Dan's Papers - July 13, 2007 - Badfish Rocks The Stephen Talkhouse

"Now, that's Brad for you - in a nutshell. He was going to do things his way or no way. That's why no band will ever sound like Sublime." - Kat Rodriguez, girlfriend of Eric Wilson (Sublime bassist).

And that is why all we can ask for is a band that plays nothing but Sublime songs, with a quality sound and vocals that replicate the authentic punk/reggae/rock music that captivated us in the mid-90s - more specifically, the Sublime tribute band, Badfish. My friend Mike, also a huge Sublime fan, took me to my first Badfish show at the Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland about two years ago when we were in college. I never thought a tribute band could fill my Sublime void, but he told me, "There are few bands I'd rather see perform live than Badfish because I know I'll never be able to see a Sublime concert in my lifetime." Those words stuck with me because unfortunately, it was also the closest I will ever come to seeing a Sublime performance, but lucky for me the show was awesome.

I've seen Badfish perform a handful of times since that Towson show, but always wondered why they never played at The Stephen Talkhouse. My favorite tribute band and my favorite venue for live music in the Hamptons seemed like a perfect match. So a few months ago, I emailed Badfish's booking agent and asked why they had never played there. The agent then wrote back saying that he had tried to book the band but had no success. Long story short, I emailed The Stephen Talkhouse and semi-begged them to book Badfish, gushing about my love for them, raving about how fun their shows are and promising that tickets would sell. I'm not trying to take credit for anything, but soon thereafter Badfish was scheduled to perform on a Monday night in early July.

My co-worker Victoria and I arrived to the show around 8 p.m., drank a few beers in honor of her birthday and waited for the show to start. At first I was a little concerned, as there weren't as many people there as I had hoped. But soon enough, the place was filled and standing room was limited. The band came on stage and took us on a two-hour ride that, once again, almost made me forget that it wasn't Bradley Nowell, himself, on stage. With adoring crowd-sing-along to every song, the entire place was on its feet, as Badfish performed everything from their original tracks to songs they used to cover such as "Scarlet Begonias" and "Rivers of Babylon." Some of my favorites that night were "Same in the End," "Date Rape" and "Boss DJ." Victoria isn't as hardcore of a Sublime fan as myself, but she agreed that the performance was amazing and couldn't believe how closely Badfish's sound resembled Sublime's. At the end of the show, the sweaty crowd was intoxicated, not from alcohol, but with satisfaction. I wasn't surprised when I received an email two days later from The Stephen Talkhouse announcing that Badfish had been booked for another show this summer.

Badfish continues to travel the country performing and keeping the energy of Sublime alive, not just by replicating Sublime's words, but their entire essence. Even the groups Long Beach Dub AllStars and Shortbus, which are composed of actual Sublime band members, wouldn't give you the full experience of hearing an entire set list of only original Sublime songs, and even if you're not a diehard Sublime fan, a Badfish show promises a good time, especially at The Stephen Talkhouse.

Badfish will perform again at The Stephen Talkhouse, located at 161 Main Street, Amagansett on August 8 at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $35. Visit www.badfish.com or www.stephentalkhouse.com for more information.