Live At the Temple Bar and More - Live

iTunes Review

Recorded at L.A.'s Temple Bar in 2001, this album introduces a set of mostly new material. By this time, the group was down to three original members: Angelo Moore, John Norwood Fisher, and Walter Kibby, augmented by drummer John Steward and guitar Tracey “Spacey T” Singleton. Even though the new lineup was no substitute for the particular chemistry of the band’s early years, the performances here achieve astounding levels of energy and musicianship, reflecting Fishbone’s legacy as an outstanding live act. The deranged dub attack of “Skank N’ Go Nutts” marks one of the band’s best songs, the closest thing Fishbone ever had to tent-revival testimony: “Go up and down the boulevard/Goin’ nuts and dancin’ hard/Be the one they call retard/Kill the pigs and praise the Lord!” “Demon in Here” is another song that reaches religious fervor, though there's no telling whether the devil is being beckoned or exorcised. The concert closes with “Down Boy,” a disco jam as unhinged as it is celebratory.