Funktion – Daring You To Sit Still

Most times music to review for G-Sync arrives in my email, but every once in a while a disc arrives out of the blue the old fashioned way.

When the live CD for Funktion, a 7-man funk band from Kalamazoo, hit my box, the hand-written note stating “We dare you to sit still while listening to this disc” immediately challenged me.

Ok, so I popped it in the player and as the too-good-to-be-true bass line unfurled on the very first song, I tried my best to keep my butt from shaking.  Sure the people in the next car gave me strange looks — and one even asked me to please sit down — but I never had a chance.  Neither will any of us who drop in for their live show at Billy’s on Wednesday night.  

Funktion delivers their dare-you-not-to-dance blend of funk and soul occasionally with a hip-hop beat that easily reminds me of those hot summer nights we are hoping will arrive any day now. Their vocals are unique and yet familiar, conjuring up memories of Sly and the Family Stone, Curtis Mayfield and even the modern band, The Roots. This eclectic mix promises to make the whole show at times gritty, but also rambunctiously joyous.

I am guessing the band’s infectious bass driven, hip hop funk combined with the amazin’ blazin’ horn section that keeping one’s clothes on while dancing the night away might be a challenge for attendees. “Yes there might be clothing lost during the night,” adds band member Jeremy Reisig, “maybe not pants…but who knows what’ll happen.”  Maybe tonight they might lose the battle.