Reel Big Entertainment

In a moment of pure deja voux (sp?), I attended the Reel Big Fish Coast to Coast Roast concert tonight. You're probably asking yourself, "Didn't Ryan see Reel Big Fish last July in Houston on the Coast to Coast Roast tour?" Well, the answer is "yes." Fortunately for fans of punk ska, Reel Big Fish are out on tour again this summer! Tonight took me to a new club, the very cool Meridian. This club is directly across 59 from the George R. Brown Convention Center. The neighborhood is pretty ghetto, but it's going through a re-development phase and should be much better in a few years. The club is upstairs and air conditioned (it used to be a giant freezer room for storing frozen fish), which is highly unusual and highly appreciated. It is spacious, with a room dedicated to the stage and another earmarked as a lounge, with bar stools and booths. I got there around 6:15, and Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer was already on stage. They were a fun female-fronted band with very upbeat, catchy songs. The next band was Punchline, out of Pittsburgh, PA. I swear I've seen them live before, but can't remember when, where, or who they opened for. The 3rd band was El Pus (pronounced El Poose), a very unusual band indeed. Every member was African-American, and they played hardcore hip-hop laced with a distorted guitar beat in the background. It wasn't doing anything for me, but I enjoyed watching the drummer cooly twirl and flip his sticks between beats a la Tommy Lee of Motley Crue. He was quite good.

During a lull in the action, I headed into the lounge room to visit the merchandise booths of the 5 bands. The frontwoman and guitar player from Zolof were manning their booth, and they had announced from the stage that this was their first show ever in Texas and that we should come say "hi" to welcome them. Well, that's exactly what I did. I struck up a conversation with the girl and found out that she and the band are from Langhorne, PA. My cousins grew up in Langhorne, and I've been there many times. We instantly bonded (as the only Pennsylvanians in the entire place, no doubt) and shared memories of PA, tales of Texas, and I found out about her grueling tour schedule. She and her guitar player do all of the driving from city to city, because she doesn't trust anybody else at the wheel of their van! That means that tonight, as I type this entry, she's driving to Fort Worth. Last night, of course, she made the drive in from New Orleans. I don't envy their travel schedule one bit! I bought a CD, we introduced ourselves (her name is Rachel), and then I headed back out to catch Catch-22. Catch-22 was on last year's tour as well, and they are always enjoyable (but soooo loud -- my ears can't take it anymore).

RBF ruled like only RBF can. They played for over an hour and a half, touching the majority of the songs off of their 4 latest albums. My favorites were "Good Thing ("you and I are mortal..."), "Talkin' Bout Revolution" (a Tracy Chapman cover), "Drinking," and "Take On Me (another cover)." I also helped pass a female crowd surfer overhead, and was forced to touch her ass to keep her from falling on my head. Life's tough, huh? :) I am now home, it is 1:32 AM, I am sweaty and smell like smoke, and I need to get to bed because I have a long day of work tomorrow. But it was all worth it!

Rachel and Vince from Zolof the Rock and Roll Destroyer (picture is not from tonight's show). However, Rachel's hair still has that bobbed Brady Bunch look.

Music of the Moment: riiiiiiiiiiiiiing (inside my ears)