McNasty Brass Band Setlist

Ain’t Nothin’ but a Party
Southside Fridays
Hindsight 2020
Fire in the Hole
On the Road Again (Willie Nelson cover)
War Pigs (Black Sabbath cover)
Thrillionaire

Set Times

DOORS 6:30PM
BRASSZILLA (UPSTAIRS)
7:00PM
BRASS MESSENGER (CLOWN)
7:45PM
MCNASTY BRASS (UPSTAIRS)
8:15PM
BRASSZILLA (CLOWN)
9:00PM
BRASS MESSENGER (UPSTAIRS)
9:30PM

Fat Tuesday was upon us and in the best homage to the New Orleans tradition, the Turf Club in St. Paul was featuring three brass heavy bands in Dance Your Brass Off – Mardi Gras Celebration. As a couple of recent Turf Club shows have gone, they were utilizing both the main floor and the Clown Lounge in the basement, though in a twist from the model of The Meslismatics tribute to The Replacements in January, all three of the bands would get their chance on the main floor stage.

Up first was BrassZilla, self-described as beer jazz (“a little chilly and a little hot”). Founded in 2011, they gave a pair of albums, including 2019’s All Day Music All Night. The quartet (trumpet, trombone, sousaphone, and drums), BrassZilla came out strong with a quick opener. The next number had multiple themes going on, but certainly Let the Good Times Roll in it. Sousaphone as the equivalent of bass guitar was such a delight and made things more festive just for being that sound. A song called Godzilla really let all three brass instruments shine, with that interplay of trumpet and trombone really excellent. We got our first real New Orleans style sound and they hit it well. A drum heavy number in Mud Bone also brought the first dancers to the floor and the crowd (as light as it was) was in good spirits. Sentimental Journey was great as an instrumental, and BrassZilla were on a roll. A Kraftwerk cover was impressive, but pared with the late 1800’s number Li’l Liza Jane showed off a great range of capability from the band. That latter number also got the first singing from the band, which was brief and led them right into their closing numbers.

Brass Messengers has a great self description of “a Minneapolis street band playing mostly original music inspired by global sources”. They have been at it for a while, with their self titled debut the first of their three albums being released in 2008. A dozen performers (many on multiple instruments, but at least three trumpets, two trombones, sousaphone, saxophones, two percussionists, clarinet and more) made for a super crowded Clown Lounge with members of the band taking over the first booth. After the fairly quick opener, we had a song of remembrance for the recent brutal times and it had a beautiful saxophone opening as the rest of the band eventually joined in. Clarinet rode high on the next number and was a perfect klezmer sound and perhaps the theme of the night was range. This was pure energy and a late song that allowed a fair number of instrumental solos was perfectly placed to keep things flying. The tight set sent people running back upstairs and you had to give Turf Club points for a full evening.

McNasty Brass Band is a Minneapolis based group combining that New Orleans sound with old school funk. They are a regular on the scene, with this being at least their sixth show at Turf Club in the last few years. Their album MNBB was released in 2023 and folks, this band was also huge. Ten members (three trumpets, two trombones, two saxophones, sousaphone, two percussionists), the opener Ain’t Nuthin’ but a Party had singing, great instrumentals and a lot of happiness to spare. It was a Latin infused Southside Fridays and those waves of brass washed over a significantly more crowded Turf Club. An early introduction of the band had the crowd firmly in hand. Fire in the Hole was all New Orleans and had a guest trombonist from The Belfast Cowboys (as if the sound hadn’t already been full!). Giving their guest center stage late in the song felt so great and the band’s love for fellow performers and audience was palpable. On the Road Again was a perfect country song to turn into a brass number, if that makes any sense, and they played it as an epic. War Pigs was a clever protest song to toss into the mix and it let McNasty Brass Band explore a darker sound. A big finish and we were off to BrassZilla in the Clown Lounge.

Bang Bang had some excellent featured trombone, but also let trumpet shine. That intimacy of the quartet after the really big bands was a nice counter and was a ringing endorsement for the fun of the whole evening. During Stir It Up, I was impressed that the sousaphone player did his thing with such ease given he only had a couple of inches of headroom between the top of his instrument and the low hung ceiling, but it all went smoothly. A pretty quick six song set flew by and it was back upstairs for the final main stage run with Brass Messenger. In the main space, they were perfectly suited to play big and they took the entire length of the stage with brass players. They started with Silence, a powerful number for reflecting on the loss of our neighbors. From there, that large sound brought the crowd to the front to dance and Mardi Gras felt real and that idea of loading up on treats for a day to hold out for a season of famine felt oh so very real. Heading towards the end of the evening, we got additional musicians (Were there 14 on stage?), a continued demonstration of influences (Eastern European, African, and more!) and just stir most joyful way to end a celebratory night. It was exactly as the event described, a Mardi Gras celebration.