About the Rude Mechanical Orchestra:
The Rude Mechanical Orchestra is a 30-odd-piece New York City radical marching band and dance troupe. Formed in the spring of 2004 for the March for Women's Lives in Washington, D.C. and solidified to support people protesting the Republican National Convention in New York, the Orchestra plays protests, demonstrations, direct actions, picket lines, marches, benefits and events to support people and communities working for social justice.  Their shows are a mix of originals and songs from cultures spanning the globe- a spritz of klezmer, some Balkan and Brazilian notes, plenty of funk, some Latin beats, a little jazz and a Le Tigre cover, all of it served up with a patina of punk.

The Orchestra functions as a democratic collective through consensus-based decision-making and does not discriminate on the basis of musical ability.  Over nearly four years, they've played more antiwar marches than they can count, along with protests of union-busters and tip-garnishers, gentrifiers and privatizers, xenophobes, homophobes, and a host of other big uglies, working with groups like Time's Up, the Restaurant Opportunity Center of New York, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project and the War Resisters League.  They've played the Queens Pride Parade, the Mermaid Parade, the East Village Roving Garden Party, Philadelphia's Spiral Q Peoplehood Parade, and Boston's Honk Festival.  In August 2008 the RMO is taking their show on the road for a two-week tour- to cross-pollinate with progressive grassroots organizations and other amazing movers and shakers, and to loudly register their dissent at the Republican National Convention!

If you must miss the afternoon show at 2640- or if you need a second helping!- check out their 6 p.m. performance beneath the University Parkway bridge (3 blocks west of Charles St.) with the Flying Fedora Brothers, Spoke Ensemble, and the Barrage Band!