Andy Frasco & The U.N. Brought Glorious Fun and Self-Worth to Their Dynamic St. Louis Summer Concert

 

–by Carrie Zukoski

 

On Atomic by Jamo’s one-year anniversary, the night was lit with two dynamic bands taking the outdoor stage by storm. This unseasonably cool and breezy August Friday night welcomed St. Louis’ Playadors opening for Andy Frasco & The U.N. for the Atomic Pavillion Block Party.

St. Louis’ jazz and soul band Playadors, helmed by Dave Grelle that includes a rotating roster of St. Louis musicians, kicked the party off with a 50-minute set of groovy, funky, jazzy, sounds.

Guest vocalists Emily Wallace and Bianca Fitzpatrick (who is new to the rotation), added even more to the night when they respectively covered The Impressions’ “Check Out Your Mind” and Sly and the Family Stone’s “If You Want Me to Stay.” The band also included originals including the catchy, swinging “Farfusa.”

After a short break to switch up the outdoor stage, Andy Frasco & The U.N. sauntered on stage to bring the ecstatic, packed crowd nearly 2 hours of the high-energy, balls-out, concerts that this band has become known for.

Rock. Jam. Funk. Blues-rock. Bluegrass. Mix those all up and add a touch of anything goes and you’ve begun to scratch the surface of what makes up Andy Frasco & the U.N.’s sound. And that anything goes attitude is abundant in their concerts.

This night saw a couple of changes to their line up— Richie Derbyshire filling in for bassist Floyd Kellogg who is “taking his kid to school” and Matt Jalbert for guitarist Shawn Eckels who is recovering from knee surgery. However, their replacements were on point with the sound and energy levels. A surprise appearance on several songs from saxophonist Ernie Chang, who’s been on paternity leave from the band, toward the end of their set made everyone’s night, including Frasco’s.

Someone in the crowd brought a bubble machine which just added to the night’s antics that felt like controlled chaos in the best possible way.

Frasco stated he’s been an optimistically depressed person his whole life and waxed on about not “marinating in the sadness” when introing the catchy, bright “Try Not to Die.”

Other songs included  “Life is Easy,” “Tears in My Cocaine,” and “Mature as F*ck.” One of the goofier songs of the night, “My Dick in a Box,” was sung by newcomer Andrew Cooney, guitarist.

Several members of Playadors made appearances throughout the night as it’s become customary for Frasco to bring out guests to add to the party festival on stage.

Frasco also hopped into the crowd along with Chang, cajoling the crowd to get low to the ground before including everyone in a traditional Hora dance.

A four-encore set ended in a raucous cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to the delight of everyone in attendance.

While a night of Andy Frasco & The U.N. is unbridled, glorious fun, it’s also tempered with some real talk about being good to one’s self and loving your neighbor. Which hopefully holds after the night ended and fans filtered into the St. Louis night.

 

Check out more photos in the gallery below.

 

 

Find a ton more photos from the night here: https://bit.ly/AFrascoSTL25cz