Vancouver eleven-piece band Five Alarm Funk took the stage at Le Divan Orange last night, playing for their first time in Montreal. They have been on a CD release tour to share their new album Anything Is Possible with Canadian fans. When their choreographed arm gestures coincided with their melodic climaxes, audience members could not help but share their energy. I’ve never seen an entire audience jump and throw their hands in the air at Le Divan Orange as I did last night for Five Alarm Funk.
Having played together for seven years, Five Alarm Funk has grown to become a band that embodies many eclectic sounds. While their previous album Voodoo Hairdoo (2008) carries a more funk/afro-beat/Latin oriented sound, the heavier bass lines, Tayo Branston’s raspy vocals akin to Gogol Bordello, and the use of horns similar to Beirut create a more Baltic sound, even chamberal at times, for their new album Anything Is Possible. This is especially evident in “Soft Six”, during which the musicians stacked their hands in front of their chests and bobbed up and down like Russian dancers. One musician created bows and arrows with his arms and shot them into the crowd. Other musicians wearing Viking, gorilla and shark costumes danced on stage. Vivacious as they were, many of the musicians became shirtless to keep cool. Seeing Five Alarm Funk live is more than just a sampling of their new music-they give a truly theatrical performance of undeniable umph.
The encore featured an amplified cover of “The Final Countdown”, heralding the entire audience to join Five Alarm Funk in jumping, proving these Vancouver folk are musical and theatrical gems with whatever they craft. Prior to Five Alarm Funk’s performance I was feeling ill, and after realizing I felt better by the end of the night, I came to understand that Five Alarm Funk is a fine medicine indeed.
Five Alarm Funk: http://www.myspace.com/fivealarmfunkmusic
Gogol Bordello: http://www.myspace.com/gogolbordello
Beirut: http://www.myspace.com/beruit
Can't wait to see this cure all performance in Vancouver!
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