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Aaron acted like he wanted Scott to come up and sing backup on “Take On Me” during the New York show, but it seemed that he couldn’t find him. Not sure if there was a plan for Scott to play all along and somehow it fell apart, or if Aaron decided that he wanted Scott up there spur-of-the-moment and it was too hard to get it together on short notice.

On a related note, the performance was fantastic. They made the most of their limited set time.

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If enough people ask for the same thing, they'd probably at least address it. If you are the only person who asks about Cannibal, you might be out of luck. I've seen them ignore some requests, but they've responded to people asking about individual songs–yes to She's Famous Now (not for an individual date, but just to say that they still play it) and no to We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful. But they definitely know that the fans pay the bills, so if they see that there is overwhelming interest in a certain song it doesn't make sense that they would resist playing it out of spite.

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It's a little bit over the top to consider Aaron's Cannibal gag a "personal slight." I don't think he's trying to upset anyone–if anything, this shows how much he assumes fans don't want to hear new stuff. And it's not as if the crowd's reaction when he switches to Beer–rapture, basically–does anything to make him feel like he's done something wrong. If you really want to hear Cannibal, hit the band up on facebook and Twitter and ask them to actually go through with playing the song. They seem pretty responsive to fan feedback on those sites.

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It's a show review!

Set list, as best I can remember (some things are out of order, and [i]maybe[/i] also missing):

Sell Out
Another FU Song
I Want Your Girlfriend
Monkey Man –>
Everything Sucks
Thank You For Not Moshing (with Coolie Ranx). This song included a fleeting, half-assed attempt at Song #3, but they hadn't practiced and so just finished TYFNM.
241
Snoop Dog, Baby
Kiss Me Deadly
Ban The Tube Top
The Bad Guy
She Has a Girlfriend Now (with Katrina Kinzler)
Brown Eyed Girl
Good Thing (with Brian Klemm)
Your Guts (With Brian Klemm). Aaron is hilariously awkward without a guitar. His stage moves included jumping jacks. It was funny, but I was glad to see him pick up his instrument again.
Enter Sandman/The Set-Up. Aaron got confused twice at the bridge and abruptly transitioned to…
Beer
—

Trendy
SR
SR (punk)
SR (disco)
SR (country)
SR (death metal)
Take on Me

Other bands' set lists? I can try!

Aquabats:

Fashion Zombies
Martian Girl
Nerd Alert
Look at Me, I'm A Winner
Pizza Day
Red Sweater
Captain Hampton And The Midget Pirates
Super Rad
Pool Party

(this set somehow took an hour! They probably joked around as much as they played).

Suburban Legends:

Hey DJ
High Fives
Getting Down To Business
Bright Spring Morning
Bed Intruder Song
My Friend (which seems to be about Aaron Barrett)
Open Up Your Eyes
Come Back Home

—

Overall impressions:

Great, fun show! I missed Koo Koo Kangaroo, but the three bands I caught all did a fantastic job. For those who are interested, there was lots of cheap merch. Being frugal myself, I only bought the new SL EP, but all three bands had music for $5 or less. Reel Big Fish was selling TTRO, Monkeys, and the most recent DVD for $5 each. They were selling FFF on vinyl for $10.

Did Reel Big Fish re-invent the wheel for their set? Certainly not. As a hardened veteran of their shows, I'd seen them play all of these songs before, some many times. I'd like to see them throw some newer material into the set. But you know what? The kids love it–half the crowd raised their hands when asked if it was their first Reel Big Fish show, the band was tight and full of energy, and it's always a blast to see them. Viva Reel Big Fish.

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There is video on the Fearless website; it's the episode with the Airborne Toxic Event–I think RBF is the second-to-last band.

I happen to love "My Imaginary Friend," and hope the band plays more songs from Monkeys and We're Not Happy on this tour. Watching this video, I definitely see a little more urgency–it makes them seem like less of a greatest hits reunion tour type operation when they play songs they've written and recorded more recently.

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I don't know Aaron personally, and neither do many of the people here. But let's say he is controlling and self-centered, as some fans think based on his music and public statements. If Aaron weren't controlling, what would that do to the band? His personal drive and desire to express himself are probably the most important factors in giving Reel Big Fish its identity. Whatever Aaron's personality may be is inseparable from whatever we like about the band.

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The original lyric, not to mention the title "Thank You For Not Moshing," were better. The whole point of using the word "fag" was to show how objectionable the violent jerk in the mosh pit is–he would use that word. I don't think anyone who paid attention to the song would think that Aaron actually dislikes homosexuals, and it's pretty silly to accommodate people who are too lazy to really listen to the song.

As for this album, I hope Reel Big Fish sells a lot of copies and makes tons of money off having the rights to these songs again (they deserve it!), but I only see an economic point to making the CD, not an artistic point. I'm also not thrilled with the song choices, which don't show off everything the band can do–the band's taste in its own music sometimes seems to tilt towards the silliest, most "ska" songs, when their overall body of work is more of a mix of styles. Still, I've enjoyed all of their original albums, and look forward to the next one.

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Might it be possible that Reel Big Fish is not making mistakes by releasing music that isn't exactly what you want, but that their goals for themselves are different from the ones you have for them?

