There was indeed a cruel irony about tonight.  Something that was amplified a hundred times over on entering the bohemian surroundings of Cardiff's finest looking live venue only to be greeted by Skindred blasting out of the sound system. That's right folks someone had only gone and booked Los Angeles finest exponents of avant-garde rock Fishbone to play the same city on the same night as local (ish) heroes Skindred.  Now that's got to be a hard call to make for anyone liking their music with a bit of skank in its beat, but for yours truly (along with thankfully full dance floor of other like minded people) this really was a no brainer, Fishbone playing in a venue that recreates an ambience of pure vaudeville was always going to win my vote, and I'll get to the reasons why in just a few minutes time.

But firstly setting the scene for tonight with a sunshine spring in their step were Cardiff's very own Captain Accident.  Playing a mix of Reggae and Ska I have to admit the four piece left me colder than the aftershock of a bolted Slush Puppie. But that was not down to any lack of musical talent or ability you have to understand, nah it was more down to the fact that I don't really dig the type of music these guys specialise in, and when the only reference point I can come up with is Big Mountain then I'm never going to be raving about them.  Still Captain Accident were infectious in their laid back but tight as hell style, and I was probably one of only a handful here tonight who didn't actually enjoy them. Oh well, more fool me I guess.

Next up and a bit more my thing were Broken Nose from Bridgend, this six piece specialise in ska-core, mixing horns with hardcore vocals and taking no prisoners in the process. Proclaiming his band "Play songs for ganja smokers", the band's singer Phil may have got his audience demographic just a little bit wrong as most of the band's faster tunes would scare the fuck out of your average smoker.  'Nuff said I guess, but other tunes like 'Don't Fuck With Me' and 'Bounce' really do have a crossover appeal to make these guys firm faves on the UK scene especially as they continue to gig like maniacs throughout the rest of 2011. Think of an angry Reel Big Fish meeting Streetlight Manifesto for a skank off one Saturday afternoon at Rhiw Shopping Centre and you'll soon have a Broken Nose all of your own.

And so to the main event, and boy what an event it was.

It's difficult to put into words exactly what the live Fishbone experience is like, but perhaps the closest comparison I've come across recently was the opening scenes to episode one of HBO's superb series 'Treme'.  The sequence in question followed the New Orleans locals on their first 'second line parade' after hurricane Katrina had decimated their community, and as such it was a defiant celebration of their culture and heritage and proof that nothing can kill their soul not even mother nature.  And that ladies and gentlemen is also how I see Fishbone. Now a quarter of a century plus since they first exploded onto the alternative music scene, if there were really any justice in this world of ours it should be Angelo Moore and Co playing the enormodomes of our planet not Kiedis and his fakers, but then again if they were perhaps Fishbone wouldn't be quite so...full of spirit.... you know what I'm saying?

Delivering a just shy of two hour long set tonight in a cauldron of heat, the initial pace was set high by an urgent sounding 'Unyielding Conditioning' with Angelo Moore "ringmaster extraordinaire" somersaulting and crowd surfing his way into our hearts and souls without ever missing a single beat or note, and with the bar set sky high that was pretty much how it continued. We were off on a musical journey through Jazz, Funk, Soul, Rap, and let's not forget Rock courtesy of the band's fantastic current line up, and although I personally lost touch with Fishbone's studio outputs around the time of 'Give a Monkey A Brain', I never once found my attention wandering, such was the electricity generated by tracks like 'Cholly' and 'Let Dem Ho's Fight'.  The latter track somehow managing to merge mental Dwarves style Punk Rock with Ragga whilst also featuring a Gil Scott Heron inspired spoken word segment, you go figure that one out.

The band's older favourites were also given a outing tonight with 'Everyday Sunshine', 'Ma And Pa' and an awesome set closing rendition of 'Sunless Saturday' all giving us the chance to test Angelo's opening gambit of "Fishbone Is Here To Party" to the maximum. It was simply impossible to stand still as the band unfurled classic after classic at a seemingly breakneck pace, all with the frightening precision of a twenty first century version of Sly And The Family Stone, albeit one raised on MDMA and crack as opposed to LSD and weed.

Returning for a much deserved four song encore of.....oh you can read it in my picture to the right, it was at this point I got the dreaded tap on the shoulder from the venue security.  Turning slowly as I was about to make some excuse for taking photos (like I have to in most other venues), my genial host stunned me with the following request "Excuse me mate if you are reviewing this gig can you just put in it that in the over 500 bands I've seen here none of them have been as good as this, and I've never bloody heard of these before tonight...Fantastic stuff"

My new found friend wasn't alone though, as on leaving the gig tonight I also felt like I'd just played a part in possibly one of the greatest live music experiences I'll ever have in my lifetime, you see this wasn't so much a Fishbone gig as a celebration of everything that makes music great and about the community spirit that music generates as a result. Sod joining a health club or a gym to help you lose weight go and see Fishbone live instead and dance yourself fit, its cheaper and much more fun.

Me, I'm off to dig out my old Fishbone albums and feel the burn baby, feel the burn.