Going Ape: Primate Fiasco Hits Up Grumpy's

By: Sam Houghton, June 8, 2012

BEN ROSSER - The Primate Fiasco uses the instrumentation of a New Orleans street band (sousaphone, banjo, brass, woodwinds, drums, etc) and keeps the dance party pumpin' from the sidewalk to the stage. With a random guy on sax, Steven Yarbro-clarinet, Chris Trevethan-drums, Dave DelloRusso-banjo and J Witbeck-Tuba.

Bluegrass, New Orleans funk, folk, Dixieland, and punk could all be used on the Myspace page of the Northampton band The Primate Fiasco. None would be adequate.

No Rolling Stone journalist has invented a genre weird enough and wild enough for The Primate Fiasco. Yet Grumpy's, in all its dive bar glory, is bold enough to host them anyways on Saturday, June 9 at 10 PM.

The band's sound is a loose-kneed, goofy romp with horns and banjoes and kazoos a-plenty, the perfect accompaniment for a hippie marching band. They’re probably just as comfortable playing on the street as they are in bars, which is one of the reasons for the band’s success.

As the story goes, The Primate Fiasco was in its early days when playing a show for the bartender and sound engineer at the Acoustic Café in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The band decided to play on the street during a set break (whether out of frustration or in hopes of bringing in fans is debatable) but either way, despite the cold winds of January, they riled up a crowd and marched back into the Acoustic Café for a rousing second set.

The Primate Fiasco has been known to cover entire albums including Led Zeppelin IV and Sgt. Pepper's, and often invite anyone from musical guests to circus acts onstage. Depending on the vibes of the crowd and the mood of the band, don't be surprised if you see a Second Line heading outta Grumpy's this Saturday night.