There is a band from Vancouver called Five Alarm Funk, and they’re an instrumental dance band that really brings music to life and makes it exciting.

In Five Alarm Funk’s “Big Smoke” album, they actually had Leo P. from Too Many Zoos play with them in their song, “Wake The Funk Up”. You might be familiar with Leo P. because of his incredible performance of Moanin’ in 2017 which is originally from Charles Mingus. I remember downloading that viral performance in amazement because I never heard a baritone saxophone played like Leo P. plays it.

Big Smoke

Even without Leo’s name in the title, I still would have recognized it’s him by the way Leo plays the bari sax. Dave Grohl once said in a Hot Ones interview that you know you’re a talented musician when people can identify your playing style.

Upon that discovery, Five Alarm Funk definitely delivers the same kind of energy that gets the crowd going. You should expect a lot of fun at their concerts, and they create these personas with costumes and props like the Diaper man, Gary Shider from Parliament Funkadelic.

The most visually interesting thing I’ve seen at a concert so far was some naked guy on a couch at The 1975 concert in 2023, and it turns out that was a dummy replica of Matty Healy and not some guy high on spice.

I remember interviewing Kenan Sungur from Babyface Brass, and their ensemble ranges from 4-13 members. Five Alarm Funk also has a range of members, but it’s currently an eight-member band.

Five Alarm Funk continues to be an instrumental band without a lead singer. Instead, they’d have the crowd engage in chants. It’s a unique choice that definitely led to their success.

This is another band that likes to change up their sound from album to album. Their unique song format along with shifting genres adds to the excitement of what they’ll play next. For a band like this, it’s hard to go wrong with any flavour like rock, metal, or Latin. 

A band like this really enhances the fun vibes in their shows, and while they’ve been performing in BC and Alberta for their first five years, they’ve been touring across the country and the United States.

They actually recently played in Vernon, so keep an eye out for a show of theirs that could happen in Vancouver next.