On Thursday night I found myself in need of a bit of rhythm so I headed myself down to the Jac. To my luck, I stumbled upon Funka-Fi, which is the first in a series of funk and soul nights. The night was hosted by newly formed funk band Stereo Rose which is the collaborative effort of musicians George Weston and Elliot Gaspar (Limbo Days).
Despite the fact it may sound like this was just a Stereo Rose gig, and although the band did play a selection of originals, they also played some groovy covers of funk and soul classics as well as spinning an expertly curated collection of funky tunes, and I don’t mean a hastily made Spotify playlist, Funka-Fi brought the real deal!
Stereo Rose’s set was split into two halves, or two sets depending how you want to look at it. To start us off, they played a self-titled track, which acted as an introduction before a sensational cover of Stevie Wonder’s ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’ to really get the crowd going. We got a few more originals including the more toned down ‘New Girl’, and ‘Queen of the Floor’ which is a fun little narrative track, as well some more covers slotted in here and there, as George jokingly put it “to keep you all interested”. The band play with such an undeniably infectious energy that it was impossible to muster not even a little foot tap.
Much like Cinderella, I had to dash away mid-set so I unfortunately missed most of the second half. I did, however, manage to hold off until after an absolutely electric cover of The Four Seasons’ ‘Beggin’. There are no doubts in my mind that the second set radiated the same charismatic energy as the first!
The most notable thing about Funka-Fi was the atmosphere, it feels as though the night is driven more by audience-based experience of the moment than a display of musical ability (which was no doubt present). It’s amazing to watch a group of people playing with such passion and vibrancy who are so obviously having a good time and are opening the space to just vibe and appreciate the music.
All in all it was a great night, and I hope to see the return of Funka-Fi in the near future!
Thanks for reading!
Kat xx
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