FuMPFest

Punching Henry

The fourth FuMPFest event took place at the same location as the previous year's event, the Elk Grove Holiday Inn just outside Chicago. The guest of honor was Dr. Demento long-time favorite Henry Phillips who performed a fantastic set of stand-up, comedy music, and videos, signed autographs, and stuck around for the screening of his new movie Punching Henry.

This event featured fantastic performances by Bad Teenage Moustache, Reformed Whores, Lauren Mayer, and many more, plus more Dumb Parody Ideas (won once again by the Library Bards), a special appearance by two of The Frantics, a surprise performance by Bill Larkin, and the 7th annual Logan Whitehurst Memorial Award for Excellence in Comedy Music.

This year we did something new, and stupid! Or stupid and new, depending on how you want to look at it—FuMPFest Bingo! We handed out free bingo cards and as things would happen throughout the weekend players would mark them on the card. The squares included things like "Shoebox says 'nipples'," "Chris says 'TILE!'," "Crowd chants 'moisture'," "Sitting in the Satan section," and many other inside jokes and recurring gags that permeate our little gatherings. Once a player got a bingo the card could be turned in for a stupid prize! (The prize was a little baggie of gummy fish.) FuMPFest Bingo proved to be popular so we'll definitely be doing this again in the future, and we have several suggestions for new squares for next year.

As opposed to last year's comedy of errors, this year was relatively mishap-free. So much so that nobody was ever able to mark off the Bingo square labeled "God hates comedy musicians." I don't know what happened—maybe we're just making up for last year—but I'll take it!

Guest of Honor

Henry Phillips - With three studio albums (released on real record labels), two Comedy Central specials, and a long history of plays on the Dr. Demento Show, Henry Phillips is comedy-music monster. He recently released a moving called Punching Henry, a sequel to 2009's critically acclaimed Punching the Clown, and has a recurring role on HBO's Silicon Valley.

Performing Artists

Bad Teenage Moustache - Local comedy rockers Bad Teenage Moustache showed up dressed as nuns with lead singer Danny Rockett's mother in attendance and belted out songs that would make any mother blush, not just one who was a former nun.

Boy Meets Robot - Another local act, Boy Meets Robot performed with a classic Game Boy and NES R.O.B. on stage with him, and was the only artist on hand to accept his win for a Logan Award in person.

Carla Ulbrich - Carla showed up with a mask over her face to keep the pollen out and her allergies at bay so she could perform in a tiny little hat. It seemed to work!

Insane Ian - Ian once again hosted FuMPFest and did an amazing job, and kicked off the festivities with the first concert of the weekend.

Nuclear Bubble Wrap - Nuclear Bubble Wrap and Smashy Claw teamed up for a two hour, combined-band, live concert recording. They were the only live bands on hand and it was impressive to watch.

Peter Wildman - The "musical one" from The Frantics came down from Canada to put on a show and regailed the audience with a live rendition of "Boot to the Head!"

Reformed Whores - Stopping in Chicago amid their tour of the country, these two southern-bred New York girls put on a hillarious show and made more than one person blush.

Smashy Claw - (see Nuclear Bubble Wrap)

The Gothsicles - In a rare Sunday morning appearance the Gothsicles rocked as they always do. I say rare because it's rare for DarkNES to be awake before noon on most Sundays.

the great Luke Ski - Luke put on his signature great show with some new covers, old favorites, and some new Dumb Parody Ideas.

Tom Tuerff - New-to-us singer Tom Tuerff came up from Arizona with his wife to regail us with songs of life as a baby boomer, among other things.

Worm Quartet - Back for more, Worm Quartet continued the rare Sunday morning rocking with his synth-punk mahem.

Other Events

Opening Ceremonies - Welcome to the con! Luke Ski and Chris Mezzolesta kicked off the con with a live performance of "A Dying Cub's Fan's Last Request." Then we did the usual antics, including screening our video contest entries, and ended with a live performance of "We Want The FuMP!"

The Logan Awards - This was the 7th annual Logan Whitehurst Memorial Award for Excellence in Comedy Music. The event was hosted by the great Luke Ski.

The State of the FuMP - Devo Spice and Insane Ian gave a behind the scenes look at The FuMP and what the plans are for the future.

Dumb Parody Ideas - A rapid-fire event where contestants perform snippets of dumb parodies they came up with. Contestants included Devo Spice, Wacky Ben, R.J., and many more. In the end the Golden Spatula was, once again, taken by The Library Bards!

Q&A With Henry Phillips - Devo Spice interviewed Henry Phillips about his work and career.

Movie Time - A screenings of Henry Phillip's new movie Punching Henry.

The FuMP Showcase - A chance for any other artists in attendance to take the stage. This year we had performances by Carrie Dahlby, TV's Kyle, Lauren Mayer, and more!

Live Podcasts - Live recordings of Manic Mondays with Devo Spice featuring a performance by Bill Larkin, then a live segment with Peter Wildman and Paul Chato of The Frantics!

Closing Ceremonies - All good things must come to an end. We closed out this year's event with a performance of "Let's All Get Demented" by Ivor Biggun with new music by Bonecage.

Click here to download the 2017 program book. (pdf)