Reel Big Fish

I had been to gigs at the Junction before and not really enjoyed it, and therefore had my reservations about returning.. As you are not allowed to smoke in the venue they decided to try and keep the 'smokey bar' atmosphere by pumping loads of smoke into the room with smoke machines. Not only was this annoying, but it stank and really ruined pictures. Which always annoys me, as that is pretty much all i do at gigs now.

So i walked in and looked at the merch stands, wishing they had a black T-shirt with tour dates on, though wishing i had money slightly more. When we decided to go and stand in front of the stage. So we walk over to the fron, but we are right on one corner because there are less people around. Unfortunately, there is a giant, seemingly unnecessary light pole thing right in the way, but we decided to let it slide and just have a laugh. Which was easyier than ithough it would be.

First of all Random Hand came onstage. I was little concerned because they guy who wandered onstage was a skinhead type fellow in shorts and a t-shirt. I was slightly taken aback as this wasn't what i was expecting. Now, thi smay be slightly stereotypical but i was kind of expecting either some dodgey screamo (gallows) or hiphop (any white guy trying to rap). Though the guy was white so the latter seemed unlikely. Then, surprisingly, the guy pulled out a trombone and started playing it. It turns out, that band was actually very good - which goes to show you shouldn't judge a band by their image, unless that's what they want you to do. So when they had finished i decided it was already worth the £13.70 i paid for a ticket and could leave then, quite content. I didn't because that wasn't what i'd paid for. I casually walked back to our spot behind the light bar and waited for the next band - Suburban Legends.

These guy were different. Each and every one of them apart from the singer looked incredibly gay. Not that i have any problems with this, but i was like "what the hell is this going to be". Then the singer walked on, and i was a little concerned. I decidedi probably wasn't going to like this band as the only band i could think to compare it to would be Melt Banana, plainly because they are Japanese, and no offense to any fans, but they're terrible. Obviously at this point i had forgotten that support acts are generally a similar music style to the actual band and was thinking worst case scenario - but that was soon forgotten. This band was amazing.

Trumpets and tromones and those kind of instruments just make everything seem much happier and more lively, and this band clearly knew that. From the moment they came on they had the audience hooked and were just so friendly. Anyone who stops halfway through the set to give people rounds of applause is great, but generally it's just the band - though these guys were getting people to cheer the security guards - much to their discomfort, which made it that little bit funnier as you could just see they wanted to get up or do something, but knew they weren't allowed so simply grinned to themselves.

The songs were brilliant, and the band were really nice. Halfway through one of the songs "High Fives" the singer jumped off the stage and 'high fived' as many people as he could before needed to hop back and and keep singing. You could tell they were one of those bands that really appreciated playing live and loved the fans and were really enjoying themselves. So i was sat there thinking, "How could RBF possibly top these two? Tehy were phenominal" It was the first time i had heard a support act get such a loud encore scream. Unfortunately, they were unable to give an encore as there was time limits to how long each band got so they could meet curfue.

So after going to have another look around the merch stall and getting a drink i pushed my way back to my position only to find the only person in the room taller than me just infront of me. Typical i thought. So i moved to the side slightly and had a much better view. I had never seen Reel Big Fish live before, nor had i seen any of their videos or anything so had no idea what to expect when they came onstage. Well when you see someone walk on in shorts, a leather jacket and flying goggles, you know you're in for a good night so i just sat back and enjoyed it - even though i was standing at the time.

RBF were simply amazing. The songs, while using funny lyrics, can convey some quite sad stories, though in very funny ways. Such as somebody girlfriend dumping them (She's got a girlfriend now) or even talking about how being in a band isn't as easy as it looks (Don't start a band)(The kids don't like it). Other songs they have written simply for entertainment (I want your girlfriend to be my girlfriend) and others i can't decide upon (Trendy). However the meaning behind the songs is nowhere near as important as the way the band fire them off one after the other never missing a beat. Apart from during one of the solos that goes wrong. Though this was very nicely corrected after the song when Barrett turned to the crowd and apologised. Then proceeded to play the chorus again so we "got our money's worth".

Most bands wouldn't do this if they played anywhere let alone an 800 capacity venue, which is a nice change. After playing through more songs than i can remember they player "Beer". Now, for some reason this sent the crowd nuts. This was great fun, and generally quite interesting as i have never seen people moshing to trumpets before. They then walked off stage, only to be dragged back by a constant screaming of "Sell Out" a song Barrett seems to dislike playing - probably as it is their most well known and therefore most overplayed on their part, but they played it and it was amazing. Everyone knew the words and screamed along to it, to the point where you could feel the building shake, not because of the amps, either.