Safety Squad, Bumpus, and T.S.3 Bring out the Fun in Funk

I bought tickets on a bit of a whim for a special Friday showing at Martyrs’ on North Lincoln Avenue at the edge of the Northcenter neighborhood. I was pleased to receive much more entertainment than the $15 ticket suggested.

A band of six people called “Safety Squad” perform on a stage. They lit in blue and pink lights. From left to right; guitarist Chris Siebold is wearing a black shirt playing an orange guitar, vocalist Isabella Snow is dressed in a draped floral top and baggy pants and a ponytail, she is holding a microphone in her hand in front of her, behind her is drummer TJ Thompson playing at his drum set, Neil Carson is at the center of the stage playing saxophone dressed in a green t-shirt and jeans, behind him and obscured is bassist Evan Levine, and bandleader and keyboardist Danny Bauer plays shirtless, smiling and looking at the audience. (Vick Perez-Segovia)

The opener, T.S.3, warmed up the crowd with some grooves that made me wish I was in my room with a velvet poster and black lights. Their sound was strongly reminiscent of old “Street Fighter” soundtracks and brought out the kid in me. Bouncing funk and jazz fusion with a kiss of prog-rock really set the vibe for the bombastic show to come.

The founder of this trio, progressive bassist Tim Seisser, warmed us up with charm and made sure to let the crowd know that he is that bass guitar’s “Daddy.” Jon Marks on drums kept the set delightfully loose though not sloppy and showed a smooth chemistry with his bandmates.

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Keyboardist Andrew Lawrence was clearly the M.V.P. of the night, mesmerizing as I sat in awe just a few meters away at the perfect angle watching him cast a spell over those keys. It was a refreshing reminder that instruments are truly for playing. You have fun with them and make wonderful strange creations with them.

Lawrence returned to the stage with the second act, Bumpus, and bump they did. Their first few songs, similar to their predecessors on stage, set an easy vibe of energetic funk that let us know something great was coming. Tina Howell very cooly stepped up onto the stage with her Modelo in hand.

Her all-black attire; massive black glasses that gleamed under the stage lights, leather jacket, slick leather pants, and fuzzy boots stood out amongst the otherwise smart-casually dressed bandmates. Howell belted soulful notes that led the band into a highly danceable vibration throughout the venue. Bumpus reminded me that I really need to go to more live local shows. They got the crowd hot and ready for the main act, Safety Squad.

Safety Squad, led by Danny Bauer on lead vocals and keyboard, was this main act. They delivered funk fusion with a nerdy and wacky twist. Aside from inspiration from video game music stylings they also incorporated timely comedy bits that delighted the room, to say the least. They made sure to bring their all to this intimate, relaxed venue with Neil Carson absolutely ripping through songs on the saxophone.

Isabella Snow’s support on vocals brought a sharp and charismatic punch and guitarist Chris Siebold, with the energy of a dark horse, hit the crowd with some nasty licks and fancy pedal work. TJ Thompson and Evan Levine kept everyone steady and ready to go on drums and bass.

Neil Carson plays the flute front and center on stage into a standing microphone. He has red hair and is wearing a green t-shirt and blue jeans. Behind him to the right is bandleader and keyboardist Danny Bauer playing on the keyboards,he has black hair wearing a patterned black button down shirt. Behind him to the left is bassist Evan Levine playing on his bass, he has long brown hair, a dark patterned button down shirt, and red jeans. To the far left is Isabella Snow mostly cropped, holding a microphone looking on in delight at Neil playing the flute.

The band’s collaborative nature was tight and clean, while organic and fun. They engaged their audience heavily with call and response. They Improvised off audience members’ ad-libs. They even invited an audience member up to challenge Neil to a brief bout of fisty-cuffs before wrapping up their set with a cheeky stunt during their song “Eggboy” in which two audience members got to smash raw eggs on Danny’s head.

There were plenty of shout-outs from all three bands to Danny who was also celebrating his birthday that night, which brought a special warmth to their performances.

Safety Squad and Bumpus can each be found on Soundcloud, and T.S.3 can be found on Bandcamp under Tim Seisser.