Five Iron Frenzy LIVE in Atlanta GA
By: Jimmy Sorrells
I have been listening to FIF since 1998. That is 26 years and they have been around for 29 years. Not many bands can claim to be a band for 3 decades, especially a ska band since ska is dead, right? After having seen FIF at least 5 times (all of the shows run together over the years) including the skating rink tour (who does that) with The Insyderz and The W’s, the show with MxPx and another with Squad 5-0 (Still got it after not having playing in 15 years!), I was very excited to see them again on 6/29/2024 at The Loft in Atlanta, GA. Just a short 2-hour drive by myself. This show kicked off with Chris Graue with his solo act called LO(U)SER which is described as 8-bit ska punk music. It was Chris with his electric guitar and a projector with a screen. He played and the video was synced with his music and made fun of him sometimes. I had never heard of him before but after doing some research I discovered that he also has directed some rad punk music videos.
https://chrisgraue.com/
Then came an unknown band called Spoken In Tongues. I was talking to some friends in the back that I have been going to shows with for 30 years and one of them, Jim Thompson, said “You know who that is singing?” I said, “he looks familiar but no, I can’t place him.” Jim said, “That is the legend Billy Powers formerly of Blenderhead.” Yes, that is who it is fronting this punk band with vocals and guitar. Billy and Reese both told the crowd of about 350 people that FIF played their second show with Blenderhead and MxPx. This band also features Josh Hernandez on guitar, Josh Rosa on bass, and Clack Osborne on drums.
https://spokenintongues.com/
As FIF takes the stage, the crowd goes wild after the building suspense of waiting for the stage change. As I was waiting I thought how odd it was that all of the old people looked the same age as me. One thing I love about a FIF crowd is you never know what you will see. There were five-year-olds (including Reese Roper), fifty-year-olds, preps, skankers, metalheads, a guy wearing a lifejacket, and so much more which I guess is pretty normal for their amazing shows.
They kicked off the night with Old West and then straight into Suckerpunch! Reese announced that they were playing old songs tonight and the crowd roared the giddy excitement of an eight-year-old getting their first Ninteendo. Next came Milestone followed by Blue Comb ‘78. Reese actually had a blue comb in his back pocket and told the crowd that he found it.
Up next was Handbook For The Sellout and One Girl Army. One thing that made this show so fun with all of the energy in the room is that almost everyone knew every lyric to every song. It let me know that I was with my tribe. I loved the fact that Micah was sporting an Extol shirt.
Then came Firstful Of Sand, Where 0 Meets 15, Close To Me, & Superpowers. The crowd was really into the show by now. Fully committed to anything the band asked. There was a skanking pit and crowd surfing. Some great things never change. Dennis was on point with his vocals all night and he is a comedian on stage even giving a jab to Skillet.
Next on the playlist was Beautiful American, When I Go Out, Cool Enough For You, Oh, Canada, & Arnold And Willis And Mr. Drummond. I love seeing Leanor’s “Jeff the Girl” interaction with the crowd and her stage presence is always so fun. She killed it on songs like When I Go Out. Songs like this are always a crowd favorite and fun when it does happen because we know the chances of ever seeing it live again are very slim.
They finished the sweaty night off with Combat Chuck, Third World Think Tank, In Through The Out Door, Receive Him, So Far, and the crowd favorite to close out the night was Every New Day. The banter throughout the night between the bandmates was great as always although we didn’t really hear from Nathanael (Brad), Scott, Sonnie, or Andrew.
It was fun that the venue had named drinks after FIF songs. They had
Every New Day – slow&low rye, lime juice, ginger beer
Far, Far Away – vodka, triple sec, cranberry juice
Banner Year – bacardi spiced rum, lime juice, coca-cola
Reese said “This is the only night this will ever happen where these bands play these specific songs together. We are making history.” That is one thing that stuck with me and I really thought about how true that is.
https://www.fiveironfrenzy.com/
