Concert Review: Badfish

At first I was unsure how I was going to be able to review a Sublime cover band, or any cover band for that matter. But now that I have finally seen Badfish in concert, I don’t know how I couldn’t write about them. Sure you may think you know what to expect because you have listened to every Sublime album and know all the words by heart. But the songs and lyrics are only half of the experience. Hearing it live is another phenomenon entirely.

The opening band was called “Scotty Don’t”, and features most of the musicians in Badfish but with all original music. Its nice to see that a great cover band like Badfish is also capable of making really good music of their own. Though it did seem to throw a lot of people off when they came on as Badfish, I heard several people ask, “Why is the last band back on?”.

The lead singer Pat Downes has an absolutely amazing voice and I would go as far to say that he can sing Sublime’s songs just as well and with as much character as Brad Nowell. This fact is what really made the whole experience so worthwhile. Thanks to his soulful and unique voice it was like being transported back to a Sublime concert in the early 90’s. Badfish as a whole really deserves some credit in this regard. Scott Begin and Joel Hanks were top notch and Ben Schomp who played keyboard, horns, and hand drums really added that characteristic Sublime dub sound.

This was probably one of the loudest crowds I have seen that didn’t involve a riot. As one would expect from any Sublime cover, every single person in the crowd knew every word to every song. When Pat Downes paused to let the crowd sing a chorus, it was absolutely deafening, and in the best possible way. All of this together accumulated into an astonishing live show.

If you like Sublime in the slightest you owe it to yourself to get out and see Badfish in concert. They are constantly touring all over the US, so make sure to check their tour schedule often and mark it down on your calender when they come to your town. I definitely plan on going to see them again.

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