Dumpstaphunk last performed in the Empire State at the 2019 New York State Blues festival in downtown Syracuse. Later that evening, band members Tony Hall and Deven Trusclair kept the groove going at the Funk n Waffles club for a sit in on “Standing on Shaky Ground” by the Temptations that Funkadelic’s Eddie Hazel co wrote. A month later they opened for the Rolling Stones to 40,000 people in their hometown at the New Orleans Superdome.
Dumpstaphunk kicked off 2021 by releasing their first record in seven years, Where Do We Go From Here, which was just nominated in four Grammy categories. The band has been on the road promoting its sound this summer leading them up to a Labor Day Weekend of shows with Dave Matthews Band at Heavens Amphitheatre, The Gorge. All members of Dumpstaphunk sat in with DMB for Sly Stone’s “Thank You (Falletinme be mice elf again) and Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” to close the night.
Tony Hall sat in with the DMB as part of an alternate format the entire weekend on bass and vocals as well. He was reunited with Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds on stage for the first time since their infamous Some Devil Tour in 2003. Dumpstaphunk will also be joining Dave Matthews Band at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, on November 12 and 13.
All of this momentum could be felt on stage at Brooklyn Bowl on Saturday, October 23. Rotem Sivan Band opened the show as Dumpstaphunk hit the stage at 9:45 p.m., crushing their entire set for the Williamsburg crowd. Brooklyn Bowl founder, Peter Shapiro, appeared behind the curtain dressed as a pilot while the band took off on stage. Shapiro gave them a quick fist bump of delight after their tune “Itchy Boo.”
Come on lets get at it Brooklyn! Get up, Get down, Keep it stepping, keep it moving. Every band member was fully engaged with the Brooklyn Bowl crowd the whole set. Tim Reynolds told You know those guys when your playing a gig, he’ll look right at you? That’s him. He’ s a bad ass. Everyone was dancing to the truth that this band lets out. Lucky nobody slipped onstage due to the greasy lane funk levels. Sly Stone’s words carry on through their take on his cut “In Time.” Well, well, there’s a feelin’, oh, so real in every human On time (About time) There’s a reelin’ when you don’t know what you’re doing, In time… If there was a clip that examples their on stave vigor, it would be from their performance of “Justice” (that features Trombone Shorty on the new album). Tony Hall took the electric guitar for a ride down the adjacent lanes to end the jam. New Orleans cats Ivan Neville, Ian Neville and Nick Daniels hit hard on Tower of Power’s “Soul Vaccination,” resonating with the New York crowd. I’m talking bout soul (soul vaccination) Everybody get in line (soul vaccination) Horns! During the final song horn players Alex Wasily and Ashlin Parker made their way through the Brooklyn Bowl crowd for “Street Parade” to close the set like the Saints go marching in. For the encore, the band paid tribute to legendary drummer and singer Buddy Miles. as his song “United Nation Stomp,” featuring Marcus King was nominated for a Grammy Award for best American roots performance. In recording a new album, Tony Hall shed some light with NYS Music about the group’s creative process. We recorded a bunch of these songs and didn’t finish them lyric-wise. Vocal-wise we can always change. It goes kind of like vice versa. We’re all a band that can sing and play too, ya know?
Photos by Russell Mangicaro III: Dumpstaphunk – Brooklyn Bowl – October 23, 2021
