Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket took over Uncle Eddie’s Oceanside Tavern at Salisbury Beach last Saturday night, filling the room with their outrageously funky sound. A nine piece band with a rangy female vocalist, Bucket blew people away with numerous horn blasts, guitar eruptions, and a thick broth of bass, drums, and percussion. Playing original music, Dirty Bucket Showed They were something unusual on the music scene; a band that can keep people dancing to original music.
“Mr. Boom Boom” found vocalist Megan McKenzie strutting her raspy alto voice over the involving sound with her determined belt. Her voice is strong enough to work with this kind of hopped up funk fest, her vocal as much a blaring instrument as any other on stage last Saturday night..
Bucket guitarist Ryan Green played many wild phrases throughout the night, being one of those guitarist who can capture the jazzy freedom of a horn. Rapper Big Daddy Disco let his urban poetry work its own special magic. “Ms. Green,” another original, played out with a bulbous backbeat that made you want to move it and groove it.
Foggy horn swells from saxophonist Matt Oliphant and trombonist Rich Houghton and urgent guitar phrasing by Green brought “Bucket Express” to vivid life. Soulful rapping by Big Daddy Disco and some cowbell from percussionist Jim Schunemann made the band feel like they were traveling somewhere special and bringing their audience with them. Drummer Dave Share and bassist Joe Cesarz locked into a serious, infectious groove before Scott King’s metallic keyboard notes wafted in with a hypnotic allure, piquing everyone’s curiosity as to the wondrous place we were all being swept toward.
Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket unleashed a few of their newest songs last Saturday night. “Pick It Up” had a start-stop movement that pushed the song forward with authoritative, stomping funk. McKenzie found just the right open spaces to inject her rangy lyrical delivery before rapper Big Daddy Disco came in with a brisk clip to also hit the right spots for his rhymes.
Duet number “Can’t Get No Release” let McKenzie and guitarist Ryan Green strut their vocal stuff in tandem. She found her higher voice and turned the vocal melody line into a clarion call. On Bucket’s “Get To Know You Better,” McKenzie’s dreamy coos paved the way for a little late night jazzy ballad, something sung with seductive power and played with inviting intrigue. Some lead guitar put icing on that cake
Later in the first set, guitar riffage and horn shots turned a song titled “Fine Fly Woman” into a catchy chorus-infectious beat workout. The number soon became inflamed with this 9-piece band’s over the top energy. Bouncy keyboard melodies from Scott King and a bopping groove swiftly turned it into a sweet, upbeat, horn swelling tune, with the raps being particularly dynamic and engaging here.
“Good Times” took 1970s funk idioms, smoothed them out, and coolly delivered them with some raps, vocalizing, and some interesting twists. Other songs featured organ boogie and guitar riffage before Bucket got into the attitude of “Boss Hogg.” A shimmering organ line slid right into the intro soon to be followed by the most vibrant horns and the heftiest bass lines supplied by Joe Cesarz. One could dance across that solid and invitingly rhythmic low end line.
Bucket’s take on “Photonic” featured a particularly frenetic, speedy drum solo from Dave Share with multiple rolls stuffed into the meters, using Led Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick” ending as his own before guitarist made the song erupt with Stairway To Heaven’s grand finale off of Led Zeppelin IV.
Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket certainly knows how to entertain. Not only are they a high octane music caliber ensemble, they know how to entertain. McKenzie and rapper were quite engaging all through the show.
Opening band True Monks played instrumental funk-jazz numbers that continually impressed the most demanding music fans in the room. True Monks constructed monster size funk grooves for wiry guitar rhythms and fiery guitar phrasing to prance across. The four piece had a huge personality emanating from their guitars. Fluid as jazz, the two axe men pressed out a lot of heavy to light to back to heavy sounds. Heck, they even made one of their guitars sound like a funky, R&B keyboard with the assistance of a good effects pedal. They certainly displayed the self-discipline of monks while playing this nobly challenging music. Their drummer was a human metronome, keeping the beat in a variety of challenging time signatures while keeping it all colorful and dynamic.
Uncle Eddie’s Oceanside Tavern will be hosting Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket throughout July and August, showing that what was once regarded as merely a beach bar is turning into a North Shore Mecca for great bands. We can only hope that more and more people will catch on that Uncle Eddies features bands like Big ‘Ol Dirty Bucket, Dan Lawson Band, and GNR tribute Rocket Girl.
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