The Floozies & Too Many Zooz leave St. Louis fans all funked up

The Floozies were one of the first bands I ever got approved to photograph. I remember driving from Fargo to Minneapolis on my 25th birthday to shoot their show at First Avenue in 2018. It was only like my second or third photo pass and the first band I ever shot that I actually listened to regularly.

A lot has happened in the last eight years: I moved across the country, weathered the COVID pandemic, and have shot hundreds of shows since then, including The Floozies on three other occasions. This show at The Pageant in St. Louis was my fourth.

I’ve come to view shooting them as a sort of benchmark in my concert photography career.

Every time is an opportunity to see how far I’ve come. But for some reason, I am never as happy with the photos as I was that first time in the winter of 2018.

This night in St. Louis kicked off with Bray Radbury, a solo project by Floozies drummer Mark Hill. The set was extremely eclectic and fun. Exploring a more electronic side of funk than The Floozies usually dip their toes into, Bray Radbury had Delmar Hall rocking with a plethora of funky house jams and EDM bangers. You absolutely love to see an artist who’s a part of a great band do their own thing and get even more experimental with it. In an age where artists are rewarded for staying in the mainstream and not trying out new things, we all should applaud those willing to spread their wings and break that mold.

Following Bray Radbury was Too Many Zooz, a powerhouse “brass-house” trio from NYC. Dominating the stage with their incredible energy, Matt “Doe” Muirhead (trumpet/keyboard), David “King of Sludge” Parks (drums), and Leo Pelligrino (saxophone) brought the house down with their unique performance that blurred the lines between jazz, EDM, funk, and house music.

Last, but not least, were The Floozies in all of their glory.

Lasers and funky jams were crashing over the audience like waves on a beach. The Hill brothers (Mark on drums, Matt on everything else) have been making electronic-funk power jams for over a decade with no signs of slowing down. Even seeing them many times now, I never cease to be impressed by the brothers’ skill when it comes to rendering their intricate music in a live format — and the crowd always seems to agree. Cheers to another Floozies show; they’re always a great time!

Photography by Sean Rider

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