From the moment they took the stage with their classic song “Skankin’ To The Beat”, Fishbone brought the furious funky fire to Covington’s Mad Hatter Monday night. On a package tour with fellow 80s ska mates The English Beat, Fishbone followed Outlaw Nation from Louisiana and Cincy’s own Pinstripes.

Chronically overlooked and criminally underrated, Fishbone explodes onstage with an untamed visceral energy that makes them one of the greatest live acts in the world. Frenetic Fishbone frontman Angelo Moore’s insane stage antics are so wildly out of control it’s like watching a madman come unglued. The rest of the band matches him bounce for bounce, scream for blood-curdling soulful scream, all while pulling off some pretty tricky changes in their swirling cacophony of high energy punk funk ska grooves.

Fishbone’s red hot renditions of “Ma And Pa” and “Cholly” drew a ravenous reaction from the crowd and the effect was like throwing gas on a fire. Angelo repeatedly leapt into the crowd to join the skanking, slam-dancing masses. Keyboard player Dre Gipson took center stage to deliver a brief dancehall rap over a “Rub A Dub Soldier” reggae groove that segued smoothly right into “The Suffering”. Soon thereafter Gipson hurled himself up, over, and into the audience. Crowd surfing and twirling over a sea of supporting hands, Gipson’s flailing boots dislodged a number of ceiling tiles. This is exactly the kind of happy violent energy I had hoped for from this show. Seems like you don’t see much of it these days and I found it extremely gratifying to witness the crowd’s infectious energy and spontaneous participation. The Fishbone faithful were bouncing up and down like crazy for the duration of the band’s set.

Dirty Walt shares vocal duties with Moore, creating a hilarious call-and-response effect. In addition to Dirty Walt’s trumpet and Moore’s array of saxaphones, guitarist John McKnight occasionally picks up a trombone and adds yet another dimension to the band’s wicked horn charts. Special attention must be given to Fishbone bass player Norwood, whose mastery of funk grooves is unparalleled. His bass work-out during “Bonin’ In The Boneyard” is controlled chaos, frantic funk executed with hardcore punk energy and a clear stand-out in a set that was rife with insane moments and riotous highlights.

I wondered if The English Beat would be able to follow Fishbone’s manic display. I needn’t have been concerned. Dave Wakeling and crew took the stage with cool, calm professionalism and proceeded to please the crowd with a stream of warm ska grooves and familiar favorites like “Tenderness”, “Ranking Full Stop” and their version of “Tears Of A Clown”. Fishbone is raw, primal energy where The English Beat is slick and refined, like two sides of the same coin. There seemed to be more people there to see The English Beat, but Fishbone’s slightly smaller contingent made much more noise. And while both bands managed to keep the whole crowd dancing for the entire evening, Fishbone might have generated a little more sweat in the crowd.

-Ric Hickey