Most bands can easily highlight a few events -- a CD, a show, an on-stage vomitting -- as the stand-out highlights of a band's life past or in progress. For FBO #001 Tall Tales, usual candidates include an unlikely road trip to play two remarkable shows in Greencastle, Indiana; and opening for the Fleshtones on March 21, 1989 at Oklahoma City's Blue Note.
Last Sunday in Brooklyn was the 'Atlantic Antic,' New York's best of an endless list of street festivals, when a mile of the big boulevard gets filled with food stands, stages, stands promoting politics or selling ironic t-shirts. Last weekend is typical. At one area the Museum of Transit set out a dozen old buses -- some 80 years old -- for people to walk through; nearby a Brazilian drum group played. Up the street was a belly dancer playing to old guys playing Middle Eastern music, a John Lennon-lookalike fronted a loud garage band, with two go-go dancers standing on speakers, a zany marching band played an Eastern European-styled song with much stop and shouting, and Tall Tales' old boss, the Fleshtones, blared through a 50-minute set next to a Spanish food stand.
The Fleshtones, in their 50s, are playing better, more inspired, more fun that practically any one, certainly classic bands like the Rolling Stones (whom the FBO have asked for an apology). Throughout, FT singer Peter Zaremba -- still with a flop cut and a goofy grin as if he's getting away with something -- spun around between phrasings, while the bass and guitar players did kicks in the air. During the last song, 'Push Up Man' (from their 2005 record Beachhead) those three jumped off stage onto the street, handing out the bass and guitar to whomever would take them.
As the drum beat continued, the three Tones cleared a pit and picked people to do push-ups. At one point, they locked with five fans in a wall and 'pushed' their way through the crowd. Then jumped back on stage to finish the furious stream of joy.
--> The FBO officially adopts the Fleshtones.
FBO Admin
Mobile/Semi-Permanent HQ -- Brooklyn, NY
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