Mrs. Fun
To judge from the beaming giddiness exhibited on keyboardist Connie Grauer’s face during much of their Friday, July 5, headlining set at Klement’s Sausage and Beer Garden Stage, Mrs. Fun may be the most aptly-named band in Milwaukee. The joy she exuded plying her skill on the three instruments she stood behind could likely have been felt by those sitting in the fenced-off enclave’s back row.
Oddly, Grauer’s countenance contrasted sharply with the expression's on drummer Kim Zick’s face during the idiosyncratically jazzy duo’s annual Summerfest appearance. The percussionist emanated an intensity that evinces little time for humor as she beat out paradiddles, fills, grooves and counter-rhythms behind her kit emblazoned with the music fest’s smiling logo.
Together, the two conjured accessibly adventurous artistry. They proved adept at jazz’s function of taking extant tunes into heretofore unnavigated sonic exploration and breaking new ground with original compositions. Mrs. Fun transformed Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” into a discomfited samba whose recognizable motifs the Funsters took their time to reveal. A rendition of The Doors’ “Light My Fire” brought the psychedelic hit’s most recognizable elements into the fore earlier into its performance, only to veer later into explorations within and beyond its melody. Less far-reaching was a joyous take on the Violent Femmes’ “Blister In the Sun” during which Grauer urged the audience to sing the chorus with her.
Vocalizing lyrics of her own composition is something she would do well to consider more often. On a rumination on the point of living entitled “The Process Is the Purpose,” she approached her words in an easygoing manner, splitting the difference between rapping and Ken Nordine-styled word jazz. May she plumb that vein of her creativity deeper in the future.
Mrs. Fun also collaborated with an actual rapper after a fashion. They improvised with what could be overheard of the rhyme spitting from the more powerful sound system at the nearby U.S. Cellular Connection stage. Not entirely amazingly, considering the women’s 30 years as a band, they pulled it off to end just as their competition did. More anticipated collaborative efforts ensued when former Milwaukee saxophonist Jay Anderson (now based in New Orleans) strode to the stage for a couple of pieces, including a spirited tear through Dizzy Gillespie’s “A Night in Tunisia.” As Anderson approached Zick for a fist bump before he left the platform, she broke into a rare grin.
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