On Thursday Sept. 8, The Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins hosted Fishbone, one of the first all African-American ska bands. Originally from Los Angeles, Fishbone’s music has a more positive feel to it with elements of reggae and funk intermingled with the ska platform of a larger ensemble band. The use of heavy bass lines and the sound of the brass instruments had an interesting sound that seemed to be well-rehearsed and well-known to the fans of the band, and they had tremendously complex guitar riffs that anyone could enjoy The intimate setting of The Aggie Theatre was filled with all of the band’s energy, and the audience seemed very excited to watch.

The set was fantastic and exciting for everyone who was there. Their music seemed to captivate the audience, and everyone was moving in their own way to the music with a lot of bouncing, swaying and some flailing. The energy that Fishbone brought to the venue was refreshing and brought the whole room up even though they started their set at 11:45 p.m. The entire floor of The Aggie was filled with people dancing and moving to the music, and everyone was having a great time.

The band interacted with the audience well and seemed to be having as much fun as the audience was. The members of Fishbone seemed very into their own music and were dancing along with the audience and seemed generally positive and excited to be playing. Even though most of the band members are older now, as the band formed in 1979, they held high energy and really connected with the flair and style of late ‘80s ska and punk bands.

Two other bands played on Thursday. Project 432, a brand new Denver-based reggae progressive rock band, played their first show ever on stage together. Project 432 played an awesome set that really set the mood for the rest of the show. They had a lot of energy and excitement mixed with interesting lyrics.

Home Fried Boogaloo, a Fort Collins based reggae ska jam band, also played. Home Fried Boogaloo played second with instrumental-heavy jams that seemed to go on forever in a more jam-band style.

Overall, the show was fantastic with high energy and good music. Project 432 blew my mind with their sound and energy. Home Fried Boogaloo seemed to really enjoy being at The Aggie. And, Fishbone played with the vigor of a young ska band from the late 80s.

You can find music from Fishbone on Spotify, Youtube and at the iTunes Store. Project 432 is now on Soundcloud at Project 432, and you can find Home Friend Boogaloo on their website at homefriedboogaloo.com.

Collegian reporter Stephen Mackey can be reached at entertainment@collegian.com or on Twitter @stephmackey34.