Review by Patrick Wright
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]hursday was a pretty rotten day for me. I was facing a severe lack of sleep, and anything that could’ve gone wrong that day did in a spectacularly amazing fashion. So when I walked into Vega Thursday I wasn’t really in the mood to sit around and listen to bands all night, but Funk Trek, AZP, and Foam Form changed that.
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[title size=”1 to 6″ style=”options: default, sidebar”]Foam Form[/title]
The night started off with Foam Form, an interesting opener that almost sounded like a soundtrack to an 80’s video game. What really made his show though was the “guitar” he used, a Frankensteined love child between a Guitar Hero guitar and old Atari joystick buttons. While the music might not have been the most interesting or original at times, watching him play his “guitar” to make it definitely was. Unfortunately his stage presence was a bit lacking, and it got a bit boring at times watching him just stand on stage in front of a laptop with a guitar that looked like motherboard on steroids.
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[title size=”1 to 6″ style=”options: default, sidebar”]AZP[/title]
However, things really started to kick into gear once the funky AZP took the stage. With a mix of hip-hop, rock, jazz, and soul, the songs went a variety of ways, but it was always funky and easy to groove along with. Lead vocalist Ishma Valenti spat out rhymes with ease, backed up by the smooth vocals of pianist Zachary Watkins. I’m not always the biggest fan of hip-hop, but these guys had me dancing along to the beat. It was funky, fresh, and fun, three things I wasn’t expecting to hear. When your show is so good that Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee sees it and wants to play an impromptu show at the same venue the next night, you know you’re doing a good thing, and AZP definitely impressed.
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[title size=”1 to 6″ style=”options: default, sidebar”]Funk Trek[/title]
AZP was funky, but they couldn’t touch the funkiness that was the headliner Funk Trek. A nine-man band, these guys brought the funk, playing 10-minute tracks that were filled with jazzy brass and funky bass. Coupled with the amazing lighting system at Vega, the show felt incredibly vibrant and energetic. I hadn’t really felt like dancing most of the night, but the music Funk Trek played was so funky that I actually put down my camera, got out on the floor and danced the only way a sober white boy can, which is very badly. For the first time that day I actually smiled, and just closed my eyes and enjoyed the show. I’ve listened to a lot of music, and very few bands can make me just dance and forget about everything going on, but Funk Trek did.
When I walked out of Vega on that Thursday night, I felt a lot better than I had walking in, which is a testament to how fantastic the music was. I may not have been smiling when I walked in, but Funk Trek, AZP, and Foam Form made sure I left with a smile on my face.
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All photos by Patrick Wright | Seeds Entertainment
