reCAP :: Phunksgiving ft. Dumpstaphunk w/ special guest Cyril Neville & Fishbone w/ The Dust Rays :: 2015.11.25
Dumpstaphunk was among the country's most exciting funk bands from its inception 12 years ago, and in the years hence, despite lineup changes, it's never left that conversation. This year's Phunksgiving celebration -- the second of these now; let's go ahead and call it a tradition in hopes it keeps on happening -- had the band in full-rage mode, doing what it does best, which is dazzle with musicianship, salute the heritage funk and soul acts to which its all-out style plainly nods, and suggest that its ability to pair socially conscious, well-developed-songs with nasty, nasty jamming is only getting better.
The band framed its nearly two-hour set with well-known Dumpsta jams like "Gasman Chronicles," "Meanwhile," and staple covers like its version of Led Zeppelin's "Ramble On." The always-welcome Steeltown Horns, Dumpsta's typical go-to horn section, know this material well enough by now that they can be as aggressive as the band's principals during ferocious jam segments and not feel like there are too many players on stage. And the added presence of another New Orleans icon -- percussionist/vocalist Cyril Neville slipped in for the show's Meters-heavy middle portion -- made it a party. And what a treat to see former Dumpstaphunk and now Nth Power drummer Nikki Glaspie back behind the kit for the evening, pummeling straight through the band's Sly Stone-like finale of "Dancin to the Truth."
Whereas last year's Phunksgiving celebration featured two Dumpsta sets, this year the band co-billed with Fishbone, a stylistic cousin to Dumpstaphunk in the way incisiveness, commentary and heavy themes underpin exceptional party music. Fishbone classics like "Hey Ma and Pa," "Give It Up" and "Party at Ground Zero" stood out during an hour-and-half long romp, mixing rock, metal, rap, ska, punk and reggae, with blazing guitar solos and spewing, fusion-y trumpet and trombone vying for space.
Much of the original Fishbone crew -- including saxophonist/vocalist Angelo Moore, trumpeter/vocalist Walter Kibby and bassist John Norwood Fisher -- are still aboard nearly three decades later. Above all, in this age of endless, genre-busting mashup, they still sound like an original, as if Devo, Frank Zappa had muscled into Parliament Funkadelic and the whole ensemble got left at the 80s ska bus-stop thinking they were in the right place. Much like Dumpstaphunk, their righteous rage won't stay quieted -- and why should it? "The World Is a Little Bit Under the Weather," as one of Dumpsta's Meters selections went, and we need them now more than ever.