REVIEW: REEL BIG FISH AT CARDIFF SOLUS (24/02/11)
Reel Big Fish are no strangers to performing in Wales, having previously performed at the Full Ponty festival and Solus in 2009. Now the Ska veterans are bringing their 20th anniversary tour to Cardiff for a Ska filled show. Not many bands these days can say that they have been together for 20 years and received the kind of success that Reel Big Fish have had. The band is packed with feel good, humour songs and is one of the most respected names in the music industry. The Welsh crowd are filled with young and old and it’s clear to say that Reel Big Fish have one of the most dedicated followings in music. Fans of the band flooded the Cardiff Solus, scouring for the best location to watch the legendary Ska rockers. Fans could be found sporting Reel Big Fish tattoos and a dress sense that is almost identical to the bands. Second support band The Skint’s are a mixture of “reggae/dub/punk/reggae fusion band” and bring something unique to the show. Singer Marcia Richards plays a whole range of instruments during their set from the sax to the meldoica. The Skint’s are received well with the Cardiff crowd despite having a mellow sound that calms the hyper activeness feel of the evening. Up next are Suburban Legends who deliver a very energetic choreographed performance. The band from California performed like they should be headlining the show. Concluding their set with a cover of the Lion Kings ‘Can’t wait to the king’. Suburban Legends uniqueness left the Cardiff crowd wanting more and won over a few new fans from their fun performance. Deafening chants of ‘Reel Big Fish’ fill the Cardiff Solus for their explosive opening with crowd pleasers, ‘Sell Out’ and ‘Everything Sucks’. The band that is filled with a ton of classics, play an astonishing 23 song set that had endless amount of banter and entertaining jokes. ‘Another F.U Song’ was a memorable moment of their set and security had the fun of dealing with the constant amount of crowd surfers that were invading the ‘photo pit’. Concluding their set with a cover of ‘Take on Me’, Reel Big Fish may have been in the music industry for 20 years however, with a performance that was delivered, there is definitely no sign of them stopping making or performing music anytime soon.
Words and photos: Mike Lewis
