Badfish brought a good time Sublime tribute to The Fillmore in in Silver Springs, MD last Friday. Headlining a four band billing, the night was rich with reggae music and Sublime magic.
To get the night starting, Bumpin’ Uglies warmed the crowd up with a set of extreme dancebility. As early as 8pm, it was clear that we were in for a night of getting down to the heaviest degree. When it came to setting the mood for a night of partying to reggae, no one could have been a better fit than Dale and The ZDubs. Their brand of funky rock got everyone loosed up, finishing off with hooks that had everyone singing, “don’t rock the boat!”
Ballyhoo! played a rocking set of material from their recent releases, inviting the crowd to sing along and dancing with reckless energy. They even threw in a Sublime contribution of their own, reproducing the band’s version of “Scarlet Begonias” – drug-dealing rap bridge and all – with terrific skill.
Headliners Badfish opened up their set with “Wrong Way”, and it was only up from there. Their set covered the entire Sublime career, heavy on the classic cuts from the self-titled, like “Jailhouse” and “Same In The End.” Frontman Pat Downes sounds so much like the legendary Bradley Nowell, on both vocals and guitar, that the crowd felt instantly at home. The Fillmore is nice and spacious, perfect for a long night of boogieing.
They played plenty of tracks from the band’s equally kickass earlier records. The crowd moshed hard to “Date Rape” and “We’re Only Gonna Die For Our Arrogance”, their signature Bad Religion cover. Their energy was amazing, taking the crowd along for such a ride that it’s hard to imagine them falling very far short of the energy of the original band. They included some tricks of their own, including beginning “Don’t Push” with a brief but fiery tease of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Around The World.”
It was interesting to note that they tended to play songs in the general order of album appearance: their set began with songs on the first halves of their respective albums, and progressed to songs from the second halves. Of course, there were exceptions, like when they rounded out the set with their namesake song, followed by personal favorite “Garden Grove”. Decades later, the lyrics remain relatable as ever; it was quite a feeling to be surrounded by a crowd that knew all the words to every song, singing right back at the band with unbridled joy.
Badfish ended the night with a powerful extended encore. It started soft with “KRS-One” and “Rivers of Babylon”, the latter inspiring a united crowd singalong. They closed out with the one-two punch of Sublime’s most famous songs, “Santeria” and “What I Got”. It was the highest possible ending to a stellar show.
—Asher Meerovich, 1/03/15