If you’ve never seen The Motet live before, you must be doing something wrong. This seven-piece funk ensemble brought the house down last Friday night at the Brooklyn Bowl, delivering two sets of non-stop funky good times to a sold-out crowd.

The band hails from Colorado, but are touring nationwide in support of their recent self-titled album release, which we reviewed last month. The album, which is still streaming for free on the Motet’s bandcamp page, was a refined offering of the Motet’s artistic vision, namely, to be the funkiest band on the planet. Once we (at L4LM) had a taste, we couldn’t help but to go back for more.

The Motet worked their old favorites into the set, with a choice selection from the new album. Perhaps the most eye-catching performer of the band is Jans Ingber, the lead vocalist. The lanky frontman dazzled with soothing and soulful singing, not to mention his in-the-groove dancing and percussion playing. Not that the crowd wasn’t all “in-the-groove,” so to speak, but watching Ingber dancing around on stage really got the crowd going.

Of course, the musicians of the Motet really brought the funk tunes to life. Aside from Ingber’s singing, each of the other six members contributes an additional element to a high-octane display. Whether it was the guitar melodies, the soaring basslines, powerful trumpet and sax, or the cool keys in the corner, each song was simply radiating energy. And the crowd, well, we couldn’t get enough.

Since the band played two sets, they were thoroughly able to let loose and dig deep into their tunes. One of my particular favorites from the new album is the song “Rynodub.” Appearing in the midst of the second set, the song starts with a bass-driven grinding melody, some nitty gritty funk that segues into a spacey mid-section jam. And once the Motet starts jamming, the sky’s the limit.

The Motet brought their fantastic funky stylings for an excellent concert last Friday night at the Brooklyn Bowl. Check out some of these pictures, and make sure to catch them next time around. 

[Photo credit: Jarrod Goldberg]

-David Melamed (@DMelamz)