Some time in the mid 90’s, ska music became the IT thing. Ska bands started to appear out of nowhere… and they all pretty much sounded like copies of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. As the fad started to fade, Five Iron Frenzy continued to stick around, tinkering with their sound and mixing their lyrics with silly stupid songs and deeper ponderous thoughts. Their self-effacing humor and stage presence always made for a fun show. I was never really a huge Five Iron Frenzy fan, but I always found their concerts entertaining.
Cornerstone Festival celebrated their 20th Festival in 2003 with a big birthday party at the mainstage featuring several acts that had played many of the years at the festival. The birthday party concluded with bringing veteran Steve Taylor out of retirement for a short set and then following his show, Five Iron Frenzy took the stage for the last time at Cornerstone.
Something about the dancing miner during “You Probably Shouldn’t Move Here” cracks me up, I don’t know why.
I totally bypassed the Christian ska thing altogether. Some of it was probably OK, but none of it sounded as good (production-wise on the albums) as mainstream stuff like Save Ferris. I don’t think I ever saw a Christian ska show.
(Who was the band that brought Mike Knott out to do “Rock Stars On H” at the Birthday Bash? That was awesome.)
I just realized that you haven’t included any VOL or OTR stuff in this video countdown. I would’ve thought that something like Bill’s “Three Crosses Tirade” would’ve made the cut out of historical interest. 🙂
OTR is still to come…. there were a couple good videos of VOL from the mid 90’s, but nothing good enough to make the cut.
The Mike Knott appearance was with Squad Five-0, oh, and there’s video, just found it! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyvPUNgeCDg
I was/am a big FIF fan. Unlike the other christian ska bands they didn’t fade with the passing of the fad. They stuck to their genre because it was what they wanted to play. They also have the distinction of being one of the few bands who’s best album was their last. (How can you go wrong with titling your farewell tour “Winners Never Quit: The Farewell Tour”) Great music, Great fun, and a great band. Love ’em.