Many of you have probably been following the ongoing one-man anti-drug crusade of Asheville City Council member Dr. Carl Mumpower. He’s a man with a passion, and it’s hard not to give him points for it, but recently Dr. Mumpower crossed the line. He went to a concert, and wrote about it. Music reviews are our turf, dude!
In a five point email addressed to City Manager Gary Jackson, Mumpower expressed his observations of various illicit drug deals, public joint smoking and people in unfunny T-shirts taking place at a recent jam-band concert. And then, on point four, he wrote the following: “The music ‘Ratdog’ was good.”
It’s one thing to gripe about city drug enforcement policies—that’s a government thing—but when you start writing about music, you’ve got to dig a little deeper. Where’s the poetry? Where’s the sense of magic? Where’s the overblown prose, the inarticulate and fumbling description of a solo, and the failed attempt to gain credibility by making at least one obscure musical comparison?
And here’s an even more pressing question: What was so good about Ratdog that made Mumpower insert this odd line into an otherwise scathing review of drug-imbibing concert-goers? Since no one on the A&E team was at the concert, we’ll have to leave it up to you, our readers, to fill us in. Was the music ‘Ratdog’ truly good?
Here’s the ground rules: Write your own review of Ratdog’s recent performance at the Asheville Civic Center, using Councilman Mumpower’s signature five-point style. Or, review Mumpower. Your call.
— Steve Shanafelt
Well, when i had read that particular point, i was infuriated that he’s getting in free under the PRETENSE of looking for use of drugs. Presumably that means that we are, in some way, paying for his time to review music.
I suppose next he’ll say that holding up the lighter at the end was his attempt at trying to see if others had bought drugs.
And if i were Ratdog, i’d be insulted that Mumpower liked us.
Why? Because Dead fans aren’t typically well to do white people in their mid fifties?
No, because Mumpower isn’t there for the music. He’s there with an agenda of disruption.
Noone goes to Jam Band shows for the music.
Q: What does someone say at a jam band show when they can’t find drugs?
A: Man this band sucks!
Jason, I just discovered this site today. I read your rebuttal to someone’s comments on the police force. I have to say that I agreed with your stance…in the beginning. It became apparent as I read on that you were just as confused as the other “poster”, only on the opposite side of the spectrum. You can attribute my joining this forum solely to comments you have made. I’m not looking to get into some petty squabble about ethics but I do, however, find myself at a place in my life where I feel a deep compulsion to confront hypocrisy when I see it. Yes, I have to admit that, on the other topic (the police in its infinite evil), that is just untrue. I admit that there is corruption in all things, just as there is potential for good. This is a new topic though. When you state that no one goes to a jam show for the music, I would have to question your logic. Have you ever been to a jam show? Whatever your response may be, let me tell you a little about myself. I have been a jam fan for the better part of a decade, now. I am a musician as well. I do not limit my musical horizons to jam music alone. It just so happens to be a genre of music that blends the best of many worlds thereby creating an environment that is welcoming to people of many different walks of life and of many different discretionary levels. It also happens that jam is the most drug- friendly scene because the versatility of the music and the undiscriminant (for the most part) attitudes of its patrons fosters such comfortability. I can not vouch for the guy and/or girl who has no more tact than to blatantly defy the law, be just or unjust. However, I, for one, do not need to indulge in drug related activities to appreciate the musical prowess of another musician. If I so choose to engage in a bit of a mind altering experience, that is born of my desire to embellish one thing I love with another. Footnote: as time goes by, these engagements have become fewer and farther between (actually, virtually non-occuring). You had made a comment about the cop basher making stereotypes. Again, in this situation it is hard to identify…who is the pot and who is the kettle?
I’m not wanting to get into a petty squabble either. I think there is a difference between me making a groundbreaking, insightful joke about drugs at a Dead/jam show and someone else full of righteous indignation over police officers.
I was just going for the easy joke.
I made and will continue to make these jokes because they are funny, and also because in my rather limited experience with jam band shows and culture, it seems more about drugs than it does music.
I also find it funny that I continue to be painted into a certain political mode because I defended a group of people (cops) who aren’t that popular.
Thank you for your comments, and thank you for being reasonable.
Wait, was I supposed to be a jerk here? Isn’t that my “persona”?
Actually, I wouldn’t call you a jerk. Misinformed…maybe. You seem to be educated and intelligent. It was the stereotyping double standard that caught my attention, though. Let me reinforce that I (however I may disagree with the ethics of some) feel that the police are a crucial part in preserving order in society. I don’t refute the fact that the jam scene is riddled with an overabundance of drug use, either. I believe that the same could be said for many more genres than just jam alone. I think that jam fans could stand to learn a lot when it comes to discretion. Many would like to call themselves hippies. Some of them probably fit the bill. Many do not though. I think that there is a very good reason that we, as jam fans, attract such attention from the law. I think the term hippie has taken on a negative connotation. In attending several jam shows, I have witnessed a broad range of behavior and self expression. Many peoples’ perception of the jam scene has been jaded by the presence of those with less than admirable intentions to do good by the scene. Sure there are those who have a genuine love for the music and tolerance for people of different walks. Then, there are those whose motives are just to infiltrate a scene which has been said to be psychadellically friendly. The common link: recreational drug use. The difference: genuine feelings about the music. It is a personal mission for me to one day raise myself to the level that will allow me to bring these issues into the light through the music itself. There is a sort of “neo-hippie” movement (for lack of a better word) that has already been signaled, in which the music is a little more contemporary and thought concious. Let’s hope it’s the start of something good.