The Motet funk up the Skyway

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Funk was in the air at the Skyway Theatre yesterday and unlike the 60s its source was the stage rather than the unwashed masses. While Denver, CO never has been a hotbed of funk in the past, The Motet have been making up for lost ground in the past two decades and brought their tour to the Skyway yesterday.

First up was Megan Hamilton “Ghetto Funk’s official U.S. ambassador” augmenting her DJ set with a live Saxophone player on stage.

Minneapolis’ Pho got their start in 2013 and released their debut album ‘CASH IT’ in 2015. The 8 piece is an instrumental funk band so their mikes’ use was limited to joking with the crowd between songs. Their sound is a blend of classic funk with modern (and some older) influences. One of their pieces had an intro that combined with the lighting had an almost Pink FLoyd vibe. Lyle Divinsky joined them for one song and having vocal on top of solid instrumentals that song apart.

Set List: South 2nd / Rich & Sexy / Famous / Sour / Texas / Response / Drake / Bird / Pop

For The Motet 2016 brought a new singer Lyle Divinsky after an amicable split from the previous front man Jans Ingber. I have not seen the original lineup but Divinsky certainly seems like a great choice. The Motet started their set with an instrumental piece “Cloak and Dagger” before unleashing their vocalist. Divinsky has outstanding stage presence. He moves around a lot, gets close to the fans and is happy to insert short dance breaks when called for. The Motet’s live show is full of energy and pretty much everyone in the audience was dancing or doing their best impression of dancing. The set lasted for close to 2 hours of fun. Overall if you like funk at all, go see The Motet at one of their shows.

Set List: Cloak / Jam / Own It / Damn / Fountain / Fool No More / Danger / Getten / Rippin / So High / Know It / Keep On / Truth Encore: Knee Deep / Closed

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