Why assume that songs like "Bang! The Mouse Explodes" and "Cannibal" are more rewarding for the band than more conventional songs like "Live Your Dream?" Maybe they enjoy creating a mix of both. I like "Monkeys," though it's not my favorite RBF album. More importantly, though, it's silly to assert that there is a right way for the band to conduct its business. If you want to hear what a band is like with Scott at the helm, there are examples of that (LMB, solo work). If you want to hear what Reel Big Fish sounded like in 2002, listen to "Cheer Up" (which a lot of fans complained about at the time).

We're on a Reel Big Fish message board, so criticism of the band's music is a natural topic. But still, it might pay to remember that none of us have made Reel Big Fish's music in the past, nor will we do so in the future. The band created its own body of work, and it's up to them what they want to make going forward. If they don't make what you want or expect, it might not be an accident–it might just be what they want to do.

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Well, if I could choose:

Sell Out
Beer
Take on Me
A-W-E-S-O-M-E
Ask
My Imaginary Friend
Good Thing
The Set Up
Everything is Cool
Average Man
Down in Flames
The Joke's On Me
All I Want is More
Somebody Loved Me
Say "Ten"
Last Show
Brand New Song
Cheer Up
Join The Club
Cannibal

Encore:

Doo Doo
Drunk Again
I'll Never Be

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There's nothing wrong with having a point of view, but the personal vendetta is a little much (the cursing, the saying "they let me down," etc.) And in my personal opinion, even though Scott is indeed a good songwriter, Aaron's songs (the ones he's the primary writer on) work better for this band. "Drunk Again" and "Average Man" are great, but a whole album like that just wouldn't be Reel Big Fish.

And also, the assertion that they're playing the same thing every night is silly. About half their set usually stays the same, but if you were a kid who went to see the band for the first time you'd want to hear "Sell Out," "Beer," "Take on Me," and "She Has a Girlfriend Now," too–that's why the crowd is always yelling for them!

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[quote1247319583=CannonBall]
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I've seen them play "241" with just one trombone back in 2005.

Also, set list from last night (the order in the middle is a little muddled):

Take on Me
New Version of You
The Fire
Somebody Hates Me
Ban The Tube Top
Everything Sucks
Veronica Sawyer
She Has A Girlfriend Now
The Kids Don't Like It
Snoop Dog, Baby
Brown Eyed Girl
I'm Her Man
Good Thing
Your Guts
You Don't Know
Nothin' But A Good Time
Where Have You Been?
Beer
—
Another F.U. Song
Rock You Like A Hurricane/Enter Sandman/Sell Out

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So is this like the Offical DVD tour where they play the exact set from the DVD? How is the new bass player on tour? Man, I don't even care enough about this band anymore to learn the new members names.

It's not that I intentionally don't like them anymore, they just totally fucking let me down big time. Total disappointment, fuck you RBF!!! They should have broken up before they became washed up.

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Derek was good. He actually did a pretty neat bass solo during "You Don't Know."

As far as the disappointment, it's possible you've grown out of the band, or you're not satisfied with what they play live, but the negativity on this board is a little extreme. Reel Big Fish is not exactly the Dave Matthews Band as far as varying what they play or how they play it, but I've seen bands who will go out on a tour and literally play the exact same songs in the exact same order every night. RBF doesn't do that, and they're also so much fun, it's ridiculous–look around the crowd at all those smiling faces! It's great.

This isn't to argue, because your opinion is as relevant as mine or anyone else's–after all, we're just talking about whether or not we like a band's show–but there's no need to call them washed up or ask for them to retire just because you're not thrilled with their current set. I know what it's like to feel personally let down by a band–I used to feel that way sometimes when I was younger, particularly with Weezer–but now it's much easier to appreciate bands for their individual talents and what they have to offer instead of lamenting what they don't do. Reel Big Fish's eventual retirement will be a big loss for ska music, and I, for one, enjoy seeing them every summer.

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They played Mirror in the Bathroom–not sure about the other song–they played for more than an hour, and I hadn't heard most of the songs before. But they were very entertaining.

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I've seen them play "241" with just one trombone back in 2005.

Also, set list from last night (the order in the middle is a little muddled):

Take on Me
New Version of You
The Fire
Somebody Hates Me
Ban The Tube Top
Everything Sucks
Veronica Sawyer
She Has A Girlfriend Now
The Kids Don't Like It
Snoop Dog, Baby
Brown Eyed Girl
I'm Her Man
Good Thing
Your Guts
You Don't Know
Nothin' But A Good Time
Where Have You Been?
Beer
—
Another F.U. Song
Rock You Like A Hurricane/Enter Sandman/Sell Out

The English Beat played a headline-length set including Save It For Later, Twist and Crawl, Where is the Tenderness, and covers of I'll Take You There and Tears of a Clown.

It would be nice if RBF varied their set a little more, but the show was very far from boring–they played a handful of different songs from the last time they came around, two covers I'd never seen them play live (though it would have been cooler to hear newer original songs). And most importantly–look, they're not going to come out and play Cannibal, The Joke's On Me, Will The Revolution Come, Victory Over Peter Bones and so on and so forth–so, considering that, if you just dance around and sing along, you stand a very good chance of enjoying yourself. I certainly did. It was a blast!

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