Everyday Sunshine

VH-1 Classic makes me happy. Their new show, The Alternative, while merely an hour in length, is the best thing to come along since the sad demise of MTV's 120 Minutes. (Yes, I'm enormously easy to please... it's the "little things," folks.)

True, certain videos are questionable not only as "alternative" in genre but in terms of artistic merit. Some are head-scratchers. Some are laughable. For example, who remembers David Byrne's bizarre body-rocking and profuse sweating in Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" video? Ouch.

This morning, it was all about Fishbone. Fishbone, whose hyperactive "Party at Ground Zero" was something of a good-time ska anthem in my high school days and whose concert I attended with some friends at the Roxy in L.A. sometime around 1990. A concert to which my friend Patrick wore a houndstooth blazer with faded jeans and scuffed "Duckie" shoes, all of which were still moderately en vogue at the turn of the decade (for a Fishbone concert, at least).

The guys in Fishbone (what were there, six of them?) rocked that little house and we had a great time shvitzing along with a few hundred other college-aged pseudo-delinquents. I'm not sure why or when the band officially called it quits, but I know their lead singer Angelo Moore ended up working with the likes of Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Not too shabby.

Anyway, to bring this completely irrelevant tale full-circle, I recently learned Fishbone will be playing here in town next week. The lamentable fact that almost NO recording artists of any interest to me come through this neglected region whilst on tour (though Wilco made an appearance not long ago) is almost enough to will my ticket-purchasing gene back into action. That, along with my strange curiosity to see how well Fishbone's frightfully energetic young members have aged and whether or not they can still excite a crowd with their exuberance.

Which brings me to another of my New Year's non-resolutions: MORE LIVE MUSIC, PLEASE. For me, that means making a road trip south to San Francisco or north to Portland or Seattle (if not hopping on a plane, hungrily bound for anywhere with a few decent concert venues and schedules). There's simply too much great music out there for a committed tune-o-phile like myself to be limited to the pleasure of listening solely via electronic format.

Posted by ayelet at January 6, 2005 09:50 AM | TrackBack