Reel Big Fish – Carling Academy Birmingham – 21/02/08
Third Wave Ska stalwarts Reel Big Fish open tonight’s show with Sell Out and don’t let up until they’ve wrung every last drop of energy from the crowd. Parting ways with their record company and the loss of bass player Matt Wong would have slowed most bands down a little but the band seem as full of energy as they ever were and as usual put on a show that leaves everyone drenched in sweat and smiling from ear to ear.
The set spanned all six albums with the crowd responding to Ban The Tube Top, I Want Your Girlfriend, Sellout, Beer, Don’t Start a Band and came to a close with their cover of Take On Me which had everyone up and dancing. It would be easy for a band that have been around as long as Reel Big Fish to just turn up and play a ‘by the numbers’ set but the banter, interplay and infection melodies keep coming thick and fast.
They may never have enjoyed the mainstream success of some of their contemporaries but they never fail to deliver and on the strength of tonight’s show they seem to get as much of a kick out of what they do as the fans.
Review & Photos – Jenny Tolley