I remember when I thought a seven or eight person band would have to take a lot of practice to stay in sync on stage. Well that seems like a piece of cake after watching the zany Chicago marching band Mucca Pazza perform yesterday. I counted about 20 people on stage (they were packed up there and moving around so much that it was tough to get an exact count) but they list 30 members on their MySpace page.

I saw them by chance yesterday at the Do Division street festival in Chicago. I went to see Tally Hall, who were pretty awesome as usual, and stuck around to check out the next band, who were doing their soundcheck in full uniform.

Mucca Pazza perform at the Do Division street festival yesterday. Photo by my brother, Danny Collins.

I’d like to know where Mucca Pazza do their shopping because they’ve got some great vintage band gear. Their attire fits their sound, I’d say they fall somewhere in the marching band gypsy punk genre. Watching a band like this play isn’t something you see every day, even if you go to a lot of shows.

When they started it was obvious there were a lot of people in the band, but it was hard to tell how many. Some of them started in the crowd and some were ducking down on stage while they weren’t playing their instruments. With so many people on stage, members who weren’t playing at the time were often ducking down during the set to draw attention to the people who were playing.

When cheerleaders jumped up in the middle of the stage during the first song, I knew I was seeing something I’d never seen before. My explanation of Mucca Pazza can only convey so much of the experience of actually watching them play. You have to see the movement, the facial expressions and the reactions from the crowd.

The songs are instrumental, aside from occasional interjections and cheers. Trombones, trumpets, a sousaphone, a mandolin and clarinets are just some of the instruments involved.

Moral of the story:

Listen to “Alarm” on their MySpace page.

Go to their CD release show on June 19 at The Mansion, 2408 N. Kedzie in Chicago (All ages, $12 or $6 if you are under 18).

Alright, I have been getting some comments and responses for Post #12 about what I referred to as “the real media,” so I figured I may as well explain a little further (in addition, please know I am not, repeat not trying to put myself on a pedestal with what I am writing. Please know that).

First off, I don’t want to ever belittle the importance of bloggers. That was not my intention, and I think blogging is one of the best things to come around in the last five years. Blogs are important, if only to be able to hear the viewpoint of the person writing. There are a lot of fantastic blogs that I frequent to find out new things.

However, what I was referring to in that post was not that the bloggers out there were bad, it was more referring to use of the pit between the audience barrier and the stage. I do, and I stand by this, think that area is/was reserved for the media to use in a professional way. If it is instead used to hang around because you can, it is like a slap in the face to the thousands of other people who would love to be in that pit. That’s what I am referring to as the privilege. Getting the press pass is all well and good, and nothing except for that pit really sets you apart from the audience. I still believe that when you are in that pit, you have to act, for lack of a better term, professional, because otherwise you are just an audience member using the pass in the wrong way.

In addition, I want to say that I was not in that pit for the majority of the festival. I was in the audience, taking in the experience. That is what a good reporter does, take in the experience. I was trying to take in as much as I can, good and bad, and taking in as much as I can does not involve being in the pit for the entire time.

Looking back, I’m not sure if the term “real media” was the right one, so I apologize for trying to marginalize with that.

I know I took a lot of grief for that post, and I’m sure more is coming. But I wanted to at least clarify what I meant. That was not meant as an attack toward any specific person (the “you” in this post was not directed at anybody at all), and I have even talked to a blogger or two about what I meant by it. It was not me trying to start anything, it was merely stating a frustrated opinion.

Take care.

All right, I have Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, George Clinton and the P-Funk, and moe. photos to upload, but alas I can stay awake no longer. Check back throughout the day for updates. I promise I will finish soon.

Sidenote: If you have problems navigating through the previous posts, click on the dates from the last weekend on the calendar to the right.

More Soon…

Edit@ 7:00 pm on Tuesday May 27, 2008: I am done for now. After looking through and editing some 5,000 odd photos (don’t low ball me, Heis. ha), I am finished. Here are a couple outtakes from the weekend.

One Love.

Whew. It was a good weekend, it’s all updated. We took a lot of photos (probably around 2,000, if not more), and I will be writing more. Stay tuned for more, it just may not be in this blog.

After The New Pornographers’ set, Face and I were tired. However, I still wanted to shoot moe.’s last performance and the crazy crowd they continually attract. As with most of the big name acts on the bill, I was only able to shoot the band for 15 minutes, and that was fine. In fact, I didn’t even take that long.

I got a couple good shots of the band and of the audience, which had grown significantly, yet was more subdued. Everyone seemed at the end of their rope, and moe. asked them to go for that final lap with them.

The band sounded good playing a cover of The Police’s “Synchronicity II” as I was walking to the car. It was a good ending to a tiring but rewarding weekend.

They played to a real small crowd. They worked it anyways. All photos by me.

