There is really no need for me to set the scene for the Sydney Funk and Soul festival at the Metro. It is self-explanatory really: the night consisted of me ricocheting between the Funk Stage, Soul Stage and bar, trying to see all of the 12 acts in the line-up whilst precariously balancing my notebook and a tinnie of Tooheys New.

Naturally, my tinnie of New and notebook took a back seat for the majority of the evening, as there was so much to see. The Soul stage was graced with the presence of “Earl Gray”, “Astro Tabasco”, “The Alphabetics”, “The Modernists”, “Vassy” and “The Hands”. The Funk Stage boasted a line-up of “Funklantis”, “Watussi”, “The Mighty Pragmatics”, “Johnson”, “Kid Conficius” and “The Bamboos”. I could see that I was going to be very busy.

The first act we saw was “Funklantis”, a nine-piece funk combo on the main stage led by Luke Escombe. Not only did they have crazy outfits, they looked like they were having a blast, which was very contagious. The vocals in their final track were amazing. After these guys, we scurried into the Soul Stage (the smaller arena) to see “Astro Tabasco”. They were pretty laid back, bringing nice ambience to the room. We caught a few tracks and then headed back to the main stage.

Watussi were definitely heating up the room. The front man, Oscar, was perfect heading up this Latin Funk combo. Their highly energetic tracks such as, “Decide Yourself” were only separated by quick shots of tequila. He was asking various questions in his awesome Columbian accent, and whatever he said simply had people nodding in agreement. He had the audience wrapped around his little finger. Oscar then proceeded to invite everyone down to Beach rd in Bondi on Thursday, to have a shot of tequila with him. I was sold, and will undoubtedly be in attendance.  

Next on the agenda were “The Alphabetics” in the soul room. I have seen these guys twice before: supporting “Rastawookie” at The Basement, and also at the Civic. I think this 4 piece funk/ hip hop combo are great. Unfortunately, the sound was not at is best, so their sharp and incisive lyrics were difficult to understand, which is a shame. By no means does this deter me from going and seeing them given the next available opportunity…. Which is next Friday, 9th of September @ the Lansdowne.

The next act to grab me was Vassy. The first time I saw Vassy was at the Becks Festival Bar at the beginning of the year. I was so excited about her performance, that in my review I forgot to actually talk about the music. She is unique and exotic, her jazzy soul music is mesmerizing. On this occasion, included in her repertoire were “kick my ass” and “Wanna fly” which has a  jamaican latin/bossa dancehall feel.  Her debut album, “My Affection” is being released next week, and her video clip for “Wanna Fly” will be available next week on the website (vassy.com.au). She really is the goods.

Naurally, there was more bouncing between the two stages, but when The Bamboos arrived on stage, there was no way that I was going to be going anywhere else. Not only have I been wanting to see these guys live for some time, but they absolutely played the part. They were dressed to kill in crisp suits, and there performance was seamless, with all band members in tune with each other. Thier set consisted of singles “tighten up” and “eel oil/black foot” – plus a remix for the Limp Twins called “a day in the life of Mr Jones”, and the rest of the material was from their upcoming album.

What was quite perplexing is that the crowd had noticeably diminished by the time The Bamboos came on. I mean it was a Friday night, and the line-up was sensational. I was expecting people to have their dancing shoes on, but no such luck. The only explanation I can think of in regards early departure was perhaps frustration. As soon as arriving at the venue, one felt pressured to dart around, so not to miss anything. Ironically, that is exactly what ended up happening. There was so much going on that there was no time to become involved in the performances. Naturally it was not running on time, so you found yourself either going to an empty stage, or walking in the middle of a set.

This is not to say that any of the performances were lacking, on the contrary, I would have liked to have heard longer sets which is why I ascertained when my next opportunity to see many of them would be. I just do not find it fair that such a meager amount of time was allocated to each of these established acts. Either way, I did stay until the end, and was chuffed to finally hear the very talented Bamboos play. For those that left early, their loss.