I usually try to take a night off from being everywhere at once. Usually that night happens to fall on the day Five Alarm Funk comes to town.
Well, I learned I’ve been missing out after finally getting out to see them during their sold out return to the 
Slice, March 30.
I’m glad I sucked it up and went out, though was paying for it a little the next couple days
They are a blast, combining a bit of vaudeville, crazy costumes, choreographed dance moves, a lot of funk and a crack horn section into one unforgettable show which had a floor full of dancers sweating up as much of a storm as the band themselves, most of whom had stripped down to the skin by the end of the set.
They had three drummers/ percussionists including the shirtless lead singer, a trombonist, saxophonist and trumpeter as well as a funky bassist and two guitarists.
The grinned and laughed throughout, played amazingly tight in a gorgeous cacophony of a lot of different instruments, noises and grooves.
I was going to leave after the first set, citing exhaustion but stuck around after hearing there would be a “murder” on stage during a new song called “Crimes of Passion.”
But to begin the set, one of the drummers dressed up as King Kong, grabbed a Barbie doll then was attacked by one of the other drummers holding a toy airplane as the lead drummer/ singer kept the beat and grinned a mile wide.
The second set featured more of a progressive rock/ surf feel during all of the new music being played.
The lead drummer shouted at the crowd to “wash your faces,” pretending to wash his face all the while.
The secret agent themed sounding instrumental ‘Crimes of Passion’ came close to the end of the show as one of the drummers left the stage, came back dressed in drag wearing a green wig and looked sinister as he tapped on a triangle with a tiny wrench before a pulling out a giant novelty knife and attacking the lead drummer, who couldn keep himself from laughing during it.
Five Alarm Funk know how to entertain and showed it in spades at the Slice.