This booking was a poor choice on Jay Goldberg Events & Entertainment’s part. The New Pornographers are one of the best rock bands going these days, but a jam band/psychedelic/anything the majority of the festival crowd would be interested in they are not. The audience was, while dedicated, a very small one. Where Girl Talk converted a lot of people through his high-energy show, The New Pornographers did what they do: played their songs, played them well, and left. It didn’t lead to many new converts.

Still, the band was on for most of the set. They opened their set with “All the Things That Go to Make Heaven and Earth” from their latest album, Challengers, and from there they just kept going. Between songs, the band continually goofed around, playing snippets of The Violent Femmes’ “Blister in the Sun,” Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” and Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused.”

That was the problem though. For about a third of the show, the band was just not playing the show like it needed to be: big. The songs were played well, but they were unfocused. Lead singer/guitarist Carl Newman would continually flub lyrics or parts, and would laugh it off. He didn’t seem like he was concentrating, and was just goofing off. That’s all well and good, but for that reason, something didn’t click for a while.

The band did pick it up though, and versions of Twin Cinema’s “Sing Me Spanish Techno” and “The Bleeding Heart Show” were played to reach across the three-fourths empty field. They played as if it was full, which was exactly the kick in the pants they had to have if the set wasn’t going to peter out.

The New Pornos closed their set with a cover of ELO’s “Don’t Bring Me Down” and left the stage. They came back for one encore, a very fast, very energetic “Letters from an Occupant,” sang by keyboardist Kathryn Calder. They left the small audience wanting more, but they closed the set 10 minutes early, presumably to allow the audience to get over to the Moonshine Stage to watch moe.’s final set of the night. Good show though.

Wow. Poo Poo Man, Sir Nose, George Clinton… wow. All photos by me. Flashlight, indeed!

Surprised as I was by how good Dumpstaphunk was, I knew P-Funk was the tops. The band specializes in crazy funk, pointless jams and repetitive, suggestive chants. It works though, because every member of the band comes on stage believing everything they sing, and it ends up being the closest thing to a minstrel show in the 21st century (save for all the racism).

I have seen George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars back in 2006 at the House of Blues in Chicago (it was the same band. For all of you who don’t know, P-Funk is basically made up, at any given concert, of any of the members who decide to show up) and Parliament-Funkadelic (sans Clinton) at Urbana’s Sweetcorn Festival in 2007. I know what to expect, that it would be funky, complete with many members and crazy outfits.

The band started a little late, but it wasn’t terrible. Security for Summer Camp told us that we were only allowed to shoot the first three songs of the band…which ended up lasting 40 minutes (remember when I said “pointless jams”? I wasn’t joking). During that time, Clinton did not even appear on stage, which was kind of a gyp to the photographers.

Also, let me clarify when I say “pointless jams.” Maybe that isn’t the best phrase for it, but their songs go long, and meander with solos, chants and grooves. The musicianship is never less than top notch, and while it can sometimes be an exercise in testing one’s patience, they are always great shows.

This show was no different. The band came on and introduced the audience to the world of P-Funk. This includes ridiculous phrases such as “get off your (butt) and jam” or “it would be ludicrous to think that we are new to this, we do this, this is what we do.” These phrases were repeated and repeated, and by the end, the audience had no choice but to believe them.

The band’s music was high-energy throughout, with Garry “Starchild” Shider orchestrating a lot of it while Clinton wasn’t on stage. Oh, did I mention he was in a diaper?

P-Funk grooved along until Clinton finally decided to get on stage. When he did, he did it slowly. The man is 66 years old, but I don’t think that was why he was moving slowly…I think it was another reason…something that was referenced many times through their set…drugs. The band is all about the marijuana, which they explicitly asked for on a number of occasions.

When Clinton did do anything, it was through small gestures. These small gestures got the crowd so excited though. It was almost as if they were in awe of just seeing him. Clinton didn’t sing much, and when he did sing or talk, it was in a very gruff voice, barely able to hold itself up. The years of drug abuse and whatever else he did have taken a toll.

Still, seeing him was entertaining, and believe it or not, those were minor quibbles. It is obvious that these days the band itself is the show, and they are a funky band. The band tore through “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker” and “Flash Light” almost completely on their own, and the crowd ate it up. Singers Kendra Foster and Belita Woods showed their chops off, especially Foster when she sang a slowed down version of “Bounce 2 This” from the 2006 album How Late Do You Have 2BB4UR Absent?”

The band played for a solid two hours, leaving the stage about 10 minutes late. At the end, it was just Clinton, who just seemed very happy. As the crew started to break down the instruments, he lead the audience through chants of “we want the funk, give up the funk” and “get off your (butt) and jam.”

The show is a hard to one to review, so look at the photos that will be posted by tomorrow to see what was really experienced.

I haven’t felt funk like this in a long time. All photos by me except for number 2, E Heisig.