Get out the flashlights. Start stockpiling canned goods. Find some funky threads. There will be a blackout on campus Saturday night -- a Deep Banana Blackout.
The eight-piece funk collective rolls into Collis Commonground this weekend for a free show in their almost never-ending tour. Deep Banana Blackout played over 200 gigs last year. They performed everywhere from New York's revered Irving Plaza to huge jam-fests like Gathering of the Vibes and the High Sierra Music Festival.
DBB's Dartmouth appearance is the second concert brought to Collis Commonground by the newly formed 2K2 Concert Series. The event is being funded by the Programming Board. The Hood Museum is also supporting the event in celebration of its current exhibit, "High Society: Psychedelic Rock Posters of Haight-Ashbury."
Drawing heavily on the 1970s funk of bands like Tower of Power and Sly & the Family Stone, Deep Banana Blackout's music may not be revolutionary, but it sure is funky. There is no left-wing fringe sound la the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. The band's music is straight-ahead, horn-heavy, booty-moving music which blends soul, jazz and funk.
Expect the dance floor to be packed, but according to band manager Bob Kennedy, wallflowers won't be left out.
"If you're someone who really loves to get into it and listen to every nuance of the music -- how the guitar player interacts with the bass player and how the horns interact with the drums -- they're a great band for that as well," Kennedy told Pollstar in a 2000 cover story.
The band employs four singers, three males and one female; instrumentation includes guitar, bass, drums, more percussion, keyboards, sax, trombone and even flute.
Deep Banana Blackout's line up possesses a myriad of musical talent which allows for much live experimentation.
Hope Clayburn excels on the sax with her skill and irresistible energy. James "Fuzz" San Giovanni is the band's wild man on guitar as he frequently launches into imaginative solos. Cyrus Madan, with his diverse playing, compliments the band's strong horn section well. Eric Kalb and Benj LeFevre, on drums and bass respectively, hold the group dynamic together while allowing for amazing solos.
The band gives off the overwhelming air of dedication and love for music. All the members of Deep Banana Blackout truly love what they do.
The band's enthusiasm shows through as it typically unleashes a two-and-a-half-hour show that leaves the audience craving for more.
Deep Banana Blackout is truly a fan's band. Frequently encouraging taping and trading of its performances, the band is genuinely dedicated to its loyalfollowing.
2K2 Co-Coordinator Matt Opphenheimer '05 said, "It is amazing that a concert of this caliber is free. They are such great performers. It is one of those shows that you hear about the day after and say, 'I shouldn't have missed that one.'"
Formed in the mid-1990s, Deep Banana Blackout released two albums on its own label before winning the support of Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks, who released their third album, "Feel the Peel" on his Flying Frog Records in 2001.
On the opening track of the album, "Raspberry," the Tower of Power vibe is especially strong for the first couple of minutes, until the song erupts into a blazing Stevie Ray Vaughn-style guitar solo. Moments like this give the band an opportunity to let loose in their live shows and jam out until the cows come home or the last elbow-thrusting hippie has collapsed with exhaustion, whichever comes first.
So don't be too alarmed by the Blackout. Don't say you haven't been warned. Trippy jam-funk rainbows are sure to be rising out of Collis on Saturday night by the dozen, so dare to get in there and 'feel the peel.'
The doors open at 9 p.m., and the show starts at 10. Tickets are free for Dartmouth students and are available at the Collis info desk. Non-Dartmouth students may purchase tickets for $5.
