“They should have been the band that went way beyond any of us who were influenced by them,” says Primus’ Les Claypool about the groundbreaking African-American in Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone. The doc, co-directed by Lev Anderson and Chris Metzler, is a love letter to the group. Packed with fantastic performance footage, the film solidly makes the case that, throughout the ’80s and early ’90s, Fishbone was one of rock’s best live acts ever—furiously energetic, innovative, leaping multiple genres in a single song. A slew of talking heads, from Vernon Reid to Gwen Stefani (who should pay Fishbone frontman Angelo Moore royalties), sing the group’s praises as Laurence Fishburne narrates a whiplash-inducing career ride: High school friends form a punk/ska/funk/fill-in-the-blanks band, create groundbreaking music, travel the world, influence countless other bands, but crash and burn before achieving the success they deserve. The reasons for liftoff failure are familiar: record-label ineptitude, love/hate dynamics within the group that eventually gave way to alcoholism, mental breakdowns, and bitterness. And since Fishbone is playing tonight at Bumbershoot, the band will drop by NWFF first for a Q&A with fans. Buy your tickets early for both shows. (NR) ERNEST HARDY

Mon., Sept. 3, 2 p.m., 2012