TROUBLE FUNK: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

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May 30, 2018 | Abby O'Neill -- Go-go — Washington D.C.'s regional twist on funk — reigned in the DMV during the 1980s, and one of the scene's signature acts was Trouble Funk. More than 30 years later, the collective, led by Big Tony Fisher, still fills sold-out venues with heavyweight percussion and call-and-response lyrics. Trouble Funk concerts are bona fide jam sessions, so I was determined to squeeze their unrelenting rhythms behind the Tiny Desk.

With 12 members sandwiched into a cramped space, the electricity was almost tangible as they launched into the 1982 banger "Pump Me Up," a song sampled in Public Enemy's protest anthem "Fight the Power" and M/A/R/R/S's dance classic "Pump Up The Volume." The drum breaks here are definitive go-go and it was hard to discern who was having more fun: the band or the audience. On "Grip It," buoyant and staccato horn melodies propelled the song forward, while "Let's Get Small" featured Trouble Funk's classic call-and-response chants. "Drop the Bomb," another notable gem from their lengthy discography, kept the energy level high and "Don't Touch That Stereo" was all raw, unencumbered funk. To conclude the set, they segued into "E Flat Boogie," their first hit in 1979, with Big Tony's vocals front and center.

While the late Chuck Brown is often acknowledged as the godfather of go-go (and you can see why during his Tiny Desk), Trouble Funk was a key part of the sound's second wave. In a city often interrupted by the transient revolving door of government officials and federal staffers, the funky artform is woven into the fabric of this city and inspires a spirit of dance, rhythm and sheer joy.

SET LIST
"Pump Me Up"
"Grip It"
"Let's Get Small"
"Drop The Bomb"
"It's In The mix" (Don't Touch That Stereo)"
"E-Flat Boogie"

MUSICIANS
Big Tony Fisher (bass), Allyson Johnson (keyboards), James Avery (keyboards), Tony Edwards (drums), Chris Allen (percussion), Larry Blake (percussion), Dean Harris (trumpet), Eric Silvan (saxophone), Paul Phifer (trombone), Derrick Ward (vocals), Keith White (vocals), David Gussom (guitar).

CREDITS
Producers: Abby O'Neill, Morgan Noelle Smith; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineers: Josh Rogosin, James Willetts; Videographers: Morgan Noelle Smith, CJ Riculan, Maia Stern, Dani Lyman; Production Assistant: Joshua Bote; Photo: Eslah Attar/NPR.

the MAKE-UP on my Instagram from 1997 and this past weekend

the MAKE-UP ... circa 1997 ... i believe this was the last time we made a band portrait, it was over by the dilapidated docks along the Hudson River. They were one of my favorite live bands of that era. Ian Svenonius is and was one of the most incredible live performers there is, and he's an actual genius. His own books are beyond entertaining and enlightening. He has contributed words to several of my books, RECOGNIZE, THE IDEALIST, and most notably KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN - the book of my FUGAZI photographs, has an incredible take on FUGAZI written by him. He's simply one of my favorite people around. Last night the MAKE-UP played a reunion show here in NYC down at the South Street Seaport where they headlined a day long free festival with none other than the fantastic Jonathan Toubin DJing (hands down my favorite DJ to go listen to) @JonathanToubin (he actually curated the entire days events)... Anyway, the Make-Up were great and if you were ever a fan i highly recommend you seek out and go to one of there upcoming west coast and desert shows they got scheduled (and if you were not cool enough or old enough to know about them or Ian but curious now, MAKE THE EFFORT and go). As much as i am embarrassed to make a picture with my iPod at a show, and I can't stand making photos with not only the usual iPhones all over the place but even a dozen regular camera photographers shooting, the scene was just so photogenic last night i had to make a few... so if you swipe you can see one of those and a snippet of video. I had a blast. #punk #livemusic #rockNroll #IanFSvenonius #MakeUp #ChainAndTheGang #TheSpiv #MichelleMae #WomenWhoRock #LookSharp #NOU #NationOfUlysses #GospelYeahYeah @chainandthegang @dischordrecords #FILM #Photography #B&W #PunkRockAndRoll #Performance #genius #CensorshipNow

A post shared by glen E. friedman Ⓥ (@glenefriedman) on Sep 11, 2017 at 9:04am PDT

The all-time best DEVO live recording. found by Dangerous Minds - listen here now.

from Dangerous Minds

 

This is simply the best DEVO live recording out there. The sound is crystal clear, and the band is absolutely on fire during this 1978 performance at San Francisco’s Old Waldorf.

Terry Hammer was an audio engineer during the heyday of first wave punk in San Francisco. He maintains a mind-blowing YouTube channel upon which he has graciously decided to share dozens of live recordings he engineered for Bay Area radio stations KALX, KTIM, KSAN, KSJO, KUSF, and KSFS. Though it appears that Hammer was not the engineer on this particular live recording of DEVO, broadcast on KSAN on November 10th, 1978, he certainly had access to a low generation tape—and was kind enough to share it with the rest of us!

 



 

DEVO here are touring for their first album Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are DEVO!, and were a well-oiled machine at this point. Perhaps it was a desire to impress the West Coast punkers that has the group blasting through their songs at furious tempos, far more hectic than on their albums.

This is not the first time these recordings have been made public. Obviously they were on the KSAN airwaves, but then some enterprising bootleggers in the late ‘70s released the show under at least two different titles.

 



 



 



 

The sound here is much improved from those ratty bootleg LPs. This thing is phenomenal.

Check it out right here:

 

 

ULTRAMAGNETIC friday! Live in the UK from 1990

RUN-DMC Live as Can Be at The Ritz in NYC, June 12th, 1985

Bonus: Ultimate Run-DMC Megamix by DJ Dark Kent

BLACK FLAG - June 4th, 1982 - Philadelphia, PA East Side Club

pretty fucking heavy duty show...




thanks, Spiv!

Jimi Hendrix would have been 70 years old this week!

Jimi's birthday was actually yesterday, so to celebrate the occasion check out this show from February 24th, 1969 at The Royal Albert Hall.



thanks, DangerousMinds

OFF! tonight in NYC

Here's a couple of shots I took last time I saw them play in New York, and the newest video and an old one...

I'm looking forward to seeing these guys again today... Playing Irving Plaza this evening. Hope to get them a desperately needed new publicity photo too, before the day is done.