The venue was a dingy little theater, its entrance facing an alley in the seedy bowels of downtown Poughkeepsie, New York. I got a chance to take a look around inside the place a few hours before the doors opened and I wondered about management's claims of capacities in excess of 600 people. Shortly after my interview with Fish (see "A few words with Fish" in this month's feature) he warned me that the sound check would be more than a little boring, but I wanted to see it. As the band tuned up, I realized that despite the room's small size, the accoustics weren't terribly bad and there really wasn't a bad seat in the house. So I kicked back and waited for the curtain to rise.

There were two opening bands. The first one, a local group called Schroedinger's Cat was actually very good. They played for a half hour -- a progressive, pop set of their own tunes and ended the set with a very interesting version of Peter Gabriel's "Red Rain". As much as I am generally anti-opening band, Schroedinger's Cat could have played for a while longer and I don't think anybody would have minded. They were very entertaining and I can honestly say I wouldn't mind hearing them again sometime.

The second opening band, Mastermind, is the opening bunch for most of Fish's American gigs. These boys, hailing from New Jersey, really pushed the envelope of heavy-progressive music -- something I haven't heard in a long time. The music was complicated and very loud -- enough so that some of the fans int he front row watched with their hands over their ears, but what they lacked in aural courtesies, they more than made up for in the crafting of their music. The drum solo at the end of their set was so awe inspiring that even those who were trying to shut out the noise had to stand up and take notice. Mastermind probably didn't wow everyone in attendance, but they proved that heavy-progressive rock can still be played (and played well).

At eleven o'clock, the curtain finally rose on the main event. He sauntered down the stairs as though making an entrance to a party. As the opening chords of "Perceptions of Johnny Punter" filled the theater with anticipation, Fish made his way slowly along the front of the stage, striking poses and basically giving the crowd their first up-close and personal glimpse of him in the flesh in over ten years.

You have to understand the mind of a Fish fan. While the majority of rock music afficianados have probably never heard of him, the people who know him -- his fans -- treat him in an almost God-like manner. They know every lyric to every song he's ever written and they're not afraid to sing along. It's an awesome thing to see a group -- small though they may be -- singing along in rapt oblivion as the show goes on.

He did "Perception of Johnny Punter" in its original form, leaving the watered down American version for the record bins (See the interview, this issue). The crowd, already fired up, was on their feet and cheering as he sat in the middle of the stage and pulled his legs together, pulling his legs together and speaking the lyrics that bridge the song and give it the unique and powerful message against racism.

With the crowd in the palm of his hands, he led into the next song by telling a story about his six-year-old daughter and her run-in with a teacher who described God to her. The teacher said that God is a white man with a white beard and of course, his daughter came home with this information, causing Fish to write the incredibly powerful piece, "What Color is God?" This one played as well live as it does on "Sunsets on Empire", a real powerhouse!

Sticking with the newer songs, Fish went on to sing "Brother 52", "Goldfish and Clowns" and "Jungle Ride", all off "Sunsets". He also shined on some of his older solo material, such as "Suits" from the album of the same name and "Credo" from "Internal Exile. As a loving tribute to his wife -- who was in the audience for the show -- and his 10th wedding anniversary which happened to be on that night, he played the Love Song, "Cliches" from "Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors" and nearly brought the house down with applause. The show-closer was a spirited, interactive version of "Lucky" from "Internal".

No doubt some of the fans were disappointed that Fish didn't play more songs from his days with Marillion, but even the purists didn't walk away empty handed. Along with "Assassing" and the end of "Fugazi", Fish also whipped the crowd into a frenzy with "White Feather" from 1985's Marillion hit, "Misplaced Childhood". The old songs, which were written in a day when the man's voice could soar to high places with much greater ease than it does today, more than ten years later, he still did the Marillion tunes justice and made them fit in with the new stuff without a hitch.

The band was nearly flawless in this show. I have heard many live recordings of Fish with the various bands he has put together since leaving Marillion in the '80's and this was -- without a doubt -- the most cohesive, accomplished group yet. Old-time mate Mickey Simmons played keyboards and managed sampled sounds with great skill and his accomplished playing really added a depth to the music that is a rare thing to see on stage. Co-writer Steven Wilson played bass, French Guyana's J.J. Baird worked wonders on guitar and Dave Stewart, the youngster of the group, handled the drums with incredible skill.

Though it pained me to leave before the end of the show, I did not stay for the encore. But then again, I had a good excuse for leaving, since I had a newborn baby boy, not 36 hours old yet, to go home to. I enjoyed the show immensely -- it was ten years in the making, but after all that time it was more than worth the wait.

Fish is still in the midst of his American tour and he may be coming to a venue near you either now or maybe later on this year or next. Even if you don't know who he is, you should make a point of going to see his show. His music provides something for everybody and his on-stage presence will make you a fan for life.

Fish has been around for a long, long time, but from what I saw on July 25th in Poughkeepsie, New York, he is still a new and rising star!

A warm and heartfelt thank you to Jane Findlay, Fish's personal assistant and Jay Tausic of Viceroy records for making this day happen. Cheers!