Badfish- A Tribute To Sublime Review

[Orignal Image taken by Jaclyn Liccone]

I saw Badfish in concert twice- once two years ago, and the other about a month ago. I am a big Sublime fan, but since they are no longer together I figured going to concerts of a cover band of Sublime would be my best bet.

Here is some history on the band- Badfish was created in 2001 in Rhode Island when two college buds taking classes got together one day and started jamming out to their favorite bands. They soon enough came up with the idea to only play Sublime covers because that was one of their favorite bands at the time. Soon enough, they found a guitar player and packed local clubs and parties. They didn't really expect to still be performing Sublime covers now, 15 years later. They started just for fun because they loved music and playing for their friends for entertainment. Eventually it started becoming effective and growing bigger and bigger to the point where they decided to take their musical career to the next level, and get on the road to find out if they got the same responses from other people as they did in their home town setting. They ended up being a huge success because they never stopped. I think because the band started out just for fun doing something that they loved, is what made them so well known because it really came from their souls and they did not set any strict goals or expectations for themselves. It was all just natural and for the good of the people. The level of expectations that a band has will have an impact on the image that they create for themselves and the way that they display their musical content.

The musical context is shown through the way that the band acts and promotes themselves which will have an affect on the experience for the audience. I think that in Badfish’s case especially, since they are a cover band who play all of Sublime’s songs, make their audiences particularly not have high expectations for the band because Sublime has such high standards that people feel that it would be almost impossible for any other band to sound like them. That being said, I think that is what makes Badfish so incredible. I know speaking for myself and many others who are huge Sublime fans, I went into the show having low expectations for the band. To my surprise, Badfish sounded so similar to Sublime, and they did such a fantastic job that I don’t think anyone else could have gotten any more exact. After coming out of the concert, my expectation rose for Badfish and are almost at the same level as my expectations for Sublime because they mastered their sound so well. Badfish really tried to represent Sublime in the best way possible. It was like the band was giving the audience a message from Sublime. It felt so real and the audience loved them, just as much as we would have loved the real Sublime.

A recorded performance is completely different from a live one, in the sense that I believe a live one gives a richer experience. A recorded performance can be created so that the sound is almost perfect, but a live performance can not do this. It’s all raw music and singing which I think makes the audience respect the music on a whole new level. There is nothing like seeing a band perform right in front of you and seeing all the performer’s actions. All the music at this concert was live, no recordings, and I think it sounded great. Hearing all my favorite Sublime songs not in perfection, made me like the songs even more because they can still sound amazing without editing techniques. This means the songs themselves are naturally of good quality. I was able to hear all the singing clearly, the sound was great, and I thought the overall performance was exceptional especially for a band that is singing another bands album material.

Sublime is mainly considered a punk- rock band, but also have a twist of of reggae and ska as well. Badfish named themselves after a Sublime song called Badfish which is the seventh song on their 40oz. to Freedom album. The song Badfish is definitely one of Sublime’s more popular songs which is why the band Badfish named themselves after that song. The difference between Badfish and any other band getting started in the music industry, is that since Badfish covers Sublime songs, they don't have to create their own music and make it known throughout the nation. Even though they are a cover band and don’t create their music, they still have an advantage since the songs they are signing are already known and popular. The demand for Badfish could be even higher since Sublime no longer performs their songs as a band because of the unfortunate death of their founder and lead singer, Bradley Nowell. There are tons of people out there, myself included, who have always wanted to hear Sublime perform but did not live in the time when they were touring. For someone like me, Badfish is the next best thing to Sublime and was a great show to attend to get the Sublime experience I was never able to get.

Ultimately, attending the concert Badfish: A Tribute To Sublime, I was finally able to get in touch with all my emotions that I have towards Sublime’s music. I was greatly surprised by my reaction to their performance because in my head, no other band could come close to my obsession with Sublime, but I will admit that Badfish wasn't far off. I think that Sublime’s music is its own type of culture in the sense that they have a distinct musical history which listeners get in touch with from the second they find out about Sublime. If you are a true Sublime fan like myself, then you would without a doubt become connected to the culture of the band and the music by default, which is an extraordinary concept. In any event, music plays a major role in the emotional makeup of human beings and the way they choose to identify themselves into certain musical categories and lifestyles. Finding that certain band or genre that makes you feel like yourself and that you belong somewhere, makes everything else in the world seem alright. Sublime does that for me and I'm grateful that Badfish is out there to let the Sublime legacy live on.

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