Houston Calling

Screw Clapton. Ness is god!*

March 6th, 2006 · 2 Comments

After venturing through two busy airports and braving the (to me, at least) blistering cold temperatures of Chicago for a couple of days, I was fortunate enough to attend the reunion concert of the year — Fig Dish. Back in 1995, the band broke out the the burgeoning Chicago music scene, along with the likes of Local H, Veruca Salt, Smoking Popes, and Triple Fast Action. The band’s first album, That’s What Love Songs Often Do (Atlas/Polydor), garnered the band a lot of cricital acclaim but poor record sales and an unfortunate car accident on icy roads while on tour, forced the band to rethink things. Their second effort, 1997’s When Shove Goes Back To Push, fared little better, despite being an album of solid, pop-driven rock.

The show at Schuba’s on Saturday night was sold out, and as Chip (aka Atomic Ned) wrote, was a testament not only to the band’s relevance but also to their fans’ respect for their music. Unlike past shows, where the band had something to prove and was “working” to make it in the industry, Saturday’s concert was simply four old friends having a great time onstage playing some great songs for a roomful of excited and, in some cases, slightly over-eager fans.

Some people I spoke with had never seen Fig Dish play while they were still together. Some were too young or hadn’t heard about them until they had already dissolved and splintered into Caviar and Ness, two equally impressive and just-as-ignored groups. But everyone, as far as I could tell, was having a good time and was floored that the band sounded as fresh and as good as they did.

After the set, Blake Smith and Mike Willison, with occasional help from drummer Andy Hamilton and guitarist Rick Ness, fiddled with iPods for a packed room of fans and hangers-on (like me). And although I never heard my Gorillaz’ “Rock The House” request, it was great to see some familiar old faces and meet some new ones.

Despite the cold, the lack of sleep, and a slightly hazy memory, the night was a success. If the Fig Dish guys decide their reunion show was a one-off, I’ll always be glad I made the trek from Houston and was able to spend time with everyone. If they choose to play a few more, I only hope I can see them as well.

Well done guys.

See some photos from Saturday night’s show here.

*You have to see him play to understand why.

Tags: Music

2 responses so far ↓

  • 1 donewaiting.com :: music commentary // Mar 6, 2006 at 9:38 am

    From the Fig Dish Reunion in Chicago

    Chip has written up his review of the Fig Dish reunion. Seems like he had a great time. UP

  • 2 Josh // Mar 6, 2006 at 11:32 am

    My wife and I were there and had a great time. It felt good to see those 4 together again. I can only hope a few more shows materialize.
    I saw alot of excited but not so many over-eager 35 year old music geeks.
    Thanks for the recap.

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