Full Feature and Fatback
The Bottleneck
06.29.2001

Review by Cody Simms

It was party-rock night at the Bottleneck. And I’m not talking about your George Clinton or your James Brown. No, the Godfather was not in the house. But Assman was…

If ever there was a moniker that would inspire all-out booty-shakin’, “Assman” may be it. Christened after the Seinfeld episode where Kramer declares that he is “the Assman”, this real-life Assman (yes, it is his actual nickname) is the rhythm guitarist for Full Feature, a band that can bring on the Matchbox 20-meets-311 right-of-the-dial whiteboy funk like nobody’s beeswax.

Funk-rock. The genre can mean so many things—Sly Stone wrote socially conscious lyrics, the Red Hot Chili Peppers Californicated. But for Full Feature, the idea is to get as many people groovin’ at the front of the stage as possible. They really try to create a good time for all…and God love ‘em for it. There is no petty pretentiousness to the band—no artistic attitude and no rock-star snobbery. This has all been replaced by rootsy beats, a layer of lite-funk, alt-metal guitars riffs, vocal harmonies, cream-puff lyrics and some mad dancing by frontman Eddie Schubert. After all, who couldn’t help but shake it out to lyrics such as “I like you baby…but I can’t stand that I can’t get into your pants,” all sung (and occasionally rapped!) by Schubert? It is like having MTV’s Spring Break contained into one big keg of Miller Light for your personal drinking pleasure!

Overall, the group’s sound is probably a bit too rooted in Top-40 hits to say that they have created anything truly unique, but their excitement at being on stage adds a soulfulness to their live show that is deeply missing from the sound of many of their commercial influences.

Fatback opened the show for Full Feature. Their set included a mix of original songs and covers, mostly done in a modern-punk style. Covers included the Violent Femmes’ “Please Do Not Go”, the Thompson Twins’ 1984 hit “Hold Me Now”, and a rap-o-rama medley featuring Ton Loc and 2 Live Crew numbers. The highlight of their set, however, was certainly the fire juggler that took the stage with them halfway through their show, leaving the lingering question--just how did he eat that fire with a full goatee??

Information on Full Feature can be found at http://www.fullfeaturemusic.com.