Live: Reel Big Fish @ Academy 2

Reel Big Fish
Academy 2
23^rd February 2011
5 stars

Co-frontwoman of ska-infused reggae London band, The Skints, Marcia, is one talented lady. As well as taking on the role of vocals, she demonstrates her incredible music flexibility, picking up a whole range of instruments from saxophone and flute to keyboard and melodica. The Skints’ addictive and popular reggae tracks like ‘Murderer’ and ‘Get Me’, taken from last year’s Live, Breathe, Build, Believe album, go down an absolute treat, managing to reignite my own love for the reggae scene.

Californian septet, Suburban Legends, on the other hand, are all about their pop spunk (that’s ska-punk, before you start assuming we’ve had a Freudian slip up) and choreography. While they are seriously good fun to begin with, covering the infamous Youtube hit ‘Hide Your Wife, Hide Your Kids’, it doesn’t take long before mild turns to mature cheddar as the cover of ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King’, (which, thankfully, ends the set) is enough to provoke a tiny sick in the mouth.

Tonight was always going to be about Reel Big Fish though and with this gig being one small part of their massive 20th Anniversary World Tour, it’s pretty much a given that what will ensue will be rather spectacular. That is, if they can get the microphones to work. With the gig already delayed by a tense 10 minutes, the lights finally dim and no time is wasted as ‘Sell Out’ strikes up, sending a surge of skankers into bouncing their way closer to the front. From then on in, the floor never fails to die down as a guest appearance from Sonic Boom Six frontwoman, Laila K, in ‘She Has a Girlfriend Now’, as well as crowd-favourites ‘Monkey Man’, ‘Trendy’ and ‘Beer’ keep the sweat pouring, leaving the ceiling dripping by the time their ‘Take On Me’ cover ends the night.
They say a ska gig is the perfect work-out and with bands like Reel Big Fish still around, it’s hard to disagree.

Rebecca Cocking