There is a scene attached with pretty much every kind of band and every kind of music. The tunes rarely stand-alone, clothes, hairstyles, attitudes and politics all mesh behind the music to define it. Sublime was not entirely different than other bands in this regard but what set the accompanying scene and fan base apart from other acts is also what set the music apart. The Long Beach band drew on influences as varied as punk rock, reggae, and hip-hop to make some of the best music that my generation can lay any kind of claim to. While borrowing the sounds of these artists they also managed to borrow some fans. So, even years after the demise of the band due to front man Bradly Nowell’s death, the name Sublime can pack a house, even on a Monday.
The MusicCares hurricane relief show had kids with parents, punk rockers, heavy metal heads, hip-hop heads, hippies, LA gimme attention-ers, and just about everybody in-between. The vibe of the show was Sublime appropriate, I dare sayirie.
The opening acts, Bargain Music and Ziggens set the tone for Unwritten Law to really start the event. The place was cruisin and people got excited to hear Unwritten cover “Saw Red” with Aimee Allen taking on the role of Gwen Stefani. Blackalicious went on next and dropped “Alphabet Aerobics” right before the place caught fire.
Fishbone. I’ll never miss a Fishbone show from this point on. The ska-punk and something else band blew the place up. People were going mad. The nice white man shuffle and hippie-hippie shake dance floor turned into a crowd surfing mosh-pit. The photographer’s section between the crowd and stage could have been billed as a second event. There was a lost sense of “who the hell should I be taking pictures of” when Fishbone broke into the cover of Date Rape. Photographers went flying trying to stay away from microphone cords while lead man Angelo Moore jumped the distance to the crowd and got in on the surfing. You know you are at a special show when you don’t get drinks thrown on you but entire people at you.
More highlights of the show included Los Lobos and
Ozomatli. Ozo was the only act that came close to catching the energy of Fishbone, though Los Lobos had some incredible sounds. Tony Kanal of No Doubt, Angelo, and Tim Armstrong from Rancid headed up the most name catching of the following bands, Short Bus, who had four members of Sublime.
The final jam of the evening was the only time the tribute show got thick with the Sublime jams. Members from each of the acts came to the stage to perform some of the classics. LA underground rappers Murs and 2MeX quickly performed verses on “Doin’ Time” then headed to the back of the stage to cheer and enjoy the show.
A significant number of the audience had already had enough and left by the time the final jam took place. They did not miss out on too much besides a happy vibe and people swaying back and forth singing “What I got.” On the way out I grabbed the promo release of the Sublime tribute CD that was being promoted. The disc includes Jack Johnson, Fishbone, Michael Franti, Shape Shifters, Slightly Stoopid and a bunch of others. Being a Hip-Hop junkie I was excited to see the Shape Shifters, and Michael Franti on the disc. Slightly Stoopid also plays the song “Collie Man” which is a great track. Quality stuff.
