I Celebrated St. Patty's Day at a Reel Big Fish Show

Growing up as an unconfident young person on Long Island in the 90s was a dangerous mix that easily led to ska. There was something about the newer third wave that was just so comforting to the thousands of band geeks who were into punk yet felt ostracized from the scene for not following an aesthetic, not being cool enough, not knowing the right people, and needing your parents drop you off at shows in their forrest green Ford Windstars. Bands like Reel Big Fish, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, No Doubt, etc. all embraced a more pop sensibility to their records which helped to draw a huge mainstream audience to them yet still was endearing to us, the true rude boys and girls imprisoned in our suburban wastelands.

I gingerly step over puke puddles—residue from the St Patrick's Day drinking—on Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn as I go to meet my friend Megan, a seasoned rude girl from Long Island who has seen Reel Big Fish "at least seven to ten times." We have a few drinks before heading to the show and discuss the old ska scene before we impossibly see Reel Big Fish play a venue that fits 600 people. We talk about going to see Dan Deacon head our local heroes Chanel 59 at The Old First Church in Huntington. Megan compares this to the Saves The Day show which took place 10 blocks north in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at Saint Vitus. It won't be even close though. It was a smaller venue and somehow Saves the Day has aged much better with northern Brooklyn's local hipster community. We're worried that the Reel Big Fish show might be nostalgic in a painful way. You know, the way it is to listen to a third wave ska record now.

Brooklyn Bowl is packed, absolutely packed. Everyone is wearing green. Green Mardi Gras-esque beads around everyone's necks. Green and white Cat in the Hat hats on everyone. There's a goatee on every male. Lots of Kangol hats but, surprisingly enough, I didn't see a single fedora or e-cigarette.

A band called Suburban Legends are playing and they are carrying the torch Reel Big Fish helped to ignite 15 years ago. We walk in and they are covering Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline" which, to even the most uninitiated ska fan, should come as no surprise. The fans in the Boston-themed sports gear are popping off the most. Suburban Legends have the synchronized dance moves to every song. They cover "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" from The Lion King and something feels off.

Outside the venue Brandon, Chelsea, and Heather explain to me they started as an all ska Disney cover band working in Disneyland in Anaheim and have an "all Disney EP that's really popular." They came from New Jersey to see Reel Big Fish even though "they have been playing the same set for about 5 years now."

Heather, Chelsea, and Brandon from New Jersey remember the opening band from their days as a ska Disney cover band.

It seems like everyone came here from at least 45 minutes away. New Jersey, Staten Island, Long Island, Rockland County. They've all seen the band countless times and come back to them time and time again. Everyone seems to be in their early 20s and are reliving their first experiences with the band which was "downloading their cover of 'Take On Me' off Limewire." Reel Big Fish take the stage and the party begins. They're a truly well-oiled machine, banging out the hits that everyone wants to hear and only subjects the almost sold out crowd to just one new song.

"This is beautiful," Megan says to me several times during the show. There are several couples around us making out. "It's always been like this! Lots of sexual energy at ska shows. Probably because they're not in their parents' house and there's loud music and sweat around," she summarizes. People raise their empty beer pitchers as they sing along. Their stage banter is as self-deprecating and sarcastic as their wacky lyrics. Aaron Barrett is wearing his signature Hawaiian shirt, porkchop side burns, and checkered glasses. He's the only member I recognize. He remarks that he's amazed how well he remembers the older songs and "he's just going off muscle memory now." The crowd makes me feel like I'm in the middle of a Warped Tour. There's awkward push-moshing but it never gets too carried away. You'd be hard pressed to find a person of color in the crowd. The band notices that mostly girls are crowd surfing so they dedicate "She Has A Girlfriend Now" to them, all to the audience's delight. Ska kids are smoking weed again, there's a thick haze over the crowd, and it becomes a pretty powerful smell.

At one point, they begin to cover Sublime's "Garden Grove" and I think I witness some kids have a panic attack. After the show, Dave shows me his Sublime tattoo and talks to me about how he's an EDM DJ now.

Dave and his glorious Sublime tattoo.

After a 15-minute encore, everyone files out of the venue, looking happy and beat from what has probably been a full day of heavy drinking. Everyone moves in groups of four to five and I overhear the most telling conversation of the night.

"Ok, let's get back to Brooklyn."
"We're already IN Brooklyn you idiot."
"Yeah yeah, you know I meant Crown Heights. Let's get the fuck out of here."

Tim Meehan will never be a rock 'n' roll star. Tim Meehan will never be anything, anything at all. Follow him on Twitter - @timmeehan666