Blowfly for Motherfunkin’ President!

By Ann Clarke

Now That’s Class, Cleveland OH
March 14, 2009

Photo © 2009 Julie Finley

Wanna hear something sad? I’ve only been to one concert this year! I love going to concerts, too. I’m usually hired to shoot the live shots for a plethora of them, but every show that has taken a dump through Cleveland has been absolute shit. So shitty, in fact, that I haven’t been motivated to let the shutters go wild. I hate shitty concerts, and that’s all we’ve had in Cleveland since last summer. . . all but the one show I did attend.

That show? Was motherfunkin’ Blowfly! How awesome is that?

Really Fucking Awesome.

This show was barely publicized, too. So how did I find out about it? I got a comment on my MySpace page from Clarence “Blowfly” Reid himself saying:

“Julz honey—Ask and ye shall receive! Blowfly is coming to funk up Now that’s Class on Saturday, March 14—so you and everyone you know must cum to the show!

Now how could I fucking resist that? I had just been saying to my boyfriend two days before, “Man, it would be fucking AWESOME if Blowfly played around here!” and voila! I got that message. I knew this was something to look forward to since I can say without a doubt that I’ve listened to Blowfly more than anything else in the past two years. His shit is fucking hilarious, not to mention creatively disgusting (which is exactly why I love it). I asked Blowfly if it would be cool to shoot photos at the show, and his reply was, “Of course you can take dirty pictures of us! You and your girlfriends should come up onstage and ride the booty bus!” Well, I indeed took him up on the first part of the offer.

Photo © 2009 Julie Finley

While I was waiting for the show’s date to arrive, I had to make some carefully arranged plans as the venue is in a fucking horrible part of Cleveland. Not the absolute worst, but bad enough. In other words, if I valued my life, I would pay for a cab instead trying to park somewhere shady and get shanked on the way to the front door! Now That’s Class is a fairly new establishment in Cleveland that embodies the DIY/Punk ethic, and it does truly respect the bands by paying them every dollar made on admission. Pretty nice of them! It’s just too bad the place is a dump in the middle of a hellhole.

I can understand from a touring band’s perspective this would be ideal, but for a patron like myself. . . not so cool. Plus I was told the show started at 8 p.m. (and to arrive at 7 p.m.), but the show didn’t start until almost 1 a.m. It was agony waiting around there for hours. I felt very out of place, as it was the first (and probably the last) time I’d ever been there.

Photo © 2009 Julie Finley

So, after the eternal wait, Blowfly—in his sequined superhero suit—and his crew took the stage, and HOLY SHIT! Let me just say, that Blowfly is 70 years old! That’s right, I said seventy! We’re dealing with a Senior Citizen who has more stamina and charisma than most young, mouthy punks have in their big toes. . . not to mention he has a superior gift for some of the most profane tongue I’ve ever heard. He may be old, but he is still razor sharp and could have probably kicked the asses of everyone in attendance! Of course he could: he’s the self-proclaimed “World’s Baddest Nigger!” No one can touch that shit! No one.

Blowfly rocked and ruled for almost two hours. . . seriously! He started off with his version of the Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” but his version was “I Wanna Fuck Your Dog” (and is from one of his latest albums, Blowfly’s Punk Rock Party). Very appropriate given the venue. Actually, I have to say, based on Blowfly’s latest albums, he’s actually more vulgar than ever. . . and it’s great!

He proceeded to rip into some of his classics like, “Convoy,” “Rapp Dirty,” “To Fuck the Boss,” “Shake Your Ass,” “Hole Man,” “Shitting Off the Dock of the Bay,” “The Booty Bus,” “I Believe My Dick Can Fly,” “It’s a Faggot’s World,” “The Incredible Fulk,” “Should I Fuck This Big Fat Ho?,” “Sesame Street/The Word Game,” “The First Black President,” etc. Then there are his verbal communications with the audience, which are priceless!

I can’t remember all the shit he said, but I do remember that my face hurt from laughing so hard!

Blowfly will be playing in San Francisco on August 20 and in San Jose August 21. For more details, check out his MySpace page.