Magnificent Beast
MarchFourth Marching Band

We say: Band geeks of the world unite!

Portland, Oregon's MarchFourth shows what can happen if the creative kids from the marching band get together and recruit an electric guitar player and bass player to come along for the ride. It's really hard these days to come up with something that sound fresh, but I promise you, this is some craaaazzzy sh*t. We don't normally feature bands from the U.S. or Western Europe in these reviews since they already dominate the world pop music scene, but when somebody comes along and creates something ground-breaking, my ears perk up.

MarchFourth Marching Band has percussionists, horn players, electric bass, and guitar. There are "about 20" members in the band and the live experience throws in stilt walkers, fire breathers, andacrobats. This would be nothing more than a good gimmick if the music sucked, but thankfully it doesn't. Every song on this album can stand on its own and some of them can even be called bonafide dance songs. Much of the music has a clear New Orleans influence, mixed with the power of a big marching band taking the field. But there are also plenty of flavors from other places that are good at throwing a party, like Rio and the Balkans. Throw in some good ole rock-and-roll and this is one fun band. Who else follows a baritone sax riff with distorted vocals and then brings in a Tower of Power style horn section?

The band self-produced its first two albums, but this time they brought in Steve Berlin of Los Lobos and his expert hand wedged this loose collective into a smoking band with structured songs. Even the silly "Cowbell" song (inspired by the classic Saturday Night Live skit) sounds professional here and the slinky "Rose City Strut" that follows leaves enough air between the instruments to let every one of them shine. "Delhi Belly" starts off like a great marching band song, each layer building on the one before it to create a wall of sound. Then it hits a groove that must surely get the crowd moving in a live setting.

That live show looks like a real blast and I'm going to find a way to go see them this coming weekend in my town. (Watch the Perceptive Travel blog for a report.) MarchFourth Marching Band is on tour a lot, so they may be bringing the spectacle to your city as well. See tour dates on the official band site.