray Eubanks and the Columbus Jazz Orchestra’s collective ass. Automatic old-school ska riffs, jazzy improvs, Aretha-style soul blasts—Tuesday night’s trumpeters, saxists and trombonists knew their roots and their audience. Neither was ignored.

Because each band embodied the modern ska ethic: Have FUN. Jump around (but don’t miss the beat or the ska-train will leave withoutcha). Git kuh-razy. Move!

Reel Big Fish, which had a handful of memorable originals including ‘She’s Got A Girlfriend Now’ (about a girl who leaves a guy for another girl), were perhaps the best at breakneck tempo changes. From a rhythmic lope to a midair stall to a hyper charge-all in 32 bars, too-RBF delivered a high-energy workout capped with frontman Aaron Barrett’s Tommy Smothers-like personality. Assistant front guy Scott Klopfen-stein’s lounge lizard take on Duran Duran’s ‘Hungry Like A Wolf’ was hysteri-cal, right down to the Rico Suave-attitude and cigarette in hand. If you ain’t got a hit song, do someone else’s-but do it with attitude, baby. And they did. What followed was more of the band’s originals, including lots of pumping ska-grooves which the Big Fish kicked into high gear, inducing a super-sweat performance of ‘Beer’, an affectionate nod to an obvious inspiration. Hey, ya write about what moves ya.

Cherry Poppin’ Daddies boasted a talented if offbeat singer in Steve Perry, who seemed to have more than a little Liza Minelli and Cab Calloway in his blood—Broadway and bawdy big band influences could be heard. His higher tone and predilection for more rounded melodies at top speed eventually totally won this reluctant listener. The kid had chutzpah galore as well as a few good songs. So far, hardly any guitar. All horns, maybe one noticeable guitar solo. Hey, I can digit. Brass kicks ass.

Let’s Go Bowling possessed a more mature, settled-down approach, and any minute I thought they’d go into the classic Jamaican ska instrumental, ‘Guns of Navarone’. But they didn’t have to. As LGB stretched out, the songs and soloing revealed that the band has some brilliant arrangers in its ranks as well as some individually excellent horn players. Plus, they had an organ player who added even more color to a rockin’ set of old-school ska. Memorable playing, great performances, lotsa jumping around-what a terrific Tuesday night out at a great little club with a few score of the party faithful. And it’d take just one hit song to ruin it all.