My Visit to Camp Jump and Yell
or: Bad music can be good music too.
Last night I went up to Boulder for a Unlimited Enthusiasm production. Unlimited Enthusiasm LTD is a DIY concert production company who's corporate interest is, according to their website, "having an AWESOME TIME!" Their summer concert series is called Camp Jump and Yell and was perhaps the most awesome time I've ever had ever. And who was headlining this musical extravaganza?
Yes!
I knew this concert would be different the instant my sister, my fiancé, and I walked in through the doors. The band members were already in the lobby selling their T-shirts and message bag pins, but also giving out name tags to all the attendees (robot themed name tags to be exact. I was Philbot), painting faces, and taking pictures of people in front of Harry Potter catching a snitch in outer space.
Who's that handsome spaceman with one fine-ass lady?
The walls were covered with homemade posters declaring important concepts such as "Rhombus!" and "Dino-saur!" On stage there was a screen that was cycling through a slide show of camp scenes telling us to Jump! Yell! Dance! Time Travel! and to scream whenever there was a bear. There was much screaming.
The show started with all the members of all the bands coming out on stage to sing the camp song. It was a rousing number encouraging us to, yes, jump and yell but also to go and shout too.
This was immediately followed by two songs featuring MC Dumbledore.
See?
After this silliness and during the band's set-up we were treated to a series of short films featuring terrible green screen and bad animation in true Tim and Eric style. These videos were to set the tone for things to come.
The first opener was Uncle Monsterface, a self described "sock-puppet band." The music was bad, but each song had a music video to accompany it and the screen opened up into a sock-puppet theatre so that Uncle Monsterface and his friends could sing and dance along. Truly, a multimedia experience.
And here they are!
During the first song, however, things seemed to be taking a turn for the worst when lead singer, Marty Allen, stopped singing and called for the audience to join him in a prayer. This turned out to be one of the highlights of the night as the band transitioned into a ****ing great cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer. A life sized Bishop Uncle Monsterface even joined the band onstage mirroring the accompany music video.
The other hi-light of Uncle Monsterface's set was the (obligatory?) Super Mario Song: I’m Sorry (But Your Princess is in Another Castle) where they asked the crowd for anyone who knew how to play Super Mario Bros. Of course I raised my hand. Unlike the dork in the video I played Super Mario Bros. and worked the crowd by trying to walk left on the first screen.
"Go right! Go so we can start the song!" the band cried.
"Left?" I said?
The camera flash destroyed the proof but I'm totally playing Super Mario Bros. in this picture.
The best part was when I got to the Warp Zone and asked the audience what pipe to go down. They were screaming their choices a la The Price is Right and I've never been so important.
So Uncle Monsterface sucks but they put on one hell of a show.
And afterwards Uncle Monsterface himself came down and mingled with the crowd.
While the next band was setting up we were treated to more videos and calls to vote.
Math the Band were crazy energetic and better than Monsterface but totally unintelligible. I think one of their songs was about jumping jacks. We also talked to them at the merch table before and after the show. They were super cool and totally nice people.
Math the Band: Totally nice!
We didn't take any pictures of Math the Band but here's my sister and Uncle Monsterface himself rocking out to them.
More videos and then it was time.
or: Bad music can be good music too.
Last night I went up to Boulder for a Unlimited Enthusiasm production. Unlimited Enthusiasm LTD is a DIY concert production company who's corporate interest is, according to their website, "having an AWESOME TIME!" Their summer concert series is called Camp Jump and Yell and was perhaps the most awesome time I've ever had ever. And who was headlining this musical extravaganza?
Yes!
I knew this concert would be different the instant my sister, my fiancé, and I walked in through the doors. The band members were already in the lobby selling their T-shirts and message bag pins, but also giving out name tags to all the attendees (robot themed name tags to be exact. I was Philbot), painting faces, and taking pictures of people in front of Harry Potter catching a snitch in outer space.
Who's that handsome spaceman with one fine-ass lady?
The walls were covered with homemade posters declaring important concepts such as "Rhombus!" and "Dino-saur!" On stage there was a screen that was cycling through a slide show of camp scenes telling us to Jump! Yell! Dance! Time Travel! and to scream whenever there was a bear. There was much screaming.
The show started with all the members of all the bands coming out on stage to sing the camp song. It was a rousing number encouraging us to, yes, jump and yell but also to go and shout too.
This was immediately followed by two songs featuring MC Dumbledore.
See?
After this silliness and during the band's set-up we were treated to a series of short films featuring terrible green screen and bad animation in true Tim and Eric style. These videos were to set the tone for things to come.
The first opener was Uncle Monsterface, a self described "sock-puppet band." The music was bad, but each song had a music video to accompany it and the screen opened up into a sock-puppet theatre so that Uncle Monsterface and his friends could sing and dance along. Truly, a multimedia experience.
And here they are!
During the first song, however, things seemed to be taking a turn for the worst when lead singer, Marty Allen, stopped singing and called for the audience to join him in a prayer. This turned out to be one of the highlights of the night as the band transitioned into a ****ing great cover of Madonna's Like A Prayer. A life sized Bishop Uncle Monsterface even joined the band onstage mirroring the accompany music video.
The other hi-light of Uncle Monsterface's set was the (obligatory?) Super Mario Song: I’m Sorry (But Your Princess is in Another Castle) where they asked the crowd for anyone who knew how to play Super Mario Bros. Of course I raised my hand. Unlike the dork in the video I played Super Mario Bros. and worked the crowd by trying to walk left on the first screen.
"Go right! Go so we can start the song!" the band cried.
"Left?" I said?
The camera flash destroyed the proof but I'm totally playing Super Mario Bros. in this picture.
The best part was when I got to the Warp Zone and asked the audience what pipe to go down. They were screaming their choices a la The Price is Right and I've never been so important.
So Uncle Monsterface sucks but they put on one hell of a show.
And afterwards Uncle Monsterface himself came down and mingled with the crowd.
While the next band was setting up we were treated to more videos and calls to vote.
Math the Band were crazy energetic and better than Monsterface but totally unintelligible. I think one of their songs was about jumping jacks. We also talked to them at the merch table before and after the show. They were super cool and totally nice people.
Math the Band: Totally nice!
We didn't take any pictures of Math the Band but here's my sister and Uncle Monsterface himself rocking out to them.
More videos and then it was time.
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