For those of you who don’t like rap, thinking it atonal, rude, violent and pointless, local Ames band Great Big Freak may change your mind. That is, unless you are completely close-minded and live in a garbage pail.

Combining funk, rap and classic rock into an unholy fusion of sound, Freak kicked some serious booty at The Long Shot on Tuesday night.

This high energy six-man groove army is something Ames didn’t have and badly needed. In short, they rocked, and for a couple of hours at least I could pretend that I wasn’t in a musically impoverished, midwestern town.

GBF has been together for a year and band members include Bobby Burn-one, on bass; MC Daddy-O, playing guitar and T.C. on drums. The three vocalists for the band are Chas-A, “Screamin’ Poet;” Weege, “Rhyme-skilz;” and G-MO, “Lyrical Thrower,” their combined power of verse was both tight and intelligently constructed.

They seldom yelled obscenities and never once referred to women as female canines. That was refreshing. Honorary Freak and “Trim Coordinator” (which translates as sound man), Mixmaster T-Ray, did an excellent job on sound; the bass-heavy music was well mixed with the vocals.

If Freak wanted to choose an opening act that made them look huge and musically monstrous by comparison, they could not have chosen better than DDT. So mellow that it boggled the imagination. This acoustic duo was in complete musical opposition to the high energy antics of Freak. DDT members Douglas and Thadius were quite talented and played some good songs, but it just wasn’t what the audience seemed to want to hear.

Finally, around 11 p.m., GBF began to play. The band opened their show with self-titled “Great Big Freak,” a mixture of mellow funk and grinding rap. A period of poetic mayhem ensued as the audience recovered from their lassitude and was cast into a swelling ocean of rhythm and rhyme.

Most of the people dancing were more-or-less without soul and would have done better at a line-dance, but they were having a great time, along with the band and that’s what’s important.

“This is the funnest band I have ever been in,” MC Daddy-O said, fraternally hugging G-MO.

“Me too,”G-MO added.

Nothing about GBF is stereotypical. With musical influences ranging from the Beastie Boys to War and from Sly and the Family Stone to Hendrix, they create music that is unique in its own right. They elegantly and skillfully combine the best of several musical genres.

“We started out playing mostly funk,” Burn-one said. “The big change is the rap.”

The band has no delusions of grandeur. They just want to have a good time and please their audience.

“We just want to put on a good show,” MC Daddy-O said.

“We want anyone who’s into pulsating sex-funk-o-rama,” Burn-one added. “All our shows are like big sex parties.”

But for any concerned citizens, there were no half-naked people in cages on the stage.

The band is currently filming footage for a video, Guy Smily, “Camera Boy” for GBF, said.

Freak will be at People’s Bar and Grill tonight. Cover is $3. If you are in the mood to dance and have a great time, check them out.

“Thursday night we are going to have a D.J. sit in with us,” Burn-one said. “We’re not sure if it will be a regular thing.”

Dig.