The first leg of Reel Big Fish’s 20th Anniversary tour of Turn The Radio Off came dancing through Sherman Theater on November 11th. Local band The Queeftones opened the show with their blend of punk and reggae tunes including a Rancid cover. Arriving late only allowed me to catch a few songs, but Queeftones opened the show to a fairly big crowd and helped get the crowd ready for the night.
This tour has probably the best opening acts. Each band is energetic, entertaining, and sounds flawless. This definitely goes for up and coming ska band Stacked Like Pancakes. I am not sure how many people knew of this band prior to the show, but I think they won them over. From jumping into the crowd, to swooning the crowd, to finding any different spot in the venue to perform, Stacked Like Pancakes covered every possible place in the venue, this includes the horn section. For a young band, they have a future ahead of them, because they give the crowd not just a performance, but an experience to remember.
http://stackedlikepancakes.com/
Masked Intruder, what can I say. A band that will restore your faith in pop punk. I’m not talking about the new sound of pop punk, but the mid-late 90’s pop punk. The “golden years” as some may say. Playing just as many songs as the headliner, Masked Intruder played by far the most fun, comical, and entertaining set I’ve seen in a long while. Intruder Blue’s commentary in between songs had everyone, except maybe boyfriends, laughing. Also is the New York accents their real accents? Who really is Masked Intruder? We may never know, but what we do know is this is one great band to see live and support, if you don’t they may rob you.
https://www.facebook.com/maskedintruder/
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen Reel Big Fish, but this show I will remember. Turn The Radio Off is their biggest album and like many others, this was my first exposure to them. Growing up, I watched MTV, read the music magazines, etc, but the bands that still stick with me are the ones I heard coming out of my sister’s room. Reel Big Fish was one of them. She would play “Sell Out”, “She Has A Girlfriend Now”, “Nothin'” and others on full blast. For a 9 year old I was intrigued, but without a way to go to the record store, I had to sneak those albums out of her room to listen to them on my own. Now I’m 29 and I can say I’ve been listening to this album for 20 years. It is crazy to think, but as I get older, albums like this are known to me as timeless because I can listen to this album any time and it still sounds new. Reel Big Fish played Turn The Radio Off in its entirety and multiple of other songs on this tour. When I mean multiple, I mean about 5 before the album then about five after the album. For the price of the ticket, you are surely getting your money worth. I think this is the longest I’ve seen them play for, and don’t think they skim on the jokes and the great stage presence. No, no, no, Reel Big Fish never holds back and in fact, I think this has to be their best performance to date. If you missed this show, or any part of this tour, don’t worry. The second leg of this tour starts in the new year and features a whole new lineup of great bands. I guarantee this show will combat your winter blues.
Favorite Sights & Sounds 