Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Live Review: Dumpstaphunk 8-7-13 @ Madison Square Park, NYC

Dumpstaphunk
8-7-13 Madison Square Park
NYC, NY

The free concert series that Madison Square Park puts on every year ended on the funkiest note possible as Ivan Neville and crew rolled up from the big easy to lay down an hour and a half of tasty tunes. With overcast skies all day the show threatened to get washed out but the rains held off and the skies actually cleared before the sun set and the funk got thrown down.

Opening with the pumping "Blueswave" the group got in gear right away as Tony Hall put down his bass and hopped on lead guitar closing the track with a ripping solo (Hall would alternate bass and guitar all night). During the first half of the show the group focused on their newest, excellent release, Dirty Word, playing a straight up "Dancing For The Truth".

During Dumpstaphunk's take on Graham Central Station's "Water", Ivan Neville's laser like zaps from his B3/Clav setup up shot out with precision. The newest song that seems to have improved the most from the album version was "Reality Of the Situation" which showed off a deep funking groove foundation laid down by Nick Daniels III while scatting along to his bass lines.

"If I'm In Luck" featured Hall on guitar again adding a bit more rock to things as Nikki Glaspie sung about wiggling her fanny behind the drum kit. Once the band started out "Put It In The Dumpsta" the crowd came alive singing along with the band who mentioned multiple times their love of NYC.

"Colorblind" put the spotlight on Ian Neville as the rhythmic guitarist took over with a throw-down solo on the six strings that was a set highlight. After that "Lt. Dan" started up and drummer Glaspie took over as she slapped her skins and rhymed in and out of a 15 minute medley that saw her cover Ludacris and Pharrell ("Money Maker") Jay-Z ("Public Service Announcement") and Q-Tip ("Vivrant Thing") ending with a touch of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" before dipping back into "Lt. Dan". All in all it was a fun if not the most high energy excursion from the rhythm section.        

The band decided to throw it all together for the set closing "Meanwhile". Addressing the Katrina catastrophe in the lyrics while slapping syrupy beats with the double bass attack of Hall and Daniels. The duo hit their stride here soloing and grooving in lock step. Extending over 10+ minutes the playing kept building as Ivan moved from behind his keys to pick up a guitar joining the attack with fellow band members. The metallic flashes from the Neville's 6 strings rang loud while the rhythm flowed around them. The band peaked with this set closer.

Encoring with the Parliment/Funkadelic jam "One Nation Under The Groove" was just icing on the cake as the band finished up encouraging the crowd to singalong to the inclusive refrain. The group seemed to just be hitting their stride, but it is clear no matter how long they play that Dumpstaphunk are one of the best funk acts playing today. 
_____________________________________________________________________
We loved the groups Dirty Word, we had a good time at this show, even if we would have loved them to play even longer, but the coolest thing about it is you can hear it for yourself. You can stream/download the show here or just listen to it below. 
Thanks to the Internet Archive as always, MSG Park and Dumpstaphunk for bringing it. Hopefully we catch them again in October in NOLA.
Here are some videos of the show from nycejp
"Water"
 
"Put It In The Dumpsta"

No comments:

Post a Comment