The Leftist Marching Band of Portsmouth will celebrate its 10th anniversary on May 23- 24, 2014, with a weekend of musical events. As its key event of the weekend, the band invites the Seacoast community to the Saturday night 10th Anniversary Bash featuring:
The Anniversary Bash will take place at the Portsmouth VFW Post 168, 238 Deer Street, on May 24, 7:30-11:30 PM. Attendees must be over 21. Entry is free, with donations to the Common Table, a Portsmouth program providing meals for all the hungry, gladly accepted. The band started in 2004 as a “pep band for the left” during the presidential campaign that pitted Sen. John Kerry against first-term incumbent President George W. Bush. Since then, the LMB has taken on causes as varied as campaign finance reform, climate change, pay equity, health care reform, gay marriage rights, and public beach access, or what the band refers to as “the good causes.” For 10 years the LMB has mysteriously and unpredictably appeared to play on the streets of Portsmouth, with occasional forays as far afield as Concord, Manchester, Exeter, Portland, and Boston. The LMB has been a consistent performer in the annual HONK! festival of street bands in Somerville, MA. Most recently, the LMB marched with the Veterans for Peace in the Saint Patrick’s Peace Parade in South Boston. The LMB is an open band with no discernible structure. The group has welcomed a wide range of players over its 10 year history. One of the LMB’s mottos is “Our music is better than it sounds.” Band representative Charkee Magee says, “It’s been a great 10 years, and we really want to celebrate with our community. We don’t know exactly who or where they are, but we hope to see many former LMBers, friends, and fans on May 23-24, and they should definitely be ready to party.” The LMB’s music covers a wide range of genres, from punk and heavy metal to Sousa marches, waltzes, klezmer, and jazz. One of the band’s specialties is “relyricing” songs. Instrumentation can be creative, combining horns, percussion, and saxophones with violin, guitar, and kazoo. For up-to-the-minute information about the LMB 10th Anniversary Bash, visit the band on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/leftistmarchingband). |
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