by John A. Wilcox

After the heat wave of last week, the city cooled down a bit, thankfully. It was a beautiful evening in New York City. Fish was back in town for the first time since 2001, if memory serves, and the band 3 came along to open for the guddler. Things got right in gear at 8, with 3 frontman Joey Eppard fiercely picking the opening strains of The Word Is Born Of Flame. As it segued into The End Is Begun, drummer Chris Gartmann and percussionist Joe Stote built the song to a sonic frenzy, and the standing crowd at BB King's was won over! Guitarist Billy Riker added considerable crunch and wail to Eppard's already formidable guitar on Battle Cry and Alien Angel.

Headbanger's Ball fave All That Remains followed, anchored flawlessly by bassist Dan Grimsland. The song is heavy, but with a great melodic feel. My Divided Falling, Dregs, and the aptly titled Monster kept the energy high. Eppard's stunning acoustic piece Bramfatura lead into a Gartmann / Stote percussion piece that took us straight into the set closer - 3's anthemic Amaze Disgrace - as powerful a piece of rock as you'll ever hear. 3's tight, memorable set deservedly won quite a few new converts. Absolutely breathtaking!

20 to 25 minutes later, our cultural envoy from Scotland took his turn at the microphone. In support of his latest album - the brilliant 13th Star, Fish and the band started mass with a familiar hymn - Slainte Mhath - a number from a band I just can't recall the name of. No matter, it'll come to me. Circle Line with the lyric "Never a moment passes by when I feel I'm not treading water in a sea of drifting souls" resonates in both the soul and the gut. Foss Paterson's keys and Steve Vantsis' bass took us down to a swamp of emotions with Square Go - highlighted by a great little rant from Fish. Storytime. Onkel Fish told tales of rainbows over the Empire State building before the band launched into a jaw dropping So Fellini.

Relationships. Fish related a bit of his recent romantic woes as an intro to Manchmal, made even more poignant by the fine guitar of Mostly Autumn stringman Chris Johnson. The screams and shrieks were fairly deafening during the trilogy of Hotel Hobbies / That Time Of The Night / Warm Wet Circles. The crowd sang in a way that I can only describe as religiously. More tales lead into Arc Of The Curve and Dark Star both full of beauty and power. Did I neglect to mention that Frank Usher was in the house? There was no way you could miss his howling, greasy, biting, wailing guitar on the cover of the classic Sensational Alex Harvey Band song Faith Healer. Fish leapt into the crowd, "healing" the audience by laying his hands on their foreheads. The set closing White Russian was the only thing that could follow those antics. Gavin Griffiths' powerful, precise drumming drove the number, along with a heartfelt performance by Fish and a goofball moment when an audience member decided to jump the stage and add his drunken vocal before being patiently escorted to the side.

The first encore was the lovely Clich, with an incredibly moving solo from Usher. Hands in the air and clapping madly for a rollicking Incommunicado with Fish mugging for American Express, talk shows, and prime time TV! The Last Straw ended the evening on a rocking note, then it was all bows and goodbyes. So good to have Fish back on these shores. One of those nights you brag about for years to come.