On the ride home from any rock concert one is usually tired, sore, and covered in sweat. The question is: After an evening being pushed, shoved, crushed, and stepped on, was it really worth it? After Wednesday night's Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger show at The Roxy, the answer was a resounding yes.
The show began a little after six with Long Island punk band The Movielife. The most appropriate adjective to describe the band would be would generic, though each of the band members did sport their natural hair color. Between songs lead singer Vinnie Caruana took a few moments to talk about the terrorist attacks, thanking the crowd for coming out, "...so we can forget about all this stuff for awhile and have fun."
The next act, Mest, a punk band out of South Chicago, was slightly more interesting. Though the music was not bad, their whole set seemed forced. They also weighed in on the national tragedy, yelling "F--- Osama Bin laden!" Mest bombarded the audience with foul language and told crude stories (something not uncommon to punk), but it all felt a bit too contrived. It was no wonder someone in the audience screamed "You're not Blink 182!"
Goldfinger, the next act, put on an impressive show. Band members entered the stage to the theme music from the Superman movies while lead singer John Feldmann stood on a speaker in all his mohawked glory, providing the perfect photo opportunity for avid fans. In addition to playing their radio hits "99 Red Balloons" and "Superman," Goldfinger also performed crowd favorites "Miles Away" and "Here in Your Bedroom."
Their set was full of audience participation and even featured a few stage dives from Feldmann. In the middle of the set, three Golfinger roadies came out in drag and performed Destiny's Child's "Survivor" - complete with choreography - and quickly transitioned into a cover of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop."
The finale included drummer Darrin Pfeiffer playing on flaming cymbals and mooning the audience as he walked offstage. During the encore "Amble," the band brought several fans onstage.
Despite a missing drummer - Carlos de la Garza, who was on his honeymoon - and ailing trombone player Dan Reagan - who has a broken foot - Reel Big Fish persevered. Reagan was still able to play with the aid of a chair for his injured appendage. Filling in for de la Garza was Ryland Steen of Square who jokingly thanked Make-a-Wish for "making my dream of playing with Reel Big Fish come true."
The band played its popular songs including: "She Has a Girlfriend Now," "Beer," and "Everything Sucks," as well as three versions of "Suburban Rhythm" after messing up and starting over, and a couple of songs from their new album set for a March release. Reel Big Fish ended its set with "Sell Out" and performed Sublime's "I'll Never Be" for an encore.
