Fishbone, founding fathers of the ska\/punk\/funk\/metal genre, were built for times like these.<\/p>\n
Across four decades, the LA-based band that launched an army of \u201cFuck Racism\u201d T-shirt-clad kids has sung about everything from nuclear anxiety (\u201cParty at Ground Zero\u201d) and government overreach (\u201cSubliminal Fascism\u201d) to the poverty cycle (\u201cSo Many Millions\u201d) and, more recently, the current occupant of the White House (\u201cRacist Piece of Shit\u201d). So as hundreds crammed into Brooklyn Bowl in Philadelphia on Friday, April 24th \u2013 after yet another long week of living under creeping fascism \u2013 a night with Fishbone was both a reprieve and a reminder that joy and rage can still share the same stage.<\/p>\n
The band is currently touring in support of the newly released In Your Face: 40th Anniversary. As they took the stage to play their debut in its entirety, it was clear from the way singer\/saxophonist Angelo Moore bounded to the mic that time has done little to drain the energy. Despite being 60, Moore showed no signs of slowing down. The maniacal laughter and horns that kicked off set opener \u201cPost Cold War Politics\u201d made it clear the band remains wildly relevant, despite a number of lineup changes over the decades. At this point, Moore and Christopher Dowd (keyboards, trombone, and vocals) are the only founding members still with the band, but the current lineup plays with a cohesiveness that belies the fact that they weren\u2019t there from the beginning.<\/p>\n
While the 11 tracks from In Your Face (including a few brief, brilliant seconds of Jean Knight\u2019s \u201cMr. Big Stuff\u201d and an inspired intro of Prince\u2019s \u201cPurple Rain\u201d that segued into \u201cA Movement in the Light\u201d) still sound great, it was the set that followed \u2013 brimming with a slew of their classics and several new songs \u2013 that finally got the crowd, many just as old as the band, to drain their drinks and start skankin\u2019 and moon stomping.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vacation is over, time to get back to the office,\u201d Moore declared before the band tore into a rapturous one-two punch of \u201cParty at Ground Zero\u201d and \u201cSkankin\u2019 to the Beat.\u201d Reflecting the mood of the crowd, the band then played several newer songs inspired by Trump and his admin, including \u201cRacist Piece of Shit\u201d and \u201cSecret Police,\u201d the latter preceded by Dowd saying what many were thinking: \u201cI fucking hate Donald Trump.\u201d Chants of \u201cFuck ICE\u201d from the crowd felt as natural as saying \u201cplease\u201d and \u201cthank you.\u201d The band closed the night on a high note with \u201cEveryday Sunshine\u201d and \u201cSunless Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than just a dip into nostalgia, the show underscored that Fishbone\u2019s catalog doesn\u2019t feel like history; lyrics written 30 and 40 years ago still ring just as true in 2026. But through community, a shared sense of moral conviction, and a commitment to keep fighting on \u2013 all soundtracked by punk guitars and a stellar horn section \u2013 we\u2019ll somehow get through this.<\/p>\n