Review: The Dan Band gets raunchy and fun at H.B. Pier

A sea of families spread across the Huntington Beach sand Sunday evening for a not-so-family-friendly concert.

The Dan Band, known for its humorous covers of pop songs, played a free show during the “Course of the Force,” a five-day relay from July 7 to 11.

From the beginning, Dan Finnerty (lead vocals) said this performance had to be different than his previous shows for “contractual reasons.”

When a fan in the crowd yelled out expletives at the band, showing excitement, Finnerty replied, “You can cuss for me since I signed a contract saying I wouldn’t.”

However, Finnerty’s signed agreement didn’t stop him from cursing throughout his show.

But profanity always comes naturally in a Dan Band performance. The group has been featured in raunchy comedy films like “The Hangover” and “Old School,” so it was no surprise that its Sunday night set included sexual innuendo and foul language.

Even though the language wasn’t suitable for the crowd — whose ages ranged from toddlers to seniors — no one seemed to complain. The hired security for the show even got to join in on the fun.

Throughout the show, Finnerty jokingly flirted with and serenaded the security — including the males.

“You have a deep voice like Darth Vader,” Finnerty told a guard named Jeff, playing off the event’s “Star Wars” theme.

This made the audience laugh, but also encouraged Jeff to leave the stage area.

“No Jeff, no show,” Finnerty demanded to no avail.

Jeff was then replaced by Gina, who proved to have thicker skin as Finnerty joked and flirted with her.

The Dan Band’s set included humorous covers of Abba’s “Mamma Mia,” Christina Aguilera’s “Genie in a Bottle” and TLC’s “No Scrubs,” to name a few. The show also included hilarious choreography, accompanied by props like streamers and hula hoops.

One of the funniest performances was “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler. This was the point of the show where Finnerty showed the audience no mercy as he dropped countlessf-bombsduring the over-dramatic song. The crowd responded with laughter and a group sing-along.

The Dan Band concluded its set with “two contractual fake encores,” as Finnerty described.

It performed its sexy cover of 50 Cent’s “Candy Shop,” which was also played during the wedding scene in “The Hangover.” The set ended with a cover of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies,” complete with the music video’s iconic dance moves and female shadows in the background to mimic Finnerty and company’s moves.

For more information about The Dan Band and upcoming tour dates, visit thedanband.com.