The Martlet

Victoria’s newest ambassadors of funk, The Party On High Street (TPOHS), kicked out the jams on Jan. 7 at Logan’s Pub in support of their new album, Everyday.

TPOHS, originally formed in Nelson, B.C. by guitarist/vocalist T-rav Charuk and bass player/vocalist Brin Porter, has recently landed in Victoria and is working hard to infuse the local music scene with its own brand of psychedelic funk rock.

The band began jamming around 10 p.m.

What at first sounded like the beginning of a promising song, turned out to be a catchy and hilarious sound-check number that featured lyrics like “it’s all right, you’re not missing shit, it’s just the sound check.”

Soon after, the real show began. TPOHS quickly established their musical abilities.

Mashing together blues melodies and heavy, grooving bass lines topped with guitar and trumpet, the band got the show going with the original single “Weighs Me Down.”

As TPOHS went through the set list, jamming out in songs with extended solos, it seemed like every song was an experiment in genre levels, trying out different mixtures of funk, ska, rock, psychedelic and blues. Even elements of hip hop were featured in the songs of TPOHS, like the a cappella rap intro to “I Jam.”

Not only did all the songs draw from multiple musical styles, but the group also played around with changes in tempo, jumping to double time and then just as abruptly falling to half time.

At times TPOHS would have slow, lifting trumpet wonderfully contrasted with the rest of the band playing fast and driving jams.

The best example of this was probably the performance of “Going to the Top,” a song about heading up Mount Tolmie after a hard day of work. In another song, described by the band as “freaky-deaky,” the music began sounding like it would be suitable for a tropical island scene. It built up momentum, only to fall back to a slow and quiet a cappella portion. Then, just as the audience expected the song to die, it jumped up and punched them in the face with a fist full of funk.

The band sounded tight and together, and the music was a good blend of groove and party. What I was most impressed with, however, was the showmanship of TPOHS.

It was a weeknight and the bar was definitely less than full, but that didn’t matter to the band. They played full out as if they were in front of thousands, and they did so late into the evening, finishing up their set around 2 a.m.

For those who love dancing and don’t like going to clubs, keep your eyes peeled for the next TPOHS concert.

They will keep you moving all night long.