“The band's raucous and giddy live shows are so unabashedly dorky that by the end every member of the 30-strong lineup winds up coming off cooler than you'll ever be.”
~ Chicago Reader
“Sometimes a group of musicians comes up with an idea that is so unique, so whimsically charming, so dynamically charged that all you can do is stand back and watch in wonder. Such is the case with Mucca Pazza.”
~ Chicago Sun-Times
“Mark this name down on your must-see music list, folks; they’re exploding faster than marshmallow Peeps in the microwave.”
~ Chicago Daily Herald
“The experience was otherworldly, and immersive. At one point the cheerleader hit me on the head with a pom pom, and later a trombonist nearly caught my foot in his instrument.”
~ The Daily Isthmus, Madison, WI
“It's cacophonous. It's nostalgic. Dissonance seems to reign… Each member gets their moment in the spotlight and everyone on stage (not to mention the crowd - and it was a full house) was enjoying their moment in the collective chaos… Some nights perfectly align and Friday was one of those, thanks to Mucca Pazza.”
~ The Chicagoist
“…Mucca Pazza explored klezmer and reggae music, as well as football cheers...When songs ended, the cheerleader did celebratory leaps and kicks…Mucca Pazza treated an audience to a lavish, energetic, at moments bewildering show that, sure enough, brought a punk sensibility to marching band music -- a genre that is, let's face it, badly in need of retooling.” |
“Mucca Pazza just can’t be categorized easily, and as their moniker “circus punk marching band” implies, they’re truly a little bit of everything. If you were ever into musicals, punk music, instrumental compositions for cartoons, surf rock, traditional tunes from the old country or, yeah, marching bands, this is an album you’ll enjoy.”
~ Gapers Block
Now read what unpaid amateurs (i.e., bloggers) have to say:
"Here's to the Working Class: Rocket Ship Up Your Ass! So Mucca Pazza is . . . imagine that, after the apocalypse, the surviving members of various marching bands gathered together. Too traumatized to communicate except with their instruments, they formed a bond, and traveled the devastated countryside in their mismatched uniforms performing jazzed-up renditions of old folk tunes and obscure rock songs. With cheerleaders. At least, these were the images that I took away from the show. Now y'all might not know that I used to play the sousaphone in my marching band days, and I had the bleeding lip and the blistered feet to prove it; Mucca Pazza evokes those brassy days with a self-aware--but not self-conscious--geekiness. They're enormously endearing, and they also really jam."
~ From Mumble Herder |
